【推荐3】We use both words and body language to express our thoughts and opinions in our interactions with other people. We can learn a lot about what people are thinking by watching their body language. Words are important, but the way people stand, hold their arms, and move their hands can also give us information about their feelings.

Just like spoken language, body language varies from culture to culture. The crucial thing is using body language in a way that is appropriate to the culture you are in. For example, making eye contact—looking into someone’s eyes—in some countries is a way to display interest. In other countries, by contrast, eye contact is not always approved of. For example, in many Middle Eastern countries, men and women are not socially permitted to make eye contact. In Japan, it may demonstrate respect to look down when talking to an older person.

The gesture for “OK” has different meanings in different cultures. In Japan, someone who witnesses another person employing the gesture might think it means money. In France, a person encountering an identical gesture may interpret it as meaning zero. However, you should avoid making this gesture in Brazil and Germany, as it is not considered polite.

Even the gestures we use for “yes” and “no” differ around the world. In many countries, shaking one’s head means “no”, and nodding means “yes”. By comparison, in Bulgaria and southern Albania, the gestures have the opposite meaning. There are also differences in how we touch each other, how close we stand to someone we are talking to, and how we act when we meet or part. In countries like France and Russia, people may kiss their friends on the cheek when they meet. Elsewhere, people favour shaking hands, bowing from the waist, or nodding the head when they meet someone else.

Some gestures seem to have the same meaning everywhere. Placing your hands together and resting them on the side of your head while closing your eyes means “sleep”. A good way of saying “I am full” is moving your hand in circles over your stomach after a meal.

Some body language has many different uses. Perhaps the best example is smiling. A smile can help us get through difficult situations and find friends in a world of strangers. A smile can break down barriers. We can use a smile to apologise, to greet someone, to ask for help, or to start a conversation. Experts suggest smiling at yourself in the mirror to make yourself feel happier and stronger. And if we are feeling down or lonely, there is nothing better than seeing the smiling face of a good friend.

【推荐1】According to the majority of Americans, women are every bit as capable of being good political leaders as men. The same can be said of their ability to dominate the corporate boardroom. And according to a new Pew Research Center survey on women and leadership, most Americans find women equal to men on key leadership characteristics such as intelligence and capacity for innovation, with many saying they’re stronger than men in terms of being passionate and organized leaders.

So why, then, are women in short supply at the top of government and business in the United States? According to the public, at least, it’s not that they lack toughness, management talent or proper skill sets.

It’s also not all about work-life balance. Although economic research and previous survey findings have shown that career interruptions related to motherhood may make it harder for women to advance in their careers and compete for top executive jobs, relatively few adults in the recent survey point to this as a key barrier for women seeking leadership roles. Only about one-in-five say women’s family responsibilities are a major reason why there aren’t more females in top leadership positions in business and politics.

Instead, topping the list of reasons, about four-in-ten Americans point to a double standard for women seeking to climb to the highest levels of either politics or business, where they have to do more than their male counterparts to prove themselves. Similar shares say the electorate (选民) and corporate America are just not ready to put more women in top leadership positions.

As a result, the public is divided about whether the imbalance in corporate America will change in the foreseeable future, even though women have made major advances in the workplace. While 53% believe men will continue to hold more top executive positions in business in the future, 44% say it’s only a matter of time before as many women are in top executive positions as men. Americans are less doubtful when it comes to politics: 73% expect to see a female president in their lifetime.

【推荐2】Every year, millions of people make the same New Year’s resolution(决心): to lose weight. But there’s a problem that requires as much resolution to change as weight: the societal prejudice surrounding weight and obesity.

For decades, researchers have documented negative attitudes toward overweight people - a form of prejudice known as “weight bias (偏见).” People with obesity are commonly viewed as lazy, unintelligent, unattractive, and lacking willpower and self-control. Weight – based discrimination is found in educational, employment and health care settings, yet minimal legal protection exists for those who are targeted. In addition to experiencing weight bias from others, people with obesity tend to accept weight-biased beliefs, leading to lower self-worth.

Some people argue that bitter messages about weight are necessary to motivate those with obesity to take responsibility for their health and lose weight. After all, critics say, it’s their own fault that they are “fat,” and, if they really wanted to, they could control their weight. In this view, promoting body acceptance would only weaken behavior change and encourage obesity.

The problem with this argument is that it flies in the face of hundreds of scientific studies showing the negative health effects associated with experiencing and accepting weight-biased beliefs. The psychological effect of being undervalued due to one’s weight may not seem surprising: increased risk for depression, anxiety, and even self-harming thoughts and attempts in youth.

Also worth noting are the effects of weight bias on weight gain and obesity-related health. Studies show that weight bias is stressful, and when people are under stress, they tend to eat more. Further, when people worry about being judged due to their weight, they avoid fitness and health care setting.

In the coming year, whether or not weight loss is a goal, we can all make efforts to get rid of weight bias and be a little kinder to ourselves and others.

【推荐3】Are you a media addict who would go mad after two hours without TV, friend requests, exciting online games and your mobile—or would you easily survive?

Recently, university students around the world were asked to volunteer in a global experiment called Unplugged. It was designed to see how young people would react if they were asked to observe a total media ban by unplugging all forms of media devices for 24 hours.

