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One of my bad habits is saying "busy" when people ask me how I'm doing. Sometimes it's because I actually am busy, but other times it's because that's what I think I'm supposed to say. That's what important or promoted people say.  So why are we so proud to talk about how busy we are all the time?

 In 2016, researchers conducted a study to figure it out. And interestingly, these status attributions（归属） are heavily influenced by our own beliefs. In other words, the more we believe that one has the opportunity for success based on hard work, the more we tend to think that people who always skip leisure and work are of higher standing.

 That's why we feel like we have to appear busy, and there's a real perception that if someone is knee-deep in meetings, emails, and stress, then they're probably a big deal. According to a recent study, one in five highly engaged employees is at risk of burnout.

 It sounds self-righteous （自以为是） and sets the wrong tone. Phrases like "I have limited access to email" and "I'll respond as soon as I get back" sound like you're being held against your will from working as opposed to making the most of your time off.

That's why we recently launched the Out of Office Email Generator, a free tool you can use before your next long weekend or trip. Managers need to think twice about emailing their teams on the weekend and talking about how busy they are, and so do leaders.

A. Actually, leading a busy life can be avoidable.

B. But working long hours doesn't drive better results.

C. A person of high status feels tired when promoted.

D. Busy people are found to be those with high social rank.

E. You can share you won't be checking the mailbox till you return.

F. This culture of busyness is making it hard to find work-life balance.

G. Personally, I'm going to stop saying "busy" when people ask me how I am.

Nowadays, the world is slowly becoming a high-tech society and we are now surrounded by technology. Facebook and Twitter are innovative tools; text messaging is still a somewhat existing phenomenon and even e-mail is only a flashing spot on the screen when compared with our long history of snail mail. Now we adopt these tools to the point of essentialness, and only rarely consider how we are more fundamentally affected by them. 

Social media, texting and e-mail all make it much easier to communicate, gather and pass information, but they also present some dangers. By removing any real human engagement, they enable us to develop our abnormal self-love without the risk of disapproval or criticism. To use a theatrical metaphor（隐喻）, these new forms of communication provide a stage on which we can each create our own characters, hidden behind a fourth wall of tweets, status updates and texts. This unreal state of unconcern can become addictive as we separate ourselves a safe distance from the cruelty of our fleshly lives, where we are imperfect, powerless and insignificant. In essence, we have been provided not only the means to be more free, but also to become new, to create and project a more perfect self to the world. As we become more reliant on these tools, they become more a part of our daily routine, and so we become more restricted in this fantasy.

So it is that we live in a cold era, where names and faces represent two different levels of closeness, where working relationships occur only through the magic of email and where love can start or end by text message. An environment such as this reduces interpersonal relationships to mere digital exchanges.

Would a celebrity have been so daring to do something dishonorable if he had had to do it in person? Doubtful. It seems he might have been lost in a fantasy world that ultimately convinced himself into believing the digital self could obey different rules and regulations, as if he could continually push the limits of what's acceptable without facing the consequences of "real life."

Researchers have long known that the brain links kinds of new facts, related or not, when they are learned about the same time. For the first time, scientists have recorded routes in the brain of that kind of contextual memory, the frequent change of thoughts and emotions that surrounds every piece of newly learned information.

The recordings, taken from the brains of people awaiting surgery for epilepsy（癫痫）, suggest that new memories of even abstract facts are encoded（编码） in a brain-cell order that also contains information about what else was happening during and just before the memory was formed.

In the new study, doctors from the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University took recordings from a small piece of metal implanted in the brains of 69 people with severe epilepsy. The implants allow doctors to pinpoint the location of the flash floods of brain activity that cause epileptic happening. The patients performed a simple memory task. They watched a series of nouns appear on a computer screen, and after a brief disturbance recalled as many of the words as they could, in any order. Repeated trials, with different lists of words, showed a predictable effect: The participants tended to remember the words in groups, beginning with one and recalling those that were just before or after.

This pattern, which scientists call the contiguity effect, is similar to what often happens in the card game concentration, in which players try to identify pairs in a row of cards lying face-down. Pairs overturned close are often remembered together. The way the process works, the researchers say, is something like reconstructing a night's activities after a hangover: remembering a fact (a broken table) recalls a scene (dancing), which in turn brings to mind more facts, like the other people who were there.

