周六(11/21)1.一妻多夫可行嗎?2.巧克力&快樂

說吧!英文讀書會周日活動報告
11/22周日午2:00土城火焰山或桐花公園健行 歡迎您來參加
聚會點永寧站1號出口摩斯漢堡
如遇雨天 則延期再辦

板橋區文化路段421巷11弄1號 (陽光甜味咖啡館)

新埔捷運站1號出口 旁邊7-11巷子進入20公尺 看到夏朵美髮

左轉       聚會時間7:00pm--9:30pm 

一妻多夫可行嗎?

Would wife-sharing fix China’s glaring gender imbalance?  Nick Whigham,news.com.au

That’s the message from Chinese economist Xie Zuoshi, who has proposed the idea of wife-sharing for China’s new generation of lonely bachelors.

The men are known as guanggun, meaning bare branches, and by the year 2020, China is expected to have 30 million of them unable to find a partner.

The economics professor at the Zhejing University of Finance and Economics has suggested a system of one-sided polyamory, or as TheNew York Times put it “one wife, many husbands”, to address the growing social problem.

The Asian superpower has become the world’s biggest lonely hearts club due to the country’s one-child policy, coupled with a patriarchal society that leads parents to favour the birth of a son. Sex-selective abortions are illegal in the country but are nonetheless a widespread practice. The result is a gender imbalance that amounts to about 117 men to every 100 women.

According to Professor Xie, wealthy men will be able to afford the “high price” of women as their value increases, while poorer men will miss out on having a partner.

“What about the low-income men? One way is for several men to band together to find a wife,” he wrote.

He believes some rural families are already adopting the idea. “This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky idea of mine. In some remote and poor areas there are cases where brothers jointly marry one wife, and they can live happily and harmoniously,” he wrote.

As it is, many lonesome Chinese men are looking elsewhere for a wife, mainly in the neighbouring countries of Vietnam and Myanmar. However such a scenario has led to greater concerns over human trafficking and online dating scams.

Prof Xie also said if the government legalised same-sex marriage, it would help the situation. Currently, numerous Chinese gay and lesbian couples get together via online forums and services to have fake marriages where they wed one another but live in secret with their homosexual partner.

Q:

What do you think that idea of wife-sharing for china’s new generation of lonely bachelors?

What do you think of polyamory?

Is monogamy good or bad?

Do women want rich men?

Are poorer men difficult to having a partner?

What do you think about legalized same-sex marriage?

Opinions about dating scams?

巧克力&快樂

Why does chocolate make us happy? sciencefocus.com

Tryptophan

This amino acid is found in small quantities in chocolate and is used by the brain to make serotonin, the neurotransmitter that can produce feelings of happiness.

    Promotes feelings of attraction, excitement and nervousness and is associated with the initial euphoria of falling in love. It has also been isolated in chocolate.

    This chemical also acts as an anti-depressant by combining with dopamine that is naturally present in the brain.

Theobromine

    A weak stimulant that works alongside caffeine to produce the characteristic ‘high’ that many people experience after getting their chocolate fix.

    Scientists at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego suggest that chocolate contains substances that produce a cannabis-like effect on the brain.

    But don’t get too excited - you would have to ingest more than 25 pounds of chocolate in one sitting to get ‘high’ in the same way.

Another reason to be pleased

Scientists have confirmed that dark chocolate is beneficial for our health. The greater cocoa content provides high concentrations of antioxidants called flavonoids, which reportedly prevent cancers, protect blood vessels, promote cardiac health, and counteract high blood pressure.

Q:

Why does chocolate make us happy?

Can food eating boot mood?

How to Boost Your 'Happy Hormones?

What are your favorite food?

How to Stay in a Good Mood

What are the activities that will make you happier?

揪出不快樂是一回事，如何面對不快樂又是另外一回事，該怎麼辦呢？德國人還真是有一套，他們利用巧克力改善性格中的不快樂，有一項統計指出，法國人每人每年平均吃掉6.69公斤巧克力，希臘人吃了2.84公斤，英國人吃了8.59公斤，而德國人卻吃了高達10.12公斤巧克力。

很多醫生將巧克力做為抗輕微憂鬱症的天然藥物，因為含有豐富的鎂元素，每100克黑巧克力含79毫克的鎂（資料來源：衛福部「台灣地區食品營養成分資料庫」），另外苯乙胺醇（PEA）會刺激大腦快樂中樞，讓大腦複製歡愉快感；巧克力還含有色胺酸，是協助人體合成血清素的重要物質之一，有足夠的血清素，人會處於穩定的情緒之中，具有安神和抗憂鬱的作用。

