“Donˈt worry if you have problems!” It is easy to say until you are in the midst of a really big one. The only people who donˈt have troubles are gathered in little neighborhoods. Most communities have at least one. We call them cemeteries（墓地）. If youˈre breathing, you have difficulties. Itˈs the way of life. And believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you! Let me explain. 

Maybe you have heard the Great Barrier Reef(大堡礁), stretching some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef.

On one tour, a traveler asked the guide an interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon(环礁湖)side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant(充满生气的) and colorful," the traveler observed. Why is this?

The guide gave an interesting answer, "The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves and storms. It has to fight for its survival every day. As it is challenged and tested, it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces."

Then he added, “Thatˈs the way it is with every living organism.”

Thatˈs how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive! Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-mindedness and resiliency（弹回）. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness. So, you have problems? No problem! Just tell yourself, "There I grow again!" 

Remember: A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner（水手）.

Brrriiinnng. The alarm clock announces the start of another busy weekday in the morning. You jump out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with hardly a moment to think. A stressful journey to work gets your blood pressure climbing. Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters. In that sort of mood, who can get down to work, particularly some creative, original problem-solving work?

The way most of us spend our mornings is exactly opposite to the conditions that promote flexible, open-minded thinking. Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we’re unfocused. If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed. Sleepy people’s lack of focus leads to an increase in creative problem solving. By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you’re missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer.

The trip you take to work doesn’t help, either.The stress slows down the speed with which signals travel between neurons （神经细胞）, making inspirations less likely to occur. And while we all should read a lot about what’s going

on in the world, it would not make you feel good for sure, so put that news website or newspaper aside until after the day’s work is done.

So what would our mornings look like if we wanted to start them with a full capacity for creative problem solving?

We’d set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead. We’d stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation. We’d take some deep breaths on our way to work, instead of complaining about heavy traffic. And once in the office—after we get a cup of coffee—we’d click on links not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the web has to offer.

Reading can be a social activity. Think of the people who belong to book groups. They choose books to read and then meet to discuss them. Now, the websiteBookCrossing.comturns the page on the traditional idea of a book group.

Members go on the site and register the books they own and would like to share. BookCrossing provides an identification number to stick inside the book. Then the person leaves it in a public place, hoping that the book will have an adventure, traveling far and wide with each new reader who finds it.

    Bruce Pederson, the managing director of BookCrossing, says, “The two things that change your life are the people you meet and books you read. BookCrossing combines both.”

    Members leave books on park benches and buses, in train stations and coffee shops. Whoever finds their book will go to the site and record where they found it.

    People who find a book can also leave a journal entry describing what they thought of it. E-mails are then sent to the BookCrossing to keep them updated about where their books have been found. Bruce Pederson says the idea is for people not to be selfish by keeping a book to gather dust on a shelf at home.

    BookCrossing is part of a trend among people who want to get back to the “real” and not the virtual(虚拟). The site now has more than one million members in more than one hundred thirty-five countries.

D

Be honest, when was the last time you cried? If you’re one of those who say they never cry, the statistics are against you. Women reportedly cry 64 times a year on average, while men shed（流）tears about 17 times. Everyone from professional athletes such as Michael Jordan to politicians like Barack Obama has been caught crying at least once. But why do we cry?

Some psychologists believe crying is our body’s response when we’re helpless. Even if we’re surprised by happy news, we may still cry. Other psychologists say that when we cry, we’re trying to get others to help us out when we’re surprised, sad, angry, scared, or in danger.

Therapist（临床专家）Judith Kay Nelson says that our experience with crying as babies may determine how we view crying when we’re older. Some parents are quick to try and calm their kids down whenever they start crying. Those children will likely find crying in their adult years brings a similar comfort. On the other hand, those whose parents became angered by their crying probably won’t feel crying has the same calming effect.

Many people believe crying can actually make a person feel better. But according to studies, whether it makes us feel better or not depends on the reactions of others. If others react positively, we’ll feel better. On the contrary, we’ll feel worse.

