1 . Pity the poor traffic policeman. He’s the last guy you want to see when you’re speeding down the highway. But according to a major research by scientists in Canada and California, that policeman just might be saving your life or the life of someone else.

The researchers have found that a traffic ticket reduces a driver’s chance of being involved in a disastrous accident greatly. The effect doesn’t last long, however. Within months, the lead foot is back on the pedal and the risk of killing yourself or someone else is back up to where it was before that policeman stared you in the eye and wrote out that expensive ticket. It is back to business as usual for most motorists.

Traffic tickets save thousands of lives every year. Yet traffic laws are applied infrequently, almost as if by whim (心血来潮), partly because people just don’t like traffic policemen, and there are lots of other things for the government to spend money on than applying highway safety laws.

Researches looked at the month prior to a disastrous accident, and the number of traffic convictions (定罪), and then the same month in the year before. They found there were fewer tickets in the month before a disastrous accident than there were a year before, which suggests there’s a protective effect of having a ticket.

The scientists also turned up some surprising results. “Most of the crashes did not involve alcohol,” they reported. “The relative risk reduction associated with traffic convictions was remarkably consistent among women and men, regardless of age, prior driving record, and other personal data. Men, however, were involved in far more disastrous accidents than women and the most accident-prone (有倾向的) age was between 30 and 50.”

They also pointed out that most crashes could have been prevented by a small difference in driver behavior. So the next time you see that policeman in your rear-view mirror, give him or her a broad smile.

2 . You might have heard of the expression “a guilty pleasure”—maybe it’s the chocolate bar you buy on the way home from work, or the new clothes that you don’t really need.     1     . Perhaps we don’t feel we deserved it, or we don’t think it was a responsible way to spend our money. But should we feel like this? Do we really have to feel guilty about treating ourselves?

Perhaps not. Psychologists have suggested that buying things for yourself can make you feel better as it provides an opportunity to take control of your situation.    2     . It may be that as well as lifting your mood, when you buy a treat, you might just be looking after yourself.

Of course, there are also examples of people turning to destructive behaviour when faced with stressful circumstances. People might spend money that they don’t have or turn to dangerous addictions. Psychologist Leon Seltzer considers the difference between self-indulgence and self-nurturing.    3     , while self-nurturing is taking responsible decisions to satisfy our needs and take care of ourselves in ways that don’t have a significant impact.

    4    . So, many universities publish guides with advice for coping with exam stress. Reflecting the difference between self-indulgence and self-nurture, they recommend rewarding yourself for your efforts, doing things that you enjoy and are good at so that you can feel accomplishment.    5     . Thus, perhaps, as long as we make responsible decisions, we shouldn’t feel guilty about our guilty pleasures.

6 . Poverty has forced most Europeans to skip (跳过) meals during the past three years, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the charity French Secours Populaire, which supports people on low incomes. The survey of 10,000 Europeans in 10 nations asked whether money worries had worsened or improved during the past three years. More than half said their situation had worsened, with 29 percent saying they were so short of money that a single unexpected expense would put them into difficulty. The results, published on Monday in the charity’s European Barometer on Poverty and Precariousness, found 38 percent of Europeans were no longer able to eat three meals a day on a regular basis. And 21 percent of parents had skipped meals so they could feed their children.

The survey quizzed people living in France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, and the United Kingdom. The pollsters found the main reason for the poor financial situation in many European families was the fast-rising cost of goods and services, with price inflation (通货膨胀) increasing by three times during 2022 and the cost of housing, water, and fuel rising by 18 percent during the course of a year. At the same time wages remained relatively unchanged.

The survey followed other recent worrying assessments of increasing levels of poverty throughout Europe, with Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency reporting 17 percent of the population of the 27-nation group was “at risk of poverty” and that only 15percent of Europeans had enough money not to have financial worries. Another survey, conducted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in June, found the UK had 5.7 million low-income households that were so lacking in money that they had no adequate access to food.

And another survey, by the Equality Trust, found the great difference between rich and poor in the UK was actually being worsened by the government, which, it concluded, was spending more money than any other European nation on subsidizing (补贴) the rich through structural inequality. Priya Sahni-Nicholas, the co-executive director of the Equality Trust, told The Guardian newspaper the growing chasm between rich and poor was “causing huge damage” to the economy. As a result, she said, “We have shorter healthy working lives, poorer education systems, more crime, and less happy societies.” The survey released this week for French Secours Populaire found money worries among Europe’s population now mean a significant number of people have turned off heaters, avoided treatment for medical problems, and borrowed money or other things as a result. The survey found one person in 12in Italy is in “absolute poverty” and relies on discounted food and food banks. And the situation was even worse in Greece and Moldova, which had more people at risk from poverty than any other European nation.

When night falls, the hustle and bustle of the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou turns to the banks of the Pearl River in Liwan district. Hundreds of people and cars     1     (decorate) with colorful lights and eye-catching shop signs swarm (挤满) a local car boot sale bazaar (集市).

Liang Jinsheng, a local youth, sells lemon tea at the bazaar,     2     was opened to the public on July 15 last year. The almost one-square-meter car trunk is his space for tea making.

