Does your friend’s good news fill you with envy instead of happiness?

Jealousy (妒忌) is a normal emotion     1     can help us learn more about what’s important to us and what we want in life, but it can be     2     (harm) if left unchecked.

We hope these tips will help if you’re struggling with feelings of envy.

★ Face the feelings

Take notice the next time you feel envy, and ask yourself what’s making you jealous. Try to get to     3     root of the issue.

Your envy might     4     (cause) by a particular person or topic. Maybe it’s a close friend that you get jealous of, or perhaps you turn green when someone     5     (achieve) a specific goal that you desire. Face your jealousy directly and look within to learn     6     it says about your values and self-worth.

★ Remember it’s you, not them

It can be easy to let jealousy take over and take our resentment out on the person we’re jealous of, but it’s important     7     (remember) that this is your issue, and your friend isn’t hurting you on purpose. It might help to be honest with them and address it instead of     8     (let) it fester(恶化).

★ Turn envy into     9     (motivate)

As uncomfortable as envy can be, it can also be a powerful force for change. If you envy your friend’s relationship, it might mean you should take action to improve     10    (you).

Coping With the Sunday Scaries

A few years ago, I was in the kitchen of a friend’s house preparing a meal. When we all sat down to eat, my friend’s wife wolfed down her supper and then disappeared into another room to do some work. He smiled and said, “Sunday nights are the new Monday mornings around here.”

I was surprised at the time. Now, I find myself     1    (behave) in exactly the same manner. Every time I open up my calendar on Sunday evening, a subtle sense of dread comes over me. I feel as     2     I am behind before the week has even begun.

Apparently, my Sunday-night anxieties and Monday-morning blues are not unique to me alone. A new study led by Ilke Inceoglu from the University of Exeter found that this phenomenon often takes the form of mental concerns about the week ahead, as well as feelings of nervousness and difficulty with sleeping. “It’s as if your mind moves away from     3     has been experienced over the weekend as the general sense of relaxation or enjoyment, and quickly shifts towards whatever worries you have about everything you’ve got to do in the work week ahead,” said one of Inceoglu’s respondents.

Inceoglu found that these Sunday scaries were particularly pronounced     4     people who frequently checked their emails during the weekend, had tasks left over from the previous week, and had unreasonably high expectations of themselves. These matters seem     5    (make) worse as a result of the pandemic, where the rise of working from home     6    (blur) the boundaries between work and leisure.

What should we do about the “Sunday scaries”? Researchers have offered some useful suggestions that     7     help us make Monday less depressing. One is to change     8     you think about the weekend. One U.S. study found that when participants were asked to treat their weekend as a mini-vacation, they tended to do more cheerful activities and returned to work on Monday satisfied with their jobs.     9     second way is to redesign our Monday so that it has some of the features that make us feel good during the weekend. Introducing simple changes, such as starting the day with something you are good at, setting aside a little unstructured time where you are able to do what you want, or setting up a lunchtime date with     10     you find enjoyable to be around, could make all the difference.

“Look on the bright side” is one of those     1    (suggest) that people always consider inspiring but less helpful. However, new research shows that finding something     2     interest in a terrible situation makes people quickly stop complaining. Besides looking at a challenge with humor is a good method,     3     may even be helpful in preventing depressed people     4     feeling sad.

In a study     5    (publish) earlier this year, researchers gave the participants some photos that show negative situations. Then they would describe these photos according to     6     request of researchers. Those using humorous words to describe the photos     7    (find) to have fewer negative emotions and more possibilities to go through a hard time in their life than those who described the photos     8    (direct).

So there appear to be no disadvantages to looking at difficult things in your life with humor and lightness. The conclusion from the study is that for those at higher risk of depression, humor can develop an ability     9    (control) negative emotions. What’s more, humor has an extra benefit of     10    (make) others around you smile. Therefore, when you feel stressed and couldn’t focus your mind on what you are doing, find something that can make you laugh first.

Crying is a natural response to emotions. Regardless of     1     causes the tears to flow, the physical reaction is usually the same with puffy cheeks and tight eyes     2     (lead) to streaming tears down one’s face. Despite its stigma (污名), crying can be an act     3     relieves tension and clears feelings of negativity and sadness. Crying can communicate our emotions to others and foster greater understanding and compassion. Ultimately, crying is a powerful tool we ought to use to free ourselves     4     negativity.

Lindsay didn’t feel herself last month. She was a really good student, but to her     1    (anxious), her grades were falling. That was because she sometimes felt     2    (confuse) about what the teacher said and sometimes had trouble     3    (concentrate) on her study. Her behavior attracted her father’s attention. He asked what had happened     4    her, but she refused     5    (communicate) with him and just cried.

