{Topics on 8.7} Please Make Sure to Study Hard in Advance & Post a Comment＜정참,지참,불참＞

[Stylish(진화)]

Friends help you live longer 

New research suggests that having good friends in old age may be more important for longevity than having close family ties. This is according to a study published in the British Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health* on June 16. Researchers interviewed 1,500 Australians over the age of 70 about their social and family relations. Findings indicated that affiliations with close friends improved chances of survival beyond ten years by 22 per cent. This was attributed to the positive physiological effects on the body of increased recreation and social activity. The researchers proposed that the beneficial feelings experienced by the septuagenarians because of their friends was the antithesis to the negative effects that stress has on our well-being.

The researchers analyzed data gathered from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging, which began in 1992. This study aimed to gauge how a range of behavioral, economic, environmental and social factors affected the constitution of the test group of 70-year-olds. The senior citizens were monitored annually for the first four years of the ten-year-long study and at three-yearly intervals thereafter. The team found that those with the strongest network of friends and confidants were less likely to die by the end of the ten-year period. This was consistent even after factoring in other variables such as the death of a spouse, financial upheavals or other traumatic events. The message is to keep in touch if you want to live longer.

Questions 

1. Do you agree with the study that friends are more important than family to help you live longer?

2. Do you think life is less stressful for seniors?

3. What recreational and social activities do you expect to be doing in your seventies?

4. What hobbies or interests will you continue into your seventies?

5. Is there a difference in friendship between your male friends and female friends?

Facial Expressions Are Not Universal  

The reading of facial expressions may not be universal. This is the conclusion of researchers from Glasgow University in Scotland. They report that people from different cultures read facial expressions differently. In particular, they said there were big differences between the way Westerners and East Asians interpret facial expressions. The study suggests East Asians focus mostly on people’s eyes to read an emotion, but Europeans and Americans scan the whole face. Researcher Rachael Jack said: ''We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions.'' She added: "Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favour the eyes and neglect the mouth."

Ms. Jack suggested there are similarities in interpreting facial expressions and the use of emoticons. She said East Asians use the eyes in emoticons to show emotion, for example ^_^ means happy and ;_; is sad. Westerners, however, use the mouth. For example :) is for happy and :( is for sad. She added: “Interestingly, there are clear cultural differences in the formations of these icons. Emoticons are used to convey different emotions in cyberspace as they are the iconic representation of facial expressions.” The researchers said their findings showed intercultural communication is more complicated than we thought. They said: "When it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation."

Questions

1. Do you agree Westerners are good at expressing their emotions than Easterners?

    If so, can you imagine the reason?

2. Do you believe people’s facial expressions are the same all over the world?

3. Are you a person who uses body language or facial expressions during a talk?

4. What do you normally use in emoticons when you send e-mails and text 

   messages  as well as reply to comments on the net?

5. Why don't we politely praise the person next to you in terms of her/his good aspects

   such as her/his fashion style, beauty, strenghs etc....?

[GUNNY(건희)]

정참할게요~~

[Gina(진아)]

내일 보아요^^/

[일구비]

보아하니 전부들 휴가들 가셨군~~음.... 그럼 내일 사람들이 적을수 있겠군,,,,이럴때 일수록 내일 완벽준비해서 열씨미 대화하러 가야지ㅋ..

[Gina(진아)]

조아~ 고고씽~!!

[Joe(조형섭)]

근무라 지참 ... 안 잊으면 야쿠르트 싸갈께.. 오늘 계약서 한장씩 써야해...ㅋㅋ.....