“I used     3     (work) in the catering industry. I saw on the Internet many people doing business at car boot sale bazaars. So I decided to give it     4     try, as doing business is low-cost and low-risk,” Liang says.

“Although my ‘shop’ is small, I have obtained the necessary business licenses     5     will stick with hygienic (卫生的) standards to ensure food     6     (safe),” Liang adds.

While     7     (make) the lemon tea, Liang also livestreams on short-video platforms to drive traffic.

“Recently, a lot of residents     8     (come) to my tea booth after watching my livestream. I make around 1,000 yuan ($148) at the bazaar every night,” he says.

    9     most cases, Guangzhou will support these new types of business activities, says the city’s commerce department, noting that many commercial plazas (露天广场) have offered     10     (much) space for car boot sales and introduced night-themed activities to stimulate consumption.

8 . The very unusual series of events finished as Sondrup was heading home from an extended work shift. She had just completed her fourth continuous night shift, and _________ was coming over her. Little did she know that July 26, 2023, would become a day unforgettable in her _________.

While driving home, Sondrup _________ a truck had overturned on State Route 143 near Sky Harbour, with a man _________ inside. Despite her tiredness, she made an inspiration—of-the-moment decision to help.

“It’s _________, but there were so many reasons that led me to that fine moment,” recalled Sondrup. “_________, I wouldn’t have been there.”

Under what she described as a turn of fate (命运), Sondrup _________, joined by a couple of other individuals who happened to be passing by. With unquestionable timing, no other cars were on the road, allowing her to cross over safely and reach the _________ scene.

Sondrup courageously _________ under the truck to check the injured man. In an act of __________, she used a bystander’s belt as a makeshift tourniquet (止血带) to stop the bleeding. Months have passed since that fateful day, and on October 18, the Phoenix Fire Department __________ Sondrup for her life-saving actions.

“I really feel that my guiding __________ led me to that very moment,” she told Fox 10Phoenix. “I’m not without imperfections, but I believe that at that __________ moment, I received a guiding premonition (预感).”

The man Sondrup rescued recently reached out to express his __________ for the second chance at life. “I wish him nothing but the best,” Sondrup said. “I hope he experiences a new __________ and a future filled with success.”

In a refreshing shift from conventional methods, some post-90 teachers in China are using memes (表情包), cute comments, and personalized feedback in their grading practices,     1     (receive) praise from parents and students alike. This innovative approach in education is reshaping the way students receive feedback on     2     (they) exams and assignments, making the learning process more engaging and enjoyable.

Gone are the days of impersonal and serious     3     (comment). Teachers are now using more conversational language in their evaluations, addressing students as “you” or “dear” instead of the formal “the students”. This change in tone creates a more personal and direct connection, fostering a positive learning environment.

The use of memes and hand-drawn images in marking papers     4     (be) not just about adding a touch of fun; it serves as a motivational tool for students. This trend has caught the attention of the online community,     5     many expressing their wish to have such creative and supportive teachers

    6     adoption of memes and personalized comments in grading represents a significant shift in educational practices in China. It not only aids in reducing the stress and pressure     7     (associate) with academic performance but also builds a     8     (strong) relationship between teachers and students. This method reflects a broader movement toward more empathetic and student-centered teaching     9     the focus is on encouragement and individual growth rather than solely on grades.

As these innovative practices gain     10     (popular), they promise to transform the educational experience for students, making learning more enjoyable and less frightening.

10 . Your social circle may be the reason you are overweight, a study has suggested. Experts have warned that obesity can spread through communities like a “social contagion (接触传染)”

Researchers studied hundreds of military families—who can’t choose where they lived—across the US. Their results revealed if you move to an area with a high rate of obesity. it increases your risk of becoming obese, too. For every percentage-point increase in the local obesity rate, the chances a person would be overweight or obese increased by up to six percent.

The researchers said people adopt behaviors of others subconsciously. Dr Ashlesha Datar and colleagues recruited families of US Army personnel at 38 military bases across the country. Their rates of obesity were reflective of the national rates. The study showed when assigned to bases in countries with higher rates of obesity, residents were more likely to become overweight or obese. For every single percentage-point increase in obesity rate of local people, the chances that a teenager would be overweight or obese went up by four to six percent, while the odds that a parent would be obese went up by five percent. The longer the families lived there, the more likely they were to see the weight pile on.

Dr Datar said, “Social contagion in obesity means that if more people around you are obese, then that may increase your own chances of becoming obese. Subconsciously, you are affected by what people around you are doing. We accounted for things that researchers in this field typically measure and found that shared environments did not play a critical role in explaining our results.”

Co-author Dr Nancy Nicosia said, “Although we could not measure social contagion directly, our findings support a role for social contagion in obesity.”

Obesity can be caused by many variables, and the association has been challenging for scientists to explain. One possibility is that people with similar interests and backgrounds tend to locate in similar areas. Another explanation may be that people are all influenced by the shared environment, such as opportunities for exercising and healthy eating. A third explanation may be that obesity is transmitted through social influence.