推理判断题 知识点题库

    Many of us think, wrongly, that the moon doesn't change. For example, the Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ruoxu once wrote that "Generations have come and passed away; From year to year the moons took alike, old and new."

    However, a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience shows that the moon is in fact slowly shrinking over time. For the study, a group of US scientists examined and analyzed thousands of photographs taken by the NASA orbiter Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (月球勘测轨道飞行器照相机) . They found that there were lots of faults (断层) on the surface of the moon. These faults were formed by recent movement on the moon.

    According to NASA, the moon is made up of pieces of rocks with a hot core (核) .The moon continued to expand as it was born. But in this process, it released energy and cooled down. Then it began to shrink, in a way comparable to the shrinking of a grape into a raisin (葡萄干) . Over the past several hundred million years, it has become 46 meters "skinnier". But due to its hard and rocky crust (外壳) . the moon's surface continues to push up, "Some of these quakes can be fairly strong around five on the Richter scale (里氏震级) ," said Thomas Watters, a senior scientist at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in the US.

    But does that mean the moon is a dangerous place that human shouldn't try to explore and live on in the future? Maybe not, reported the Telegraph, "This isn't anything to worry about. The moon may be shrinking, but not by much. It's not going anywhere," Watters comforted us.

    The new discovery proves that the idea that the moon is a dead, boring place is wrong. "We have been to the moon and we've done some great science, but there is still a lot we don't know. The moon is shrinking ­ we didn't really realize that until recently. It's a much more active and interesting place than we thought and we should explore that," NASA scientist Nathan Williams said.

    Many people find that music lifts their spirits. Now a new research shows that music therapy (疗法) can be a useful treatment for depression.

    The finding that music therapy offers a real medical benefit to depression sufferers comes from a review by the Cochrane Collaboration, a non-profit group that reviews health care issues. Some studies looked at the effects of providing music therapy to patients who were receiving drug treatment for depression. Others compared music therapy to traditional talk therapy. In four out of five of the trials, music therapy worked better at easing depression symptoms than therapies that did not employ music, the researchers found.

    “While the evidence came from a few small studies, it suggests that this is an area that is well worth further investigation.” said lead author Anna Maratos. Ms. Maratos notes that music therapy might be particularly useful for adolescents who may reject a traditional form of counseling. Some older patients also may not be comfortable talking about their feelings but do tend to express themselves through songs.

    There are two main types of music therapy. Sometimes, a therapist will listen to music with a patient and talk about the feelings or memories that it arouses. In another form, the therapist is a skilled musician and will improvise (即兴创作) music with the patient. If the patient doesn't play an instrument, he or she might be given a simple percussion (击打) instrument and the therapist will play along.

    Other studies have shown a benefit from music therapy in the treatment for dementia, learning disabilities, strokes and pain management during labor and birth. The problem is that there isn't very much high-quality research. "It doesn't easily attract serious research funding. It's difficult to do high-quality, large-scale trials." said Ms. Maratos.

    A society that lives by the plastic fork may very well die from it. That's how things are looking. Anyway, for a world so used to disposable(一次性的) habits, any hope for a solution(解决方案) also increasingly seems to be buried.

    Sure, there have been some hopeful ideas. Boyan Slat, the Dutch inventor developed a plan for Covering the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Not long after it started, Slat's system experienced "material fatigue(疲劳)"-likely the result of being strained(使受到压力) by all that trash-and the task was delayed.

    All the while, the plastic increases. Its growth is very fast, according to Linda Wang, a professor of chemical engineering at Purdue University. She says, "We'll have more plastic than fish by 2050." Yet Wang, along with other researchers at Purdue, may have a solution not only to this plastic problem, but also to the growing need for clean energy.  Her team has developed a system that turns waste, a durable, lightweight material that accounts for about a quarter of all plastic waste, into a highly pure form of gasoline.

    Publishing their findings in the journal Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, the scientists' state that instead of making plastic go away, they can break it down and reuse it, using chemistry to destroy what chemistry brought to the world when plastic was developed back in 1907.

