2 . Mental Health Apps

Although most mental health doctors probably wouldn’t advise people to spend more time with their cellphones, there are some apps that can turn screen time into time well-spent. These apps provide tools for people looking to improve their lives.

This app was created to teach meditation (冥想). Developed for adults, teens and kids, it is perfect when you’re troubled by emotions like anxiety, stress, sadness or anger. It guides you through the practice of stopping, calming your mind and body through breathing and then taking part in short meditation.

Cost: $9. 99 per month. Download here for Apple or Android.

Breathe2Relax teaches “belly breathing”, a technique that encourages full oxygen exchange, lowers the heart rate and helps reduce stress. This type of breathing can help people who are experiencing fear, anxiety or anger. The app features videos, reading materials and ways for users to track their progress.

Cost: Free. Download here for Apple or Android.

Productive is a simple app that helps you set goals and track your progress. It offers users help in breaking negative habits and forming healthier habits. Users can specify what time of day they want to begin an activity, for how long, and how often, and the app shows users their successful periods, sends them motivating reminders and records their growth.

Cost: Free. Download here for Apple or Android.

Regardless of where you are, with INSCAPE, you can focus on the areas that you’re looking to improve. Depending on whether you’d like to sleep better, or be more efficient at work, INSCAPE will suggest a practice that will be most beneficial to your goals, including breathing exercises, meditation and more.

Cost: $12. 99 per month.

Download here for Apple. Come here for Android.

4 . While doing some cleaning in my kitchen, I noticed a tiny black pellet(小球)on the shelf. Gecko(壁虎)dropping, I _______. There must be a baby gecko here.

There are lots of geckos here in the Desert Southwest. I’d _______ the habit of checking the oven and dishwasher before I turned them on. I didn’t want one of the little guys to get _______.

Nevertheless, the oven or the dishwasher wasn’t the biggest _______ for a gecko inside a home. It was _______. A gecko trapped in a house wouldn’t find enough bugs to eat. I didn’t want that to happen to my current visitor. But to save him, I had to find him first. And that would be _______.

I searched everywhere in the _______, but useless. Suddenly, a picture flashed in my mind: a pile of _______. “Yes, I know where that is!”I have a basket that holds my collection of oddly shaped or uniquely coloured stones, which caught my eye. Ever so carefully, I _______ one stone, then another—until I ________ a tiny yellow tail!

I brought the whole basket outside and left it on the ground, where I ________ the baby gecko could find his way home. When I ________ a few hours later, the little gecko was gone.

Now I ________ peek(窥视)inside the dishwasher and the oven before turning them on. ________, I know I am not the only one looking out for geckos. No ________ is too small for us to love.

5 . “Unfortunately, 85 percent of what makes us attractive or less to mosquitoes(蚊子) is hardwired in our genetic circuit board,” says Winegard, author of The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator. Still, there are ways to outsmart summer’s most annoying party crashers, especially if all you want is to enjoy an evening on your patio (露台).

Know your blood type

Only female mosquitoes feed on humans, and for good reason: The proteins in your blood help them grow and mature their eggs. “She’s just being a good mom,” Wineguard says. “People with blood type O are her top of choice. They get bitten twice as much as people with blood type A, with blood type B falling in between.”

Stay cool

“Mosquitoes hunt by both smell and sight,” Wineguard says. “They can smell the carbon dioxide and see the heat signature of their target.” Avoiding alcohol can keep your body temperature lower— making you harder to find — so consider choosing a cocktail instead.

Wear light colors

Avoiding dark clothing can also keep you cooler, but that’s not the only reason it may offer relief. Mosquitoes, like many biting flies, are attracted to darker colors. The thinking behind this is that the animals they typically feed upon are larger, dark-bodied mammals(哺乳动物).

Get rid of standing water

Even a glass of drinking water left on the deck can become a breeding ground for mosquito eggs — and mother mosquitoes lay about 100 eggs at a time. “They don’t need very much at all to breed. It can be a backyard toy , like a truck that has a bit of water in it, or a crushed pop can,” says Winegard. If you get rid of it, they’ll go somewhere else to lay their eggs.

6 . Benefiting from the 5,000 years history, many ancient cities exist in the vast land of China. Here are 4 ancient cities in China and each has their unique features.

