【推荐1】Small talk, also called chitchat, is short conversations people have with others, while they wait in line at the store, at family events or work. Many people find these small conversations about random topics difficult. Some people say they hate it. Others say small talk is a waste of time. They may even call it idle chitchat or idle chatter, meaning it doesn’t do anything, so they think little of it.    1    .

These exchanges can open doors that may lead to larger, more meaningful conversations. When you first meet someone or talk to someone you don’t know well, it would be awkward to begin a conversation about a really deep topic.    2    Let’s say you make small talk with someone at a party. But they only want to talk about their cats. Then you can talk about animals together first, which may lead the conversation to the way you want.

    3    Chatting with a colleague about his child may help you to understand more of his life outside the office. This could help build healthy work relationships.

Small talk could even help your larger communities----your relationships with neighbors and colleagues. Exchanging a recipe with a neighbor may make her noises upstairs easier to live with.

    4    Most people said they do not talk to strangers while travelling on a subway. Researchers at the University of Chicago then asked some participants in a study to talk to people while communicating to work on a train. They found that those who made small talk with strangers were happier than those who sat alone.    5    Maybe your life will become more cheerful just because of it.

【推荐2】The 30 miles of road winds its way through the mountains of Logan Canyon.It is enough to make most drivers frightened.

But Roger Andersen,a 46-yearold father of four,hadn't expected any trouble on the road on last New Year's Eve when he set off for a ski trip to the Bear River Mountains with his three children.The weather was good for traveling on the slopes（坡）,but the higher they drove,the steeper（陡峭的）the roads became.All of a sudden,the car ran toward the cold Logan River out of control and sank into the water.

There was no time to tell the kids what to do.Within seconds,the car was filled with water."It was frightening that we were completely underwater so fast,remembers Andersen.Confused about the directions,Andersen began to search the freezing water for the kids,but however hard he tried he couldn't find them."If I don't get out,maybe none of us are able to get out."Andersen got out of his seat belt,swam through a broken window to the surface.That was when he saw a group of men,about ten in all,appear on the road.One after another,they raced down and jumped into the water,shouting,"Who else is in the car?"Andersen says thankfully,"It was like the sight of angels."

As the kids fully recovered in the following weeks,Andersen felt eager to thank the men who had saved them.He was surprised to learn that the group was a search-and-rescue team,who knew how to help the kids stay alive.

"It's just unbelievable that you'd have so many people there who knew how to do it,"says Andersen."Many people have asked me,'Did you witness a miracle（奇迹）there?' I always say,'I witnessed dozens.'"

【推荐3】Everyone has one or more talents. Bringing out the best in others can gradually change the world.     1     With patience, you can gradually find the admirable characteristics of people around you. Here are some ways to help you to identify and admire the talents of people around you.

Giving is a good way to find out the good qualities in others. Being kind doesn’t just mean helping someone financially. You can assist them with your advice, talents and so on.     2     Besides, you will know how they deal with their problems in life with a mind: never give up.

Talents adopt several forms and they put people in different circumstances. Thus, you need to be flexible to discover good qualities in others. Some people you come across may have different attitudes towards life from you.     3    

Nobody is perfect and everyone has some shortcomings. However, these are useful to you.     4     Start by analyzing the shortcomings in others, and then you can easily find out the good qualities they already have.

    5     One of the finest ways to discover good characteristics of others is to ask them something about their success and failure. The more you are curious, the more you will know about a person.

【推荐2】Everyone loves a holiday! A little time off for some much-needed R&R (rest and relaxation) can be exactly the thing to rejuvenate and refresh from work. So if you’re struggling to think of your next destination (目的地) then look no further. Don’t waste time debating where to go, but let your blood decide.

Everybody has a lineage (家系). Recently, finding out more about our family origins has become popular. By the start of 2019, 26 million people had taken an ancestry DNA test at home, according to a report by MIT Technology Review. They believe by 2021 this number will have risen to 100 million.

This trend has been noticed by opportunistic travel operators (旅行社). Some are looking to provide a service that both allows people to track their family roots and travel to the destinations where their ancestors originated from.

Airbnb, an online boarding marketplace, recently partnered with 23andMe, a DNA testing company, to offer recommendations that encourage travellers to walk in the footsteps of their forefathers. And they aren’t the only ones.

The Shelbourne hotel in Dublin has its own “genealogy butler (宗谱管家)”. Hellen Kelly offers advice to help guests track their Irish lineage using official records. This allows them “to fill in the blanks of their Irish ancestry”, she told Good Morning America.

The Conte Club, a luxury travel company, offers custom routes of travel based on DNA tests. “These experiences are about going deeper into who we really are.” says Conte Club CEO Rebecca Fielding in an article in the Condé Nast Traveller. “It might be the most meaningful trip we can take.”

So next time you think of going on vacation, why not take a DNA test first? Once you know how far your family has come, take the time to holiday back.