    The process uses "supercritical" water-heated to around 450 degrees Celsius (842 degrees Fahrenheit),beyond the key point at which distinct liquid and vapor phases(气液态) exist-to boil plastic waste into an oil, the researchers explain. It takes a couple of hours for the supercritical water to complete the transformation, but the result is a kind of oil that can be used as gasoline or fuel. It can also be turned into other products.

    The researchers have only made the transformation in a laboratory setting so far, but they suggest turning the process to a commercial scale(规模) may not be far off. And considering the 300 million tons of plastic into the environment every year, that day can't come soon enough. But it will come in time.

    We can make mistakes at any age. Some mistakes we make are about money. But most mistakes are about people. "Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?" "When I got that great job, did Jim, as a friend, really feel good about it?" "And was Paul friendly just because I had a car?" When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad. But when we look back, it's too late.

    Why do we go wrong about our friends or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meaning. And if we don't really listen we miss the feeling behind the words. Suppose someone tells you, "You're a lucky dog." That's being friendly. But "lucky dog"? There's a bit of envy in those words. Maybe he doesn't see it himself. But bringing in the "dog" bit puts you down a little. What he may be saying is that he doesn't think you deserve your luck.

    "Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for" is another noise that says one thing and means another. It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem as part of your life as a whole. But is he? Wrapped up in this phrase is the thought that your problem isn't important. It's telling you to think of all the starving people in the world when you haven't got a date for Saturday night.

    How can you tell the real meaning behind someone's words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking. Do his words fit the way he looks? Does what he says agree with the tone of voice? His posture(姿态)? The look in his eyes? Stop and think. The minute you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you may save another mistake.

    Rescue workers had collected 820 birds from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the majority of them already dead. The current spill promises to be the largest in US history, and as cleanup efforts stretch across the summer, it's clear that more oiled birds will be found, stuck and suffering in the black stick liquid. And as they do with every oil spill, rescue workers will go to great lengths to capture and clean the survivors hoping to restore them to their natural habitat.

    Is it worth the effort? Some scientists aren't so sure. Because the stress of being captured and bathed is as significant as the horror of being immersed in oil, and because research suggests that many rescued birds die shortly after being released, some experts say euthanasia (安乐死) is a more humane option.

    Clean bird feathers repel water (防水) and regulate body temperature while dirty ones don't. Oil in particular makes feathers heavier and decreases their ability to trap air, which in turn makes birds weak and become easier to drowning, overheating and organ damage. Of course, being captured and cleaned is no picnic either. Some birds wind up returning to their destroyed habitats only to fall victim to the oil again. And those who manage to avoid a second oil bath suffer dramatically shortened life spans (跨度) and lower reproductive success. Of the thousands of birds that were rescued from the Prestige oil spill off the coast of Spain in 2002, only 600 were released into the wild; most of the rest died after just a few days in captivity.

    However, bird rescuers say they have learned a lot about how to best help oil-soaked birds, and that therefore, survival rates stand to increase this time around. In the past, birds were cleaned right away, and volunteers often worked through the night bathing rescued birds. But now, captured birds are left to rest for a day or two before being cleaned, and only washed during the day, so as not to disrupt their circadian (生理的) rhythms. But part of that increase may be due to greater selectivity on the part of rescuers. The workers do blood tests right in the field now and birds that are loaded with hydrocarbons (碳氢化合物) or don't look like they're going to make it are put down right away, rather than subjected to the stress of captivity and cleaning.

    And so far, while release rates may be improving, there is little evidence of better medium or long-term survival, especially for the more-difficult-to-save species. There still aren't good protocols (协议) for repairing the internal organ damage. Anyway, rescue efforts will continue in large part because the public demands that. Euthanasia is a difficult thing to do, especially for people who have built their lives around saving animals.

