【推荐1】Being “a grown-up” is a pretty unclear concept, even once you’re technically “grown-up”. My career has taken its fair share of twists and turns in the past three years since I graduated, and in some ways I feel like I’m still only starting to figure out what I want to do.    1    . So if you’re still pondering the question, here’s my advice for making the best of it.

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In some ways, in decision about the future allows you to have a much more open mind about various career choices than those who’ve always known exactly what they want to do. If you limit yourself too much, you could miss the opportunity to join an exciting new startup, develop a great business idea, or try something unexpected that you might love.

Accept that the landscape is always changing

While it may have once made sense to dream about being a doctor, lawyer, or professional ballet dancer, many of the jobs open to you now are ones you didn’t know about as a child.     3    . The job that fits you could be one you’d never even imagined at age 10, 25, or even 40.

Redefine (重新定义) “grown-up”

The concept of being a “grown-up” means that there’s a finish line to a personal and professional life that is, in reality, always changing.    4    this discovery will likely be the result of much trial and error, and you’ll probably find yourself fighting for new goals throughout much of your life.

    5    Being grown-up means being satisfed with the journey you’ve chosen and enjoying the many different roads you’ve followed.

【推荐1】In 1957, English scientist James Lovelock invented the Electron Capture Detector, an inexpensive, sensitive device used to help measure the spread of poisonous man-made compounds (化合物) in the environment. The device provided the scientific foundations of Rachel Carson’s 1962 book, Silent Spring, a push for the environmental movement. It also helped provide the basis for regulations in the United States and in other nations that banned harmful chemicals like DDT and PCBs.

Later, his discovery that chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs)—compounds that are used in refrigerators and air conditioners—were present in measurable concentrations in the atmosphere led to the discovery of a hole in the ozone layer (臭氧层). He also explained that they posed no possible danger to the planet. A year after his paper in Nature, Mario Molina of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and F. Sherwood Rowland of the University of California at Irvine published a paper in the same journal detailing how sensitive the Earth’s ozone layer is to CFCs. In 1995 they were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work in reminding the world of the thinning of the ozone layer. Lovelock later called his conclusion a mistake.

But Dr Lovelock may be most widely known for his Gaia theory that the Earth acts as a “living organism” that can “control its temperature and chemistry in a state of comfortable stability (稳定性).” As an expert on the chemical composition of the atmospheres of Earth and Mars, Dr Lovelock wondered why Earth’s atmosphere was so stable. He hypothesized (假定)that something must control heat, oxygen, nitrogen, and other ingredients. He presented his theory in 1967. That summer, the novelist William Golding, his friend, suggested the name Gaia, after the Greek goddess of the Earth.

The hypothesis may never have moved into the scientific mainstream without the contribution of Lynn Margulis, an American microbiologist. In the early 1970s and in the decades that followed, she worked with Dr Lovelock on specific studies to support this concept. Since then. Dr Lovelock’s theory of a self-controlling Earth has been considered important to understanding the causes and consequences of global warming.

【推荐2】Humans eat an astonishing amount of meat every year-some 800 billion pounds of it, enough flesh to fill roughly 28 million dump trucks. Our desire for meat, particularly in industrialized countries like the United States, is one reason why the planet is warming as fast as it is. Raising animals consumes a lot of land that could otherwise soak up carbon. Cows, sheep, and goats give out heat-trapping methane (甲烷). And to grow the corn, soy, and other plants that those animals eat, farmers spray fertilizer that emits nitrous oxide (一氧化二氮), another planet-warming gas.

Cutting out meat sounds like an effective approach. But what would happen if everyone actually stopped eating meat tomorrow? Such a quick shift probably wouldn’t cause the sort of turmoil that would come if the planet immediately abandoned fossil fuels. But still, the consequence could be quite chaotic, causing different problems.

Researchers say the economic damage caused by the sudden disappearance of meat would fall disproportionately on low-income countries with farming economies, like Niger or Kenya, where farming and raising livestock are critical sources of income. Getting rid of livestock overnight would not only deprive many people of essential nutrients, but also threaten food security, especially in regions like South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Besides, there’s the issue of cultural damage. Taking away meat, according to Wilson Warren, a history professor at Western Michigan University, would do more than just deprive Americans of hot dogs and hamburgers and Italians of salami.

Rejecting meat entirely, let alone immediately, isn’t an ideal solution to the climate crisis. Dutkiewicz, a political economist at the Pratt Institute, suggested using guidelines established by the EAT-Lancet Commission, an international group of scientists who have designed a diet intended to give people the nutrients they need without destroying the planet.

