IS EXPLORING SPACE

A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY?

NASA satellite image of Typhoon Goni

Countries around the globe are spending billions of dollars and lots of time on various space missions, whether to Mars or other planets much further away. Some people argue that we should stop wasting time and money exploring space. Instead, we should feed the world’s poor and find immediate solutions to other problems, such as pollution and fatal diseases. However, others feel this is a shallow view which fails to realise how exploring space helps us.

Firstly, exploring space has already made a difference in the fight against world hunger. It has directly resulted in the many satellites that now orbit Earth. A number of the satellites record data on land and weather patterns. Then the data is transmitted to scientists on Earth. After careful analysis, the scientists can provide useful recommendations and advice for farmers. As a result, space-based science has helped farming in its efforts to grow enough food to feed Earth’s increasing population.

Secondly, space exploration has already promoted technological improvements that benefit us all. High-end products around the world are made to a higher standard now because of advanced technology which was first created to meet the requirements for space exploration. For example, space technologies have helped the research and development of different types of new material. They have also helped companies make better heart monitors and other machines that doctors regularly use. Today, space technologies are widely used in all kinds of industries, and everyday products such as GPS, memory foam pillows, and smartphone cameras are changing our lives.

Finally, sending astronauts into space has helped people to think about the world’s problems and even to find ways to solve them. Seeing pictures of our planet as an island in a black sea made people realise that our planet’s resources are limited. In order to provide for such a rapidly increasing population, scientists are trying to find other planets that could one day be our new home. The greatest attention at present is on Mars because it is closer to Earth. In the future, humans may live on both planets.

In closing, exploring space provides the world with many different benefits. Therefore, it should continue so as to provide new and better solutions to people’s short-term and long-term problems.

3 . Psychological science is full of interesting topics, many of which tell a coherent picture of human nature, but some of which create seemingly contradictory stories. A case in point is the misunderstood overlap(交叠) between strength­based science and the research on narcissism (自恋).

There is now convincing evidence to show that narcissism is on the rise, especially in our youth. Some researchers say that about 25% of young people showing symptoms of narcissism.

We are correct to be concerned about this phenomenon, but our fear that all kids are potential narcissists has caused an unhelpful reaction against approaches that seek to make our children and teens feel good about themselves.

In my own research on strength­based parenting, it is common for people to wrongly think this approach to be the cause of narcissism. Their argument seems to be that a child who knows their strengths will automatically view themselves as better than everyone else. It is argued that the self­assurance that comes with identifying and using their positive qualities will make a child selfish and uncaring.

Why does this occur? It’s partly because more is known about narcissism than strengths. While strengths psychology has largely stayed within the limit of academic journals, research on narcissism has made its way into the mass media and our daily life.The New York Times noted that narcissism is a favored topic and that people everywhere are diagnosing others with it.

The fear that a strength­based approach will cause narcissism also occurs because of our binary (非此即彼的) thinking. We mistakenly believe that one cannot be both confident and humble. Without confidence in their strengths, Gandhi and Mother Teresa couldn’t have achieved so much, and yet modesty and selflessness are their qualities.

When we assume that strength­focus is the same as self­focus, we fail to make the idea clear that people who know their strengths are, actually, more likely to be pro­social and ready to help others.

It’s easy to conclude that every young person is at risk of becoming a narcissist but I’d like to stand up for the thousands of young kids I have worked with who are caring, thoughtful and humble—even when they use their strengths.

7 . As a general rule, all forms of activity lead to boredom when they are performed on a routine basis. As a matter of fact, we can see this principle at work in people of all _________. For example, on Christmas morning, children are excited about _________ with their new toys. But their _________ soon wears off and by January those same toys can be found put away in the basement. The world is full of _________ stamp albums and unfinished models, each standing as a monument to someone’s _________ interest. When parents bring home a pet, their child _________ bathes it and brushes its fur. Within a short time, however, the _________ of caring for the animal is handed over to the parents. Adolescents enter high school with great excitement but are soon looking forward to _________. The same is true of the young adults going to college. And then, how many _________, who now complain about the long drives to work, __________ drove for hours at a time when they first __________ their driver’s license (执照)? Before people retire, they usually __________ to do a lot of great things, which they never had time to do while working. But __________ after retirement, the golfing, the fishing, the reading and all of the other pastimes become as boring as the jobs they __________. And, like the child in January, they go searching for new __________.

8 . Like many people, in terms of socializing, I prioritize (优先考虑) making time for my closest friends and family. When it comes to reaching out to people, I don’t know as well I often find myself unwilling to engage. This could be a big mistake, though, according to a new study. Having different types of social interactions seems to be central to our happiness —something many of us may think little of.

In a series of surveys, researchers looked at how having a socially diverse network related to people’s well-being. In one survey, 578 Americans reported on what activities they had been engaged in, with whom and for how long over the past 24 hours, while also saying how happy with life they were. The researchers found that people with more diverse social networks were happier and more satisfied with life than those with less diverse networks — regardless of how much time they had spent socializing overall.

“The more you can broaden your social circle and reach out to people you talk to less frequently —like an acquaintance, a friend, a coworker, or even a stranger —the more it could have positive benefits for your well-being,” said the lead researcher Hanne Collins of Harvard Business School.

To further test this idea, she and her colleagues looked at large data sets from the American Time Use Survey and the World Health Organization’s Study on Global Aging and Adult Health. In both cases, they found that when people had a broader range of social interactions, they experienced greater happiness and well-being.

Then Collins and her colleagues did another analysis, using data from a mobile app that 21,644 French-speaking people used to report on their daily social activities and happiness. There, they found that when someone experienced greater-than-average social diversity one week, they were happier that week and the week after.

Why is that? It could be that being with different people contributes to different kinds of emotions, which may be a driving force in our happiness, says Collins. Alternatively, it could be that having a more diverse network allows you to get various social supports when you need it. Whatever the case, Collins hopes her research will inspire people to expand their social networks when they can.