It is promoted that we should all prioritize some simpler life improvements to live better lives.The explanations for how and why they better our life serve as powerful reminders that we might be prioritizing the wrong things,and undervaluing what makes life worth living.

    Smoking, drinking, exercise and even heart problems are not predictors of a person's longevity—a person's close relationships and social integration are.Our human connections have the positive impact on all aspects of our well-being, including our physical health. Those with intimacy(亲昵) in their lives, and those with frequent face-to-face interactions were not only physically and emotionally healthier, but they also lived longer.

    It's why women, who tend to prioritize spending time with their friends more than men, live an average of six years longer. It's not enough to text or email.The actual health benefits of socializing are only achieved through in-person contact because face-to-face contact releases chemicals that protect you now and well into the future like a vaccine.

    People who spend time on social networks, dating apps and even online news sites are found less happy. Most things we do for pleasure, like reading a book or watching a movie, have an end. But scrolling（卷动）on the phone is endless and we don't know when to break away. And those who do set limiting rules for their technology use are able to enjoy life more. Life becomes more colorful, richer, when you have better conversations with the person who is there with you.

    The chase for happiness doesn't make us happy.In fact,constantly evaluating our own happiness is actually contributing to feelings of hopelessness and depression. Happiness is a fickle （变幻无常的）emotion, based on a moment or an experience. It's not a lack of happiness but lack of meaning that's really making us feel sad.

    Meaning can be obtained in four forms: belonging, purpose, transcendence （卓越） and storytelling. The first is having people in your life who truly love and care about you. The second is having purpose. Most people find purpose through work because it's how we feel like we're adding value or contributing. So finding something to drive you forward is a crucial slice of having meaning. Transcendence is about finding something like art or church or doing yoga that can take you outside of yourself, that can make you feel like you're part of something bigger. With storytelling, that's all about our personal narratives. We're the author of our stories, and we can change how we're telling them. Your life isn't just a list of events.

    Good learners can inspire students or anybody to learn well. Here are some characteristics of good learners.

    Good learners are curious. They wonder about all sorts of things, often about knowledge beyond their areas of expertise(专长){#blank#}1{#/blank#} Finding out about something they didn't know satisfies them for the moment, but their curiosity is addictive.

    Good learners don't give up easily. A few things may come easily to learners but most knowledge arrives after effort{#blank#}2{#/blank#} They try to search out new information. They read, analyze, and evaluate the information they've found. Then they study more and work at what they don't understand.

    Good learners know that a lot of learning isn't fun. The journey to understanding generally isn't all that exciting{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Others need a tiresome attention to detail, and still others need periods of intense mental focus. Your backs hurt, your arms and legs get tired, and your coffee gets cold.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} There's always more to know. Good learners are never satisfied with how much they know about anything. They are pulled around by questions—the ones they still can't answer, or the ones without very good answers. Those questions follow them like day follows night with the answers bringing daylight.

    Good learners share what they've learned. Good learners are teachers committed to sharing with others what they've learned{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Good learners can also explain what they know in ways that make sense to others. They are connected to the knowledge passed on to them and committed to leaving what they've learned with others.

A. Good learners stay positive.

B. They write about it, and talk about it.

C. They love the discovery part of learning.

D. Good learners never run out of questions.

E. Some knowledge can broaden our views.

F. Good learners are willing to put in the time.

G. Some learning tasks require boring repetition.

    If you want to make a great first impression—and why wouldn't you—you know there are basic steps you can take: you should smile, make eye contact, talk less than the other person, and ask questions about him or her. Anyone can do those things.

    But what you might not know is that if you think other people are going to like you, they usually will. As research shows, interpersonal warmth explains the scene: study participants who expected to be accepted were sensed as more likable. (when you think other people will like you, you act in a more natural way—which then makes people like you more since we tend to like warm, friendly people.)

    All of which sounds great, but when you're shy or insecure, you might believe that other people will like you. When you're not familiar with the setting or do not feel comfortable, it's a lot easier to believe people don't like you.

    So how can you convince yourself that people will like you? Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and commit to taking a few steps that ensure almost anyone will like you.

    ⒈Give a sincere compliment(称赞).

    Everyone loves praise, especially since no one gets enough praise. Show interest by asking questions. But go past, "What do you do?" Ask what it's like to do what the person does. Ask what's hard about it. Ask what the person loves about it. You'll soon find things to compliment.

    ⒉Focus on letting people talk about themselves.

    People love to talk about themselves.

    Research shows approximately 40 percent of everyday speech is spent telling other people what we think or feel—basically, talking about our subjective experiences.

    By helping people talk about themselves, you're seen as a great conversationalist. In fact, you say very little. Even if you haven't succeeded in making people fully understand you, it is OK. And in the process, you also make other people feel better about themselves, and that makes them like you.

