【推荐1】A shocking eruption has ended Iceland’s lengthy volcano warning as a flash of light burst across the evening sky and the lava (岩浆) flowed out quickly in a breathtaking show of the Earth’s power. But the eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 50km southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, wasn’t expected to give out large amounts of ash (灰尘) into the air.

By early Tuesday afternoon, the size of the volcanic eruption continued to diminish. The lava flow, which reached as high as 30m, was also falling and was a quarter of what it was at the time of the eruption.

The November evacuation meant few people were near the site of the eruption and authorities had warned others to stay away. Nonetheless, residents of the evacuated fishing community had mixed emotions as they watched orange flames touch the dark sky. More than a month after the evacuation, many were still living in temporary (临时的) accommodations and did not expect to ever be able to return to live in their homes. “The town might end up under the lava,” said Ael Kermarec, a tourist. “It’s amazing to see, but there’s kind of a bittersweet feeling at the moment.”

University of Bristol Professor Matthew Watson said that the eruption was expected to continue getting weak, but he had no idea how long it could last. “Residents should strictly follow travel advice because new eruptions can quickly put people in harm’s way. This style of eruption is among the most impressive ever seen, and there will be a strong pull for tourists and locals,” Watson said. “It’s just something from a movie.”

Residents were evacuated and a state of emergency was announced in Iceland more than a month ago. However, the uneasy waiting game still continues.

【推荐2】Hybrid workers take more exercise, get more sleep and eat healthier, according to a study conducted by IWG, a workspace provider.

A survey of 2,000 people who have become hybrid workers since the pandemic—meaning they spend only part of their week commuting (通勤) into a city-centre office—found that they now had more time for fitness, cooking and sleep.

Dr Sara Kayat, a General Practitioner (普通科医生) of National Health Service, said: “There is no doubt that hybrid working has facilitated some major health benefits. A balanced diet, physical activity and good quality sleep are the bedrocks of a healthy lifestyle.”

The study included people using local working centers and working from home. It found that the average hybrid worker was now getting 4.7 hours of exercise a week, compared with 3.4 hours before the pandemic, with the most common forms of exercise being walking, running and strength training.

They are also sleeping longer, with the additional time in bed each morning adding up to 71 extra hours a year.

Eating habits also reportedly improved, with 54 per cent saying they had more time to spend cooking nutritious meals during the week, and 46 per cent and 44 per cent eating more fruit and vegetables respectively.

Some 27 per cent said they had lost weight, and 66 per cent said their mental health was good because of the shift to hybrid working.

IWG said that demand for its workspaces outside city centres had grown by 36 per cent in 2022. Mark Dixon the company’s chief executive, said: “This study confirms what we have been seeing for a while now—how hybrid working is building and maintaining a healthier and happier workforce by reducing the need for long daily commutes.”

【推荐1】In today’s society, it’s important that you apply science and technology to business. This calls for you to have high speed Internet in your business. You also need to have a very effective telephone line. The reason for this is due to the benefits that come with technology.

Communication is very important in business. The business world has become very competitive, thus employees need to communicate with clients fast and effectively. Communication is not only important when working with clients, but also important when working with other employees. For example, sales representatives and technicians don’t have to return to the office to know their next tasks. They can simply make phone calls or send emails. To make your business more modern, you should consider having a social media account.

Through technology, employees from different locations are able to interact and they not only talk about business, but also personal issues. This ensures that there is a healthy working environment, which plays a huge role in increasing the productivity of the employees.

IT experts have come up with many advanced software programs that allow your business to keep its records in an organized manner. The records can be on raw materials, suppliers, clients, and finances. These programs remove manual record keeping, which not only aids in improving the working efficiency, but also aids in removing human errors.

If you don’t have a large office space, you can ask your employees to work at home and send you the necessary documents via email. As a business manager, you don’t have to travel in order to hold a business meeting as you can do it over the Internet.

These are some of the benefits that come with technology. You should note that although technology is of great importance in the professional environments you need to manage it properly so that it’s not misused by employees.

【推荐2】These are common decision-making examples in daily life. Apart from these, you should know about other decision-making examples. Whether we talk about decision-making examples in our personal lives or at work, we can spot many more decision-making skills examples, some so routine you don’t even notice them. However, some decisions can have a far-reaching impact.

In its simplest sense, decision-making is the act of choosing between two or more courses of action. In the wider process of problem-solving, decision-making involves choosing between possible solutions to a problem. Decisions can be made through either an intuitive or reasoned process, or a combination of the two.

Intuition is using your “gut feeling” about possible courses of action.

Although people talk about it as if it was a magical “sense”, intuition is actually a combination of past experience and your personal values. It is worth taking your intuition into account, because it reflects your learning about life. It is, however, not always based on reality, only your perceptions, many of which may have started in childhood and may not be very mature as a result.

It is therefore worth examining your gut feeling closely, especially if you have a very strong feeling against a particular course of action, to see if you can work out why, and whether the feeling is justified.

Reasoning is using the facts and figures in front of you to make decisions.

Reasoning has its roots in the here-and-now, and in facts. It can, however, ignore emotional aspects to the decision, and in particular, issues from the past that may affect the way that the decision is implemented.

Intuition is a perfectly acceptable means of making a decision, although it is generally more appropriate when the decision is of a simple nature or needs to be made quickly.

More complicated decisions tend to require a more formal, structured approach, usually involving both intuition and reasoning. It is important to be wary of impulsive reactions to a situation.

【推荐3】“Why do people enjoy saying that they are bad at math?” wonders Petra Bonfert, a professor of engineering at Dartmouth College. After seeing too many examples of adults “passing on mathematical anxiety like a virus,” Bonfert has an important message for math-phobic parents and educators: “We are passing on from generation to generation the fear for mathematics.”

Many people hold the view that math is inherently hard, and only people with an inborn mathematical ability can understand it. While well-meaning adults may think they’re encouraging kids by sharing their own math fears, research has shown the opposite. Research has found that the problem is particularly significant for girls, who “are especially affected when a teacher publicly announces math hatred before she picks up the chalk.” Moreover, a study published recently reported that female mathematical achievement was diminished in response to a female teacher’s mathematical anxiety. The effect was correlated: the higher a teacher’s anxiety, the lower the scores.”

Parents’ anxiety about math can have a similar effect on kids’ achievement and their attitude toward the subject. Children who received math homework help from mathematically fearful parents showed weaker math achievements than their peers, which in turn resulted in increased math anxiety for the children themselves. New research on math anxiety confirms that these parents unintentionally teach kids to expect that math will be beyond their capabilities.

Fortunately, Sian Beilock, a cognitive scientist of Barnard College, has found a surprisingly easy way for parents to stop passing on math anxiety and build their children’s math confidence. The most important finding is the importance of normalizing math at home in a way that’s relaxing and playful: from using math-themed books and stories, playing with math games and toys to cooking together. He argues that we need to teach kids that “working on mathematical skills is not unlike practicing a sport. Neither can be learned by watching others perform the activity and both require encouragement and effort. You do not need an inborn mathematical ability in order to solve mathematical problems. Rather, what is required is perseverance, a willingness to take risks and feeling safe to make mistakes.