【推荐1】In the past five years, a revolution (革命) has gathered pace in the transport sector. Electric cars have hit the mainstream.

The latest figures released on 26 April by the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggest almost one-in-five new cars sold worldwide this year will be either a full-battery or plug-in hybrid (插电式混合动力) models. In total, 14 million of these kinds of vehicles are expected to be sold this year, up from around a million in 2017.

This explosive growth is a testament to industry innovation and government interventions (干预). Falling battery costs have delivered longer-range cars, boosting their consumer appeal. Meanwhile, government policies, including upcoming restrictions on the sale of new petrol and diesel (柴油) cars in some countries, have caused people to choose zero-emission driving.

But although electrification of the global vehicle fleet brings climate benefits, there is also cause for concern. SUVs have been growing in popularity in recent years, accounting for 42% of all car sales in 2020. At the same time, electric SUVs have also gained ground, representing roughly 35% of electric passenger car sales in 2022.

Electric SUVs are still greener than their petrol and diesel counterparts, but their size and weight erase some of the climate gains from moving to electric vehicles. Their larger batteries also require more raw minerals, putting extra pressure on already stretched global supplies. “The trend towards larger cars is definitely not desirable at all,” says Christian Brand from the University of Oxford.

Air pollution is another worry. “The benefit of moving to an electric vehicle, from an exhaust (废气) emission point of view is pretty small,” says Frank Kelly from Imperial College London. And since electric vehicles still produce pollution from their tyres, brakes and road wear, air pollution won’t fully go away. “We’re still going to have a pretty big problem in our cities,” says Kelly.

As such, governments must do more to reduce car dependency, particularly in urban areas, says Kelly. “Clean public transport is the solution to our air pollution problem in urban areas.” he says.

【推荐1】Despite the fact that burgers, chips and fries are known as some of the most unhealthy food we can eat, they are still the most popular food.

There are a few reasons behind that. First, junk food is generally easy to get and take with you. This convenience is a major draw for many, especially people who are always on the go. Restaurants like McDonald’s and KFC can be found outside many schools and workplaces, providing meals in under a minute.

Secondly, junk food contains a lot of added sugar and fat. This kind of food causes our brain to send out certain chemicals, which produce the feeling of relaxation, pleasure and enjoyment. That’s why such food is called “comfort food”.

Thirdly, our ancestors didn’t have such easy access to the huge variety of food we come across every day. They didn’t have the convenience of having food as easily as we do. So they made it a habit to eat as much as they could to survive and protect themselves from the hard natural conditions. The cave mentality (心理) is passed down to us, which makes us believe that we can never have enough food that is high in sugar and fat, no matter how crazily we eat.

Besides, when we are too worried and tired to relax, our body produces cortisol (皮质醇), which increases the sugar content in the blood, so it can be used as energy to aid in fat and carbohydrate metabolism (碳水化合物代谢). Additionally, it is also found to increase hunger. That’s the reason why when we’re thinking about unpleasant things, we prefer foods that are high in sugar, fat and carbohydrate, that is to say unhealthy food.

【推荐3】When Eugenie George first heard that her friend passed an exam, her heart sank. She’d failed that test weeks earlier, and needed more work to advance her own career. But instead of anxiety, she called her friend. “I congratulated her and told her she inspired me,” she says. She was surprised when it changed her attitude, so she could share her friend’s happiness and experience her own, in turn.

Finding pleasure in another person’s good fortune is what social scientists call freudenfreude, a term that describes the joy we feel when someone else succeeds, even if it isn’t directly connected with us. Freudenfreude is like social glue, says Catherine Chambliss, a professor of psychology at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. It makes relationships “closer and more enjoyable”. Sharing in someone else’s joy can also improve life satisfaction and resilience(适应力) and help people cooperate during a disagreement.

While the benefits of freudenfreude are plentiful, it doesn’t always come easily. Sometimes, your loss might last, making freudenfreude feel out of reach. If you were raised in a family that paired winning with self-worth, Chambliss says, you might misread someone else’s victory as your own personal shortcoming. And factors such as mental health and overall wellbeing(幸福) can also affect your ability to participate in someone else’s joy. Still, freudenfreude is worthwhile and there are ways to encourage the feeling.

Instead of an automatic response, freudenfreude is often an active process. To help people strengthen joy-sharing muscles, Chambliss and her colleagues developed a programme called FreudenfreudeEnhancement Training (FET). They found that depressed people who used the practices for two weeks had an easier time expressing freudenfreude, which built up their relationships and improved their mood.

Jean Grae, an artist, supports friends in this mindset. When someone gets a new opportunity or reaches a milestone, she makes sure to celebrate. Grae says she’s especially moved when anyone considered ‘other’ succeeds. “It’s truly inspirational,” she says, “because it lifts us all up and makes us shine.”