    Here list some biggest and best bookstores in Beijing:

    Wangfujing Xinhua Bookstore

    It is the one of the best bookstores in Beijing and largest chain bookshop in China with thousands of branches. It offers a large collection of books involving politics, economics, literature, education, art and science, with a total number of nearly 200,000 books. VCDs, DVDs and digital reading materials can also be found in the bookshop.

    Opening Hours: 09:00 - 21:30

    Location: No.218, Wangfujing Street, Dongcheng District (next to Oriental Plaza)

    China Bookstore

    As one of the best bookstores in Beijing, it is not a very big one, but it offers many traditional Chinese literature works. The new books here are at an 80% discount normally, while there are some second hand books as well at much cheaper prices. Additionally, you will find an impressive selection of books on Chinese painting, calligraphy and photography.

    Opening Hours: 09:00 - 17:00 (Weekdays)

    Location: No.115, East Liulichang Street, Xicheng District

    Beijing Language and Culture University Press Bookstore

    This is the best one from which to buy Chinese language learning books of all levels. There are also dictionaries, encyclopedias, linguistic books and reading materials from which to choose.

    Opening Hours: 09:00 - 17:00 (Weekdays)  09:00 - 16:00 (Weekends)

    Location: Chengfu Rd, Haidian District

    Beijing Book Building

    There is a great variety of books from which you may choose. In this biggest bookstore in Beijing, you will find books written in English in the basement, and there are many Chinese language learning materials on the third floor. The personnel in the bookshop are very helpful, and they speak English.

    Opening Hours: 09:00 - 21:00

    Location: No.17, West Changan Avenue, Xicheng District

    Many people believe eating healthily is expensive and more costly than buying junk foods. But our new research, published in the BMC Pubic Health, shows this isn't the truth.

    Less than 7% of Australians eat healthily. Most of the Australian family food budget is being spent on junk foods and drinks that are high in fat, sugar and salt. As a result, two-thirds of adults (63%)and one-quarter of children are overweight.

    We used the Australian Health Survey 2016-2017 and the suggestions of the Australian Dietary Guidelines to model healthy diets for a family of two adults and two children every two weeks. We collected food prices in supermarkets and stores in high and low-socioeconomic（社会经济地位低的）areas in Brisbane, and compared the diet prices with family incomes.

    In both areas, a family of two adults and two children spend about 18% more on present diets than would be required to buy healthy diets. About 58% of the food budget for present diets is spent on junk foods, including takeaway foods(14%(, and sugary drinks(4%). In the low-socioeconomic area, a family of two adults and two children spend $640.20 every two weeks on their present diets, but could buy a healthy diet for $5560.93 every two weeks. In the high socioeconomic area, these numbers are S661.92 and $580.01.

    Present diets cost more than healthy diets, so it is surely not the price that helps to drive preferences for unhealthy choices.

    People have been wondering why elephants do not develop cancer even though they have lifespans (寿命) that are similar to humans, jiving for around 50 to 70 years.

    Now scientists believe they know why. A team at the University of Chicago, US has found that elephants carry a large number of genes that stop tumors (肿瘤) developing. To be precise, they found 20 copies of an anti-tumor gene called TP53 in elephants. Most other species, including humans, only carry one copy.

    According to the research, the extra copies of the gene improved the animal's sensitivity to DNA damage, which lets the cells quickly kill themselves when damaged before they can go on to form deadly tumors.

    "An increased risk of developing cancer has stood in the way of the evolution of large body sizes in many animals," the study author Dr Vincent Lynch told The Guardian. If every living cell has the same chance of becoming cancerous (癌变的), large creatures with a long lifespan like whales and elephants should have a greater risk of developing cancer than humans and mice. But across species, the risk of cancer does not show a connection with body mass.

    This phenomenon was found by Oxford University scientist Richard Peto in the 1970s and later named "Peto's paradox (悖论)”". Biologists believe it results from larger animals using protection that many smaller animals do not. In the elephant's case, the making of TP53 is nature's way of keeping this species alive.

    The study also found that when the same genes were brought to life in mice, they had the same cancer resistance as elephants. This means researchers could use the discovery to develop new treatments that can help stop cancers spreading or even developing in the first place.

