【推荐1】Criticism(批评)is part and parcel of living in the world. And doing anything truly new and original will ensure it. Here are 5 ways to deal with different kinds of criticism.

1.Be noble.

    1    Well, maybe not kill them (I know it might be appealing when they’re coming at you), but express kindness and resist defensive reactions. You’ll likely see them soften.

2.If you’re just the messenger, agree with the critic(批评者).

If you’re getting criticized for something beyond your control, identify yourself with the critic— you could agree, “    2    . It’s a shame that we didn’t win the tournament. I wish it had worked out better, too. ” This will get you out of the line of fire.

3.     3    

Reacting defensively shows insecurity, plus you’ll just come across as aggressive and difficult. And blaming is even worse. Resist throwing someone under the bus.

4.It’s not what they say, it’s what you hear.

This is the big one.     4    .If a critical comment has truly shaken your confidence, or thrown you into a multi-day crying jag, ask yourself “What does this comment mean about me?” Notice that there are two completely different statements. Avoid over-interpretation (过分解读) — they’ll just make you feel worse.

5.Consider that the critic might be wrong.

You can always refuse criticism that does not match what your core beliefs tell you is correct.     5    When it’s your turn to hear criticism, remember: just because someone says it, doesn’t mean it’s true.

A final note: let’s be honest, the only way to avoid criticism is to collect those critical comments, stick them on the wall, and just keep swimming.

【推荐2】It is reported that bags are getting bigger all the time，and that there are more bags per person on the street today than at any other time in history．If this is true，possible explanations could include the wide use of small electric and electronic devices，a reading-material explosion，a popular interest toward tight or pocket less clothing，or cheap bagmaking labor overseas.

But，much as nature finds ways—such as disease—to control overpopulation，city life has thrown up impediments(障碍) to bags．To enter many public buildings，such as theatres and railway stations，you must go through a search or go bagless．The city has countless bag rules．It is hard to keep them all straight，and you're never sure，when leaving home for the day，whether it might be a bad idea to bring one along．

Last week，the New York Public Library got in the game．Students，researchers，writers，historians，and anyone else who has got used over the years to treating the vast Rose Main Reading Room as an office or a reading room came up against a new rule．You are no longer allowed to bring a bag larger than eleven inches by fourteen inches into the library．If you walk in with one，you must leave it at the coat check．You may keep its contents with you，however，and the library provides big clear plastic bags for them．You return them when you come back for your own bag．

What the library is trying to prevent，in this case，is people taking things out，rather than bringing things in．A librarian said on the second day，”It’s a big change for people who used to come and bring in half their flats．The people who use the library responsibly will continue to do so．The people who steal will continue to get away with it，if they really want to．”

【推荐3】James swept the paintbrush across his canvas(画布)．“Yes,” he thought. “It’s almost finished.” James had been busily working for the past week to replicate the photograph that hung on the wall behind Mr. Edgar’s desk of a Spanish courtyard. Mr. Edgar had spoken to James’s class frequently about the enjoyment he felt while in his twenties spending hours in that courtyard painting the people of Barcelona.

Mr. Edgar interrupted the silence with an announcement: “The deadline to enter for the Art Competition is tomorrow, so line up your canvases over here.”

Rushing into action, the class began rapidly moving canvases across the room. James, however, even didn’t lift his paintbrush. “I haven’t finished; I need more time,” he begged. “That’s what Michelangelo said,” Mr. Edgar joked. “Never enough time—it’s the artist’s constant problem. However, deadlines are deadlines.” “This painting must be perfect, whether it’s a masterpiece or not,” said James.

Certainly he wanted to win “Best in Show” again, but it was essential that the painting carried James’s message of gratitude to his art teacher because he had given James confidence and inspired him to perfect his talent.

After the art class, James passed the science lab and saw Mrs. Damon. She greeted James and inquired, “Are you ready for our field trip?” James didn’t respond, which caused Mrs. Damon to ask, “James, is something bothering you?”

James answered, “The art competition deadline is today. Everybody thinks my painting is great, but I know that it’s incomplete. I need more time to perfect my work.”

“Time can create dilemmas, James. Figuring out where to find time is the trick.” Mrs. Damon pointed toward the quotation from Albert Einstein hanging on the wall: “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” The bell rang, and the room was suddenly crowded with students impatiently ready for the field trip.

Throughout the bus ride, James thought about his dilemma. “Should I settle for a painting good enough to win or create a painting great enough for Mr. Edgar? What’s more important? Pleasing myself or pleasing Mr. Edgar?”

When the students stepped off the bus, James’s eyes widened in surprise. Next to the monument stood a tall thin cactus(仙人掌)．On the top was a lone white flower.

“It lives about twenty years before blooming，” Mrs. Damon explained. “You are witnessing the only flower it will ever have.” She paused. “What do you think Einstein would have said about that?”