Sure enough, the people in the study whose neural（神经） updating signals were strongest showed the most striking pattern of remembering words in groups. "When you activate one memory, you are reactivating a little bit of what was happening around the time the memory was formed, and this process is what gives you that feeling of time travel," said Dr Michael J. Kahana.

In 1975, a San Diego homemaker named Marjorie Rice came across a column in Scientific American about tiling（瓷砖）. There is a problem which has interested mathematicians since ancient Greek times. After Rice's chance encounter with tiling, family members often saw her in the kitchen constantly drawing shapes. "I thought she was just drawing casually（随意）," her daughter Kathy said. But Rice who took only one year of math in high school, was actually discovering never-before-seen patterns.

Born in Florida, she loved learning and particularly her brief exposure to math, but tight budget and social culture prevented her family from even considering that she might attend college. "For Rice, math was a pleasure," her son David once said.

Rice gave one of her sons a subscription to Scientific American partly because she could read it carefully while the children were at school. When she read Gardner's column about tiling as she later recalled in an interview: "I thought it must be wonderful that someone could discover these beautiful patterns which no one had seen before." She also wrote in an essay, "My interest was engaged by the subject and I wanted to understand every detail of it. Lacking a mathematical background, I developed my own symbol system and in a few months discovered a new type."

Astonished and delighted, she sent her work to Gardner, who sent it to Doris, a tiling expert at Moravian College. Doris confirmed that Rice's finding was correct.

Later, Rice declined to lecture on her discoveries, citing shyness, but at Doris's invitation, she attended a university mathematics meeting, where she was introduced to the audience. Rice still said nothing of her achievements to her children, but they eventually found out as the awards mounted.

Bruce Museum

Consistently voted the "Best Museum" by area media, the Bruce Museum in Greenwich is an educational institution which, through its varied exhibitions and collections in the arts and sciences, provides programs for diverse audiences.

Bruce Beginnings

Tuesdays, 11:00 to 11:45 am

Bruce Beginnings programs are designed for children from 

2.5–5 years of age and their adult caregivers, who will explore the museum's collections and exhibitions through picture books and hands-on activities. Space for these programs is limited; participants must see the Visitor Service desk upon arrival to the museum.

Science Solvers or Art Adventure

Select Sundays, 1:00 to 3:00 pm

Drop-in monthly programs are designed for children over the age of 4 and their families to explore simple science and art concepts while taking part in kid-friendly experiments, projects, or crafts inspired by the museum's exhibitions and collections.

Family Studio Workshops

Select Sundays, 1:00 to 2:30 pm

A program for children over the age of 4 with their families. Participants will create a work of art inspired by the museum's collections and exhibitions! This program is $7 per person for members and $15 for non-members, plus the cost of Museum admission.

Afternoons at the Bruce

Select school vacation days, 2:00 to 4:30 pm

Spend the afternoon off from school discovering, learning and creating! Workshops are designed for gradesK-5 and explore the museum's collections and exhibitions. Members $15, and $25 for non-members. Snacks included! Advancedregistrationisrequiredatbrucemuseum.org/site/events.

1. 难忘的瞬间；

2. 你的感想。

注意：

1. 写作词数应为80词左右；

2. 标题已给出，不计入总词数；

3. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

An Unforgettable Moment of the Sports Meet

Ar Horqin Grassland Nomadic System in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, listed on the list of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems by the United Nations,  (demonstrate) the wisdom of herdsmen to work in harmony with nature.

The  (season) movement of herds among different pastures (牧场) plays an important role in maintaining the self-renewal and recovery  (capable) of the grasslands. While keeping soil fertility from degrading, the nomadic lifestyle can protect vegetation and make good use of water resources,  the growing population of people and livestock, still puts much pressure  the grassland resources. Locals have, therefore, come up with ways to avoid overgrazing. With ancestral wisdom  (root) in a time of relatively small societies, it may be unable to solve issues today. This is  modern planning can help with.

For example, since 2015, under the guidance of the local government of Ar Horqin Banner, the number of sheep and goats in the nomadic system  (reduce) from 390,000 to 190,000, while the number of cattle has been increased from 40,000 to 81,000 head. No more than 100,000 sheep are allowed to migrate to the summer camps every year. With  (scientific) designed grazing patterns ensuring sustainable development of the grasslands, herdsmen can maintain  more balanced relationship with nature.

