选择知识点

D

Does happiness have a scent?

    When someone is happy, can you smell it?  

You can usually tell when someone is happy based on seeing them smile, hearing them laugh or perhaps from receiving a big hug. But can you also smell their happiness? Surprising new research suggests that happiness does indeed have a scent, and that the experience of happiness can be transmitted through smell, reports Phys.org.

      For the study, 12 young men were shown videos meant to bring about a variety of emotions while researchers gathered sweat samples from them. All of the men were healthy and none of them were drug users or smokers, and all were asked to abstain from drinking or eating smelly foods during the study period.

        Those sweat samples were then given to 36 equally healthy young women to smell, while researchers monitored their reactions. Only women were selected to smell the samples, apparently because previous research has shown that women have a better sense of smell than men and are also more sensitive to emotional signaling—though it's unclear why only men were chosen to produce the scents. 

       Researchers found that the behavior of the women after smelling the scents—particularly their facial expressions—indicated a relationship between the emotional states of the men who produced the sweat and the women who sniffed them. 

      “Human sweat produced when a person is happy brings about a state similar to happiness in somebody who breathes this smell,” said study co-author Gun Semin, a professor at Koc University in Turkey.

     This is a fascinating finding because it not only means that happiness does have a scent, but that the scent is capable of transmitting the emotion to others. The study also found that other emotions, such as fear, seem to carry a scent too. This ensures previous research suggesting that some negative emotions have a smell, but it is the first time this has proved to be true of positive feelings.

      Researchers have yet to isolate(分离) exactly what the chemical compound for the happiness smell is, but you might imagine what the potential applications for such a finding could be. Happiness perfumes, for instance, could be invented. Scent therapies（香味疗法）could also be developed to help people through depression or anxiety.

          Perhaps the most surprising result of the study, however, is our broadened understanding of how emotions get communicated, and also how our own emotions are potentially managed through our social context and the emotional states of those around us.

As we know, many teen celebrities(名人) feel and think that having a slimmer figure can do great good to them. But, does size really matter? Are teenage fans trying hard to become like their celebrity idols? Do celebrities really have the power to influence people, especially teenagers?

For the longest time, many parents blame teen idols for influencing the way their kids act. Have you noticed how teens idolize the celebrities these days? Even, their personal affairs are being followed by kids these days. Take for example the case of Lindsay Lohan and Mary Kate Ashley. They are definitely famous teen stars. But, since they are trying to project an image to satisfy a lot of people in show business, their health and body suffer. Many kids are aware of this problem. But they are easily influenced by these celebrities to exercise and eat less.

It is a fact that the media, and especially famous teen celebrities, can influence people powerfully. But teenagers are easily influenced because teenage years are the period when our personality and identity developments take place. Teens watching TV shows and reading magazines are easily pulled into the dieting and harmful eating habits because the media have some ways to pull these acts. They use thin models and celebrities to endorse(做广告宣传) products or to star in an up-and-coming shows or movies. With fierce competition, celebrities are forced to eat less and do extreme exercise routines to get the roles or offers that come their way.

Living in today’s time and generation is a bit disturbing to a lot of parents. Media, especially as well as the celebrities, have a very powerful influence to drive teenagers to good or bad. It’s good that we can control ourselves to avoid bad things from happening. If not, parents should really be aware and guide their teens to determine what’s in ad what’s out.

D

Chinese people read less than eight books last year, including both print and e-books, but the average time spent on mobile reading has for the first time exceeded one hour per day, showed statistics published by Chinese Academy of Press and Publication on Monday.

This is the academy’s 13th report regarding Chinese people’s reading habits in 17 years. The survey looked at the reading habits of both adults and children from 0 – 80, placing them in four different age categories, across 29 provinces in China.

The number of print books the average person read last year was 4.58, which basically remained the same level as that in 2014. The figure is rather low compared with other countries, with France being 12, South Korea being 11, Japan being 9 and the US being about seven, according to a report by Xinhua last year.

However, in contrast to the tiny increase in books being read last year, people’s interest in mobile reading has seen a significant rise. The average time Chinese people spent reading on their cellphones is 62.21 minutes, which nearly doubles the previous year’s average time of 33.82 minutes.

And more people are reading via their WeChat app as well. The most popular social networking phone app in China has also been providing public account services, which allow people to read comparatively long articles using the app. In 2015, 51.9% Chinese adults had used WeChat to read, a 17.5% increase on 2014.

But does that mean e-reading is replacing traditional reading in China?

Wei Yushan, president of the Academy of Press and Publication told People’s Daily that it doesn’t seem likely to him. “Having gone through a rapid development between 2011 and 2013, e-books are seeing a slowdown in their sales. Taking the US as an example, the sales growth of e-books has fallen behind that of print books in the past year.” In China, nearly 60% of people still prefer traditional reading to e-reading.