When no one responded readily, Mrs. Damon answered her own question. “Einstein might have said that time is well spent if you use it for something that matters. So the twenty years the cactus needed to produce the flower was a meaningful use of time—for the cactus.”

Just then, a tiny bird stopped on the cactus for a few seconds before flying off. “What do you think matters for a bird？” Mrs. Damon questioned.

Suddenly, the answer to his problem seemed clear: “It depends on what matters most to you.” James answered the question aloud, “What matters for the bird isn’t the same as what matters for the cactus. I mean, the bird is tiny compared to the giant cactus. Additionally, the bird’s entire life is only a moment in the lifespan of the cactus. While the bird has to move quickly from place to place to grow, the cactus must sit and wait.” Mrs. Damon replied, “Very good observation.”

During the ride back to school, Mrs. Damon asked, “So, James, what did you learn today？” James smiled broadly at Mrs. Damon. “Learn? Let me see. Was Einstein the one who said, ‘Better late than never’?” Mrs. Damon smiled back, “No, but I suppose you’ve decided what matters the most for you.”

【推荐1】Most of the 500 whales stranded (搁浅)off Tasmania have now died. Dozens more stricken whales have been found in Australia’s largest ever mass stranding.The estimated total now stands at around 500, with the majority of that number dead and a tenth rescued by authorities on the Island state of Tasmania. Experts believe all of the animals would have been part of one large group. Officials began working to rescue survivors among an estimated 270 whales found on Monday on a beach and two sandbars near the remote coastal town of Strahan. Then another 200 whales were spotted from a helicopter on Wednesday less than 10 kilometres (six miles) to the south.All 200 had been confirmed dead by late afternoon. They were among the 380 whales that have died overall, with estimates from earlier today suggesting that 30 that were alive but stranded and 50 had been rescued since Tuesday, Mr Deka, Wildlife Service manager explained. He added,“We’ll continue to work to free as many of the animals as we can.We’ll continue working as long as there are live animals.”

It is not known what caused the animals to run aground. While stranding events are not unheard of, they are very rare in such large numbers. About 30 whales in the original stranding were moved from the sandbars to open ocean on Tuesday, but several got stranded again. About a third of the first group had died by Monday evening.

Australia’s largest mass stranding had previously been 320 pilot whales near the Western Australian town of Dunsborough in 1996.This week’s incident is the first involving more than 500 whales in Tasmania since 2009.Marine Conservation Programme wildlife biologist Kris Carlyon said the latest mass stranding was the biggest in Australia in terms of numbers stranded and died.

Marine scientist Vanessa Pirotta said there were a number of potential reasons why whales might become beached, including navigational errors.She explained, “They do have a very strong social system; these animals are closely bonded and that’s why we have seen so many in this case unfortunately in this situation.Rescuing them does not always work, because they are wanting to return back to the group, they might hear the sounds that the others are making, or they’re just disoriented and, in this case, extremely stressed, and just probably so exhausted that they in some cases don’t know where they are.” she added.

【推荐3】The similarities between elephant and human behaviour have been a curiosity to scientists worldwide. These huge beasts are not so different from us. Their devotion to their family is just as powerful as the friendships between humans. In order to prevent future elephant attacks, people must first understand the similarities between elephants and themselves.

Because deaths are felt so deeply in elephants, memories of people harming or killing elephants are not forgotten. Due to the Uganda­Tanzania War in Africa, poaching (偷猎) elephants increased during the 1970’s and continued, despite government restrictions. However, ecologists like Eve Abe did not see this as simple poaching; they saw it as a “mass destruction”. Elephants that have witnessed the murder of a matriarch, are more likely to become violent and attack humans. Many aggressive elephants do not act without reasons; they are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). At their young age, humans invaded their life, killed their parents, and ultimately destroyed their peaceful environment. More and more calves live neglected lives without a mother figure, and have to become a parent early for survival. Humans that have a difficult childhood or early family life also suffer from aggression and pain. Young elephants have been known to have “nightmares”, waking up suddenly and screaming. These are clearly signs of stress, as males grow up to be increasingly hostile (敌对的) to humans and target certain villages where painful experiences have occurred.

Although many see elephants as massive, violent, and simple­minded animals, their social structure is not unlike many human societies. Humans and elephants have been on parallel paths. However, if people continue practising ignorance over the cruel treatment of these creatures, then collision will become inevitable.

Cruel treatment of elephants still goes on, but by understanding the similarities between us, it can be stopped.

【推荐1】North and South Koreans face a widening language gap caused by 70 years of separation. That is creating some communication problems for the two countries’ first joint Olympic team as it prepares for 2018 Winter Games in Pyeong Chang. South Korea So, the joint women’s hockey team has created its own dictionary. The three-page document translates important hockey terms from English into South Korean, and then into North Korean.

