4 . Wechat (微信) is popular among us, but if someone deletes (删除) you or blocks (屏蔽) you on it, does it mean you’ve made him or her angry?

It depends.

Maybe you have just left messages too often without much valuable information. For example, the questions are those like ‘how are u?’ ‘what are u doing?’ ‘do u love me?’ too often. You know, people may feel bored after answering such kinds of questions time after time.

Another possible reason may be that you’ve sent something unpleasant to your friend or in your friend circle. I just blocked one of my middle school classmates yesterday because she was trying to sell fake goods in the friend circle, and I hate it quite much.

Some people delete the one’s name from friends’ list because they no longer want to see it (maybe ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend) and they don’t want the one to see their “Moments” (动态) on WeChat (maybe they publish very private pictures or life or thoughts they don’t want to share with him or her).

So why you are blocked may depend on his or her mood or preference (喜好), and the reasons a person gets blocked are various from person to person. So I suggest you to write an email or make a phone call to that person if he or she really means a lot to you to see why he or she is dissatisfied with you, and to find out how you can make up for the case.

5 . Shakespeare once wrote: “Neither a borrower nor A lender be;For loan (借款) often loses both itself and friend”. It’s often explained and used as a warning about the dangers of lending, and how you could risk a friendship through it. But why can lending money be so detrimental to our friendships?

If our friend or family member comes to us for hard cash, it can be very difficult to turn them away. You feel under pressure to help. And if that money doesn’t come back, it can lead to fights or even legal battles. So how can we, as the lender, avoid these problems? According to Bradley T. Klontz, an expert in financial psychology (心理学), there are some steps you can take.

Understanding why there is an unavoidable risk to lending anything to a friend is the first thing. And it’s not just the risk of losing the money, but the friendship could also be in danger. This is because, psychologically speaking, the action of lending has changed the balance of power. The lender becomes superior (高一级的), while the borrower may feel awkward with the new arrangement. Likewise, if you try to advise them on what to do with the money, it might make things difficult between you two. In other words, let go - and see it as their money.

And if you can’t afford to lend something, don’t. Saying “no” is hard when a friend comes asking, but if you need that money, refusing them is probably the safest course of action. If you still feel the need to lend, making a legally binding (有法律约束的) agreement and putting things down in writing could guarantee instalments (分期付款) or deadlines. But, some friends may not take too kindly to being asked to make it official - seeing it as a lack of trust.

Finally, for some, it’s best to just see the money as a gift and be pleasantly surprised if something comes back. And if you do want to keep your friendship, when you need to borrow some money, perhaps a bank is a better option.

6 . It is widely thought that smartphones and laptops show the progress of society. For example, a proper amount of online searching can be good for your brain, and there are apps that can promote brain function. Yet tech advances also come with some unexpected consequences.

Studies have shown that blue-enriched light from electronic things like smartphones can disturb the body’s internal clock and makes it impossible for you to stick to a proper sleep schedule. Losing sleep has negative effects on your brain, such as bad moods, decreased focus and problems with memory.

Technology makes it much easier to get distracted, for example, you step away from an important project to check your smartphone. Teens, in particular, are more distracted than ever. A recent survey of 2, 400 teachers found that most educators feel students are more distracted than previous generations. Some 64 percent agreed with the idea that today’s digital technologies distract students more than to help them academically.

And technology makes people much more forgetful than they used to be. The new generation are actually more likely to forget what day it is or where they put their keys than people over the age of 55, according to a survey. In a press release for the survey, one of the leading researchers said technology was to blame. “This is a population that has grown up multitasking using technology, often accompanied by lack of sleep, which causes high levels of forgetfulness,” she said.

People who depend on GPS to get around have less activity in the hippocampus (海马体), an area of the brain involved in both memory and direction. Another study found that taxi drivers had a more developed hippocampus than non-taxi drivers, because they are so accustomed to using spatial (空间的) memory, rather than relying on GPS.

Now that you’re probably horrified by the effects of technology, let us remind you that you do have the power to prevent it. Just log off every once in a while!

7 . 1970 was “World Conservation Year”. The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world was in danger. They hoped that the governments would act quickly in order to conserve(保护)nature. Here is one example of the problem. At one time there were 1300 different plants, trees and flowers in Holland, but now only 860 remain. The others have been destroyed by modern man and his technology. We are changing the earth, the air and the water, and everything that grows and lives. We can’t live without these things. If we continue like this, we shall destroy ourselves.

What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask “What must we do now?” The people who will be living in the world of tomorrow are the young of today. A lot of them know that conservation is necessary. Many are hoping to save our world. They plant trees, build bridges across rivers in forests and so on. In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of eleven kilometers of their river. Young people may hear about conservation through a record called “No One’s Going to Change our World!” It was made by Seatles, Cliff Richard and other singers. The money from it will help to conserve wild animals.

9 . Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers concluded that the French tend to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over.

According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers’ markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.

After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym.

In spite of all these differences, evidence(证据) shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity(肥胖) — or extreme overweight — among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject(排斥) older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17% — and is growing.