I had been burning some leaves as part of my housework, unfortunately the fire grew, and grew...I wasn’t one to panic, but my fun had turned to fear and desperation, and I realized help was needed. So while I still beat at the flames with my shovel (铲), I gave up my pride, turned my face to the house, and began to shout for Mom.

By now, the flames behind me had crawled through the rocky area, ran through thick grass, and now were halfway to the big ditch (沟渠). Fire was everywhere.

“We’ll have to let the hill go,” Mom said when I reached her. “Have to. We can’t stop it there.” Her voice was lower than usual, and controlled. Mom was known as an enthusiastic person in everyday conversation. But in time of emergency, she was calm. I’d seen it once when I cut my foot and we had trouble getting the bleeding stopped; another time when Dad developed a serious illness and his face and throat started swelling up-as if dying! Mom was using that controlled voice right now.” Help me here, Jamie. Over here.”

She was already in action, stopping flames with each throw of her wet blanket. But it was like trying to stop a flood with a sponge (海绵)—it just wasn’t fast enough.

A flood! That was it! I was extremely clever! “Here, Mom. I've got it! I know what to do,” I shouted. Our garden channel could save us. My shovel made four or five quick digs into the bank, and in a moment the stream was rushing across the small field.

The effect was impressive. The fire immediately lost its power as its roots were killed. In one place fire had come within a few feet of the fence, but to our relief, nowhere had the wood or the brush been touched.

This time of year many of us are determined to get back into shape. But if you are having trouble fitting into your tight jeans, it may not be your fault. Scientists now believe that willpower alone is not enough to lose weight. They say success depends on your genes, hormones (荷尔蒙) and psychology.

A study of 75 people by BBC Science and Oxford and Cambridge Universities has looked into why one-size-fits-all diets are often not successful. The scientists divided over-eaters into three groups—people who feast, people who constantly crave food and emotional eaters. They tailored (定制) diets to the needs of each group.

Feasters can’t stop eating once they start. This is because they don’t have the hormones that tell them when they are full. Scientists designed a diet for this group paying special attention to high protein foods that make them feel full for a long time. This included fish, chicken, basmati rice and grains. Bread and potatoes were not allowed because they do not fill you up for long.

Constant cravers always feel hungry. Scientists say that certain genes stop the messages the stomach sends to the brain saying it is full, meaning the cravers always feel like they need more fatty, sugary food. Dieting seven days a week is very hard for these people, so scientists put them on a normal, healthy diet five days a week, and eating whenever they feel stressed. To help them change this behaviour, scientists offered them group support in meetings and online as well as a diet.

During the study, people from all three groups lost weight on the tailored diets, with feasters losing the most and constant cravers losing the least.

For most people today, their GPS (Global Positioning System) has become a lifeline, giving directions to the nearest bathroom or restaurant. But the price we pay for the convenience could be our sense of direction.

“I do think GPS devices cause our navigational skills atrophy.” said Nora Newcombe, a psychologist at Temple University in the US who studies how the human brain navigates. “The problem is that you don’t see an overview of the area and where you are in relation to other things.”

To understand the risk, you first need to understand how our brain keeps us from getting lost. Through experiments, researchers have found that our navigational strategies usually fall into two groups. The first involves a spatial map inside your brain. As you explore an area, you think about how the streets fit together and the best way to get between different places. Eventually, the map lets you navigate between any two points in the area. The second involves a series of landmarks and steps: turn right at the gas station, and your school is on the left. It’s quick and reliable, but less flexible—it doesn’t help you get from your school to a totally new place, even if it’s nearby.

These two methods might not sound all that different, but according to Nora Newcombe, a psychologist at Temple University in the US, people who are bad at navigation have trouble with the first strategy – creating spatial maps. What’s more, people’s ability to create maps is decided by how often we use the skill.

That helps explain what happens when people trust themselves with GPS devices. According to Professor Veronique Bohbot of McGill University, people depending on GPS show more activity in the part of the brain that is good at following directions—but less activity in the part which creates the spatial maps.

It turns out that our sense of direction isn’t the only thing we could lose. One more thing that could go is our connection to the environment we travel through. Researchers have found that when people rely on GPS while driving, their memory of their trip is of a route on a screen, rather than the landscape they traveled through. Moreover, researchers believe that active navigation improves the type of thinking used in all kinds of spatial processes. “It’s things like urban planning, and looking at a map to see where resources are. That’s not replaceable by your phone.” Newcombe said.

In school，do you rush from one subject to another? When things happen at such a fast pace, it is easy to get lost of what you are doing or learning. It is important to stop yourself every now and then to think about what you’ve been doing or learning.

    11    . By being calm and going slowly, you give your brain a chance to evaluate the input it has already received. Some people prefer to do these self-reflections only in their mind. Others keep a journal or written notes.     12    .

Use natural breaks as opportunities to stop and reflect.     13    . This makes it easier for someone to begin self-reflection. Sometimes you know the unit is over because there is some kind of test.

Find a quiet place. You can even be sitting at your desk at school when you finish something early and the other students are still working.     14    . Let your mind think about the notes you have written and make some connections. Sometimes just pausing to think deeply allows your brain to make connections. Having a lot of connections allows your brain to quickly get back information when you need it again.

    15    . For example, maybe you learned about a certain body system, but you’re not sure how it works together with the other body systems. Maybe you learned a new way to work out a math problem，but you’re not sure when to use it. Writing down your questions will help you remember to look for answers the next time you are working with the same topic.

Self-reflection is important to a successful student. If you have never taken the time to do self-reflection, try it now.