    "Nature has already figured out how to prevent cancer," said Joshua Schiffman, a biologist at the School of Medicine, University of Utah, US. "It's up to us to learn how different animals deal with the problem so that we can use those strategies to prevent cancer in people."

    It has been discovered that after the age of sixteen, the number of our brain cells begins to decrease at a speed of several million a year. They simply die off. In certain types of activity, the human brain is at its highest point in the early twenties, when it has collected enough information to be able to use the vast number of cells freely in the most effective way. Pure mathematics is one of the fields in which this happens, and we know that Albert Einstein made all his world-shaking discoveries between the age of about 20 and 25, and spent the rest of his life tidying them up and arranging them.

    But in certain other types of activity (of which being an author is perhaps one), experience is more important than sharpness of brain, and there one usually finds that a person reaches his or her peak much later in life.

    Besides sharpness of brain and experience, here is another thing that is very important, and that is wisdom. One can have a very quick, inventive brain and plenty of experience, but if one uses these foolishly, one harms both oneself and others. Wisdom does not always come with age ——there are plenty of foolish middle-aged people about ——but the average person tends to learn wisdom as he gets older, usually by making painful of embarrassing mistakes. Leaning to be wise is basically learning what is not possible; and what is possible but so difficult that it is not worth all the trouble one has to go through to get there. Mostly, it is learning about human nature; how real people behave and react, as against how one would like them to behave and react. One can read and hear lot of idealistic stuff about how to make the world a better place, which would be found if it was based on an accurate observation of human nature, but which is basically a waste of time because it is not.

    Advice to "sleep on it" could be well founded, scientists say. After a good night's sleep a problem that couldn't be solved the night before can often appear more manageable, although the evidence until now has been anecdotal. But researchers at the University of Luebek in Germany have designed an experiment that shows a good night's sleep can improve insight and problem-solving.

    "If you have some newly-got memories in your brain, sleep acts on these memories and restructures them, so that after sleep the insight into problem which you could not solve before increases," said Dr. Jan Born, a neuroscientist, at the university. To test the theory, they taught volunteers two simple rules to help them turn a string of numbers into a new order. There was also a third, hidden rule, which could help them increase their speed in solving the problem. The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups: half were allowed to sleep after the training while the rest were forced to stay awake.

    Dr. Jan Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out the third rule as the other group. "Sleep helped," Born said in a telephone interview. "The important thing is that you have to have a memory representation in your brain of the problem you want to solve and then you sleep, so it can act on the problem.

    "But Born admitted that he and his team don't know how restructuring of memories occurs or what governs it. Pierre Maquet and Perrine Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the anecdotal suggestions that sleep can help develop creative thinking. Although the role of sleep in human creativity will still be a mystery, the research gives people good reason to fully respect their periods of sleep, they added.

    An experiment which saw salad seeds sent into space has given hope for the future of growing food on another planet, according to a recently-published study.

    The findings have appeared after two kilograms of seeds spent six months on board the International Space Station(ISS) with British European Space Agency(ESA)astronaut, Tim Peake, as part of his Principia mission.

    There, the seeds could have absorbed up to 100 times more radiation(辐射)than on Earth while being influenced by the violent shaking from the stresses of space travel.

    When the seeds returned to Earth in 2016,600,000 children from schools across Britain took part in an experiment, supported by the UK Space Agency, to plant them and monitor their growth, comparing it to that of seeds that had remained on Earth.

    The results showed that, while the space seeds grew more slowly and were more sensitive to ageing, they were still able to survive.

    Peake said, “When humans travel to Mars, they will need to find ways to feed themselves, and this research helps us understand some of the biology of seed storage and germination(发芽) which will be important for future space missions.”

    The Royal Horticultural Society(RHS) tasked 8,600 schools and groups across Britain to take part in the controlled study, recording their results as a scientist would.

    It was part of a project called Rocket Science, led by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening, in partnership with the UK Space Agency.