With the Statue of Liberty positioned perfectly behind me, I turned my attention to my husband, Mark, holding the camera. "Ready?" I called out. "One, two, three, go!" he shouted. At his1 , I started doing star jumps, as he held the shutter button down to2 the moment.

It was2013, and Mark and I loved to travel around the world and3 silly photos with our friends and family back home. It was the first time I'd tried this4 and when I posted it on Facebook later that day, it was5 popular. I was amazed by dozens of likes and comments.

When I got home, it was all my friends could talk about. "Your star jumps really6 me up," one said over a cup of tea. It made me happy knowing I'd helped others7 a smile at my expense. Years went by, and the pose became a(n)8 part of my travels, from France, the Greek Islands and Italy to Bali and New Zealand.

Then in June, I saw a(n)9 advertised online searching for Australia's happiest person. "We're10 four stays at Oaks hotels and all we want to see is your happy face," it11 . "That sounds like me," I thought, so I posted the12 . A couple of months later, I got a phone call announcing I was the13 . I was excited at the news and raced to tell Mark.

Now, here's our plan: First, we'll14 to Sydney for the Vivid Festival and climb the Harbor Bridge. After that, we might go to Kings Cliff in northern New South Wales and even Darwin.

Life's all about chasing happiness. And for anyone searching for15 in their lives, my advice would be to smile.

Tips for Maximizing Savings at Your Local Clearance (清仓) Food Store

   Shopping for groceries can be expensive, especially in this global economic climate. If you are catering to a large family or on a tight budget, the battle to save on groceries becomes twice as hard. ? These tips may help you.

Create a shopping list

List what you need before heading to your local clearance food store. It should help avoid unnecessary purchases and ensure you only buy what you need.

Look for Deals

    , so take advantage of them. Typically, these items are priced much lower than regular-priced ones, and you can find some great deals. Check out the clearance section to find the best deals. This area is often located at back or side of the store.

Buy in Quantity

Buying in quantity can save you more money at clearance food stores. A safer bet would be deals on buying items in large amounts, such as canned goods, pasta, or rice.  .

Compare Shops

Just like with regular grocery stores, you should always compare prices at different clearance food stores. Some stores will offer better deals, so it pays to shop around..

Look for Coupons

Check for coupons that you can use at your local clearance food store.. With them, you can get a chunk off your total groceries bill, saving you more money.

In conclusion, shopping at a local clearance food store can be your savings hub if you're armed with the right information. So, what are you waiting for?

A. Different stores may have a wide range of goods

B. Cheap food stores often offer weekly and monthly deals

C. These items have a longer shelf life meaning longer storage

D. But how to save when you shop at your local clearance food store

E. Check for stores that are offering discounts, and settle for the best deal

F. So why not visit your local clearance food store where you can save more

G. These can be in local newspapers or magazines, or search for them online

For the last five years, Saroyan Matthew Lee has pricked his fingertips at least once a day to test a drop of blood. If the amount of glucose, a simple sugar, is too high, he must get a shot of insulin (胰岛素) to lower it. These daily finger pricks are "really lifestyle-hampering and invasive," Matthew says. So he developed an alternative - a wearable patch. It turns yellow when glucose levels are too high.

The body normally makes insulin to even out blood-sugar levels. But having type 1 diabetes, Matthew cannot make this hormone. That's important because highly elevated blood sugar can put someone's life in danger. After seeing younger kids struggle to interpret their blood-sugar levels, he thought a color-changing device might be easier to understand. "As a diabetic," he explains, "What I recognize is that the precise blood glucose number is not really important to us." Instead, he notes, people with disease must simple know when throughout the day they will need a shot of insulin.

The body releases chemicals through many routes. The new single-use patch works by detecting glucose in one of them: sweat. Past research shows that you can estimate blood-sugar levels based on how much glucose sweat has.

Two sheets of hydrogel- a jingly, water-based gel- make up Matthew's small patch. It's only 1 centimeter (about 0.4 inch) square. The layer closest to the skin contains a chemical that reacts with glucose. This interaction produces a second chemical called hydrogen peroxide. The more sugar there is, the more hydrogen peroxide will be made. Hydrogen peroxide triggers a reaction in the patch's upper layer. It causes a protein called papain - to react with a color-changing chemical. The more glucose in sweat, the yellower the patch will become.