Unplugged is being run by Dr. Roman Gerodimos, a lecturer in Communication and Journalism at Bournemouth University. The experiment is now over but he doesn’t yet know the full findings. However, during the experiment, Dr. Gerodimos said there were already signs of how much the exercises affected volunteers. He said, “They are overeating, feeling nervous, isolated and disconnected.”

During those 24 hours, three of the experiment’s participants had to endure one intrusion(入侵) from the media: a BBC reporter plus cameraman who followed them around for the day. They were asked to write down 100 lines about their day off line, but of course, they all waited until the next day when they had access to their computers.

Elliot Day wrote, “Today, my whole morning routine was thrown up into the air. Despite being aware of the social importance of the media, I was surprised by how empty my life felt without the radio or newspapers.”

And Charlotte Gay wrote, “I have to say the most difficult item for me to be without has been my mobile. Not only is it a social tool, but it’s also my main access point of communication.”

Earlier in the year, a UK government study found that in the UK, people spend about half their waking hours using the media, often trying to know several things at once. And a recent study by Nielson found that on average, US teenagers send and receive over 3, 000 texts per month—that’s about six texts per waking hour.

So, with technology continuing to develop at an alarming rate, how much time will you set aside for sleep in the future?

【推荐1】A 99-year-old Australian swimmer appears to have broken a world record for his age group in the 50m freestyle. The likely new world record holder, George Corones, clocked 56.12 seconds at an official event in Queensland-a new benchmark for the 100-104 age category. He faded the previous record of 1:31.19, which was set by British swimmer John Harrison in 2014, by 35 seconds. It will now be affirmed by the sport’s governing body.

Corones, who is qualified for the record because he turns 100 in April, said he was “quite delighted” and “over the world” by the result. He said he had been overwhelmed by the “roaring” crowd on the Gold Coast on Wednesday. The event, in which he was the only entrant (新成员), had been specifically staged for him to challenge the record.

Corones was a keen swimmer in his youth but only began to learn swimming again at the age of 80. He gave it up at the beginning of the World War II, and he didn’t think he would have a swim of any description until he retired. Then he started swimming again for exercise.

Racing undeniably (不可否认的) challenged him physically, but it was manageable with preparation. On average he swims three times a week, and also fits in gym sessions. “At this age it takes a while to get going… you get exhausted much more easily, but if you do it properly, the rewards are enormous,” he said.

Corones will challenge the 100m freestyle record on Saturday night, believing he can beat the current mark of 03:23.10, which was also set by Harrison.

“I’m not a young man by any means, but I am really looking forward to it and confident I can do it very well,” he said.

【推荐2】About a quarter of the world drives on the left, and the countries that do are mostly old British colonies (殖民地) like Australia , and Ireland. But Thailand, Indonesia and Japan also do so.

This strange quirk (奇事) puzzles the rest of the world; however, there is a perfectly good reason . Up to the late 1700’s , everybody travelled on the left side of the road because it’s the most sensible option for feudal (封建的), violent societies with mostly right-handed people. Soldiers with their swords under their right arm naturally passed on each other’s right, and if you passed a stranger on the road, you walked on the left to ensure that your protective sword arm was between yourself and him.

Revolutionary France, however, overturned this practice as part of its sweeping social rethink. A change was carried out all over continental Europe by Napoleon. It changed under Napoleon because he was left-handed. His armies had to march on the right so he could keep his sword arm between him and any opponent. From then on, any part of colonized by the French travelled on the right.

After the American Revolutionary War (1775—1783), the US became independent and decided to make traffic drive on the right in order to cast off all remaining links with its British colonial past. As America became the center of the car industry, if you wanted a good reliable vehicle, you bought American right-hand-drive cars. From then on, many countries changed out of necessity.

Today, the EU would like Britain to fall into line with the rest of Europe, but this is no longer possible. It would cost billions of pounds to change everything round. The last European country to change driving on the right was Sweden in 1967. While everyone was getting used to the new system, they paid more attention and took more care, resulting in a reduction of the number of road accidents.

【推荐3】When Carson Palmer, a professional American football player, hurt his arm a few years ago, he took a week off from throwing the football. But in his head, Palme practiced every day. The following weekend, Palmer had the best game of his life.

For more than a century, scientists have been trying to understand how this mental training works. In the 1930s, researchers proved by experiment that when you’re imagining an action, your brain sends signals to your muscles which are too weak to tighten the muscles but might help train the body to perform. In other words, mental practice might create a pattern in your head, like an inner how-to guide for a particular skill.

Sports psychologists have conducted hundreds of studies comparing imagined and physical practice for actions. On the whole, the research shows that mental training works. A 2012 study, for example, compared 32 amateur golfers who practiced hitting the balls to another 32 who merely held a golf club in their hands and visualized (想象) their swings.

Under the same training rules, both groups improved their skills by getting the ball about 4 inches closer to the hole.

Visualization has advantages over the real thing: You can do it anywhere, even when injured. It is safe — a major plus for high-risk performers such as gymnasts and surgeons. And you can practice for longer periods of time because you’re not restricted by physical tiredness. That’s not to say it’s easy. “We’ve had Olympic-level athletes sitting in our lab, visualizing the movements for two hours,” says Tadhg Macintyre, a sports psychologist at the University of Limerick in Ireland. “When we’re done, they’re absolutely tired.”

It doesn’t work for everyone, though. “If you’re a novice, the effect can be harmful,” warns Macintyre. “If you’re trying to visualize a free throw, and you don’t even know the proper movement, then you’re probably going to mentally practice the wrong skill.”