Eat right, exercise, avoid stress... These instructions are often considered to be the necessary ingredients (要素) for a long and healthy life. While these day-to-day habits and behaviors matter, a person's attitude to life—including, and maybe especially, the way he or she reacts to hardship—is arguably the more important side of the longevity (长寿) coin.

Faced with difficult times, a lot of people start drinking, smoking, abandoning exercise, cutting ties with friends, or making other unhealthy choices. These new habits can be hard to kick once the difficult Period has passed: However, certain qualities seem to safeguard some people from such risks. Experts say one quality consistently tops the list, that is, the being high on conscientiousness. Conscientiousness refers to someone who is organized, careful, and persistent (坚持的) in their goals. Conscientious people are planful and responsible. When they take on a task, they don't give up easily.

This may come as a surprise to those who assume carefree, take-it-easy types are most likely to avoid life's many injuries and injustices. "We actually found the most cheerful and optimistic people lived shorter lives," Martin, an expert, says. "Being worried or anxious all the time is a problem, but a little worrying—when you're thinking ahead~can help you to be better prepared. " Conscientious worriers tend to put their anxiety to good use: They make choices or changes in response to their concerns. Their worrying is productive, not pointless.

While conscientious people are not totally free of risks, they're clear about the risks they're going to take. These are folks who tend to wear their seat belts, stay away from heavy drinking or drugs, and avoid other sources of unreasonable risk. Conscientious people also tend to adopt and stick with healthy habits, and their awareness and diligence tend to lead them into healthy relationships and jobs. All of these tendencies promote a long and healthy life.

It was late, about 10:15 p.m., when Janice Esposito arrived at the Bellport, New York, train station, jumped into her Honda Odyssey and began the 20 minute drive home to her husband and sever-year-old son. She'd just returned from visiting her mother and had traveled the route so many times. She practically drove on autopilot: a left onto Station Road, then a left on Montauk Highway, and then - wham! Out of nowhere on that awful night, a car T-boned Esposito's minivan, forcing her backward some 100 feet onto the railroad tracks. She sat in the minivan, bruised (淤伤的) but mostly just stunned by the impact and by the vehicle's airbags.

As it happens, Pete DiPinto was getting ready for bed. He'd just closed his book and was crawling under the covers when he heard the high-pitched clang of metal on metal and shattering glass coming from not far outside his bedroom window. A volunteer firefighter and retired teacher, DiPinto, 64, never stopped to think. He grabbed a flashlight and, still dressed in his pajamas, ran out of the door. The first car he came upon, 2,000 feet from his front yard, was the one that had hit Esposito. Once DiPinto concluded the driver was OK, he looked around and spotted Esposito's minivan straddling (横跨) the railroad tracks.

And then he heard an upsetting sound: the bells signaling an oncoming train. "Honey, you're on the railroad tracks," DiPinto shouted to Esposito, "We have to get you off right now!" He yanked on the handle, but the door was smashed in and jammed shut. The heavy diesel (柴油) train, traveling at 65 miles per hour, was hurting toward them. Dipinto ran to the passenger side and threw open the door. He pushed aside the flat airbags, grabbed Esposico's arms, and pulled her toward him across the passenger seat until he could help her out and rapidly walk her to safety behind a signal box a few feet away. Within six seconds, he estimates, the train ploughed into the minivan.

Chinese auto industry hits milestones in 2023, in vivid show of high-quality development

（文章来源：Global Times）

China's vehicle industry reached milestones in 2023, with record production and sales, according to industry data released on Thursday, paving the way for the country to potentially become the world's largest car exporter. The momentous development of China's auto industry is a vivid display of not only the success of China's industrial upgrading, but also the country's vast potential for high-quality development, experts noted. It also offered a powerful rebuttal to narratives of "China economy collapsing" or "China peaking," which are prevalent in the Western world, they said. 

China's car output exceeded 30.16 million units in 2023, up 11.6 percent year-on-year, and sales exceeded 30.09 million units, up 12 percent, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). Both output and sales set new records, according to the CAAM. Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said that the record numbers were a milestone for the Chinese auto industry, but more importantly, underscored vast potential. "The total output and sales figures set new records and also represented the new space for development, which has increased our expectations for market growth and the potential for promoting consumption," Cui told the Global Times on Thursday.

Also crucially, China's auto exports hit 4.91 million, up a whopping 58 percent year-on-year, the CAAM data showed. With such robust figures, China is expected to become the world's biggest car exporter. "It took China 55 years to increase the number of automobile exports from one to 1 million. In 2021, they exceeded 2 million, and in 2023, they reached 4.91 million, approaching 5 million," Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president and secretary-general of the CAAM, was quoted by China Media Group as saying. 

Since its start in 1953, China's auto industry has achieved one milestone after another. In 1956, China's first domestically made Jiefang truck rolled off the production line, ending the long history of China being unable to make cars. In 2009, output and sales both exceeded 10 million for the first time, surpassing the US to be the world's biggest car producer and seller, a title China has held for 15 years.

Before 2023, Japan was the world's biggest auto exporter, but data during the year showed that China had overtaken Japan to become the world's top car exporter. With an impressive number of 4.91 million in car exports for the full year, many believe that China surpassed Japan in 2023. Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, said that the record production and sales figures also represented a milestone for China's entire manufacturing industry. "The development of the auto industry is a crucial indicator of a country's manufacturing capabilities and its overall strength," Li told the Global Times on Thursday, noting that the rise of China's auto industry is a microcosm of the rise of China's advanced manufacturing industry and its overall national strength. More than just record production and sales numbers, China's auto industry is steadily rising to the top in terms of technologies, particularly in the new-energy vehicle (NEV) industry, experts noted. 

In 2023, China exported 1.203 million NEVs, up 77.6 percent year-on-year, according to the CAAM. China became the world's largest source for patents in the area of electric vehicle powertrain batteries in the second quarter of 2023, according to GlobalData, an industry data provider. In September, Chinese NEV makers dominated an auto show in Munich, Germany, drawing global headlines. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Chinese carmaker BYD Co overtook US-based Tesla Inc to become the world's biggest electric carmaker. The rise of the NEV industry is a microcosm of the achievements made in China's upgrade of its vast manufacturing industry, export sector and domestic market - all crucial to China's high-quality development, experts said.

Li said that China's robust NEV sector also propelled the country's pursuit of renewable energies and green development, and supported the upgrade of China's export industry. "NEVs became one of the top 'new three items' of China's exports, with the other two being batteries and solar panels. It also highlighted China's booming digital economy and high-quality development," Li said.