    That's another win-win.

    ⒊Change one word.

    Think about the difference in these statements:

    I had to go to a meeting.

    I got to meet with some great people.

    I have to interview some candidates for a job.

    I get to select a great person to join our team.

    No big deal, right? Wrong. We like to be around the people who have enthusiasm and motivation.

    Keep in mind choosing the right words also affects how you feel. Don't say, "I have to go to the gym." Say, "I want to go to the gym."

    ⒋Show a little weakness.

    Great teams are often led by people willing to admit weaknesses and failings.

    Want to make a great first impression? Don't try to impress. Instead, be humble. Admit your mistakes. Laugh at yourself.

    When you do, other people won't laugh at you. They'll laugh with you.

    And they'll immediately like you, and want to be around you more.

How to improve vocabulary fast

    Your vocabulary refers to the words in a language you are familiar with. We should learn some ways to expand it.

    Read every day. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Choose reading material that is slightly above your level and keep a dictionary with you to look up words you do not know.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. If you do not meet with an unfamiliar word in your daily reading, use your dictionary to search for one.

    Learn the correct definition and pronunciation for each new word. Pronunciation is as important as definition because in order to add a word to your active vocabulary, you must be able to use it in speech.

    Elaborate (详尽阐述) on the meaning of the word. If you have just learned the word “stubborn”, think about the neighbour who will not lend you his car. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Use your new word in speech and in writing. E-mail your sister about how your cat is stubborn about sleeping on your pillow. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. But the more you use it, the more fluent you will become in its use. Soon it will be a regular part of your active vocabulary.

    Tell everyone you are trying to increase your vocabulary. Encourage them to ask you what your latest word is. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    The more you explain the meaning of a word to someone, the more likely you are to remember it.

A. The vocabulary can be increased.

B. Find a new word every day.

C. Or let them ask for the definition of a new word you have used.

D. The more often you read, the faster your vocabulary can grow.

E. The first time you use a new word in speech it may seem strange.

F. Imagine him shaking his head, and think of him as “stubborn in his refusal”.

G. Your vocabulary contains the words you understand.

    Many people know that trash is a big problem on planet Earth. What many people don't know is that trash has become a problem in outer space too. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Statistically, there are more than 22,000 pieces of junk in space around the earth. And these are just the items that we can see from the surface of the earth by telescopes or radars. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Objects, like bits of old space rockets or satellites, move around the planet at very high speeds, so fast that even a very small piece can break important satellites or become dangerous to people, particularly astronauts. If the tiniest piece of junk crashed into a spacecraft, it could damage the vehicle. That's because the faster an object moves, the greater the impact if the object collides with something else.

    To help minimize additional space junk, countries around the world have agreed to limit the time their space tools stay in orbit to 25 years. Each tool must be built to fall safely into the earth's atmosphere, or the mass of gases that surround the earth, after that. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Many scientists are also proposing different ways to clean up space junk. The Germans have been planning a space mission with robots that would collect pieces of space trash and bring them back to Earth so that they can be safely destroyed.

    "In our opinion the problem is very challenging, and it's quite urgent as well," said Marco Castronuovo, an Italian Space Agency researcher who is working to solve the problem. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Many of these objects are tools that help people use their cell phones or computers.

    "The time to act is now; as we go farther in time we will need to remove more and more fragments," he says.

A. One reason that it's urgent is that countries are sending more and more objects into space.

B. There are also millions of smaller pieces of junk that we can't see.

C. Blowing up older satellites with a missile may create thousands of smaller pieces!

D. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, it will burn up.

E. When two objects in space collide, the two objects break into many smaller pieces.

F. Years of space exploration have left tons of "space junk" in orbit around the planet.

    When was the last time you sat on a park bench(凳子)? Did you stay for long? A new kind of park benches will limit the amount of time you can sit there. If you don't get up in time, it could be very painful: there are many sharp spikes (钉子) on the part that you sit on!

    Visitors who want a rest on the bench need to put a coin in a machine next to it. Once the money was accepted, the spikes disappear into the bench. Then visitors can sit down comfortably, but only for half an hour. When the time's up, the spikes slowly start moving up again. It doesn't hurt at first, but after a minute, they start coming up even more quickly. They aren't long enough to cause serious hurt, but they do cause pain, as tests have shown. But why have they been installed (安装)?

    "Our public park is very popular in summer," a spokesperson for the park explained. "But with all the thousands of people who visit the park, there aren't enough benches for everyone. We want to make sure that the benches are shared by more visitors, and to stop people taking a bench and staying there all day. Installing spikes seems to be the fairest way of stopping people doing this."