2 . A long-term American study shows the effect of early education on future learning abilities. The study followed more than 1,300 children from birth through the ages of ten or eleven years. The study is known as the Human Development Study of Early Child Care. It is said to be the largest, longest lasting and most complete study of child care in the United States. The children included in the study were born around 1991 in ten areas of the country. Researchers examined the quality and amount of child care the children received until they were 54 months old. Child care included any care provided by people other than the child’s mother that lasted at least ten hours a week. This included any care given by fathers or other family members. The researchers then examined cach child’s performance in school and social development. They also measured other influences, such as the quality of classroom education and parenting (教养).

Recently, the researchers examined whether the developmental qualities that bad been observed in young children were still present a few years later. They found that the older children who had received higher quality child care continued to show better ability in measures of language skills. The children’s understanding was observed using a method which shows their ability to name objects shown in some pictures. The study confirmed a link between high quality child care and better test results continued as the children grew older. It also found that the children’s ability was not dependent on the amount of time they had spent in child care.

Interestingly, children who had been in child care before entering school were also more likely to have shown aggression (攻击性) or refusal to obey in their early school years. However, the researchers said the children’s behavior was considered normal.

3 . In the middle of a conversation, your brain might skip ahead, anticipating the words that the other person will say. Amazingly, out of all the thousands of possibilities — your conversational partner will arrive at the same word you have been thinking of.

How does the brain do this? Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M. I. T.) researchers brought a new approach to the question using a technique called integrative modeling. They examined models based on 43 artificial neural networks — a machine-learning algorithm (算法) that consists of millions of interconnected nodes, similar to neurons in the brain. As they claim, this study marks the first time that a machine-learning algorithm has been matched to brain data to explain the workings of a high-level cognitive (认知的) task.

The researchers discovered that models that excel at guessing the next word are also best at anticipating brain activity patterns. This was especially true for processing single sentences and short paragraphs. The models were significantly worse at predicting words or human responses when it came to longer blocks of text. None of the other tasks reflected what was going on in the brain. The researchers argue this is strong evidence that next-word prediction plays a key role in understanding language.

“I’m super impressed by what the team achieved,” says Noah Goodman, a psychologist at Stanford. But he adds that he suspects that the data are not sufficient to explain how people obtain meaning from language. Despite these reservations, Goodman says the method is “still vastly better than anything we’ve had in the past.”

While neural networks more generally are only rough resemblances to the brain, their role in helping us understand our own mind may be substantial. The approach used by the M. I. T. team demonstrates that neural network s might, in fact, be critical tools in providing insight into the great mystery of how the brain processes information of all kinds.

4 . Scarcity is a common condition of human existence. Everyday circumstances of limited resources can make individuals experience a sense of scarcity. Scarcity functions like an obstacle to goal pursuit, which intensify the value of goal.

Scarcity prioritizes our choices and it can make us more effective. The time pressure of a deadline focuses our attention on using what we have most effectively. When we have little time left, we try to get more out of every moment. For example, we are more frugal with the toothpaste as the tube starts to run empty, and college seniors tend to get the most out of their time before graduation.

Many stores strategically create perception of scarcity to motivate consumer behavior. For example, the pricing practice of limiting number of items per person can lead to increased sales. The sign implies that the items are in short supply and the fear of missing out can have a powerful effect on shoppers.

For an item that is attractive to begin with, its attractiveness will intensify when it is scarce. For instance, warning labels on violent television programs, designed to decrease interest, often backfire and increase in watching the programs.

The scarcity effect explains why shyness often is considered an attractive attribute? Experts say that “playing hard to get” is a most effective strategy for attracting a partner, especially in the context of long-term love. A “hard to get” player likes to appear busy, create interest and keep the suitors guessing. However, playing hard to get is less effective in men, as they are the ones who are socially expected to initiate the relationship.

Scarcity also contributes to an interesting and a meaningful life. Scarcity shows that reminding individuals of the reality of death increases the value of life. Midlife often heightens the feeling that there is not enough time left in life to waste. We overcome the illusion (幻觉) that we can be anything, do anything, and experience everything. We restructure our lives around the needs that are essential.

5 . Tessa Lidstone remembers the last meals she cooked before she had to close her restaurant Box-E for the first lockdown. “Everything was slipping away and beyond our control.”

With the restaurant closed, Lidstone got to thinking about how other people might be coping. “I felt isolated,” she says, “but I was so lucky: I had my husband and kids with me. I thought about all the people without a support network and how awful it must be to not have contact with anyone.”

Lidstone saw a callout from a collective of Bristol restaurants called the Bristol Food Union. They were looking for volunteers to help put together boxes of emergency food for the elderly living alone. “I’d love doing that to give my life purpose,” says Lidstone.

“It was originally going to be for two weeks. But it just grew from there.” In her first week, Lidstone put together boxes for 100 people: pasta, bread and milk, but also fruit and vegetables. By the second week, she was organizing packages for 250 people.

The government provided funding and most suppliers were more than willing to help. “They were so generous,” she says. “If I ordered milk, bread and butter, they’d donate fruit and vegetables as well. It meant I could make the money go further.”

Lidstone put her restaurant training to good use, creating a weekly recipe card to go in each box. She also videoed herself making the meal and posted it online. “It was basic home cooking,” she says. By week three, Lidstone was thinking bigger: “If there were any birthdays coming up, I arranged something extra for the persons.”

By then, the scale of Lidstone’s operation had become a bit overwhelming. Staff from the restaurant and Lidstone’s children helped out. In all, Lidstone and her team delivered 2,500 boxes over 16 weeks. “It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by a situation,” she said, “and think you can’t do anything alone. But work together and we’ll make a difference.”

6 . Getting to the airport you’re departing from can easily raise the following question: where can we park our vehicle cheaply and securely at the same time? To be true, airport parking isn’t the best option in this case since most US and Canadian airports offer travelers extremely high prices. Let’s take Toronto Pearson International Airport for example:

You see that even the cheapest option will cost you at least $24.00 per day. And that’s a true nightmare, especially if you know there is a great solution to such a problem. Moreover, don’t hope to find a free parking space quickly — usually, airport parking has limited availability, which means it’ll turn out to be a real challenge for you.

Going back to a solution — off-site parking lots near the airports should be definitely your choice! And we’re happy to say that our smart booking platform, ParkingNearAirports. io, provides our customers with such services:

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7 . Body shaming involves humiliating (羞辱) someone making negative comments about their body size or shape.     1     You may feel unhappy with how your body looks and judge yourself unkindly. However, there are ways to overcome the problem and build body positivity.

    2     Taking care of yourself is not a selfish act; it’s necessary for your personal well-being. Exercise, eat healthy food, enjoy the company of people who care about you, and spend some time outdoors to refresh your body and your mind.

Replacing negative self-talk with positive thoughts can be useful for making you feel better about yourself and your body.     3     For example, if you have beautiful hair or eyes, this is just as important as the features you dislike or that others try to ridicule.

Social media often emphasizes physical appearance and makes it easy to post hurtful comments about others. Cutting down or stepping away from social media can give you an opportunity to connect in-person and participate in other activities that lift your mood. Communicating face-to-face is nature’s cure of stress.     4    

Reach out to others for guidance and support and let them know what you have been experiencing.     5     Having a safe outlet to express your emotions can help you cope with the distress and humiliation of being body shamed.