旅遊是德國人擺脫憂鬱的最好辦法，他們真的很愛旅遊。2／3以上的德國人，每年都會享受一次長達5天的度假行程；1／10的人一年會旅行兩次；德國人每年一日遊的平均次數是26次，所以出國旅遊時經常遇到德國人，不用太過訝異，因為這就是德國人尋找快樂的方法。

每個人都有不快樂的時候，但要記住，快樂過一天會比愁眉苦臉過一天來得好，所以當心情沮喪、低落時，不能任壞心情予取予求，一定要消除不快樂的因子，坦然面對及尋求對策。

作者 / 潘懷宗　遠見

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週五(11/20)1.大笑療法2.血拚會快樂

說吧!英文讀書會周日活動報告

11/22周日午2:00土城火焰山或桐花公園健行 歡迎您來參加

聚會點永寧站1號出口摩斯漢堡

如遇雨天 則延期再辦

板橋區文化路段421巷11弄1號 (陽光甜味咖啡館)

新埔捷運站1號出口 旁邊7-11巷子進入20公尺 看到夏朵美髮

左轉       聚會時間7:00pm--9:30pm 

大笑療法

Laughter therapy is the practice of deliberately releasing laughter to improve one’s physical and emotional well-being. It is believed that laughing can produce a number of physical and psychological benefits, and advocates of laughter therapy hold that it is useful both for those in the midst of a serious crisis and those facing everyday stresses. This type of therapy may involve both genuine and artificial laughter, and may be practiced in groups or alone. Those conducting laughter therapy sessions may face the challenges of finding exercises that all participants find humorous and getting timid individuals to participate.

Research suggests that laughter can produce a number of benefits for both the mind and the body. For instance, it can relieve stress, sadness, and fear, and can improve one’s attitude toward issues like unemployment or illness. Laughter may also provide a range of physical benefits in some individuals, such as improved blood pressure and digestion and diminished pain. Taking note of such potential health benefits, certain doctors and researchers began to develop the concept of laughter therapy in the late 20th century. This type of therapy can be used for those facing significant challenges, such as terminal illnesses, as well as those who simply want to improve their response to the stresses of everyday life.

The exact format of laughter therapy sessions can vary widely. They can consist of informal activities, such as watching a humorous movie or reading a silly book, or may take the shape of structured sessions in which participants perform a series of laughing exercises. A therapy session can involve just one participant or many.

Many researchers believe that artificial laughter can “trick” the brain into producing the same health benefits as genuine laughter. Consequently, during structured laughter therapy sessions, therapy leaders often ask participants to produce exaggerated laughing sounds. Although this artificial laughter may be beneficial on its own, many therapy leaders claim that the silliness of fake laughter exercises often leads to genuine laughter among participants.

A sense of humor is, simply put, the ability to be amused. Most people have one, and are able to laugh at jokes, humorous situations, and a variety of other potential sources of amusement. In humans, it develops at a very early age, and is often considered to be a vital part of human development. Some animals also appear to find things funny, with the ability to enact jokes and comedies of their own

Q:

What do you think about laughter therapy?

How often do you laughing?

What are the benefits of laughing or smiling?

What other therapies can make you happy and relax?

What are the benefits being around with humorous people?

How to be funny and make people love you?

Do you like funny jokes and humorous stories?

Dose humor be an important part of human being?

 

血拚會快樂

Shopping To Be Happy? Study Finds It Can Actually Reduce Sadness

The Huffington Post  |  By Ellie Krupnick

Does shopping make us happier or sadder? There is much anecdotal evidence to support both sides (in fact, we often conduct our own research on the matter on weekends). But the latest academic study to tackle the question comes down on the side of happiness.

In a paper entitled "The Benefits Of Retail Therapy: Making Purchase Decisions Reduces Residual Sadness" in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, professors out of the University of Michigan argue that shopping can actually reduce our sadness. As the authors explain in their abstract, "Sadness is strongly associated with a sense that situational forces control the outcomes in one's life." Thus shopping, by restoring control over one's situation, can reduce sadness.

The study's experiments split subjects into actual shoppers -- "choosers" -- and those who just window-shopped -- "browsers" -- who were each shown 12 products. As the Independent reports, 79 percent of the choosers felt more in control while choosing, compared with 2 percent of the "browsers." The "choosers" were also three times less sad.

Of course, it's hard to pinpoint a universal definition of sadness; for some people, sadness means lack of control, but for others, it might stem from something else entirely. But the new study has previous findings on its side, like a 2011 paper that argued that shopping has lasting positive impacts on mood and that "the consumption of self-treats can be strategically motivated."

