How to read more and learn more

    These days, more and more Chinese people enjoy sending and receiving message on the phone. It can help the to get the latest news and communicate with friends. But I think I should read more books besides the textbooks, the more, the better. It can broaden my mind and improve my language skills.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here are some tips for you.

Clear your purpose for reading

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Most people read for two main reasons, pleasure or knowledge. Clearing about your reading purpose can not only help you choose the books you really need to read, but also remind you why reading the book is important to you, so you will keep reading and complete the book faster.

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    No matter what you are reading, it is important to enjoy what you read. Your friends may tell you the books they love, but those books might not necessarily be the ones you enjoy.

Give up books that you don't enjoy

    You may have chosen books that you are interested in, and they are right to your purpose. But while you are reading them, there may still be some books that you don't enjoy reading. Whenever you realize that you aren't enjoying the book you are reading, give it up.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Set a reading goal

    It is interesting that I read the books borrowed from libraries faster than those I bought. The reason is the books I bought don't have a due date! I don't need to return those books. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Before you read each book, ask yourself what time you need to complete this book by.

A. Read only what you are interested in.

B. Read the books borrowed from others

C. Remember reading shouldn't be a chore

D. Of course, it also can help me to get good grades

E. We need to get the latest news and communicate with friends

F. Before you start reading, ask yourself why you are reading this book

G. Having a reading goal helps you work out how much reading you need to do in a week or even a day.

    Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.

Zones

    The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.

Computers

    You can use your own computer to connect to the wi-fi specially prepared for notebook computers; your can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.

Group-study places

    If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.

    There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.

Storage of Study Material

    The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits(学分), you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year's rental period.

Rules to be Followed

    Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.

    Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.

    For the brave in the army, being sent away from home is just part of the duty. However, it's never easy especially for those with children. So, when I found out I was going to stay in South Korea for a year, I was nervous about how my five children, particularly my eldest daughter Abigail, would take the news since it meant I wouldn't be home to see her graduate from high school.

    To my surprise, Abigail told me not to worry and even suggested we make the news known among family members. "We've been lucky you haven't had to be sent abroad yet. Anyway, we can get connected through the Internet. See me on your phone." Abigail said. She stepped into many of my roles when I was gone. I wanted to find a way to thank her and show her how proud I was of her. I started planning the special surprise when my request to return home a few weeks earlier to attend Abigail's graduation ceremony(典礼) was approved.

    When my time in South Korea finally came to an end, I flew home, and stayed in a hotel. On Abigail's graduation day, I hid in an office behind the stage waiting until I heard her name called. I just kept thinking "Don't cry. Don't trip in your heels. Don't fall over." At last! Abigail was up on stage. I slipped up behind her, whispered in her ear, and around she turned! "I was just thinking, like, 'You aren't supposed to be here. What? What? How?' It was the biggest shock... I'm pretty sure my dad made people he didn't even know cry. Emotional for everyone." Abigail cried.

    You know what followed: embraces, kisses, tears, laughs, flowers, wishes...; aren't they what a family have in store?

    Learning how to face silence in conversation is an important skill, especially when working across cultures.

    In international negotiations, experienced negotiator (谈判者) stay silent and impassive on purpose because that will make others feel uncomfortable and possibly make compromises without having to do anything. Americans especially can't stand silence, so they often are the first to break the silence and sometimes might be at a disadvantage in negotiations.

    So, what's the best response? Set your jaw and wait it out. Don't offer a compromise just because they are not speaking. If you have to say something, ask a direct question, such as "What's your initial reaction to that offer?" Once a silence is getting into 45 seconds you could say, "Let's come back to that in a minute and go on with the next part of our negotiation."

    In presentations, silence can be far more effective than dramatic passion (热情). Before starting, look at the audience and be silent for a moment because that says, "I'm in control. I know what I'm doing. I'm confident."

    A classic example was when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs launched the first iPhone. He introduced with many pauses so that you didn't miss his key points. Because silence makes us nervous, our natural reaction is that we'd better pay attention, there's something going on here.

    Equally, when giving a speech to staff or trainees, pauses count-especially if there are negatives. If you keep talking you're spoon feeding. Give people a moment of silence to get beyond the emotional response and to start thinking consciously and processing.

    Silence can be an inward-focused thoughtful activity or an outward stillness where you give yourself the time to watch and think and listen to the world around you. Having observed the use of silence in Finland and also among the Blackfeet Nation, a North American Indian tribe in northern Montana in the US, we can see benefits far beyond wheeling and dealing.

    Silence can be a very powerful point for understanding ourselves, understanding others, for developing better common understanding and more productive outcomes and that applies to business, politics, education, law, medicine, every area of human life.

    Years ago, I volunteered at a homeless shelter in Los Angeles, handing out food. Once I got talking with Albert, a tall and skinny young guy in line. He said he liked my socks. "Want to see mine?" he joked, lifting his leg. He was barefoot. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

    The next day, after work, I stopped at Ross and filled up my truck with socks. The following early morning, I drove over to Santa Monica's Palisades Park, which is a common destination for homeless people.

    I took one of the bags from my trunk. It was still dark out. I headed for a group of three men, standing around a tree, probably using it as a windbreaker. Two were asleep under heavy blankets, and the third was digging through his collection. As I walked toward him, he watched me, perhaps questioning my motives. "I thought you guys might need some fresh new socks," I said, handing him a pair. He looked confused at first but took them and said, "Thank you." I gave him two more pairs for his friends.

    I moved on. An hour later, I had given out all the socks. Most people were sleeping, and I felt like Santa. I knew that when they wake up they would find a very meaningful present.

    That was nine years ago. Every week I'll hand out as many socks as I can. If I'm on vacation or on a business trip for more than a week, I bring a bag of socks with me and hand them out to the homeless on the streets in other states and countries.

    It's extremely satisfying to operate "under the radar(雷达)" to help make some people's lives a little bit easier. Part of me hopes to see Albert out there one of these days, but even if I don't, I like to think one of the pairs will find him.

Researchers at MT created a high-tech pill that starts to vibrate(震动) once it makes contact with liquid in the user's stomach and make him or her feel full. The pill was reportedly thought up by Shriya Srinivasan, currently an assistant professor of bioengineering at Harvard University.

VIBES, short for Vibrating Ingestible BioElectronic Stimulator，was only recently made public in a study published in the Science Journal, but it is already being announced by the media as the future of weight loss. Although it has yet to be tested on humans, trials on pigs have achieved very hopeful results. After about 30 minutes of VIBES activity, pigs consumed on average almost 40 percent less food in the next half hour than they did without the smart pill. Apparently, the revolutionary device works by activating stretch receptors in the stomach, modeling the presence of food. This in turn signals the hypothalamus(下丘脑) to increase the levels of hormones that make us feel full. The vibrating stimulator, which is about the size of a vitamin pill, is powered by an encased battery and activated either by the gastric fluid(胃液) breaking down a coat around the pill, or by an incorporated timer. After producing the desired effect, the pill exits the body with other solid waste.

The good news is that it is expected to have a cost in the cents to one dollar range, and researchers say that it may eventually be possible to implant the stimulator and thus remove the need for people to constantly swallow it.

"Our study demonstrates the effectiveness of a low-cost, non-operative intervention to reduce food intake and calorie consumption. The device functions effectively in the stomach and leading to fullness," said Giovanni Traverso, co-author of the study. "The device has the potential to revolutionize options for weight loss treatment. However, future studies will need to explore the physiological effects of the device before it's available for patients."

Researchers are now exploring ways to scale up the producing of VIBES capsules which could enable clinical trials in humans.