A new study shows that only aggressive negotiators get what they want. Researchers found the most effective strategies for securing a bigger salary were to be aggressive and "not take no for an answer". Workers who began pay negotiations and pursued a raise aggressively had the most success, the study found.

   Employees who had "done their homework" in advance of negotiations also earned themselves more holidays. But more employees who compromised in the hope of not worsening relationships fared(进展)the worst as they eventually caved in(屈服)to management wishes.

   Researchers discovered that workers who avoided salary discussions in interviews, almost never got a raise.

   Their study found those who actively sought out a raise earned an average $ 5000 more every year than those who didn't. They also found almost no difference between methods in male and female workers, suggesting that career-driven women were just as "competitive" during salary negotiations.

   Professor Crystal Harold said the study wanted to open up the "black box" of the negotiating process. "Our results suggest workers who were more prepared for the negotiation process were able to use more aggressive strategies," said Professor Harold. "By 'prepared', I mean those who learned more about the market value of their positions, did their homework on the organization and perhaps inquired about previous offers made about the organization. These individuals were empowered and were generally more aggressive." She added, "Furthermore, workers who used a more competitive strategy, such as not taking no for an answer, threatening to withdraw from the process if the offer was unacceptable, were successful in raising their salary."

   The researchers interviewed 149 newly hired workers from different industries, who were asked to fill out questionnaires asking them what they did to earn a pay raise.

      C

    Velma Lyrae spends up to 18 hours a day limited to a cage because she is allergic(对…过敏) to modern technology. The 51-year-old can’t use a mobile phone, music player, or WIFI. She can’t even use a hairdryer to dry her hair. Instead, she spends her days reading books, doing artwork, and writing letters, all from the comfort of her Faraday cage.

    She suffers from an increasingly common condition called electromagnetic(电磁的) hypersensitivity syndrome(EHS), which means she cannot stand to be near electromagnetic fields. Velma’s condition happened with the arrival of 3G mobile phones, although having an electric shock before is believed to make people more likely to have the disease.

    As a teenager, Velma suffered a shock when she touched the switch during an electric fire in her bathroom. At first, the symptoms were hardly noticeable, but they have gradually become worse over time.

    Velma worked as a secretary for a number of companies in the 1980s, but was forced to leave her job. She said, “Even back then, I could feel a huge agitation when using the computer, but I thought it was just because I didn’t have the technological skills. Now I know that I was starting to feel anxious because of the symptoms of my EHS.”

Dr. Erica Mallery-Blythe said, “The symptoms of EHS can cover a broad range of systems, often start subtly(微妙的), and can be mistaken for other medical conditions. Adults and children today are exposed to very high levels of electromagnetic fields that no life on the planet has ever witnessed before. It is no surprise that the number of those with EHS is rising. One of the tragedies is that people use these approaches－cages , shades, necklaces－to try to protect themselves, but those are not long-term solutions. They are simply survival means. The long-term solution is building the internal adaptive(适应) ability that enables those with EHS to be like the rest of us.”

A

The Orphan（孤儿）Trains began 75 years ago. They helped thousands of children without parents or homes. Some children were adopted by Christian families. Those who were not adopted were the official foster children.

Most Orphan Train children found good homes with loving Christian families. But a few ended up with families who used the children as servants. Anyway, if a child were being badly treated, the Orphan Trains usually found him or her a new home. They were not only provided with food and shelter but also kept away from a life of crime.

Clara and her two brothers were lucky to find good homes through the Orphan Trains. When Clara was about seven, her parents and a sister were killed when they tried to cross a river in New York State. She and her two brothers, five-year-old James and three-year-old Howard, were sent t o different families in Kansas. Each child ended up with a different loving family. They were able to keep in touch with one another throughout their lives. Clara’s new mother was a school teacher. When she grew up, Clara married, moved to Texas and lived a happy life all through her life.

 In an interview, the grown-up “orphans” said they learned in the process of their life how important it is to be loved. They grew up to become loving, caring parents of their own children.

You may think that sailing is a difficult sport, but it is really not hard to learn it. You do not need to be strong. But you need to be quick. And you need to understand a few basic rules about the wind.

First, you must ask yourself, “Where is the wind coming from? Is it coming from ahead or behind or from the side?” You must think about this all the time on the boat. The wind direction tells you what to do with the sail.

Let’s start with the wind blowing from the behind. This means the wind and the boat are going in the same direction. Then you must always keep the sail outside the boat. It should be at a 90° angle (角度) to the boat. Then it will catch the wind best.

If the wind is blowing from the side, it is blowing across the boat. In this case, you must keep the sail half way outside the boat. It should be at a 45° angle to the boat. It needs to be out far enough to catch the wind, but it shouldn’t flap (摆动). It shouldn’t look like on a flagpole. If it is flapping, it is probably out too far, and the boat will slow down.