    RHS manager Alana Cama said, “The Rocket Science experiment opened a window into space biology and allowed young people to be at the forefront of creative research.”

    “This research project did more than just inspire; it furthered our understanding of the challenges around growing plants in unusual environments and the possibility of growing food on long-term space missions in the future. Inspiring a new generation of botanists and biologists will remain our goal to enrich everyone's lives through plants.”

    Picking pineapples can be hard, heavy work often with little reward. The price paid for each individual fruit is a small part of a penny.

    The leaves from pineapple plants are usually thrown away. A use for them has now been found, turning the leaves into fabric, which provides some extra income for workers.

    “I think everybody is quite surprised that the fabric is made of pineapple, because it doesn't smell like pineapple, it's not spiky, it's got a nice texture( 质地) to it. So it's quite an unusual thing to be working with. ” said Ben Patton, designer for Material Products.

    To make the fabric, fibers are extracted(提取) from the leaves. These get sent from the Philippines to Spain.

    Once there, machinists complete the process of turning them into a material which has been named 'Pinatex'.

    An online shop based in Cambridge has begun using Pinatex to create handbags, satchels and purses.

    And these are the finished bags. If you want one, they'll charge you around 137 pounds. The texture is slightly crinkled – not too different to some leathers.

    As manufacturers become more confident using the material, it's hoped that more items will be made out of it in the future, making use of pineapple leaves that were otherwise destined to be wasted.

Remember back when virtual reality came out as the Next Big Thing? Videogame maker Sega developed a mass-market head-tracking VR system and showed it to reporters and industry representatives at the 1993 winter Consumer Electronics Show. It performed as advertised, carried an affordable $200 price tag and was set to launch the following year. Unfortunately, among other issues, testers reportedly developed headaches and motion sickness using the headset and the system was quietly shelved.

A report just issued by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, suggests a similar problem could be found in self-driving cars. According to the study's authors Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle, that's because the three main factors that trigger motion sickness-specifically, a conflict between balance and visual inputs, an inability to anticipate the direction of motion and a lack of control over the direction of motion-tend to be increased in self-driving vehicles.

The report suggests between six and ten percent of Americans riding in self-driving vehicles would be expected to always, or at least usually, suffer some degree of motion sickness. What's more, the frequency and severity suffered can be expected to vary depending on what the person is doing at the time instead of driving. Those reading, watching movies or television, texting and working while on autopilot should suffer the most motion sickness, while those who steadfastly keep their eyes on the road are likely to endure the least measure of discomfort.

Authors Sivak and Schoettle suggest automakers design self-driving cars specifically to help reduce it, including having large transparent windows to maximize visual field, and setting seats and displays so that riders are facing forward. Alternately, riders could always take anti-nausea (防呕吐) medications, though this is not a particularly practical solution for various reasons. Beyond that, riders could take a nap, or at least keep their eyes closed while the vehicle is in motion, which is said to help minimize motion sickness.

When travelling abroad, you have to spend some time thinking about gifts. What should you buy your family or your best friend? It could be a Yankees baseball cap if you Visit the U.S.A. In Vietnam, a straw hat called a non la is a popular tourist gift. If you ever visit Russia, you may want to think about buying a set of Russian dolls (玩具娃娃).They are like no other doll.

The proper name for a Russian doll is a Matryoshka doll. When you first see it, it looks like a single doll. Pick it up and twist(扭转)its top, you will find that it comes apart around the middle. Inside is a second doll, looking exactly the same as the first, but smaller. Twist the second doll, and the same thing happens. You keep twisting each doll until you end up with a very tiny doll. Usually, there can be up to 10 dolls making up a set.

Russian dolls were first made in 1890 and included eight dolls. These were all hand carved and painted. They were dressed in a traditional dress called a sarafan. The word "Matryoshka" means matron — an older married woman. The idea was that it meant a family with the mother being at its head. The dolls proved to be very popular and it was not long before every woodworker was making them.