However numerous counter-studies have shown that shopping is a stressor, intensifying the effects of stress particularly in materialistic people. A 2011 report found that those who pursue material possessions tend to be less satisfied and experience fewer positive emotions every day. And a HuffPost survey found that people who are stress-shoppers also tend to be stress-eaters and "stress-exercisers" -- i.e. people who default toward the "flight" side of fight vs. flight and distance themselves from stress with unrelated activities rather than facing it head-on.

And not dealing with stress, anxiety and the major problems in your life could ultimately make you much less happy down the line.

Q:

Does shopping makes us happier or sadder?

The pros and cons of online shopping?

Why feeling sad makes us shop?

Do you like shopping? Are you an impulse buyer?

How to say "no" to impulse buying?

What are the reasons we impulse buy?

How to save money and stop impulse buying?

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週四(11/19)恐怖攻擊&生存法2.為智慧手機自殺

說吧!英文讀書會周日活動報告
11/22周日午2:00土城火焰山或桐花公園健行 歡迎您來參加
聚會點永寧站1號出口摩斯漢堡
如遇雨天 則延期再辦

板橋區文化路段421巷11弄1號 (陽光甜味咖啡館)

新埔捷運站1號出口 旁邊7-11巷子進入20公尺 看到夏朵美髮

左轉       聚會時間7:00pm--9:30pm 

恐怖攻擊&生存法

IS jihadists claims Paris attacks that killed 128  By Eric Randolph, Simon Valmary, AFP

PARIS, AFP- Islamic State jihadists on Saturday claimed a series of coordinated attacks by suicide bombers and gunmen in Paris that killed at least 128 people at a concert hall, restaurants and the national sports stadium.

French President Francois Hollande also blamed the Islamic extremist group and called the coordinated assault on Friday night at six different sites an "act of war".

At least eight militants, all wearing suicide vests, brought unprecedented violence to the streets of the French capital in the worst attacks in Europe since the 2004 Madrid train bombings.

In the bloodiest part of a night of violence, four men armed with AK47s and shouting "Allahu akbar" stormed into a rock concert at the Bataclan concert hall in eastern Paris, gunning down at least 82 people and taking dozens hostage.

How to survive in a terrorist attack  survivopedia

1. In the first stage of a terrorist attack, the most important thing is that you’re still alive and didn’t die in the first sneak attack – it means you’re lucky. Now you must keep staying alive, hence if you hear gunshots or explosions and you don’t know what to do, go find yourself some proper cover!

•     Duck and cover, and keep moving until you reach your cover. By proper cover, we don’t mean “hide under your desk”; that won’t help much. A good shelter, maybe the ideal spot, is behind a support beam or a concrete pillar, they will protect you from random bullets or even stop debris from hitting you in the eventuality of an explosion.

•     If you see people choking and collapsing, it may be some chemical stuff floating in the air, so cover your nose and your mouth. Even the thin fabric of a scarf or a shirt (especially if it’s wet) will make a difference and it will reduce the chances of inhaling chemical/biological agents, not to mention the smoke and dust that will be in the air after an explosion.

2. The second stage of surviving a terrorist attack is to try to escape from ground zero (if you’re at the ground zero).

If you’re inside and the problem is inside, just get out of there! The general rule of thumb when you’re indoors is to know exactly where the exit points are at all times; that knowledge may save your life some day.

If the danger is somewhere outside and you’re inside of a building, stay away from the windows in case of a secondary explosion.  Next, close all the doors and windows, shut off the air conditioning system in order to keep the eventual toxic substances from sneaking inside.

Q:

What do you think that IS jihadists claims Paris attacks that killed 128?

How to survive in a terrorist attack?

Is that possible Taiwan be attract by terrorist?

What should you do if you're kidnapped by terrorists?

How to stop suicide bombers attacks?

Where is the safest country around the world?

How to escape from ground zero of terrorist attacks?

為智慧手機自殺

Smartphone death: Woman can’t live without the Internet, kills herself over it - TomoNews

COIMBATORE, INDIA - In India, a newlywed wife committed suicide after her husband took away her smartphone.

The wife, age 19, and her husband were married just 4 months ago. It was an arranged marriage, but aside from bickering about the wife’s phone usage, the couple seemed happy.

The husband often complained that his wife spent far too much time on the phone. She had asked that he buy her a smart phone so that she could use apps and access social media sites. He refused, but his brother-in-law bought her a smartphone anyway.

Frustrated with the hours his wife spent on her phone, the husband took away the smartphone and gave his wife a regular mobile phone, which could only send texts and make calls.

His wife was angry and locked herself inside their bedroom, a few hours later her husband and friends discovered she’d committed suicide by hanging herself.

