【推荐2】How to Solve Worry Problems

The Great Nobel Prize winner in medicine, Dr. Alexis Carrel, once said, “Businessmen who do not know how to fight worry die young.”     1     Then how can we find a quick, surefire (万全的) recipe for handling worry situations? Here are a few basic steps to deal with different kinds of worries.

Get the facts

Why is it so important to get the facts? Because unless we have the facts, we can’t possibly even attempt to solve our problems intelligently. Without the facts, we will be left in confusion.     2     Half the worry in the world is caused by people trying to make decisions before they have sufficient knowledge on which to base a decision. If a man will devote his time to securing facts in an objective way, his worries usually disappear in the light of knowledge.

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However, getting all the facts in the world won’t do any good until we figure out what these facts mean and interpret them. It is much easier to achieve this after writing them down. In fact, merely writing the facts on a piece of paper and stating our problem clearly goes a long way toward helping us to reach a sensible decision. Therefore, when we are worried, sit down and write down two questions – and the answers to these questions, “What am I worrying about?” and “What can I do about it?”

Arrive at a decision

Worry is killing. So we will probably save our life by sitting down and writing out all the various steps we could take and then writing down the probable consequences of each step and calmly coming to a decision. Experience has proved the enormous value of arriving at a fixed decision.     4    

Act on that decision

    5     Don’t stop to reconsider. Don’t begin to hesitate and retrace (折返) our steps. Don’t lose ourselves in self-doubting which causes other doubts. Don’t look back our shoulders.

【推荐3】Moving to a foreign country is an amazing, life-changing experience. It’s a chance to meet new people, put yourself in a different culture and possibly learn another language. However, before such an adventure, there are some practical decisions that need to be made. One such decision is choosing where to live.

Will you stay in your own apartment where you can have your own space and privacy? Will you share a flat with other young foreigners who are in a similar position to you? Or will you choose to live with a host family? For me, choosing to live with a French family was the best choice I made, and here is why.

Firstly, a family can show you around the city or town and help you settle in, stopping you from feeling lonely. When you’re in a new environment, you might feel lost, tired and homesick — I know I did. However, my host family were wonderful and welcoming; they showed me which buses to take to get to work, cooked dinner for me, and took me with them on trips to the beach and the theatre. These were great chances to experience French culture and build relationships.

Above all, living with French people has helped me improve my language skills. Being constantly exposed to French conversations has allowed me to learn new phrases, widen my vocabulary and even improve my accent. My host family are happy to answer my questions and correct me when I say things wrong.

Finally, the experience of living abroad is one that you will not forget forever, and perhaps the friendships — like the memories — will also last. I hope to remain in contact with my host family long after I leave France because when I was away from my friends and loved ones, they welcomed me and made me part of their family.

【推荐2】Health advice on hand sanitizers

Antibacterial hand sanitizers（免洗洗手液）are marketed as a good alternative（替代品）when soap and water are not available. Manufacturers say that their sanitizers kill 99.9 percent of germs（细菌）, but research suggests that this not the case.

How do hand sanitizers work?

Most sanitizers are alcohol-based; they work by removing the outer layer of oil on our skin, then the alcohol kills the bacteria.

However, Barbara Almanza, associate professor at Purdue University, notes that hand sanitizers do not significantly reduce the amount of bacteria, and in some cases, can increase it.

So the question arises, how can manufacturers say sanitizers kill 99.9 percent of bacteria?

How can manufacturers make the 99.9 percent claim（声称）?

Manufacturers test their products on bacteria-tainted surfaces. In this controlled environment, hand sanitizers do kill 99.9 percent of bacteria. However, the human hand is a lot more complex and goes through a lot of different changes in a day compared to a controlled surface.

These tests allow manufactures to obtain consistent results. But , in reality, how effective are hand sanitizers in killing bacteria in everyday life?

Hand sanitizer VS hand soap and water

Almanza says that soap and water are the best way to clean your hands. Hand sanitizer cannot and should not be a direct replacement.

However, they are a useful alternative. To effectively kill bacteria, studies recommend that people use sanitizers that are at least 60 percent alcohol. Also, sanitizers won’t work if you have dirty hands, so wipe them with a tissue or napkin before sanitizing.

What about antibacterial soaps?

Research has shown that regular soap is just as effective as antibacterial soap in reducing bacteria-related illnesses.

In fact, some consumer antibacterial soap may increase some bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics（抗生素）, making them more dangerous.

Other studies show that overly clean environments will negatively affect children by preventing their immune（免疫的）system development. Children need to fight off common germs to develop their immune systems.

【推荐3】Simple Health Habits Worth Adopting Into Your Life

We get it that it’s hard to break bad habits. But when it comes to building healthy habits, small decisions add up over time.

Use stairs. If you have stairs at your home or office, take them every chance you get.     1     For a strong cardio (有氧) workout, you can walk up and down the stairs repeatedly. Start with a limited number of repetitions and then increase them as you feel stronger.

Drink one extra glass of water a day. It’s nothing new that there are health benefits to drinking more water.     2     If plain water isn’t your favorite, you can add flavor to your water to help up your intake.

Correct your posture. When you were a kid, have your parents ever yelled at you for having bad posture? Well, the bad news is that they were right.     3     Not only that, but good posture prevents backache. You can try to leave yourself a note to sit up straight until it becomes an unconscious habit. Walking with your shoulders back and head held high can also make you feel good about yourself.

    4     Solid sleep doesn’t just give you more energy, it can also help with healthy eating goals. If you have difficulty falling asleep, try to head to bed thirty minutes earlier than your usual time. Wind down with a book. You’ll be falling asleep in no time.

Remember that building new healthy habits can take some time and it’s OK to treat yourself to avoid feeling deprived (剥夺). Stay focused on your goal.     5