The Russian doll appeared at the Paris World's Fair in 1900. Everyone who saw them wanted one. Soon people visiting Russia also wanted to have one. Being quite small, they could fit into tourists' luggage (行李) very easily — unlike a non la! The dolls were all hand carved and painted until about 1930, when factories began producing Russian dolls which are not expensive.

Walking around the tourist streets of Moscow, you will find many shops selling Russian dolls. The traditional Matryoshka dolls are still there, but today you can also find the images(形象)of all kinds of different people.

A new study, a project of the researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, finds the fitness tracker probably does not help with weight loss.

The devices are designed to record your physical activity. They are usually worn around the wrist, where they measure a person's heart rate. The research team looked at two groups of individuals. The first wore a fitness tracker and took part in health counseling (咨询) with experts to consider the best weight-loss plan. The researchers compared this group with people who only got health counseling.

The study found that those only speaking with the health experts lost nearly 6 kilograms, but those using a fitness tracker lost only 3.5 kilograms. John Jakicic, the lead researcher, questioned the use of electronic devices for weight control in place of "effective behavioral counseling for physical activity and diet."

The study involved 470 subjects aged between 18 and 35. Some of them were overweight, while others were considered obese (肥胖 ). Over three fourths of the subjects were women. All the subjects were told to increase physical activity and start on a low-calorie diet. They had their weight measured once every six months. After six months, researchers divided the group into two parts: one continued with monthly counseling, while members of the other group were given a fitness tracker. Eighteen months later, both groups "showed significant improvements in fitness, physical activity, and diet," with no major difference between groups. However, when it came to losing weight, the people who only spoke with experts lost nearly twice as much weight.

Jakicic said, "the study's findings are important because effective long-term treatments are needed to address America's obesity." More information is needed, he added, to learn how to best use these devices to change "physical activity and diet behaviors" in adults who want to lose weight.

Exercise is good for us. It reduces the risks of dying from all causes, including cancer and heart disease. But many people who work all week have little time for exercise. So, they might try to do something to increase their heart rates over the weekend—go for a long run, take a bike ride or hike in the mountains. But is it healthy to avoid exercise during the work­week and then try to fit it all in during the weekend?

A new study suggests that, yes, it is healthy. Australian researchers at the University of Sydney did the study. It took place over a nine­year period. During that time, the researchers looked at the self­reported exercise habits and health examinations of more than 63,000 adults in England and Scotland. Then they connected that information to death records.

The researchers found that people who exercised only one or two days a week improved their chances of living longer than people who did not exercise at all. Even those who are fat could extend their lives by exercising a couple of days per week.

Emmanuel Stamatakis is the senior author of the study. He says that he found it very encouraging that even people who exercised as little as one or two times a week appear to lower their risk of early death. In other words, their health improves even if they don't meet the suggested weekly amount of physical activity. However, to be in the best health, Stamatakis says more exercise is better.

The WHO suggests that adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate to intense activity per week. For the best results, the organisation suggests 75 minutes per week of intense physical activity. However, if you are busy with work and family duties, exercise as much as you can.

An international group of coffee experts has considered Ethiopia's coffee as the best in the world. Coffee is a top export (出口物) of the country. But at home, it is seen as national pride. Ethiopians feel good about their coffee, and enjoying a drink with friends is a long tradition.

Some people say the climate produces quality beans. Morton Wennersgarrd is a coffee importer. He said, "Ethiopia has different ancient types of coffee. They are planted in places with perfect soil, perfect altitude (海拔), and climates that are really suitable for coffee processing."

Finding the best quality beans is often an issue of taste. The process is known as cupping — tasting and comparing coffee from different roasted beans, grading and then pricing them. But before international experts come to taste, coffee beans are studied in small coffee laboratories. Helen Assefa, a lab technician, describes  the process, "When the coffee comes to the lab, we assess (评价) its quality first by recording the details. Then we weigh the moisture (水分) level and we examine the beans for analysis. After that we grind (磨碎) the coffee beans and taste the samples. In the end, we check for defective (有瑕疵的) beans." Mubarik Abaoli is a lab worker. He says that testing is a very difficult and long process. "We select out the defects by hand. And we select out the defect according to the defect types."

