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小木虫论坛-学术科研互动平台 » 科研生活区 » 外语学习 » 50 Ways to Improve Your Life
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dqtznn

铁杆木虫 (著名写手)
8.Go Out for Chinese
Xin nian kuai le. You might not know what that means ("Happy New Year", but 1.3 billion Chinese do. And with the country's double-digit economic growth and rising global stature, anyone considering a language (or looking for a career boost) might think about tackling Chinese.

To be sure, you shouldn't expect to pick it up overnight. Chinese is one of the hardest languages for English speakers to learn. Words are depicted with pictograms rather than spelled out with an alphabet. And saying a word using the wrong tone can change its meaning from "mother" to "scold" or "horse." "Without a doubt, it's the tonal system that's the hardest thing about learning Chinese," says Jack Fairweather, a British journalist who has been studying the language for three months. "Unless my teacher knows exactly what's about to come out of my mouth, I will say something and she looks alternately perplexed, alarmed, or amused."

So some are starting early. Increasingly, high schools are adding Mandarin Chinese to the standard offerings of Spanish, French, German, and Latin. When the College Board surveyed high schools last fall to see how many were interested in offering Advanced Placement courses in Chinese, it expected around 200 to say yes; instead, 2,400 wanted in.

But for those who didn't get that jump-start, where to begin? Local colleges often offer evening and weekend language classes for adults. If you're feeling more ambitious and can afford to take time off work, Vermont's Middlebury College offers an intensive nine-week course, featuring a pledge to speak only Chinese from the moment you arrive. Brace yourself for a long, mind-opening journey. Even if you never master the language, getting there could be half the fun. -Bay Fang
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11楼2005-12-26 20:08:16
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fuyanxx

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相互支持，鼓励一下，可以上传附件的！
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12楼2005-12-26 20:44:08
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笨笨鱼

捐助贵宾 (小有名气)

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thanks a lot!
just go on !
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主页http://www.eastcome.com/
13楼2005-12-26 20:47:24
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dqtznn

铁杆木虫 (著名写手)
9.Why You Shouldn't Forget to Meditate

You've probably heard that regular meditation can help reduce stress and anxiety. In fact, we recommended practicing the skill exactly one year ago. Now there's even more reason to give it a try: It might also make you smarter. A fall 2005 study found that the brains of people who meditate were about 5 percent thicker in the areas that deal with focus and memory than the brains of nonmeditators. The more time someone had spent meditating in the past, the thicker their brains were in those spots.

Though the study doesn't prove it, "the implication is that meditation may actually improve attention and memory," says Sara Lazar, a research scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and the study's lead author. Researchers recruited 20 experienced meditators, who practiced betweeen four and six hours a week on average, and 15 control subjects, who had never meditated. The brains of participants in both groups were scanned using magnetic resonance imaging and then compared. The MRI s showed that areas of the cerebral cortex and the insula were thicker in the regular meditators' brains. These are the areas that are particularly active during insight meditation--the method used by participants--which involves keeping a concentrated focus on internal stimuli such as breathing.

Yoga, too. In daily life, having meditation experience might help you focus better during a test, pick up more details watching a movie, or even detect something that jumps in front of your car a split-second sooner, says Lazar. Centers that teach meditation and yoga--which can yield similar benefits--are available even in smaller cities, and books and tapes can also guide newbies through the basics.

But don't throw out your schoolbooks yet. Noting that it's difficult to accurately measure the brain, Adrian Dobs, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, says, "I'm not sure I believe in the brain size increase." Even if there were a difference in meditators' brains, Dobs questioned whether it had any effect on their intelligence. Still, a thicker mind and less stress sounds like a smart combination. -Michelle Andrews
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14楼2005-12-27 15:08:40
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dqtznn

铁杆木虫 (著名写手)
10.Singing Helps Keep Your Brain in Tune

When the Northern Virginia-based Senior Singers' Chorale--average age 80--belted out a Rodgers and Hammerstein medley, the audience went from "wondering who are these old codgers" to wild applause, says 81-year-old baritone Al Olsen. The biggest hit: a zesty men's section rendition of "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame."

Change the lyrics to "There is nothing like a choir," and you've summarized the findings of the ongoing study on creativity and healthy aging they're participating in. Begun in 2001 and cosponsored by George Washington University and the National Endowment for the Arts, the project follows folks ages 65 to 100 as they participate in community arts programs like the Senior Singles' Chorale. Compared with a control group of seniors who aren't involved in an arts program, the choir members not only are physically healthier--including fewer doctor visits and falls--but also more involved socially, less depressed, and in better spirits overall.

Yodel louder. "Music exercises the brain and the body," says Olsen, who enjoys the stimulation of learning new music and also finds himself "breathing more deeply and sitting up straighter," since he joined the choir a year ago. "Singing is a very physical process, and when you're making your music your body responds as if you were giving it a physical workout," says Eric Roter, a physician and musician who runs the website ermusic.org, which reviews the connections between music and medicine.

Roter points out that other studies have found that making music--singing or playing an instrument--can benefit seniors by reducing the risk of dementia as well as lessening the pain and stiffness of ailments such as arthritis. In fact, it's the multiple dimensions of music making--combining intellectual, physical, and social aspects--that appear to set it apart from other cognitively stimulating activities--like crossword puzzles, for instance--and that also can help keep us mentally alert even as we age. -Diane Cole
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15楼2005-12-27 15:09:41
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lixiahe

银虫 (小有名气)

1

go on
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天天小木虫
16楼2005-12-27 22:12:31
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yjhorn

木虫 (正式写手)

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GOOD!
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认识大家是缘分啊！
17楼2005-12-29 09:44:04
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dqtznn

铁杆木虫 (著名写手)
11.Tomorrow's Phones for Yesterday's Cost

Until now the joy of frugal geeks and early adopters, Internet phoning is finally ready to connect with just plain folks. It's inexpensive, fairly easy to set up, and cuts out the phone companies without forcing you to depend on a fritzy cellphone.

The Internet can bring crystal-clear conversations to your standard telephone for as little as $10 a month plus pennies more per call, or $20 to $25 for unlimited service. Some "voice over Internet protocol" companies even allow international calls free. You also get a bevy of services--like voice mail and three-way calling--that would push the cost of your telecom line to $40 or more. We've tried a variety of the services and have been impressed each time by call quality, including those at vonage.com , voicepulse.com, packet8.net, and broadvoice.com.

The companies send you a start-up kit, or you can buy one in some electronics stores, which includes a small box that plugs into a broadband modem or home network router. (You need broadband Internet service to make the phone calls.) Your phone then plugs into that little box. It's simple, but if you're still intimidated, many cable companies sell a similar service, and they'll send someone to install it.

Eternally busy. Internet phones also offer features that traditional phone service can't, like making your voice mail available on the Web or forwarding messages to your E-mail address. Or how about electronic screening that sends certain callers straight to voice mail or forever delivers them a busy signal? And if you take that little service box with you on the road, so goes your phone number.

Two caveats: Internet phones go down when the power goes out, unlike traditional lines. And not all companies relay 911 calls to emergency centers, or they can't relay an address and phone number. But most, under pressure from federal regulators, will have better 911 capabilities in coming months. -David LaGesse
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18楼2005-12-30 11:10:53
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小草皮

0.5

why not go on?
wonderful artical
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19楼2006-01-11 12:49:34
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