【推荐1】Trying to figure out if your friend is angry? You may look at his or her face. However, a new study finds when people are at the peak of joy or despair, their body language is a more reliable indicator of their emotions than their face.

“You can’t tell from the face alone if something good is going on or bad going on. When people see the faces alone, they’re kind of lost,” said Julliel Hievet, a psychologist at the Hebrew University. “The body maintains a clear signal of positive and negative.”

Hievet also noted that most researches on reading emotions focused on the face. A few studies had shown people rely on body language to read emotions when it conflicts with someone’s facial expression, but those studies used trained actors in poses.

His research team wanted to see how people use body language to read intense emotions. To do so, his team gathered dozens of images of outstanding tennis players at the moment they won or lost critical points in competitions like the U.S. Open. They showed three groups of 15 participants images of just the face, just the body, or both together, and asked the viewers whether the images showed positive or negative emotions.

People who saw the body—with or without the face—accurately distinguished whether the player was happy or distraught. Those who viewed just the faces failed to do so.

The team also transformed winning faces onto losing bodies and vice versa (反之亦然), and found the body cues determined whether viewers thought the players had won.

The findings don’t rule out the face from all emotional indicators, he said. “But when things become very intense, the good and the bad combine together, and it’s hard to tell if it’s positive or negative,” he added.

Interestingly, when people saw a body and face together, they said they made judgments based on facial expression. “People use information from the body and then they read it into the face,” Hievet said.

【推荐2】The four-day workweek’s moment has arrived. With a new proposal of legislation (立法) in America to reduce the standard workweek from 40 to 32 hours, awareness of a shorter workweek — and enthusiasm for it — is gaining. And so is the doubt around it.

Initial doubt is reasonable since American work culture has been founded on constant working and expectations for overachievement. However, if there were ever a time for transforming thinking, this is it. The challenges over the past years have strengthened our muscles of adaptation. And the new practice of working from home proved that we can adjust quickly to changing conditions.

Four-day workweek pilots (试点) are emerging across the globe, with some companies now deciding to adopt the policy permanently. Microsoft Japan and Kickstarter represent just the growing number of organizations exploring the four-day workweek.

Supporters cite many benefits, including improved physical and mental health, increased gender equity and positive environmental impacts. It is easy to imagine what we might do with an additional day-off - spend time with family and friends, pursue a hobby, sleep. Pilot findings show increased productivity as well. Many in favor of the four-day workweek anticipate a more fulfilled community.

Some leaders will see the research and believe that a pilot is worthwhile. Others will resist the idea. They were taught that face time with employees is the only way to ensure accountability (责任心) and productivity. Less face time can feel like a loss of control.

While each organization will need to find what works for them, doing so can be a productive exercise. Leaders can let employees work out the details rather than “solving” the challenge from the top down. Perpetual Guardian asked employees to propose their own productivity measures, including how to increase productivity and arrange shifts. Awin, a tech firm, saw 80 employees volunteer for task forces to ensure that their switch to a four-day workweek went smoothly.

【推荐3】On September 17, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo returned to Earth after completing China’s longest crewed space mission(任务). They had left for space on June 17.

Nie and his team spent 92 days in space. The successful mission is another symbol of China’s growing confidence and capability in the space domain.

“The universe is so vast, beautiful and fascinating. I was lucky and delighted to have the chance to fly up into the sky again and take a spacewalk on our own space station,” Liu Boming said after landing.

During their stay with Tiangong, the taikonauts(中国宇航员)carried out two extravehicular activities, or spacewalks, using a large robotic arm and other equipment to install and adjust devices outside the station. They also performed a number of scientific experiments and technological tests.

One of the main tasks for the three crew(机组)members before coming back to Earth was preparing their bodies. “We need to increase physical activities, training our muscles, bones, and heart and lung functions to prepare for the impacts when entering the atmosphere(大气层)and hitting on the ground, and to readjusting to Earth’s environment,” Nie Haisheng said.

Besides exercising, the crewmates also experienced inventory check in the space station, making it convenient for the next batch of taikonauts to know where to find what they need.

The Shenzhou—12 mission, the nation`s seventh manned space trek(徒步), is part of the Tiangong program, “I believe with the continuous development of China`s comprehensive(综合的)strength and national science and technology level, there will be more taikonauts setting new records and pushing China`s space work to a new height,” said Nie Haisheng.