1 . I used to be anorexic (厌食的). I was skeletal, each of my rib bones jutted out, like ridges on my body; my head, which looked abnormally huge, was barely supported by my backbone.

It would take an hour for me to eat a spoon of food. Should I attempt to eat to please my parents on teachers, I would lock myself in the toilet and throw up the food. I looked pale and weak all the time because of the lack of food. My family members were distressed. They cried a lot.

It all started when a boy in my class called me “fat” I was devastated. I adopted an extremely strict diet and exercise routine. I lost 10kg within three months and continued to lose more weight. I was absolutely obsessed about losing even more weight. One day, my heart rate dropped and I was breathless. I almost lost my life. That was when I decided to turn my life around.

Looking good is extremely important to a teenager. We want to look a certain way so we can be popular and accepted. We are attracted by well-toned and sculpted bodies. Now, with social media, we have access to a pool of photographs of people, whose bodies and appearances we admire. Those images make us envious. We long to be like them.

We're in danger when we start to hate the way we look and take drastic measures to attain the body we dream of having. These measures can lead to eating disorders, unrealistic and unhealthy exercise habits, low self-esteem and depression. Besides affecting the physical health, teenagers who are body conscious can also suffer from mental instability. They may plunge into despair, guilt and hopelessness if they are unable to keep up with their rigid exercise routines or eating habits. They can be emotionally fragile too. They become sensitive to comments made by others. They are ashamed of the way they look. If you are currently experiencing these feelings, seek help before itis too late.

It is important to feel confident and positive about your image and not subscribe to man-made standards of beauty, which will change with time. You are unique.

2 . Medicine is not exclusively a human invention. Many other animals, from insects to birds to nonhuman primates, have been known to self-medicate with plants and minerals for infections and other conditions.

Behavioral ecologist Helen Morrogh-Bernard of the Borneo Nature Foundation has spent decades studying the island’s orangutans (猩猩) and says she has now found evidence they use plants in a previously unseen medicinal way.

During more than 20, 000 hours of formal observation, Morrogh-Bernard and her colleagues watched 10 orangutans occasionally chew a particular plant (which is not part of their normal diet) into a foamy lather (泡沫) and then rub it into their fur. The apes spent up to 45 minutes at a time massaging the mixture onto their upper arms or legs. The researchers believe this behavior is the first known example of a nonhuman animal using a topical painkiller.

Local people use the same plant Dracaena cantleyi, an unremarkable-looking plant with stalked leaves-to treat aches and pains. Morrogh-Bernard’s co-authors studied its chemistry. They added extracts (提出物) from the plant to human cells that had been grown in a dish and had been artificially stimulated to produce cytokines, an immune system response that causes inflammation (炎症) and discomfort. The plant extract reduced the production of several types of cytokines, the scientists reported the finding in a study published last November in Scientific Reports.

The results suggest that orangutans use the plant to reduce inflammation and treat pam. Such findings could help identify plants and chemicals that might be useful for human medications.

In creatures such as insects, the ability to self-medicate is almost certainly innate: woolly bear caterpillars infected with flies seek out and eat plant substances that are poisonous to the flies. But more complex animals may learn such tricks after an initial discovery by one member of their group.

For example, an orangutan may have rubbed the plant on its skin to try to treat parasites and realized that it also had a pleasant pain-killing effect. That behavior may then have been passed on to other orangutans. Because this type of-self-medication is seen only in south-central Borneo, Morrogh-Bernard says, it was probably learned locally.

Incense (香) boasts a long history,       1     its roots in many cultures-ancient China, ancient Egypt, Babylon and beyond. People from all walks of life benefit from its     2     (count) qualities, whether they use it for pleasure or as medicine.

Since the Tang and Song dynasties, burning incense, hanging paintings, making tea, and enjoying music have been known as the “four arts for literati (文人) ”     3     (make) from seeds, leaves and flowers, incense has been used as an enjoyable     4     (pursue) for scholars.

Moreover medical incense is an essential part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which considers preventative healthcare as     5     far superior form of treatment when illness strikes.

    6     (basic) , medical incense can kill bacteria in the environment, protecting people against infections. It is also believed     7     (possess) the ability to balance the flow of Qi, a vital energy force within the body. Once the medical elements within incense are breathed in, they soon find     8     (they) way into the bloodstream. From there they go directly to the organs     9     treatment assistance is needed. The specific types of incense     10     (choose) based on the individual's condition, aiming to restore balance and promote well-being.