Canadian Sarah Murray is the team’s coach. She says the document has helped everybody communicate. Team Korea was formed just two weeks ago after the two Koreas decided to suddenly cooperate during the Olympics. Twelve players from North Korea were then added to the 23-member South Korean team.

South Korea has incorporated many English words and phrases into its language. North Korea has removed foreign words and created substitutes from Korean words. To many South Koreans, the substitutes sound funny.

Language experts say about one-third of the everyday words used in the two countries are different. The divide is wider with technical language, like that used for medical and sports industries. For example, South Korean hockey players use the English word “pass,” but their North Korean teammates say “yeol lak” or “communication.” North Koreans say “nahl gay soo”meaning “wing player.” South Koreans call that position “wing,” like in English. South Koreans say “block shot” while North Koreans say “buhduh make ”or “stretching to block.”

Murray admits that there are still some problems in communication even with the new dictionary. She said her South Korean assistant coach plays an important part in bridging the divide. Some in South Korea have criticized the partnership. They argue that the addition of players from North Korea players may prevent South Korean players from playing as much. One early public opinion study found that about 70 percent of South Koreans opposed the joint team.

However, that opposition appears to be lessening as the Olympics near.

【推荐2】And then there were nine

The past two decades have seen astronomers’ catalogue of planets expand over two hundred times, as new techniques and better telescopes have found more than 2,000 of them orbiting stars other than the sun. But in the solar system itself, the list of planets has actually shrunk, Pluto (冥王星) having been downgraded from that status in 2006. The number of the sun’s planetary companions has thus fallen from nine to eight.

Now, a pair of astronomers from the California Institute of Technology think they have evidence that will restore the sun’s record to its previous value. Their analysis of objects orbiting in the Kuiper Belt (柯伊伯带), a ring of frozen asteroids (小行星) that circle beyond the orbit of Neptune (and of which Pluto is now regarded as the largest member), suggests to them that something about ten times as massive as Earth has changed those orbits. If you knew where to look, this planet-sized object would be visible through a suitable telescope. And Konstanin Batygin and Michael Brown believe they do know.

As they write in the Astronomical journal, they have analyzed the orbits of Kuiper Belt objects and found six that behave in a peculiar way. As the diagram shows, the points of closest approach of these objects to the sun, known as their perihelia, almost coincide. Moreover, these perihelia all lie near the ecliptic — the plane of Earth’s orbit and also, approximately, that of the other planets — while the objects’ orbits are all angled at 30° below the ecliptic. The chance of all this being a coincidence, the two researchers estimate, is about seven in 100,000. If it is not a coincidence, it suggests the six objects have been guided into their orbits by the gravitational intervention of something much larger.

A computer analysis Dr Batygin and Dr Brown performed suggests this something is a planet weighing 5-15 times as much as Earth, whose perihelion is on the opposite side of the sun from the cluster, and which thus orbits mainly on the other side of the solar system from the objects its orbit has affected. This planet’s perihelion would be 200 times farther from the sun than Earth’s, and the far end of its orbit might be as much as six times that distance away. This gives a search zone, and Dr Batygin and Dr Brown are using Subaru, a Japanese telescope, to perform that search.

Given other demands on Subaru’s time, it might take five years for this search to find (or not find) the hypothetical planet. But looking at some existing data from. The Widefield Infrared Survey Explore, a satellite, might also show it, if it is there to be seen.

Ironically, it was Dr Brown as much as anyone who was responsible for Pluto’s downgrading, for he discovered Eris, an object almost as big as Pluto, in 2005.

That discovery did much to damage Pluto’s planetary proof. By his own admission, he was skeptical that the anomalies he and Dr Batygin have investigated actually would point to the existence of a replacement ninth planet. He is a skeptic no longer. Whether he is actually right may soon become apparent.

【推荐3】Have you eaten too much over the holidays? You should try fidgeting(躁动) for a while. Those around you might not like it, but scratching (moving your nails(指甲) against a part of your body) and twitching (moving suddenly and quickly when you don’t want to) is an important way of burning up calories(卡路里).

American researchers have found that some people’s squirming (continuously turn your body when nervous) and wigging (move in small movements, especially from side to side) equals(等于) several miles of slow running each day.

The scientists, based at the National Institute of Health’s laboratory in Phenix, Arizona, are studying why some people get fat and other stay slim.

In one study 177 people each spent 24 hours in a room in the institute where the amount(量) of energy is measured by their oxygen and carbon dioxide(二氧化碳) levels. By the end of the day, some people had burned up 800 calories in toe-tapping, (moving the front part of your foot up and down) finger-drumming (hitting your fingers continuously and lightly against something hard) and other nervous habits. However, others had burned up only 100 calories.

The researchers found that slim(苗条的) women fidget more than fat women, but there was no significant difference in men. Heavy people burn up more energy when they fidget than thin people do.