【推荐1】Have you ever imagined the benefits that a good memory can bring to you?     1     Here are four ways to improve your memory.

    2     There is evidence that sleep plays a vital role in the consolidation of memories relating to learning motor skills, such as learning to play a musical instrument or ride a bike. Having a full night’s sleep soon after gaining a new skill helps consolidate the processes involved, so they can later be performed well.

It’s rewarding to continue education. Older people are often told to adopt a “use it or lose it” approach to maintaining cognitive (认知的) function.     3     In a 2016 study, US researchers found participants aged 60-90 who spent 15 hours a week for three months learning a complex skill, such as digital photography, saw significant improvements in memory tests.

Taking a break counts.     4     More than a century ago, German scientists showed that people performed almost twice as well in memory tests if they took breaks.

It’s useful to stay social. Having an active social life delays memory loss as we age, US scientists who asked people in their 50s and 60s to do memory tests every other year between 2001 and 2007 found the decline in recall abilities of their most sociable subjects to be half that of the least well connected.     5    

【推荐2】As years went by, I realized that one of the biggest problems of these adults are worry. A large majority of students were businessmen, executives, salesmen, engineers, accountants: a cross section of all the trades and professions—and most of them had problems! There were women in the classes — businesswomen and housewives. They, too, had problems! Clearly, what I needed was a textbook on how to conquer worry—so again I tried to find one.

I went to New York’s great public library at Fifth Avenue and Forty-second Street and discovered to my astonishment that this library had only twenty-two books listed under the title WORRY. I also noticed, to my amusement, that it had one hundred and eighty-nine books listed under WORMS. Almost nine times as many books about worms as about worry! Surprising, isn’t it? Since worry is one of the biggest problems facing mankind, you would think, wouldn’t you, that every high school and college would give a course on “How to Stop Worrying”?

Yet, if there is even one course on that subject in any college in the land, I have never heard of it. No wonder David Seabury said in his book How to Worry Successfully: “ We grow up with as little preparation for the pressures of experience as a bookworm asked to do a ballet (芭蕾舞).”

The result? More than half of our hospital beds are occupied by people with nervous and emotional troubles.

I looked over those twenty-two books on worry, reposing (靠) on the shelves of the New York Public Library. In addition, I purchased all the books on worry I could find; yet I couldn’t discover even one that I could use as a textbook in my course for adults. So I decided to write one by myself.

【推荐3】Accidents happen almost every day．Some accidents are not serious and some are．We read about such accidents nearly every day in the newspapers．It is wrong for people to think that accidents take place only on the roads or highways，or even at work places．Home accidents are just as common．Because very few home accidents are reported，people come to think that there are few accidents which happen in homes．

There have been many cases where people fall to their deaths from high rise flats．Children often fall over while coming down the stairs．Old people may slip （滑跤） on wet floors if they are not careful．

Nowadays there are a lot of modern electrical appliances （电器） such as rice cookers which make life easy for the modern housewives．These appliances can kill if they are not used in the proper way．Gas stoves （煤气灶） used for cooking are also dangerous if they are not properly used．They may cause burns or，in more serious cases，even fires．

But all such accidents can be stopped if we are careful and follow simple rules of safety．For example，it is unwise for people to try repairing their own electrical appliances if they do not know how to．It is safer to get them repaired by an electrician （电工）．

【推荐1】As we all know, children are fast learners when learning a second language. However, adults can study a second language as fast as children, a new study reports. Adults can develop the increased neural (神经的)connections with language study that can avoid dementia(痴呆)by four years, as well as make traveling a lot easier.

In an examination of Spanish second-language learners, the researchers found that after simplest training, the brain activity between sentences that relied on grammatical features unique to each language was similar to that of native speakers. “I think it is the reason why people think university foreign language teaching is good. It shows that, even with limited time in the college classroom, learning can happen quite quickly and well, ”said professor Alison Gabriele, the co-author of the paper.