Shangqiu Ancient City

●History: 4,000 years

●Opening Hours: 08:00-17:30 in winter; 08:00-18:00 in summer

●Ticket Price: ¥70 per combo ticket (组合票)

Situated in the Yellow River Valley, Shangqiu area is considered the birthplace of Chinese civilization. The best time to visit it is around the Chinese New Year, when the grandest temple fair at Shangqiu is held to worship the God of Fire.

Ancient City of Pingyao

●History: 2,700 years

●Opening Hours: 08: 00-17:30

●Ticket Price: Free entry

It has no charming landscape, green mountains or clear waters. What is unique there is the well-pre served ancient city with a grand City Wall, traditional residences, time-honored shops, and even the previous government office.

Fenghuang Ancient Town

●History: 467 years

●Opening Hours: all day; 08: 00-17:30 for Tuo River day cruise;18:00-22:30 for night cruise

●Ticket Price: Free entry

Constructed in 1556, Fenghuang Ancient Town is another historical city in China known for ethnic diversity. Generations of Miao, Tujia and Han people live here, and it now accommodates28 ethnic groups in total.

Huizhou Ancient City

●History: 2,240 years

●Opening Hours: 08:00-17:00

●Ticket Price: ¥95 for one adult; ¥140 for one adult and one child; ¥230 for two adults and one child.

Huizhou Ancient City is famous for its unique architectural style since the old days. The Huizhou-style building is one of the most important architectural schools in China, using bricks, wood, and stones as the raw materials.

7 . After a tiring day at the office, you find it hard not to smile when you’re greeted by an exciting and joyful dog. But it’s not just the happy shouting and wriggling (扭动) tail that strike our heartstrings. A new study shows that dogs’eyes filled with tears when reunited with their owners cause effect that brings out our love. The findings appear in Current Biology.

Takefumi Kikusui watched with interest when his dog was feeding her puppies, her face became so cute. Kikusui, a professor of veterinary(兽医) medicine at Azabu University in Japan, realized that his lovely mama dog had tears in her eyes. That possible connection between unbearable cuteness and tears sent him to the lab.

In the test, he and his team first measured the baseline tear volumes when dogs were together with the owner in their house. Then quickly, the owner would leave and stay hidden away from it for five or six hours. When the owner came back, they measured tear volume again. And found that the reunion with the owner raised tear volume. But it only worked with the dog’s owner. If reunited with the familiar caretaker in the dog care center, there was no increase in tears.

The researchers doubted that the tearful reaction was caused by oxytocin, a hormone(荷尔蒙) linked with social bonding. So they applied oxytocin to the dogs’ eyes. And, the dogs grew weepy. But why? To find out the reason for this easy-crying behavior, they showed volunteers a couple of dog head pictures. One was a normal dog face. And the other was a teary dog face in which they added man-made tears. The volunteers were more likely to want to hug and care for the one with big, wet puppy-dog eyes.

Dogs turn on the waterworks and their owners roll over. Now, that’s quite a clever trick!

10 . There are thousands of incredible trails that allow us to get up close to nature and here are 4 of the best hiking trails in the world.

Pennine Way, the United Kingdom

Stretching 268 miles from the Derbyshire Peak District to the Scottish Borders, the Pennine Way is the United Kingdom’s most famous long-distance path. The entire walk takes around three weeks, passing over wild east of Manchester and through the picturesque Yorkshire Dales, before crossing the ancient border of Hadrian’s Wall and moving on toward Scotland.

Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Rather than following a single path, the Camino, also known as the Way of St James, is actually a series of different pilgrimage (朝圣) routes. The most popular modern route follows a line across northern Spain from the French Pyrenees. While some choose to stay at monasteries (修道院) along the way, plenty of operators offer hotel stays and luggage transfers.

Appalachian Trail, the United States

Extending for 2,200 miles, the Appalachian Trail is billed as the longest hiking-only footpath in the world. It runs from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, passing through some of the most remote places in the United States. Those keen on comfort can use companies like Go Shenandoah, which offers pre-booked accommodation and packed lunches.

The Basho Wayfarer, Japan

This self-guided trip follows a route taken by the poet Matsuo Basho over 300 years ago. The six-day hike starts in Sendai and works its way through the northern Toboku region, passing through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hiraizumi and along the ancient Dewa Kaido path, with its wonderful forests, before heading into the mountains of Natagiri-toge and finishing at the temple of Yamadera.