【推荐1】A simple gesture can be formed into a child's memory so quickly that it will cause the child to give a false answer to a question accompanied by that gesture.A new finding suggests that parents,social workers,psychologists and lawyers should be careful with their hands as well as their words.

While memories of both adults and children are easy to react to suggestion,those of children are known to be particularly influenced,said a researcher,Sara Broaders of Northwestern University.

Previous research,for example,has shown that detailed questions often cause false answers;when asked,say "Did you drink juice at the picnic?",the child is likely to say "yes" even if no juice had been available.It is not that the child is consciously lying,but rather the detail is quickly formed into his or her memory.

To avoid this problem,social workers have long been advised to ask children only open-ended questions,such as "What did you have at the picnic?"But an open-ended question paired with a gesture,is treated like a detailed question.That is,children become likely to answer falsely.

And 77% of children gave at least one piece of false information when a detail was suggested by an ordinary gesture.Gestures may also become more popular when talking with non-fluent language users,such as little kids. Broaders advises parents and other adults to "try to be aware of your hands when questioning a child about an event. Otherwise,you might be getting answers that don't mean what actually happened."

【推荐2】Thousands of people impact all aspects of our lives, be it the weatherman at the TV studio in a neighbouring city, or the technician at a phone company across the continent, or the woman in Tobago who picks the mangoes for your fruit Salad. Every day, intentionally or unintentionally, we make a large number of connections with people around the world.

Our personal growth and evolution (and the evolution of societies) come about as a result of connecting with our fellow humans, whether as a band of young warriors setting out on a hunt or as a group of co-workers heading out to the local bakery after work on Friday. As a species (物种), we are instinctively (本能地) driven to come together and form groups of friends, associations and communities. Without them, we cannot exist.

Making connections is what our gray matter does best. It receives information from our sense and processes it by making associations. It grows quickly when it’s making connections.

People do the same thing. It’s a scientific fact that people who stay socially and physically active live a longer life. This doesn’t mean staying with the same old crowd and going around on an exercise bike. It means getting out and making new friends.

When you make new connections in the outside world you make new connections in the inside world—in your brain. This keeps you young and alert (机警的)—Edward M. Hallowell, in his book Connect, cites the 1979 Alameda County Study by Dr. Lisa Berkman of the Harvard School of Health Sciences. Dr. Berkman and her team carefully looked at 7,000 people—aged 35 to 65, over a period of nine years. Their study concludes that people who lack social and community connections are almost three times more likely to die of medical illness than those who have more contacts. And all this is independent of socioeconomic status and health practices such as smoking, alcoholic beverage consumption or physical activity!

Other people can also help you take care of your needs and desires, whatever it is you’d like in this life—romance, a dream job, ticket to the Rose Bowl—the chances are pretty high that you’ll   need someone’s help to get it. If people like you, they will be willing to give you their time and their efforts. And the better the quality of harmonious relationship you have with them, the higher the level of their cooperation.

【推荐3】My wife and I were at a crowded grocery store not long ago. It was a weekday evening, cold and wet and tense. People were carelessly blocking aisles, complaining and cutting one another off with their carts. At one point, two women quarreled for several minutes after colliding in the freezer section.

Things got worse at the checkout line.The cashier scanned a man's discount card, but he misread the savings on her screen as an additional charge. He decided she was acting intentionally and began to argue.

Other customers looked away as the cashier tried to reason with him. She called a manager, who took him to customer service. Shaken , she moved to the next customer in line.

We’ve all witnessed uncomfortable scenes like this in public places. My reaction when I see them is both personal and professional.   I am a data analyst and sociologist who studies how and why people interact with one another--or why they choose not to. To me, the grocery scene was another example of how our trust in others has faded. But it was also a teachable moment on how we can rebuild our faith — starting with just one person.

Therefore, my wife and I reached the disturbed cashier. I grabbed a bottle of water from a nearby cooler and handed it to her. We learned her name was Beth.

“We felt bad about how that man treated you and wanted to buy this for you.” I said.

Beth’s face lit up, and we talked as she scanned our items.She told us she had been working that evening through severe foot pain and would be having surgery later that week. We wished her well in her recovery, and she thanked us as we left.

That is the balancing act, the moment of countering social and emotional pain with healing, that will add up to restore trust across the United States. You can start that pattern in someone else's life , even in a place as ordinary as the neighborhood grocery store.

【推荐1】Having hundreds of friends online is no substitute for a handful of close friends in real life. Researchers discovered that people with only a few friends were at least as happy as those with far more if many of theirs were online. The number of ''peripheral others'', someone connected with online — former classmates and coworkers, for example — had no connection with how satisfied they felt.