Ethiopia has got a lot of money by exporting coffee to more than 120 countries. The country has an export revenue (税收) of more than 840 million a year. But not all the best coffee leaves Ethiopia. Forty percent of the coffee grown in the country stays there. It remains an important part of everyday life at work, at home and at ceremonies.

In winter, many of us are reaching for more clothes and turning on the heat. Besides wearing a pair of long johns, increasing our food intake can help protect us against severe cold. So what food keeps us warm?

Red meat, such as beef, lamb and pork, is great when you find yourself in cold conditions because it is a fantastic source of iron, which is crucial for circulating your blood. Iron is an important mineral to help carry oxygen throughout your body. People with low iron may notice cold hands and feet or easily become tired. Eating red meat can also supply vitamin B12, which contributes to healthy nerves and a strong immune system.

Oats can keep you warm in winter. It's great thermogenic（生热的）food and is filled with nutrients that release energy slowly throughout the day to keep your body warm. You can start your day with a hot breakfast of oats or other types of porridge. Oats are a great source of whole grains and fiber. In addition to keeping you full and warm, oats are full of other nutrients.

Hot ginger tea can make you feel warm inside on a cold day. Ginger is known to be good for health. It's also a diaphoretic (发汗药), which means it will help your body warm from the inside. Ginger has the nature to produce heat and help blood circulation in our bodies, making it a great source of warmth.

Root vegetables like sweet potatoes need more energy to move through the digestion process, which raises your body temperature. High in vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium (钾), sweet potatoes add fiber and other nutrients to a warm winter meal. Sweet potatoes also have beta-carotene (β胡萝卜素) that is good for eye heath.

Last week was Sports Day at my daughter's school. She was part of the Yellow House. She had to wear yellow and race for points. The Yellow House won. I was really pleased for my daughter because last year the Green House won. In fact，when the winning house was announced last year, many little faces turned sour. There were many tears and children were bitter because they had lost.

Losing is never fun. From a young age children know that winning is the best result. As parents, we can talk to children about the importance of everyone having a chance to win; we can teach our children to be happy for their friends when a friend wins.

As children grow older they will be exposed to more and more competition. It is important that we teach our children to learn to "bounce back" from losses, to experience loss in a positive way and to keep on going even when they don't achieve the desired outcome.

By teaching children how to be resilient(适应性强的), we can prepare them for adult life in the future. Our children can learn to compete for fun and learn how to bounce back from life's failures and disappointments.

We can talk to our children about competition. We can teach by examples and show our kids that losing a game or failing a test is not the end. Losing is simply a chance to try again and a chance to become more successful.

Raising emotionally healthy children is very important for the future generation and by teaching our children the above principles we can help them to overcome the difficulties of life and they will learn to compete in healthy ways throughout their lives.

It warmed my heart today to walk into the Thirsty Camel downtown in the Thanksgiving Day, for a quick lunch before a haircut and library trip. Ihan, a food shop owner, said that he was refusing to take money today because it was Buy Nothing Day. To increase awareness(意识) of the strange over spending nature of our society, Ilan suggested a trade for food today. He simply asked that you offer something of equal personal value for the meal you received.

At first I was really uncomfortable, wondering if it would be fair to exchange a yet to be determined "I Owe You" (IOU) for food? What could I give him of equal value? After all, his food is the best in the town!

We ended up writing our IOU's with promises of a book, some paintings and the offer of work in a variety of ways if he needs it.

I think the idea isn't that the trade is "equal" so much as the importance of the kind of transaction. We put thought into our offer and we had an even greater understanding for the meals we ate.

We don't buy a lot, especially at this upcoming time of year. We don't give gifts at all in fact. The holiday time is spent enjoying each other's company and doing things together with family and friends. This is what seems most sensible.

Ilan is a good person. We are all lucky to have someone like this in our community.