The husband was visibly shaken and attempted to jump off the balcony after discovering his wife had killed herself over a smartphone.

Q:

What do you think this report that Woman can’t live without the Internet, kills herself over it?

Can you live without the Internet or a smartphone?

How much time you spend on the phone and internet?

Do internet and smartphone influence your sleeping?

Pros and Cons of using internet?

Pros and Cons of using smartphone?

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週二(11/17)1.光棍節&網購節 2.專注力

周日11/ 15 午3:30 說吧英文讀書會   新月橋單車活動

活動路線: 3:30 新埔捷運4號口集合 /出發/空檔時間下午茶或是新莊老街行/回程傍晚看星光新月橋 

(租借  需要優遊卡) 請先報名額 不需費用  自帶下午茶費用

板橋區文化路段421巷11弄1號 (陽光甜味咖啡館)

新埔捷運站1號出口 旁邊7-11巷子進入20公尺 看到夏朵美髮

左轉       聚會時間7:00pm--9:30pm

光棍節&網購節

Alibaba busts Singles Day sales record  Nyshka Chandran cnbc.com

The e-commerce giant says it generated $10 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) within 14 hours of the start of the shopping event — well above last year's record of $9.3 billion, which Alibaba surpassed by 1 p.m. in China on Wednesday. It's also well above the $2.4 billion sold on Cyber Monday, the biggest online sales day in the U.S.

Known as the world's biggest 24-hour online shopping event, Singles Day falls on November 11th every year. 2015 could see the event record its best performance yet, with 56 percent of mainland Internet users expected to increase spending from last year, according to a recent Nielsen survey.

This year, mobile sales are a key driver for Alibaba.

Mobile accounted for 73.9 percent, or $2.9 billion, of total GMV in the first hour on Wednesday, compared to 45.7 percent during last year's sale, while the total number of mobile buyers exceeded more than 27 million.

The impressive numbers are undoubtedly a boon for Alibaba, which has previously struggled with mobile strategy amid rising competition from other Internet giants such as Tencent.

This year, Alibaba Group has transformed 11.11 into an unprecedented mobile shopping experience. Over the course of the 24-hour shopping marathon, consumers will have a new surprise every hour that has been especially tailored for mobile users. The whole world will witness the power of Chinese consumption this November 11," said Daniel Zhang, Alibaba's chief executive officer.

Singles Day was created in the 1990s as a way to celebrate single life—the 11.11 date represents solitary figures—but Alibaba became the first major company to monetize the holiday, launching a special online sale in 2009 that effectively transformed the day into a shopping phenomenon. It's one that reflects the growing wealth of China's middle class.

Q:

What do you think about singles day?

What do you think about the e-commerce giant Alibaba?

Does shopping really make you happy?

What are the advantages of online shopping?

Is single good or bad for a person? What are the advantages of being single?

Is marriage good or bad for a person? What are the advantages of being married?

How to live a good single life?

 

專注力

(本文由熱心的  Helen 提供)

How to Stay Focused: Train Your Brain

NADIA GOODMAN  ENTREPRENEUR.COM

1. Do creative work first.

Typically, we do mindless work first and build up to the toughest tasks. That drains your energy and lowers your focus. "An hour into doing your work, you've got a lot less capacity than (at the beginning)," Rock says. "Every decision we make tires the brain."

In order to focus effectively, reverse the order. Check off the tasks that require creativity or concentration first thing in the morning, and then move on to easier work, like deleting emails or scheduling meetings, later in the day.

2. Allocate your time deliberately.

By studying thousands of people, Rock found that we are truly focused for an average of only six hours per week. "You want to be really diligent with what you put into those hours," he says.

Most people focus best in the morning or late at night, and Rock's studies show that 90 percent of people do their best thinking outside the office. Notice where and when you focus best, then allocate your toughest tasks for those moments.

3. Train your mind like a muscle.

When multitasking is the norm, your brain quickly adapts. You lose the ability to focus as distraction becomes a habit. "We've trained our brains to be unfocused," Rock says.

Practice concentration by turning off all distractions and committing your attention to a single task. Start small, maybe five minutes per day, and work up to larger chunks of time. If you find your mind wandering, just return to the task at hand. "It’s just like getting fit," Rock says. "You have to build the muscle to be focused."

Q

Is it easy for you to stay focus? what do you do when you are distracted from your work?

in your opinion, how to stay focus?

do you think the man who can stay focus for a long while would be successfully easier?

what are the keys to achieve goals/ complete task?

how to deal with a task efficiently?

which ability is most important for you?  to be stay focus or multitasking?

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