Scientists did their study using data from two online surveys conducted on 1,496 people by a non-profit research organization. People taking part in the study revealed their ages, the make-up of their social networks, how often they had different types of social interactions, and their own feelings of well-being. They included details of how often and how they interacted with family or neighbours, and whether they included people who provided services for them in their networks. The number of close friends someone had was the only thing that influenced how satisfied they were with their social life.

''Loneliness has less to do with the number of friends you have, and more to do with how you feel about your friends,'' said Dr Bruine, an expert of the study. ''If you feel lonely, it may be more helpful to make a positive connection with a friend than to try and seek out new people to meet.''

In the study, they found older people tended to have smaller social networks. Younger people's were larger but this was mostly made up of ''peripheral others'' — not true friends, just people they knew — and did not contribute to their happiness.

Even variations in the number of family members or neighbours somebody spent time with did not affect how happy they were with their social life. Dr Bruine said her research echoed other findings showing people would be happier if a larger proportion of their online friends were actually their friends in reality.

She added, ''Stereotypes of aging tend to paint older adults in many cultures as sad and lonely. But the research shows that older adults' smaller networks didn't weaken social satisfaction and well-being. In fact, older adults tend to report better well-being than younger adults.''

【推荐3】It’s generally agreed that heroes are great and always admired by common people. However, most of us have no clear idea about heroes. At some point, we all wonder if we need a hero and what a hero really is.

Although there are a lot of differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally share a number of characteristics (特点) which give us courage and make us want to learn from them. A hero does something worth talking about. A hero usually put others before and does his/her best to help people in need. A hero has a special story to tell and is thought highly of by people.

But a hero is not just the person with great fame (名声). A hero has powers larger than himself/herself. Some people want to live like a hero, and they have to experience life with new and further meaning. A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whom they serve. What do they want to live and die for? If the answer suggests they serve only their own fame, they may be famous persons but not heroes.

A hero has a vision (视野) from the mountaintop. He/She has the power to move people. He/She creates new possibilities. Without Gandhi, India might still be part of Britain. Without Martin Luther King, Jr., Americans might take different buses, eat in different restaurants, go for walks in different parks, and shop in different stores because of the different colors of their skin.

There might be changes in society without a hero, but the speed of change would be rather slow. Thanks to heroes in history, they make the society develop so rapidly.

【推荐2】Humankind has tried to improve its standard of living since the very beginning of civilization (文明). Back then, and today, providing food was the basic task for a person.     1     People feel the need for not only some primary things, such as bread and shelters, but also for various facilities and luxuries. Providing humanity (人类) with these things is connected to the use of natural resources, which requires energy. In turn, the common sources of energy we use today cause pollution, so economic growth is almost inevitably connected with environmental damage.

    2     The first of these is the fact that in order to produce more goods and products, at a faster rate, the construction of large industrial plants is required. These plants produce a lot of waste, which may cause negative long-term health effects to nearby populations of animals, or people.

The traditional energy sources, which are commonly used nowadays, are considered to be the greatest polluters to the environment. There also exist so-called eco-friendly sources of energy.     3     Of course, during this time people have to make some sacrifices to support these undertakings (企业) .

In order to produce practical energy, a transformation of the natural site is often inevitable (不可避免的).     4     Application of wind energy would block airflow’s natural speed. Consequently, the pressure balance that is brought about by this current will be affected, and it is important to remember that the environment and weather conditions are directly affected by atmospheric pressure.     5     This is the embarrassment mankind has to deal with. A good balance between economic development and sustainability is forever what humankind has to keep in mind

【推荐3】Credit cards

However you view credit card, it’s hard to live in the modern world without one. And if you have one, you owe it to yourself to use it properly.

Although credit cards are becoming a more acceptable part of the financial scene, they are still regarded with suspicion by many as being a major part of the “live now pay later” syndrome(综合症).     1     They can allow you to pile up debts that you have difficulty paying off; they can also let you spend next month’s salary today. Of course, it is only the foolish who give in to the temptation to live temporarily at least beyond their means, and such people would no doubt manage to do so even without credit cards.

Advertising campaigns have, however, promoted a growing realization of the advantages of these small pieces f plastics. They avoid the need to carry large amounts of cash and are always useful in emergencies. All the credit card organizations charge interest on a monthly basis.     2     Using a card abroad where items frequently take a long time to be included on your account can extend this period even further.

    3     It is necessary to consider the amount of credit granted and interest rates, which may vary slightly. And of course, what happens if your card is lost or stolen? A credit card chief may be sitting on a potential gold mine particularly if there is delay in reporting the loss of the card.

Using a credit card wisely takes discipline and a little self-control. Once you realize your debt is someone else’s profit margin, your approach to your plastic will change. With a bit of discipline and some practical knowledge, you can make your cards work for you, rather than the other way round.     4