Beyond that, it gives parents more reasons to study a second language as part of a family effort. Further research has shown that learning a language as a family effort improves everyone’s abilities and gives opportunities for learning something that are mostly absent from classroom settings. National Geographic reports in an interview with Christine Jernigan, author of Family Language Learning: Learn Another Language that as for immersion(沉浸)in language study, practicing a second language with people is the most important part, and who talks to each other more than a family? Language learners need to be brave. Besides, they should ready themselves for making mistakes and receive others’ advice.

Most people will be far more comfortable making mistakes around family members than in a classroom setting. Furthermore, any home activity, whether that’s gardening, playing in the yard, watching movies, going shopping, cleaning, or cooking a meal, becomes an opportunity for language learning. Jernigan suggests preparing vocabulary before an activity and using it as short homework. Jernigan suggests using subtitles(字幕)too, so you can see which words are being used.

In every language, there are words or phrases that have some interesting stories behind them. The word “sandwich”, for example, is very common in English. If we want to know the story behind it, we must know something about an English nobleman called Sandwich.

Sandwich lived in the 18th century. He liked to play cards for money. He often played for twenty four hours, and not even stop to have his meal. He ordered his servants to bring some meat and bread, and he played while eating. He put the meat between two pieces of bread, and he held the food in his left hand while he played with his right hand. People liked Sandwich’s idea and began to eat bread and meat in this way.

From the name of the man Sandwich, we have the word “sandwich” today.

【推荐1】If you love animals, chances are that you've been to several zoos or aquariums (水族馆), and you may have even planned a family getaway around a new zoo. If you’re looking for some suggestions, the online review community TripAdvisor recently made a list of America’s top 10 zoos. You might be surprised that some of the nation’s most popular zoos are located in small or mid­size cities around the country. The following are four of these top zoos.

Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha

Never heard of Henry Doorly Zoo? TripAdvisor reviewers didn’t just rank (排列) it No.1 in the country; they ranked it the No.1 zoo in the world. There are kinds of interesting activities and programs in this zoo and its aquarium. You won’t be disappointed if you visit it.

San Diego Zoo in San Diego

Considered by many people to be a special zoo, San Diego Zoo supports the concept (概念) of open­air, cageless shows that re­create natural animal environments, with different animal species living side by side. If you want to know how animals live naturally in the wild, don’t miss it.

St.Louis Zoo in St.Louis

It began as a single show during the 1904 World’s Fair (世博会). Now it has grown to be St.Louis Zoo with over 700 different animal species. If you’ve got little ones, don’t miss this children’s zoo.

Memphis Zoo in Memphis

This zoo has a history of over one hundred years. It is home to more than 3,500 animals representing over 500 different species, including the giant panda. In 2008, Memphis Zoo was chosen to be the No.1 zoo in the US on TripAdvisor.

【推荐3】A License to Heal

Steven Bentley, M. D.

www.iuniverse.com

$11.95 soft cover

In the world of emergency medicine, there are pain and blood, but there are also hope and compassion (同情). A License to Heal shows readers the stories from an ER (emergency room) doctor that brings this world to life. In this book, an emergency room physician describes the world of the ER — as one filled with pain and fear, but also compassion, hope, and a surprising amount of humor.

Batting Rocks over the Barn

Lawn Griffiths

www.xlibris.com

$19.99 soft cover

Country life during the 1950s and 1960s comes alive through the eyes of an Iowa boy who grew up to become a newspaperman and farm editor. Follow his stories in Batting Rocks over the Barn.

Honeyball

Pete Liebengood

www.xlibris.com

$17.99 soft cover

A group of women pull together in a campaign to find success at the box office while their leader finds the love of her life and the persons responsible for the death of her father in a plane crash.

The Armageddon Virus

Robert Gallant

www.iuniverse.com

$16.95 soft cover

Travis Weld, leader of a secret government team pursuing (追踪) terrorists, discovers the meaning of a phone message from someone offering to sell a deadly new virus to an illegal weapons (武器) dealer. Can he track the seller and secure this mysterious Armageddon virus?