Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in larger measure(很大的比例) on our interpersonal（人与人之间的关系） relationships. One strength of human condition is our tendency to give and receive support from one another under stressful circumstances. Social support consists of the extrange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to cope with（竞争，应付） major life changes and daily hassles害s羞（激战）. Pelple with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over a range of （广泛的）illnesses, from depression to heart disease, reveal that the presence of social support helps people fend off（挡开） illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.
  
   Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives, and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened（巩固） when we feel accepted by others despite our faults and diffculties. Second, other people often provide us with information support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Engaging（答应从事） in leisure-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental（仪器器械） support- financial aid, material resources, and needed services，that reduces stress by helping us resolve and cope with our problems。

   Attention to detail is something everyone can and should do –especially in a tight（紧，困难，严厉的） job market. Bob Crossley, a human-resources expert notices this in the job applications that come cross his desk every day. “It’ amazing how many candidates eliminate themselves,” he says.

      “Resume (简历) arrive with stains瑕疵. Some candidates don’t bother to spell the company’s name correctly. Once I see a mistake, I eliminate the candidate.” Crossley concludes. “If they cannot take care of these details, why should we trust them with a job?”

     Can we pay too much attention to details ? Absolutely. Perfectionists struggle over little things at the cost something larger they work toward. “To keep from losing the forest for the trees, says Charles Garfield, associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco, “we must constantly ask ourselves how the details we’re working on fit into the larger picture. If they don’t, we should drop them and move to something else.”

   Knowing where we want to go helps us judge the importance of every task we undertake.

   Too often we believe what accounts for（说明，解决） others’ success is some special secret or a lucky break(机遇)。But rarely is success so mysterious. Again and again, we see that by doing little things within our grasp well, large rewards follow.

The battle for recognition has been won, but it is by no means over. It is men, not women, who still carry forward the sex war, because the attitude of many men remains basically hostile. In many countries and regions, women there continue to be regarded as second-rate citizens. To hear some men talk, you’d even come to the horrible conclusion that men and women belong to different species.

On the surface, the comments made by these men about women’s abilities seem light-hearted. This apparent light-heartedness does not conceal the real contempt that many men feel for women. However much men sneer women. Their claims to superiority are not born out by facts. Let’s consider the matter of driving, for instance. We all know that women cause far few accidents than men. They are generally very conscientious and in fact have succeeded in any job you care to name, as politicians, soldiers, doctors, factory hands, university professors, farmers, managers, lawyers, scientists, presidents of countries. They would often put men to shame with their achievements, and we must remember that they frequently succeed brilliantly in all these fields in addition to bearing and rearing children.