People’s reactions to crying have a lot to do with the gender（性别）of the person weeping. In the West, it’s generally acceptable for women to be seen crying. In Britain boys are taught not to cry. Even though people are becoming more enlightened about tears, crying in males is still viewed as a sign of weakness. Philip Hodson, an expert on male emotions, has a different viewpoint. “In truth, crying isn’t weakness; it’s a relaxation system,” he says. “If we don’t use this system, we’re not being very intelligent.” After all, everybody cries.

In today’s fast paced, high stress world people are working longer hours than ever, and often exhaust themselves at day’s end in front of the television to relax enough to begin again in the morning. However, television watching, for most people, does not really lower stress. Studies show that TV viewing more than an hour or so actually creates stress and, especially in women, may lead to the blues. Most individuals are unaware that doing some exercise after work makes them more energetic since it increases energy levels.

Wise use of free time does not mean getting an advanced degree, although the mental encouragement gained through education is unbeatable in keeping your mind active. Learning new things nearly always adds a spark to your daily life, especially if it is a favorite topic, such as sport, fashion, or art. Also, look through your bookstore or library to find books on your interests. Try to replace a half hour TV watching with reading.

It is reported that in the United States recently, many individuals have as few as two good friends. Long work hours and car commute act to separate people from each other. This separation is deadly. Find ways to meet people at the end of the day and on weekends. Often this can be best done by combining activities, such as by joining a walking group to get both exercise and companionship. Taking a class will lift your spirits and allow you to meet others with similar interests. Hobbies are great for reducing stress and provide another opportunity for social interaction.

Using your free time to aid your health may include these elements and many more, such as going to concerts and spending time with family. Overall, the key is to spend less free time being passive. The best ways to use free time are to be mentally and physically active, spend some time outdoors, and interact with other people on a regular basis.

                                                                                                        D

“Inspector Sands to the control room, please.” If you ever hear that at a British train station, don’t panic. But you might appreciate knowing that this is a codeword meant to inform staff that there is an emergency somewhere in the building. The idea is to avoid causing alarm among commuters（通勤者）, but still get the message out to those trained to deal with the problem.

The subject of secret codewords like this was raised this week on Reddit, and the discussion has attracted thousands of examples. But what codewords and signs are really out there in the wild?

A good place to start is hospital emergency codes. These are often colour-coded, and one health centre in Canada has published its list online. “Code red” announces a fire, “code white” indicates a violent person while “code black” means a bomb threat is active. It’s been reported that hospital staff sometimes refer to the morgue as “Rose Cottage”, in order to avoid upsetting relatives of a patient who has recently died.

“I can see very good reasons for having these codes,” says Paul Baker, a linguist at the University of Lancaster. “It may be that people are unsure when they’re giving the code so there’s no point upsetting members of the public.”

Not all codes are alphanumeric(字母数字的). Some are visual, intended to be hidden in plain sight. As BBC Future discovered earlier this year, many banknotes feature a specific pattern of dots placed there to prevent people from photocopying money. Many copiers and scanners are programmed to spot it.

And finally, the spray-painted squiggles(波形曲线) you see on pavements in towns and cities all over the world are codes understood by construction workers and engineers. For example, in UK, different colours are related to different types of cable or pipe. Blue meant a water system while yellow indicated gas lines and green labelled CCTV or data wiring.

All of these codes have a purpose --- to avoid causing panic, to transmit subtle signals in social groups, or to provide technical information quickly and easily. “People don’t like secrets, do they?” says Baker. “There is a drive to have as much information as possible --- we do live in the information age,” he adds.

In 1994, a new mother took her sick baby to the doctor. After being examined, the child was diagnosed (诊断)with CF (包囊纤维化),a serious disease. The girl would be lucky to survive into her twenties. The woman and her husband did not know what to do.
     She rushed out to a friend —Boomer Esiason, a football star and his wife Cheryl, who knew a lot about CF, since they had a son with it. They’ve been trying to raise money for the CF Foundation (基金会),and now are heading their own foundation. The woman contacted the Esiasons right away, and they shared with her everything they knew about the illness.
     The woman put her whole heart into understanding CF. She learned how to apply the treatments that would give her daughter hope. Though 30,000 Americans suffered from the illness, the number was too small to motivate (催促)drug companies to do research. The small CF drug market could not bring enough investment (投资)to make up the money needed to develop new drugs.
     So she quit her job and jumped into the CF business full-time. She now takes part in events organized by the CF Foundation, and gives speeches wherever she goes. The money she raises goes to the CF Foundation, which spends the money employing scientists to do research. Her name is Angela Kinney. Thanks to many people just like her, the average lifespan of a child born with CF has jumped to 36.5 years.

l  Putting Movies on Mobiles

Movies in the theater get their recognition at awards ceremonies such as the Oscars. But how about movies for phones? They are getting their turn at MoFilm — the first mobile film festival.