Sailing into the wind is not possible. If you try, the sail will flap and the boat will stop. You may want to go in that direction. It is possible, but you can’t go in a straight line. You must go first in one direction and then in another. This is called tacking. When you are tacking, you must always keep the sail inside the boat.

In October, Ubayd Steed, a sixth grader in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was taking a math test when he noticed a classmate looking at his paper. " I quickly turned my paper over," he said. Later that day, Ubayd met the cheater and told him not to do it again.

Unfortunately, Ubaydˈ s experience is not unusual. Whether itˈs kids copying class -matesˈ answers during tests or friends sharing homework, cheating happens in schools every day. Experts say the behavior starts in the lower grades. Surveys show that one in three elementary students admits to cheating.

Jacob Harder, a fourth grader in Ware, Massachusetts, has had classmates ask to copy his homework. "I wouldnˈt want to just tell them the answers," he says. So instead, he explains the task and encourages his classmates to do it themselves.

But many kids find it hard to say no. "l hear from kids all the time, ˈ I canˈ t say no to a friend,ˈ" says Eric Anderman, a professor at The Ohio State University who studies cheating in school. He says itˈ s important to say no from the start. "Then you nip it in the bud, and the other kid gets the message," he says. Plus, he points out, "a real friend is not going to disown you because he or she couldnˈt copy your math homework."

The kids doing the copying may feel they need to cheat to be accepted by other kids. And some students may cheat simply because others do. "If youˈ re in an atmosphere where cheating is common, you may think that if you donˈ t cheat, youˈ re at a disadvantage," says Michael Josephson, founder of the Josephson Institute of Ethics.

But Josephson says students shouldnˈt think that way. "There are a lot of things kids do," he says. "You have to decide what kind of person youˈ re going to be."

When school becomes too challenging, Anderman suggests going to the teacher rather than relying on the work of others. "Itˈ s good to ask for help," he says.

As we know, many teen celebrities(名人) feel and think that having a slimmer figure can do great good to them. But, does size really matter? Are teenage fans trying hard to become like their celebrity idols(偶像)? Do celebrities really have the power to influence people, especially teenagers?

For the longest time, many parents blame teen idols for influencing the way their kids act. Have you noticed how teens idolize the celebrities these days? Even, their personal affairs are being followed by kids these days. Take for example the case of Lindsay Lohan of Mary Kate Ashley. They are definitely famous teen stars. But, since they are trying to project an image to satisfy a lot of people in show business, their health and body suffer. Many kids are aware of this problem. But they are easily influenced by these celebrities to exercise and eat less.

It is a fact that the media, and especially famous teen celebrities, can influence people powerfully. But teenagers are easily influenced because teenage years are the period when our personality and identity developments take place. Teens watching TV shows and reading magazines are easily pulled into the dieting and harmful eating habits because the media have some ways to pull these acts. They use thin models and celebrities to endorse(做广告宣传) products or to star in an up-and-coming shows or movies. With fierce competition, celebrities are forced to eat less and do extreme exercise routines to get the roles or offers that come their way.

Living in today’s time and generation is a bit disturbing to a lot of parents. Media, especially as well as the celebrities, have a very powerful influence to drive teenagers to good or bad. It’s good that we can control ourselves to avoid bad things from happening. If not, parents should really be aware and guide their teens to determine what’s in and what’s out.

B 

Tell a story and tell it well, and you may open wide the eyes of a child, open up lines of communication in a business, or even open people’s mind to another culture or race.

People in many places are digging up the old folk stories and the messages in them. For example, most American storytellers get their tales from a wide variety of sources, cultures, and times. They regard storytelling not only as a useful tool in child education, but also as a meaningful activity that helps adults understand themselves as well as those whose culture may be very different from their own.

“Most local stories are based on a larger theme,” American storyteller Opalanga Pugh says,“ Cinderella, or the central idea of a good child protected by her goodness, appears in various forms in almost every culture of the world.”

Working with students in schools, Pugh helps them understand their own cultures and the general messages of the stories. She works with prisoners too, helping them knowing who they are by telling stories that her listeners can write, direct, and act in their own lives. If they don’t like the story they are living, they can rewrite the story. Pugh also works to help open up lines of communication between managers and workers. “For every advance in business,” she says, “there is a greater need for communication” .Storytelling can have a great effect on either side of the manager-worker relationship, she says.

Pugh spent several years in Nigeria, where she learned how closely storytelling was linked to the everyday life of the people there. The benefits of storytelling are found everywhere, she says.

“I learned how people used stories to spread their culture,” she says, “ What I do is to focus on the value of the stories that people can translate into their own daily world of affairs. We are all storytellers. We all have a story to tell. We tell everybody’s story.”