The global energy crisis is approaching. What can we do? Here are some steps you can take.

Cooling puts the greatest stress on your summer energy bill and the power grid. Just as a tune-up for your car can improve your gas mileage, a yearly tune-up of your heating and cooling system can improve efficiency and comfort. Clean or replace filter monthly or as needed.

For central air conditioning systems and room air conditioners, look for the ENERGY STAR, the federal government’s symbol for energy efficiency. For central air, purchase the system with the highest possible Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. (SEER)

Use energy efficient ceiling fans either alone or with air conditioning. Ceiling fans do a great job of circulating air. When used with air conditioning, fans allow you to raise the thermostat and cut costs. Ceiling fans cool people, not rooms, so before you leave, turn off the ceiling fan.

Let a programmable thermostat “remember for you” to automatically adjust the indoor climate with your daily and weekend patterns to reduce cooling bills by up to 10 percent. You can come home to a comfortable house without wasting energy and creating pollution all day while you are at work.

Try to make your home airtight enough to increase your comfort, make your home quieter and cleaner and reduce your cooling costs up to 20 percent.

Cut your air conditioning load, and reduce pollution by planting leafy trees around your home and fixing reflective bricks on your roof.

Close blinds or shades on south-and west-facing windows during the day, or fix shading equipment to avoid heat build-up.

Turn off everything not in use: lights, TVs, computers. And use fluorescent bulbs, which provide bright, warm light while using at least two-thirds less energy, producing 70 percent less heat and lasting up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.

Drive the car that gets better gas mileage whenever possible if you own more than one vehicle. If you drive 12,500 miles a year, switching 10 percent of your trips from a car that gets 20 miles per gallon to one that gets 30 mpg will save you more than £65 per year.

Carpool. The average U.S. commuter could save about £260 a year by sharing cars twice a week with two other people in a car that gets 20.1 mpg-assuming the three passengers share the cost of gas.

In a recent interview, Lisa Feldman Barrett, professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, offered some advice to older people to help them keep the cognitive(认知) skills improved.

Challenge yourself on a regular basis, she urged, but don’t just do so casually. Study any new topic hard, until you feel tired and frustrated. This level of effort, she added, is associated with increases in the ease of communication within the brain and, as a result, cognitive skills will be improved.

Her advice is based on a study of “superagers”, individuals of 65 years or older, whose cognitive skills are as acute as the average 25-years-olds. Lisa believes that what sets superagers apart is their ability to use the unpleasant feelings they experience when challenging themselves as a signal to keep going, rather than as a warning to stop and rest.

While she provides convincing data to prove how cognitively young these superagers are, I’m not sure her conclusion about why this is so gives the whole picture.

Are superagers simply those who ignore, or even welcome, the pain and frustration that comes with intense mental effort? Or is there some other reason why they spend so much time and effort challenging themselves?

This is important, because if the only way to maintain youthful cognitive skills is to expose ourselves regularly to pain and frustration, it doesn’t make old age look particularly inviting.

Contrary to her opinion, I think “enjoyable” is the key. If what you’re doing is enjoyable, you are more likely to keep working hard at it.—probably without even noticing any discomfort.

Making yourself work until you are exhausted and frustrated holds little appeal. On the other hand, finding an activity you love so much that you don’t even notice when you are pushing yourself hard seems a far more attractive way to keep your brain active as you grow older.

How To Support a Child With Test Anxiety

It’s normal for students to feel nervous before or during a test.【小题1】. If you doubt your child is one of the many strugglings with test anxiety, here are some important things to help manage it.

Focus on time and stress management skills. Many children with test anxiety fear that they won’t be able to complete the test in time, so for these kids, focusing on time management skills may help. Winnett says working with planners and calendars and breaking up large projects into smaller tasks can be a good way. 【小题2】.Talk to your child’s teacher about tools students can use and practice deep breathing with your child, which can be a good way to help ease your child’s nerves the night before.

【小题3】 .Children with test anxiety may express a fear of disappointing their parents. Zeltser says parents may reinforce that fear and advises parents to focus on other values – trying your best, for example. Parents can reframe(再构造)these thoughts by telling the child that it’s more important to try hard than it is to get a perfect score on every exam.

Communicate with educators.Teachers are likely to notice test anxiety earlier than parents are. Things like going to the bathroom frequently or shaky hands during exams could be signs of test anxiety that parents may never see.【小题4】 .

Know when to seek professional help. If you’ve tried all of these techniques and nothing seems to help, it might be worthwhile to visit a therapist. Therapists who are trained in techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy will be able to help children with particularly terrible test anxiety. 【小题5】.