Get rid of mosquitoes, but how?

Almost everyone who spends time outdoors has experienced mosquitoes. These bloodsucking insects give itchy bites and can spread disease. But how can you avoid them and protect yourself?

Jessica Damiano is a gardening expert. In a recent story, Damiano said the best control is 【小题1】. And she gave suggestions on how to 【小题2】 mosquito populations.

It may seem difficult to avoid mosquitoes, as most of the areas in the world are 【小题3】 populated with them. People who live near 【小题4】 of water, such as lakeside, may experience more mosquitoes. But there are several measures you can take to reduce their numbers.

Mosquitoes need less than a centimeter of water to lay eggs. A female can lay hundreds of eggs at a time. So, check your 【小题5】 to see if there is anywhere that collects water. Water can easily collect in small 【小题6】 —a child’s toy, a trash can lid, or a cooking pot.

Even if the amount of standing water seems small, 【小题7】 it. Make holes in the bottoms of containers that can hold 【小题8】 water. Other standing water such as in ponds and bird baths can be 【小题9】 with chemicals.

There are other things you can do to protect yourself. Put screens in your doors and windows or keep them closed. And cut down on time spent outdoors between the early evening and the early morning. Mosquitoes are most 【小题10】 during that time.

How to tell if you’re living with ‘quiet stress’

The term “quiet stress” is gathering pace among experts. According to them, it’s an often 【小题1】 form of the more widely known version, which is characterized by visible 【小题2】: swearing shouting, and anger.

“We quietly 【小题3】 our stress within: we don’t speak up about how we actually feel, because of which we become inactive. We stay in unhappy relationships and 【小题4】 jobs. We feel overwhelmed, yet ignore important tasks. Quiet stress creates a form of emotional paralysis (麻痹) that keeps us 【小题5】 in unhappy situations,” says Jillian Lavender, who runs the London Meditation Centre.

Cary Cooper, a professor of psychology and health at the University of Manchester, compares the effects of quiet stress to shrapnel (散弹): “You can learn to 【小题6】 your stress responses, but eventually the stress will emerge: as well as an immune system that stops working well, you may withdraw socially, isolate yourself and begin to engage in unhealthy 【小题7】 like comfort eating or drinking too much. Despite getting a bad reputation over the years, expressing anger of frustration is far healthier than smiling 【小题8】 while feeling quietly stressed.

A recent study from Stanford University in the US backs this theory up. The researchers found that seeing stress as a helpful part of dealing with life’s challenges, rather than as something to be avoided, was associated with better health, 【小题9】 wellbeing and productivity at work.

“Stress isn’t always harmful” said Kelly McGonigal, a business school lecturer at Stanford who worked on the study. “Once you 【小题10】 that going through stress makes you better at it, it can be easier to face each new challenge.”

Make a Wish List

Most of us know of New Year’s Resolutions, where one sets intentions for the year ahead. But too often, people make their resolutions 【小题1】 — “I will no longer eat biscuits left at my desk”— and then feel unhappy. In the cold month of January, the last thing you need is to 【小题2】 your energy further by setting up a series of battles with yourself. And if you break a resolution, you feel 【小题3】, which is a rubbish way to start the year. What you need instead are things to look forward to.

So instead, try a wish list. This involves writing down 100 things you would like to do in the year ahead. The items can be enormous or tiny, ranging from “Climb Everest” to “buy a new pencil sharper”. The main thing is that at some point it has 【小题4】 to you as something that you would like to do.

The key here is — write it down.

Do you feel any resistance to the ideas? If so, ask yourself why. What is wrong with 【小题5】 what you would like to do? Try not to say to yourself: “I can’t I don’t have the money/time/energy/skills.” Just write it down.

It helps to be 【小题6】, so rather than “Get outdoors”, 【小题7】 a place you would like to visit. And take your time when creating it — a wish list is not built in a day. Think about it, polish it and 【小题8】 it.

Finally, you have your list. And what a work of beauty it is. Here are all the things that you would like to do. Remember to 【小题9】 them up where you can see them; let yourself consider how they can be accomplished. You’ll be amazed that so many of your dreams can be realized though the simple trick of writing them down and 【小题10】 to them.