According to a recent study out of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, men with shaved heads are considered to be more manly, powerful, and successful than those with longer hair or thinning(稀少的) hair. Besides, in some cases, they are considered to have greater leadership potential (潜力). That may explain why the power-buzz look has become popular among business leaders in recent years.

    Albert Mannes, Wharton management lecturer, said he was encouraged to do the research after noticing that he was treated with more respect when he shaved off his thinning hair.

    Mannes did three experiments to test people's impression of men with shaved heads. In one of the experiments, he showed 344 subject photos of the same men in two versions: one showing the men with hair and the other showing them with their hair digitally removed, so their heads appear shaved. In all three tests, the subject report found the men with shaved heads are more dominant(占优势的) than their hairy counterparts(对应的人).

    The study found that men with thinning hair were viewed as the least attractive and powerful. For those men, the solution could be as cheap and simple as a shave.

    New York image consultant Julie Rath advised her clients to get closely cropped when they start thinning up top. “There is something really strong, powerful and confident about laying it all bare(光秃的),” she said, describing the thinning look as kind of raunchy(不修边幅的).

    Not everyone needs a bare head. Rick Devine, 55, the CEO of Devine Capital Partners, advised executive candidates attracted by their clippers to keep their hair closely cropped, rather than completely shaved. “It is way too much image risk,” he said, “The best thing you can do in a business meeting is to make your look not an issue.”

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    People aren't walking any more—if they can figure out a way to avoid it.

    I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn't in any hurry, either, I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis.

    It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune（免疫的）, for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as good day's walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as sign of strength and skill. It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship. And the effect was lasting. When I was 45 years old I raced—and beat—a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Stature of Liberty.

    Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrhams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper exercises. A person who avoids exercise is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly. And walking is an ideal form of exercise—the most familiar and natural of all.

    It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the trees, flower, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world, He cannot learn in a car.

    The car is a convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don't dare to approach Nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat.To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

    I say that the green of forests is the mind's best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting.

    Residents in the poorest counties in the U.S. face a life expectancy up to decade shorter than their counterparts in the wealthiest areas, according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

    Researchers from East Tennessee State University wanted to better understand how socioeconomic status was associated with heath outcomes. To find out they divided the country's 3,141 counties into 50 new 'states' (with 2 percent of the counties in each) based on household income as opposed to geographic proximity (接近).

    The researchers broke down the data by county since they found state-level data may hide some 'impact of socioeconomic differences on both the best-off and worst-off counties.' They then examined health data from the wealthiest and poorest 'states' (top and bottom 2 percent) to see how residents differed on factors like smoking, clinical care and excessive drinking. Researchers found that there was nearly a 10-year gap in the life expectancy of men with an average of 79.3 years in the wealthy counties compared to 69.8 years in the poorest. For women, the difference was slightly less - 83 years in the wealthiest counties and 76 years in the poorest.

    The study authors caution that while they found a connection between socioeconomic status and health outcomes, they did not analyze cause and effect. But they suggest that the data shows how policy makers should not just focus on state-wide initiatives (主动性) but more targeted efforts to help those most at risk. “With limited resources, methods of pinpointing the poorest counties can assist in the allocation of resources and programs to those communities that are in the greatest need,'' the study authors wrote.

    Earthquakes are something that people fear. There are some places that have few or no earthquakes. Most places in the world, however, have them regularly (有规律地). Countries that have a lot of earthquakes are usually quite mountainous.

    The earthquake which was talked about most in the United States was in San Francisco in 1906. Over 700 people died in it. The strongest one in North America was in 1964. It happened in Alaska.

    Strong earthquakes are not always the ones that kill the most people. In 1755, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded was felt in Portugal. Around 2,000 people died.

    In 1923, a very strong earthquake hit Tokyo, the Yokohama area of Japan. One hundred and forty thousand people died. Most of them died in fires which followed the earthquake.

    One of the worst earthquakes ever was in China in 1976. It killed a large number of people. The worst earthquake ever recorded was also in China, in which about 80,000 people were killed or injured. This earthquake happened in 2008.

    Earthquakes worry people a lot. The reason is that we often do not know when they are coming. People cannot prepare for them.

    Imagine jet-setting from Tokyo to Paris, enjoying first-class travel, a four-course dinner and a city tour－all without leaving the ground. This is the future of air travel according to Japanese company First Airlines, which has used the power of virtual reality to create dream vacations.

    Passengers avoid the costly airport transfer, the baggage fees or busy airport terminal（航站楼）－and instead enjoy the privileges of business or first-class travel and an expensive tour of Paris－all while remaining motionless in Tokyo. As well as Paris, First Airlines also offers the virtual destinations of New York, Rome and Hawaii.

    After boarding, guests can settle down for the two-hour flight on their advanced Airbus seat－surrounded by decoration that is modeled on the inside of an aircraft, for maximum realism. There is flight service and VR, foods, music for every destination. Passengers will be served a delicious meal by air stewards, alongside drinks and other desserts. The menu depends on the destination of choice－Manhattan clam chowder and cheesecake for New York and salmon tartar and onion soup for Paris. After landing at the destination, guests can enjoy a 360-degree tour of the destination－all thanks to projection（投影）mapping and video.

    It makes for a supposedly stress-free vacation, perfect for those whose ability to travel abroad is limited by cost or health. Virtual reality is becoming increasingly present everywhere at all times in the world of travel－allowing travelers to appreciate the wonders of the world, all without leaving their house.

    At just 4,980 yen（$ 46）for business class and 5,980 yen（$ 56）for first class－these two- hour flights are far more affordable than their real-life flights. Tokyo citizens eager to experience First Airlines can book a trip on the website, with reservations currently being taken until May 2018.

"WOW, THIS is not what I was expecting at all," says Allison, a nurse, remembering the first romance novel she ever read. Having shared the general literary bias (偏见) towards romance novels, she is now crazy about this genre (体裁). Allison was browsing in The Ripped Bodice, a romance-novel shop that recently opened in Brooklyn. The day the shop opened, the queue to get in was more than an hour long. The shop, which is uniquely-decorated, is serious in its devotion to romance novels.

The popularity of The Ripped Bodice (the second chain store devoted to romance in the district) is part of a larger shift. During the pandemic, when many were stuck at home and looking for escapist reading, fictional romance blossomed. In the year to May, romance print sales were up by 52%, according to a market-research firm. List-price sales grew by 74%. Annual growth in sales went from 6% in 2020 to more than 50% last year.

Readers have changed too. Newer fans are mostly young adults and many are teenagers. They are keen on romance novels with a central love story and a happy ending. 

"The industry has a lot of respect for what has been happening with romance," says Kristen, the manager of the market-research firm. "Now modern authors want to seek something deeper. Love is a powerful feeling. I wish that the writers could all see their way past thinking that those emotions are somehow less valuable than emotions that are built out of pain and sorrow," says Sarah, author of "Knockout"－a best-seller about romance in this season.

Librarians have noticed the shift too. Stephanie Anderson, of BookOps, which buys books for public libraries in New York and Brooklyn, notes that "the biggest challenge with romance at this point is finding the money and space to keep up with all the popular titles."