Matthew's patch is painless and easy to understand. And it shouldn't be very costly. Material costs of his patch are just one-fifth as much as those of existing glucose-measuring devices, because current gadgets require electrical components but Matthew's patch relies on far less expensive chemicals.

In the hot summer, many people rely on ice cream to keep them going. Among the dizzying array of ice cream, there's always a place for ice cream cones. When you enjoy the ice cream cone, have you ever thought about the seemingly humble cone?

The ice cream cone is never the star of the show. Its role is clear: Keep the scoop upright, don't leak and don't upstage the main player, the ice cream. But being that supporting takes work, which is why David George believes that the cone deserves more respect.

George is the third-generation president of Joy Baking Group, the largest manufacturer of ice cream cones in North America. You may not know Joy by name, but you've probably tasted its cones. As the kingdom of ice cream has expanded, the cone world has only grown smaller. Joy has concerned the cone market by betting on a basic premise: When it comes to the cone, people don't want creativity. They want familiarity.

Joy's flagship factory in western Pennsylvania produced 15 to 20 million cones a day during its busiest season. They include squeaky cake cones; cookie-like sugar cones; and caramel-scented waffle cones. These are cones designed to taste like childhood summers. They're as comforting as a slice of pie, as delightful as cotton candy.

"The thing about ice cream is that for nearly everyone, it is so tied to nostalgia," said Susan Sorrento, the owner of Moreno's, an ice cream shop in the Washington area. "It is what you remember about your grandma taking you out." For many Americans, those moments are linked to Joy cones. Even if another worthy competitor arises, "It doesn't matter," she said, "because it is competing with a memory."

Regarded as the "loneliest tree in the world", the Sitka spruce (云杉) on uninhabited Campbell Island lately has kept good company with a team of New Zealand researchers who believe it could help unlock secrets of climate changes.

The nine-meter-tall spruce holds the Guinness Record title for the "remotest tree" on the planet. It is the sole tree on the shrubby, windswept island, 700 kilometers south of New Zealand in the Southern Ocean. It's the only tree for 222km around; its nearest neighbor grows on the Auckland Islands.

Although classified as an invasive species, for radiocarbon science leader at GNS Science, Dr. Jocelyn Turnbull, the tree could be a valuable tool to understand what is happening with the uptake of CO₂ in the Southern Ocean. In order to measure CO₂ concentrations, taking samples of the atmosphere is the best method, and can be complemented with radiocarbon dating samples of deep water. But it comes with limitations. "You can't collect air that was there 30 years ago, because it is not there anymore," Turnbull said, "So we came up with this idea of using tree rings. Plants, when they grow, take CO₂ out of the air by photosynthesis (光合作用) and they use that to grow their structures and the carbon from the air ends up in the tree rings."

This is helpful when there is an abundance of established trees, but those are a rarity in the Southern Ocean. Enter the Sitka Spruce - the south most tree, and the team could find it would offer up good data. "It's grown a lot faster than anything else in that region and the rings are bigger and easier to separate out and get a record form."

As for the tree's lonely status: the description may be in the eye of the beholder. "To get to the tree you have to walk through elephant seals and sea lions penguins and albatross," Turnbull said. "The tree doesn't look lonely …it looks quite content actually."

You Can Make Working from Home Much More Pleasant with These Gadgets

Standing Desk Converter

Sitting all day can be harmful to our health. A standing desk converter allows you to easily transform your traditional desk into a standing desk, giving you the option to stand or sit throughout the day. This gadget can help reduce back pain, improve posture, and increase energy levels.

Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

Tired of being tied to your computer by a tangled mess of wires? A wireless keyboard and mouse can provide the freedom to work from anywhere within a certain range of your computer. These gadgets can improve comfort, flexibility, and reduce clutter.

Noise-cancelling Headphones

With more people working from home, the noise level in your home office can be distracting. Noise-cancelling headphones can help reduce outside noise and increase focus. They're also great for taking video calls or listening to music without disturbing others in your home.

Smart Lighting

    Smart lighting allows you to adjust the brightness and color of your workspace lighting using a mobile app. This can improve productivity and comfort, as proper lighting can reduce eye strain and improve focus.

Foot Rest

A foot rest can help improve posture and reduce back pain. It's a simple gadget that can make a big difference in comfort during long workdays.

Smart Thermostat

A smart thermostat allows you to control the temperature of your home office using a mobile app. This gadget can help you stay comfortable throughout the day without constantly adjusting the thermostat. It can also help save money on energy bills.