The first MoFilm competition received 250 entries from more than 100 countries. Entries were restricted to films that were five minutes or less in length — ideal for viewing and sharing on mobile phones. An independent jury then selected a shortlist of five film-makers. The winner was chosen from the shortlist by an audience voting using their phones.

l  New Platforms

The awards highlight the increasing impact that mobile phones are making in the entertainment industry. Many grassroots filmmakers start out with short films. They are thwarted by the lack of opportunities to screen their work. Therefore, mobile phones are increasingly being seen as a new platform for these short works.

It is a good place for anyone who wants to express themselves and find a way to have that expression be seen by a wide audience. Just think about how many people have mobile phones in the world!

l  New Technology Advances

MoFilm is pioneering content for mobile and online services that is a world away from Hollywood. The majority of films made for mobiles are now short in length, taking into account the screen size. However this could be overcome as technology advances.

In the near future, longer films will likely be seen on the mobile phone. And there are mobile companies creating phones where users can watch movies at higher quality.

Wherever you see movies, one thing is certain: the quality of work, the simple ability at story telling, and the thing that inspires someone to tell a story can really come from anywhere.

Wild weather, unexpected coral reefs and dangerous sea creatures… these are the nightmares  you can imagine a teenager on a solo voyage around the world might suffer from. But for Laura Dekker, sailing around the globe seems less a price to be paid than a prize to be treasured.

As the 19-year-old Dutch sailor said in Maidentrip, a documentary released last year about her experience of becoming the youngest person to sail around the world alone in 2012, “I was born on a boat. I lived my first five years at sea. And ever since, all I have wanted is to return to that life.”

With her yacht Guppy, Dekker began her journey at 14 and sailed 50,004 kilometers in 519 days.

The flying fish keeping her company, the dolphins following in her wake and the warm days spent on deck playing the flute (长笛) as she watched another unforgettable sunset were enough to make others jealous.

But these didn’t always go well. There were terrible moments in which Dekker feared death. On one occasion, a whale almost turned Guppy over. Another time, she battled extreme winds and Guppy surfed down 8-meter-high waves.

Out on the open sea alone, she also got used to living without a fridge, a flushing toilet, and a hot shower.

“As a human being you don’t need much,” she told Stuff.co.nz. “ They might make life more comfortable, but you really don’t need them to be happy.”

In fact, her outlook on life was shaped by the trip. “I wanted the storms. I wanted the calms. I wanted to feel loneliness,” she told The New York Times. “And now I know all these things. It’s the end of the dream I had as a child, and it’s the beginning of my life as a sailor.”

About twenty of us had been fortunate enough to receive invitations to a film­studio(影棚) to take part in a crowd­scene. Although our “act” would last only for a short time, we could see quite a number of interesting things.

We all stood at the far end of the studio as workmen prepared the scene, setting up trees at the edge of a winding path. Very soon, bright lights were turned on and the big movie­camera was wheeled into position. The director shouted something to the camera operator and then went to speak to the two famous actors nearby. Since it was hot in the studio, it came as a surprise to us to see one of the actors put on a heavy overcoat and start walking along the path. A big fan began blowing tiny white feathers down on him, and soon the trees were covered in “snow”. Two more fans were turned on, and a “strong wind” blew through the trees. The picture looked so real that it made us feel cold.

The next scene was a complete contrast(对比). The way it was filmed was quite unusual. Pictures taken on an island in the Pacific were shown on a glass screen. An actor and actress stood in front of the scene so that they looked as if they were at the water's edge on an island. By a simple trick like this, palm trees, sandy beaches, and blue, clear skies had been brought into the studio!

Since it was our turn next, we were left wondering what scene would be prepared for us. For a full three minutes in our lives we would be experiencing the excitement of being film “stars”！