1 . As most Americans spend at least 50% of their food budget dining out, public criticism falls on restaurants to help consumers make healthier food choices. The Menu Labeling Final Rule has come into effect, requiring restaurants with more than 20 locations to show the calories of food on menus.

By representing these values in a discrepant way — using physically larger numbers on the page for lower-calorie options, and smaller numbers for high-calorie foods — businesses can shift customers’ preferences toward healthier food, according to Ruiying Cai from the Washington State University.

In their study, Cai and her colleagues asked participants to choose between a less healthy item and a healthier option after randomly assigning them to two groups. In the first group, calorie counts and font sizes rose and fell together. In the second group, the size became larger as the calorie count fell. Researchers also asked participants questions to assess their health-consciousness.

Results showed participants in the second group, who saw low calorie counts printed in large sizes, were more likely to adopt the healthier option. Moreover, less health- conscious participants were the most affected, while people with more health awareness were less influenced since they already favored healthier food.

This research adjusted customer behaviors by creating a Stroop effect. Named after psychologist J. Ridley Stroop, the Stroop effect refers to a delay in reaction to mismatch in its classic form. For example, if the word “purple” is written in green, it takes respondents longer time to identify the color than if the word and the color match. Similarly, the effect is observed when the physical size of the number does not match its number in this study.

“Restaurants are interested in encouraging customers to make healthier choices,” Cai said. However, simply labeling the food as healthy may not have the intended effect. “Healthy food items could be profitable for restaurants, but whenever a ‘healthy’ label is attached, people may assume it does not taste good,” she explained. “We’re trying to provide restaurants with indirect suggestions, rather than saying it out loud.”

3 . Confidence plays a very important role in people’s life. It gives people light when they are in dark and encouragement when they are discouraged. It is the first step on the road to success. People who look confident seem to grab more rewarding careers, maintain better relationships, and may make miracles in the face of insurmountable (不可逾越的) difficulties.

So what is the secret of confidence? In fact, there is no secret. Self-confidence is a skill and habit that everyone can learn to develop.     1    

You can try these simple tips for practicing and increasing our confidence levels: First, dare to fail. Anybody who’s out there genuinely striving is going to fail repeatedly.     2    Only when we face up to our difficulties can we build up our confidence and give ourselves a chance of success.

    3     You don’t have to be beautiful to be confident. Make the most of your own unique strengths and pay less attention to your weaknesses so that you know you’re giving out your best image.

Third, listen to yourself; do not look down on yourself. You are the only person who knows what is right for yourself.     4    

Last, build a confidence vocabulary. Stop putting yourself down, and quit constantly mentioning your tiny flaws. Learn to highlight your positive qualities and the world will learn to see and appreciate them too.

Confidence is a plant that grows slowly.     5     Only when we have enough confidence in ourselves can we take the first step on the road to success.

5 . I have always enjoyed cold climates and connecting to the environment.

In November 2023, I joined the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (英国南极遗产信托基金会), the charity that looks after British heritage in Antarctica, as their _________. I’m responsible for sorting the letters that are sent here, the southernmost post office in the world. _________,I observe the environment and _________ my neighbours, the penguins(企鹅).

Five of us now share the island with 1,000 penguins, who of course are given _________. They have their own paths to walk down to the shore(岸边)and we get used to slowing down, always keeping our _________, and waiting for them to pass. Every two days we _________ the nests and eggs, and send that information to British Antarctic Survey.

When we arrived here in November, the base had been shut for winter, _________ when we got off the ship, we dug _________ through snow for hours before we could open the front door. _________ our lives here takes a lot of work, as we’ve got no running water, no showers, and there is a lot of snow __________.

As postmaster, I’ve __________ 20,000 letters so far, including postcards from stamp __________. They request particular postmarks or stamps, and can be very __________ about where they want them placed.

On our days off, we enjoy going on long walks around the island, taking more time for all the __________ things, such as slight changes in the weather and tiny green plants. Sometimes I feel __________ simply by looking at the sun reflected in the water.