6 . Make life as easy as possible with devices and gear designed to simplify your travels — whether that means charging on the go, neat organizers or lightweight storage for no-trouble quick trips.

LARQ Bottle Filter (过滤器)

This innovative drinking bottle with a low-pressure sucker is designed to filter water on the go, wiping out pollutants such as chlorine for a refreshing taste. The filter will work up to 151 liters of water before needing to be replaced — the equivalent of around 300 single-use plastic bottles. Available in 500ml (£58) and 740ml (£68) sizes.

Stubble & Co Adventure Bag

This 42-liter backpack has an easy-access clamshell (翻盖) design that opens to reveal zipped parts of various sizes, including a waterproof pocket for shoes. It also features a laptop sleeve, water bottle pocket and hidden parts for valuables. Available in black, olive, blue and orange. £ 195.

Shokz OpenFit

Shokz’s lightweight earphones sit on top the ear canal, meaning they’re comfortable enough to wear for long periods. The 28-hour battery life ensures you won’t need to charge them on an overnight trip, though it’s easy enough to do so by plugging m the small, accompanying case. The Shokz App allows you to customize the controls, too. £ 179.

July Carry On Pro

For those who prefer not to carry luggage on their backs, this smart roller is the perfect overnighter. It has two separate internal parts, a waterproof polycarbonate hard shell and a zipped front part in which to store a laptop. The integrated, removable power bank allows travelers to charge devices on the go. £275.

7 . I was 68 when I first stepped on stage as a standup comedian in 2003. I'd never set foot in ________ before. I've always been a(n)________ — I've worked as a singer, actor and musician — but all that came to an end after 9/11. I live in New York, and we watched the ________ towers fall from my apartment building. For a year afterwards, nobody wanted to go out or be ________.

It was then that I started to think about. comedy. I realised people needed to laugh, to enjoy themselves again, and thought that with a little ________ I could do it. I took a few classes, tried to work out a routine, and finally ________ the courage to get up on stage. That first time was terrifying. I had no idea what the audience would ________ of me.

In New York, comedians are ________ young men with beards. It's hard enough to ________ through as a woman, even harder as someone old enough to be their grandmother. As I stepped on stage that first time, people laughed nervously. They were clearly ________ to see me. I introduced myself, stated my age and tried my first joke. There was ________ But by the time I got to the third line, people were properly laughing. I was ________.

Now my sets differ. I might be on stage for 10 minutes in front of a dozen people, or my one-woman show is a full hour in front of a crowd of 100.

After a show, people young and old come up to me, saying what a(n) ________ I am, They say they want to be as active as me when they ________ my age, I'm pleased I can show that as an older person you don't need to take a ________ seat in life.

10 . Studies have shown the mere exposure effect, also referred to as the familiarity principle: inspires our decisions. It is a helpful psychological mechanism that helps us sustain our energy and focus our attention on other things. Getting used to new things takes effort and it can be exhausting. So unless we have a terrible experience, we are likely to buy from companies we’ve got used to. That is why companies spend so much money on advertising and marketing and why insurance companies openly charge existing customers more than new ones.

It’s not the case that we only desire things we already know. Some studies suggest when invited to share our preferences, we sometimes see less familiar options as more desirable. But when acting on that preference, we fall back to what we know. This might explain why sometimes the things we want and the things we do don’t quite batch on. We might even return to companies that treated us poorly in the past or stay in bad relationships.

It’s easy to paint the familiarity principle as an enemy or something to battle as if it is something that holds us back from living our dreams. But this attitude might be overwhelming because it tends to encourage us toward big-picture thinking, where we imagine that change requires a substantial dramatic swing that we don’t feel ready for. Some articles suggest the solution to familiarity frustration is complete exposure to novelty. While this can appear effective in the short run, we may only end up replacing one problem with another. It also risks overwhelm and burnout.

So what if we can work with the familiarity principle instead? Familiarity is something we can learn to play with and enjoy. It is a setting for creativity and a pathway to expansion. We can push back the zone of familiarity bit by bit. If we think of familiarity as something that can expand, we can consider changing the conditions in and around our lives to make more space for our preferences to take root and grow gently. From here, we will start to make decisions, drawing from an ever-deepening pool at valuable options.