Worried that it affected her daily life     6    (terrible), the father turned to his neighbor — a knowledgeable architect for help. The architect told him     7     unique solution to the problem. He recommended that he     8    (plan) a trip for his daughter. By getting close to nature and experiencing a different life, Lindsay did recover from it.     9     you have such signs, don’t worry. Maybe travelling     10    (be) a good choice for you.

Being disappointed is all about perspective. It took me a long time to realize this. I was under the impression that if someone did something I didn’t like, then I had the “right” to be disappointed. Of course the     1     (disappoint) always led to me having the “right” to be upset, depressed, or angry. After all, the situation didn’t turn out the way it     2     (suppose) to, or a particular person didn’t behave the way I       3     (believe) he or she should. Therefore, I was disappointed and felt let     4    . I never once thought it was just my attitude to the matter     5     caused my disappointment and that I could control this!

What I slowly began to realize through studying myself, as well as     6     (pay) attention to others around me, was that those     7     (thing) that would upset me, would not upset someone else. I also noticed that those things that appeared to be the biggest deal to someone else only     8     (make) me laugh. So what was going on?     9     (obvious), it couldn’t be the situation itself because that was the one constant thing in each equation. What did change was who was explaining the situation. That was     10     was different.

Today, the temperature in London is expected to reach 30 plus degrees, which is     1    (usual) for London because the average high temperature in July is only 22 degrees. Going     2     the stairs and onto the platform is like jumping into a volcano that’s erupting. Each summer in London definitely seems     3     (hot) than the last. I suddenly feel a bit scared and perhaps I should start planning     4     the future. I imagine putting my flat on the market and buying a boat. That way, when the Thames     5    (rise) and there is a flood in London, I’ll still be able to get to work. Later, I’m shocked by photos     6     (show) that a hurricane in Asia has destroyed a town. Experts say this bad weather has occurred due to climate change. News like this makes me feel nervous. This inspires me     7     (start) thinking about moving to space... “    8     next station is Bank!” comes the announcement. That’s my destination. I feel a fresh wind on my face     9     (immediate) I step out of the station. Well, maybe I have been worrying too much. After all, it’s only 30     10     (degree) outside!

“Conventional wisdom tells us that we can feel happier if we smile or that we can get ourselves     1     a more serious mood if we scowl(怒视),” said Nicholas Coles, a PhD at Utah University. His team combined data from 138 studies testing more than 11,000 participants and found facial     2    (express) do have impact on feelings. For example, smiling makes people happier, scowling makes them feel angrier, and frowning makes them     3    (sad). These finding are exciting because they provide a clue about how the mind and body interact     4    (influence) our conscious experience of emotion.

Putting down the mobile phone, talking about negative feelings with friends or seeking professional advice are some of the methods to help tackle depression and     1     (anxious) during the COVID-19 outbreak, experts said.

    2     the virus continues to circulate and lockdowns trigger mental stress, experts have also called for greater investment in mental health services nationwide.

The World Health Organization said in March that the prevalence of depression around the world     3     (increase) by 25 percent in the first year of the pandemic.

Lu Lin, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of the Peking University Sixth Hospital, said at     4     conference this month that China is no exception to the     5     (globe) trend.

From March 2020 to March 2021, the prevalence of depression and insomnia(失眠)in China had risen and repeated COVID outbreaks, quarantine requirements and the high risk of exposure     6     the virus could all contribute to     7     (worsen) people’s mental condition, according to data shared by Lu during the event.

In an interview with People’s Daily, Lu said that some misinformation circulated online during the epidemic     8     (magnify) people’s sense of panic.

The public should pay closer attention to information released by authoritative outlets, he suggested. People should also reduce the amount of time     9    they spend in front of screens and instead chat with friends or family, listen to music or exercise to relax     10     (they).

Navigating human emotions can sometimes feel like walking through minefields(布雷区), especially when these emotions are negative.

Envy is one of such emotions with certain negativity when it     1     (direct) at our loved ones. However, just like all other emotions, envy is human and normal and its morality depends on     2     we do with the way we feel. It only becomes negative when it is handled     3     a weapon or an excuse for bad behaviour.

Envy could cause serious damage to relationships if     4     (leave) to worsen, because people dislike to admit they feel that way towards someone they love, which tends to get worse and transforms into     5     (hate) when you silently think over it.

It’s impractical to completely prevent envy, but it is possible to refine the way we process it. Envy is not something to hide away. Being honest with ourselves about the way we feel     6     (help) us better understand what exactly were envious of and makes communicating with our partners     7     (easy).

We have all     8     (collective) got better at processing our emotions but there’s still a lot of work to be done. The goal is to get to a point     9     discussing envy becomes as casual as discussing excitement and can serve as     10     motivator in our life.