My aunt Sandy is a very kind-hearted woman. She loves animals so much that she found a job in an emergency vet clinic（兽医诊所）after graduating from college. There she could help a lot of injured pets. 

One day, a rescue worker brought in a homeless cat. The cat had numerous injuries and needed immediate medical aid. No one in the vet clinic wanted to rescue the cat but Sandy. All the others didn't think the cat would survive. And they suggested putting the cat to death. 

But Sandy didn't want to give up. She always believes that every animal deserves a chance. Holding the cat in her arms, she was determined to rescue her. 

Sandy was good at treating injured animals. Thanks to her, the cat survived. She took good care of the cat and she gradually recovered. However, it wasn't the end of the story. Because of the operation performed on her face, the cat always wore a sad expression and looked really ugly. Those who came to the clinic to adopt pets didn't want her. 

The staff at the vet clinic suggested getting rid of the cat. But Sandy didn't agree. She wanted to adopt the cat herself, but there was a problem—her husband was allergic（过敏）to cats. So Sandy couldn't take her home. 

Thinking the cat might have to be homeless, Sandy was very sad. She had tried very hard to rescue her so she didn't want to lose her. She tried to persuade people around her to adopt the cat, but they didn't show any interest in such an ugly cat. 

注意：1. 续写词数应为100左右；

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

One day, a girl about ten years old entered the vet clinic and looked around. 

However, Sandy just didn't understand why the little girl wanted to have the cat. 

要求：

1. 说明写信的目的；

2. 讲述自己的困境及期盼心情；

注意：1. 写作词数应为80左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Dear John,

Yours,

Li Hua

Spring festival comes to an end. Here  (come) the lantern festival. The lantern festival can be dated back to Han dynasty. It is  the 15th day of the first lunar mouth. 

Almost every  (tradition) festival in China comes with  (it) own food and the lantern festival is no exception. It is popular to have "yuanxiao" or "tangyuan". It is a kind of dessert  （make) from glutinous rice, filled with black sesame, red bean paste or even meat fillings. In Chinese, tangyuan has a similar pronunciation with "Tuanyuan",  means reunion. Thus, having tangyuan denotes reunion, harmony and happiness for the family. 

On the Lantern Festival night, the moon illuminates the dark sky while many lanterns shine bright colors on the earth. Lantern is the most notable part of the festival. Chinese craftsmen have made countless lanterns in different  (variety) such as Kongming lanterns, water lanterns. People used to join in lantern fairs in which they can watch lanterns, guess riddles and give their faithful prayers to decedents. In ancient China, unmarried woman couldn't go out at will. Only at the lantern festival were they allowed  (go) to the lantern exhibition. That's why ancient Chinese people considered the Lantern Festival as  occasion to look for a match or meet up with the beloved. Therefore, the lantern festival was  (actual) the real Chinese valentine's day. 

We never stop learning. The most important skill I 1 at school was keeping a routine (惯例). Routines allow us to develop a rhythm (节奏) to our lives, but they also have their 2 . 

It can be easy to get so used to your routine that you don't 3 you're no longer aware of your time. This can stop 4 , which means you start living your life on autopilot (自动驾驶). Doing the same thing week after week can be boring. If you make time to try new things and 5 new interests, you can adjust your routine to better fit your 6 as things change. 

When I first came to college, I was 7 countless times that it's important you develop a routine so you can 8 things important to you. But it's easy to forget the bigger picture. I got so accustomed to the 9 old things that I would often 10 about all of the other fun and exciting 11 college had to offer. 

It wasn't until my junior year that I really started setting time aside to explore things that were 12 to me. I needed to find a 13 between keeping a structured timetable and finding time to be creative and try 14 things. 

Routines are important, yes, but don't forget: it's not the routine that 15 your life. It's only you who can determine how you spend your time, so don't forget to throw something new in there from time to time. Above all else, don't live your life on autopilot. 

If you think you're a pessimist and there's no hope of ever turning it around, then think again! According to mental health experts, it is actually very possible to turn into a glass-half-full kind of person, and here's what you can do to see things in a brighter light. 

  Writing down your ideas of an optimistic tomorrow will make a huge difference when it comes to your overall attitude to life. You may also want to consider a serious challenge you have in life right now, and simply sit back and think about all of the possible positive outcomes. 

