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set off, go up to, vote for, burst out, be crammed with |
Many scientists today are convinced that life exists elsewhere in the universe—life probably much like that on our own planet. They reason in the following way.
As far as astronomers can determine, the entire universe is built of the same matter. They have no reason to doubt that matter obeys the same laws in every part of the universe. Therefore, it is reasonable to guess that other stars, with their own planets, were born in the same way as our own solar system. What we know of life on earth suggests that life will arise wherever the proper conditions exist.
Life requires the right amount and kind of atmosphere. This eliminates (除去) all those planets in the universe that are not about the same size and weight as the earth. A smaller planet would lose its atmosphere; a larger one would hold too much of it.
Life also requires a steady supply of heat and light. This eliminates double stars, or stars that flare up suddenly. Only single stars that are steady sources of heat and light like our sun would qualify.
Finally, life could evolve (进化) only if the planet is just the right distance from its sun. With a weaker sun than our own, the planet would have to be closer to it. With a stronger sun, it would have to be farther away.
If we suppose that every star in the universe has a family of planets, then how many planets might support life? First, eliminate those stars that are not like our sun. Next eliminate most of their planets; they are either too far from or too close to their suns. Then eliminate all those planets which are not the same size and weight as the earth. Finally, remember that the proper conditions do not necessarily mean that life actually does exist on a planet. It may not have begun yet, or it may have already died out.
This process of elimination seems to leave very few planets on which earthlike life might be found. However, even if life could exist on only one planet in a million, there are so many billions of planets that this would still leave a vast number on which life could exist.
Sometimes life can seem challenging (挑战的) and we usually get the feeling of "the grass on the other side is always greener"! We usually feel upset with the troubles that life throws at us.
The best thing to do at that point of time is to close our eyes and start counting of all the blessings in life that God has given us.
If we think deeply, our life is full of blessings that we hardly recognize. Listening to the singing of birds early in the morning, we realize that there are many people who spend their life in a world that is silent while many others spend their lives in a world that is dark and may have never seen a rainbow or the setting sun.
When you go out for a drive, pull down the window and look at the poor beggar standing under the hot sun, begging for filling his hungry stomach. We get three meals a day without realizing its importance. Isn't that a blessing?
Whenever you are sad, look at the eyes of your parents and family filled with love and concern for you. There are many people who have never experienced the love of a family. Isn't that a blessing?
As Mother Teresa once said, "We don't need to do great things. We need to do small things with great love".
The key to a happy life is when we consider others problems to be our own and try to help them. When we love people without any expectations and help them, our heart is filled with a sense of happiness and peace seeing the smile on their face.
So the next time whenever life knocks you down, close your eyes and... start counting!
Why Pursuing (追求) Happiness Will Make You End up Being Unhappy
When we talk about happiness, we think about staying happy all the time. We try to pursue this constant state of "happiness" as our goal. No one has a perfect life. Pursuing happiness makes us end up being unhappy. There are several ways to avoid it.
Stop trying to be happy. It's natural to want to be happy as often as possible. So what can you do? Throw away the belief that a perfect life means happiness. It's from experiencing the pains of lifelong challenges that drive us to care for others when they are experiencing the same tracks. If life were perfect, you wouldn't be able to comprehend.
Understand the importance of gratitude. Instead of focusing on the unpleasant moment right now, flash back your memory to when you had or didn't have something. I like to think about my career, for example. But when I found my purpose and started my company, I was deeply happy, even before I realized I would be successful! This memory keeps me going when there are tough spots. It takes the darkness to make us grateful for the light.
Your life will be filled with beautiful, happy and incredible moments. But your life will also be filled with rain and storms that don't ever seem to pass when you're going through them. Don't try to avoid "sad" or "negative" experiences, and blindly chase being "happy". Being able to create growth and meaning out of both positive and negative events—that is the true meaning of "happiness".
A. Find the right motivation.
B. If life were perfect, you wouldn't grow.
C. Remember happiness and sadness exist together.
D. When I didn't have a career, I felt lost and hopeless.
E. Treasure the happy moments and pass through the sad ones.
F. However, in reality, there is always something missing or unpleasant.
G. The secret to happiness is to keep setting yourself new challenges.
Living a life with meaning and purpose is the key to improving your psychological well-being. Your purpose doesn't (necessary) have to involve changing the world or finding a career (devote) to helping others. Instead, you might make it your purpose to be kind every day.
you feel like your life lacks purpose, don't worry. There are many ways you can find purpose in life and build a life that has more meanings. You can begin by thinking about the legacy (遗赠) you would like to leave behind. Write down how you'd like to (remember) at the end of your life, or think about the impact you want to leave the planet. Then, establish some (objective) that can help you reach those goals. (work) toward your goals will give you a reason, to get out of bed every day, beyond earning money.
Thinking positively (improve) your psychological well-being. In turn, as your psychological well-being improves, becomes easier to think positively and feel good overall. Spend time thinking about some of the best memories of your life. Whether it's a family vacation you went on 10 years ago or you won an award at work two years ago, recalling the (happy) times in your life can bring more positivity to your thinking.
My old professor's death sentence came in the summer of 1994. Doctors guessed he had two years left. Morrie knew it was less. But my old professor had made a great decision, one he began to construct the day when he came out of the doctor's office with a knife hanging over his head. "Do I give up, or do I make the best of my time left? "He had asked himself. He would not be ashamed of dying. Instead, he would make death his final project, the center point of days.
The last class of my old professor's life had only one student. I was the student. The last class took place once a week in his house, by a window in the study. The class met on Tuesdays. It began after breakfast. The subject was The Meaning of Life. It was taught from experience. No grades were given, but there were oral exams each week. You were expected to respond to questions, and you were expected to ask questions of your own. You were also required to perform physical tasks now and then, such as lifting the professor's head to a comfortable spot on the pillow or placing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Kissing him good-bye earned you extra credit. No books were required, yet many topics were covered, including love, work, community, family, aging, forgiveness, and, finally, death.
I look back sometimes at the person I was before I rediscovered my old professor. I want to talk to that person. I want to tell him what to look out for, what mistakes to avoid. I want to tell him to be more open, to ignore the tricks of advertised values, to pay attention when your loved ones are speaking, as if it were the last time you might hear them. Mostly I want to tell that person to get on an airplane and visit a gentle old man in West Newton, Massachusetts sooner rather than later, before that old man gets sick and loses his ability to dance. I know I cannot do this. None of us can undo what we've done, or relive a life already recorded. But if Professor Morris Schwartz taught me anything at all, it was this: there is no such thing as" too late" in life. He was changing until the day he said good-bye.
