I faced a tight budget when I was nine. On November Ist, I used up most of the money I saved. With a small amount of pocket money left before Christmas I didn’t have enough to buy presents for the family.

I was seriously considering going to my dad and asking for an advance on the next year’s pocket money, so I could at least buy gifts for my family members. But then, one evening, I was sitting in my room reading advertisements in the back of a magazine. Several greeting-card companies were telling us how people could make money by selling their cards and stationery (文具). Normally, I would have passed right over the ads, but this time my situation was so difficult that I felt I had nothing to lose.

The ad that attracted me most was one by a well-known greeting-card company in my nation, whose products were of high quality. With my parents’ help, I contacted the company, although they preferred adults or older kids to advertise their products. After my sincere request, they agreed to give me, a nine-year-old boy, a chance.

My sales materials arrived within the week. I had expected something small and neat, but the package looked like a dinosaur’s shoebox it was close to three feet long and nearly a foot wide, full of stuff. There was a thick binder (活页夹) containing a complete selection of the cards and some writing paper, which I would be selling for around $3 per box.

Although my parents supported my try to make money by myself, they had little confidence in my success; after all, instead of an outgoing kid, I was somewhat shy. However, I was determined to have a try to challenge myself.

Wasting no time, I set off and knocked on doors in my neighborhood.

Eventually, I earned over $20, a large sum of money for a 9-year-old kid in 1954.

3 . Students who are better able to understand and manage their emotions effectively, a skill known as emotional intelligence (EI), do better at school than their less-skilled classmates, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

“It’s not enough to be smart and hardworking. Students must also be able to understand and manage their emotions to succeed at school,” said Carolyn MacCann, lead author of the study. MacCann and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 160 studies, representing more than 42,000 students from 27 countries, published between 1998 and 2019. The students ranged in age from primary school to college. The researchers found that students with higher EI tended to get higher grades and better achievement test scores than those with lower EI scores. This finding held true even when controlling for intelligence and personality factors. What was most surprising to the researchers was the association held despite different ages.

As for why EI can affect academic performance, MacCann believes a number of factors may come into play. “Students with higher EI may be better able to manage negative emotions, such as anxiety, boredom and disappointment, which can negatively affect academic performance,” she said. “Also, these students may be better able to manage the social world around them, forming better relationships with teachers, classmates and family, all of which are important to academic success.” Finally, the skills required for EI, such as understanding human motivation and emotion, may overlap with (与……重叠) the skills required to master certain subjects, such as history and language, giving students an advantage in those subject areas, according to MacCann.

However, MacCann cautions against widespread testing of students to identify and target those with low EI as it may stigmatize (给……打上烙印) those students. Instead, she recommends interventions that involve the whole school, including additional teacher training and a focus on teacher well-being and emotional skills. “Programs that integrate emotional skill development into the existing curriculum would be beneficial, as research suggests that training works better when run by teachers rather than external specialists,” she said. “Increasing skills for everyone — not just those with low EI—would benefit everyone.”

5 . Community ovens are a centuries-old tradition worldwide. There are actually records going back to the 12th century when home ovens were not _________. The community ovens were places where people chatted together while their food was _________.

Fast forward to today, Brickyard Bakery has _________ the unique approach. It _________ to bake cakes for customers and provides them with a warm place to stay while their cakes, which _________ take four or more hours to bake, are in the oven. It’s reported that due to the increasing cost of fuel, many individuals cannot _________ to leave their ovens on that long.

Owner Ed Hamilton-Trewhitt told the BBC, “We’ve _________ the idea of a community oven from ancient times. People can _________ their cake base (胚) at home. But _________ being baked in their own ovens, it can be __________ to our bakery for a large amount of baking.”

“It struck me that if one was __________ about the energy costs of baking the Christmas cake, there would be lots more out there __________ the same situation,” he added. “In the big picture, it costs me so little but makes a massive __________. ”

The response to this attempt has been so __________ that Hamilton-Trewhitt has provided the __________ until right before Christmas. After all, that’s what being a good neighbor is all about.

6 . Vast lands of America are dominated by corn, nearly 100macres of it, stretching from Ohio to the Dakotas. What once was forest today produces the corn that feeds people, cattle and, when made into ethanol (乙醇), cars.

Now, the nation’s airlines want to power their planes with corn, too. United Airlines signed a deal with a Nebraska ethanol company to buy enough sustainable fuel, to power 50,000 flights a year. The government could decide on its tax incentives (税收激励) for the industry as soon as December. “Mark my words, the next 20 years, corn farmers are going to provide 95% of all the sustainable airline fuel,” President Biden said in July.

The airlines’ ambitious goal would likely require nearly doubling ethanol production, which airlines say, with great expectation, would decrease their greenhouse gas emissions. If they succeed, it could transform America’s Corn Belt, stimulating farmers and ethanol producers, but potentially further damaging one of the nation’s most important resources: groundwater.

Corn requires a lot of water to grow and it can take hundreds of gallons to produce a single gallon of ethanol. But as airlines take the idea of ethanol, the vital groundwater faces serious risks. “We’re on track to massively increase water usage without any real sense of how sensitive our groundwater is,” said Jeffrey Broberg, who is concerned about groundwater in Minnesota, a major corn state.

The Department of Energy said in a statement that “water use is a critical part of the conversation surrounding bio-energy sustainability”. It pointed to a 2022 department study that concluded that the United States could significantly reduce pressure on groundwater by shifting fuel production away from water-intensive crops like corn, instead growing more crops that don’t require irrigation (灌溉), like various types of straw, grasses and trees. Hopefully, a better approach will be soon studied and adopted.

7 . Aunt Suzy insists you have seconds before you’ve even finished your meal. Or you can count on your coworker to say things like, “I can’t believe you’re only going to have a salad for lunch! “These are both examples of food pushing.

It’s common to find yourself in a situation where someone is pressuring you to eat or commenting on your food choices. Intentional or not, the pressure to eat can make you feel uncomfortable, or worse, disturb your dietary preferences.     1    

Change the subject. It can be helpful to change the subject immediately upon your response. You can simply say, “no thank you”, and immediately follow with a question to distract the food pusher.     2    

Keep it positive. Avoid making negative comments about the food, your body, or health condition when declining a food pusher.     3    . Praise the chef for their hard work and how amazing the food looks or smells while politely saying no.

    4     Communicating your boundaries honestly and openly puts you back in control of what you eat and lets others know your wants and needs. Remember, you’re allowed to say no without feeling guilty.

Avoid challenging situations. You know your food preferences. Take time beforehand to research the restaurant or ask about the menu so you can be sure there’s food you can eat.     5    

Even if you can’t find the “right” way to say no, chances are no permanent damage will be done to the relationships in your life when you do, so stick to your guns. Remember, no one but you is in control of your own behavior. You have the right to make your personal health a top priority.