Choose to be optimistic. Life is all about choices. You can choose to spend the entire day reading or cleaning. You can make the call you've been thinking about for a while or you can put it off for another day. What's more, you can also choose to be positive or you can choose to simply carry on living as you are.  And then carry on that way for the rest of your life. 

Extend positiveness to others.Making others feel good about themselves can have lasting positive effects on your own life. Never forget to admire your family, friends, and colleagues for the good things which they are doing in their lives, even if they don't directly affect you. 

Recognize your negative thought patterns.It's fine to acknowledge that bad things in life might happen at any time.  Yet being overly negative can seriously ruin your chances of finding happiness in his life. Reframing your awkwardly negative thoughts into more realistic patterns may be the key to helping you maintain optimism. 

Practice gratitude.Spend some time thinking about all of the things you have to be thankful for.  You could even choose to keep diaries, where you can put down anything which makes you smile. If nothing else, take a moment every once in a while to stop, smile and be thankful for the positive things in life. 

A. Form the habit of keeping diaries. 

B. Imagine a positive future. 

C. Ignoring reality isn't the most helpful method either. 

D. Of course, it's also necessary to praise yourself. 

E. It will often provide you with an instant optimism boost. 

F. Being optimistic starts with the decision to be positive. 

G. Take a moment to work out how realistic your thoughts really are. 

The possibility of self-driving robot cars has often seemed like a futurist's dream, years away from coming into reality in the real world. Well, the future is apparently now. The California Department of Motor Vehicles began giving permits in April for companies to test truly self-driving cars on public roads. The state also cleared the way for companies to sell or rent out self-driving cars, and for companies to operate driverless taxi services. California, it should be noted, isn't leading the way here. Companies have been testing their cars in cities across the country. It's hard to predict when driverless cars will be everywhere on our roads. But however long it takes, the technology may change our transportation systems and our cities, for better or for worse, depending on how the transformation is managed. 

While much of the debate so far has been focused on the safety of driverless cars'policymakers should be talking more about how self-driving cars can help reduce traffic jams, cut emissions and offer more convenient and affordable choices to move around. The arrival of driverless cars is a chance to make sure that those cars are environmentally friendly and more shared. 

Do we want to copy or even worsen the traffic of today with driverless cars? Imagine a future where most adults own their self-driving cars. They accept long, slow journeys to and from work on crowded highways because they can work, entertain themselves or sleep on the ride. They take their driverless car to a date and set the empty car to circle the building to avoid paying for parking. Instead of walking a few blocks to pick up a child or the dry cleaning, they send the self-driving minibus. The convenience even leads fewer people to take public transport — an unwelcome side effect researchers have already found in ride-hailing (网约车) services. Policymakers should start thinking now about how to make sure the appearance of driverless cars doesn't worsen the transportation system we have today. The coming technological development presents a chance for cities and states to develop transportation systems designed to move more people, and more affordably. The car of the future is coming. We just have to plan for it. 

We truly are what we eat-and what our ancestors ate. Food has changed who we are and how we developed for hundreds of thousands of years. From processing to preserving to cooking, what humans did and continue to do to food played a big role in shaping our evolution. 

Processed food isn't just a modern invention, created in factories from artificial ingredients. It is as old as humanity itself and may have helped create our species. Processing doesn't necessarily mean adding chemicals-it also includes hitting or slicing(切片) or changing the food in any way before eating. Compared to our ancestors, modern human teeth, jaws and faces have gotten smaller relative to overall skull size because of making food easier to chew, especially from cooking. Processing food also led to a huge gain in leisure time. The less time people spent chewing, the more time they had to develop complex oral language. 

Cooking food was one of the biggest changes in human history. Researchers believe it could have occurred between 1. 8 million and 400,000 years ago, Harvard professor Richard Wrangham said, according to National Geographic. Cooking increases the energy and nutrients we get from food. Without cooking, according to the BBC, an average person would have to eat around 5 kilos of raw food to survive and we'd have to spend most of the day chewing. 

Cooking food also breaks down its cells, so our stomachs need to work less to absorb the nutrients our bodies require. " This," said Professor Peter Wheeler from Liverpool John Moores University, UK, " freed up energy which could then be used to power a larger brain. The increase in brain-size mirrors the reduction in the size of the gut(肠道). " 

Processed food literally shaped us as a species and made us human-the only species on Earth who can cook.