I believe that my country，Poland，is a perfect example for a place where food is particularly important. When we were little children, we began to understand how much a loaf of bread meant to our parents—to some it might sound silly but for me the custom of kissing bread before you started cutting it was simply amazing. It's not so common nowadays to treat food that way，since you hardly ever bake your own bread. Besides, everyone would call you crazy if you tried to kiss every bread roll before you ate them! But though we no longer make our food from scratch (起点), some customs have been kept—that's why I feel so sorry every time I have to throw any food away—even though I no longer live with my parents and nobody would blame me for this anymore!

    Many people of our nation are still working as farmers, eating what they grow and harvest and therefore enjoying everything more. It's widely known that you value more anything that needs your effort in the first place. In most homes in Poland, especially those of farmers, the whole family would try and have their meals together—extremely difficult now, but so rewarding! You can share other members' troubles and successes, give your children some attention, or just sit down for a moment, instead of rushing through life aimlessly. Furthermore, your body，and stomach in particular will be very grateful for such a time!

    In Poland, a wedding，Christmas or even a birthday is celebrated with a great meal. Women in the house get together and cook ,sometimes for a few days before the event，and the extremely good or unusual food will be remembered and widely talked about.

    You cannot over-value the importance of food in the country. What's more, almost everyone in Poland will be as interested in the topic as I am.

    Almost one in five drivers had dozed off behind the wheel, a shocking news report had showed. Of those who were dozing off, 29% have done so with their cars speeding at 70 miles per hour. The report also found a quarter of men have fallen asleep while driving, making it almost twice as many as women.

    The Safety on Wheel Report, by Post Office Insurance, also looked at how often tiredness or a lack of concentration caused accidents. Three in ten drivers have experienced an accident, from passing a walker crossing to hitting another vehicle, because of a lack of concentration. Meanwhile, almost half (49%) of UK drivers have driven when they do not concentrate.

    Paul Haven hand, head of insurance at Post Office, said, “ When tiredness strikes, drivers should avoid the roads.” There is no measurement for tired driving, unlike driving under the influence of alcohol, yet it could result in an equally dangerous accident.

    Drivers are advised to take a 15-minute break from driving every two hours. However, a third (36%) are so eager to reach their destination that they will ignore feelings of tiredness. What's more, almost one in five (18%) will drive for longer than four hours without a break, while 6% carry on for up to 6 hours. Just over a quarter (27%) choose a quick stop to buy a cup of coffee, which is a very popular way for drivers to get rid of tiredness, and only 17% stop to have a rest until they feel energetic again. Mr. Havenhand added, “Drivers should plan ahead and rest before starting a long journey; besides, they can take regular breaks to recharge their batteries while on road; in some cases, if they do feel too tired to concentrate on the roads, they could consider an alternative means of transport.”

    British scientists have discovered the willow trees planted at an angle could increase sugars for biofuel production.

    Willow is a fast-growing species. It is already used to produce fuels for the renewable heating and power market. In future it could also help to produce biofuel to power vehicles. It has been known that when willows growing in the wild are blown sideways, they tend to produce more sugars. But for a while it has not been known why this happens.

    Researchers at Imperial College London, led by Dr Nicholas Brereton and Dr Michael Ray of the Department of Life Sciences, have now solved the mystery. When the tree is blown sideways, its genes (基因) produce large numbers of sugar molecules (分子) to straighten the tree upwards.

    “This is an important breakthrough. Our study now shows that natural genetic changes are related to these differences. And this could well be the key to unlocking the future for green energy from willow,” said Dr Brereton.

    The research was carried out under lab conditions. The willows were grown at an angle of 45 degrees. They were compared to willows which grow naturally straight upwards. The team then looked for the same effect among the willows growing on the Isle of Orkney where strong winds cause the trees to bend at extreme angles. They discovered that the Orkney trees produce five times the amount of sugars found in willows grown in sheltered conditions.

    Willow is widely planted across the UK. The results show that biofuel crops such as willows could be grown in climatically changeable conditions where chances of growing food crops are limited.

    The study is published in Biotechnology for Biofuels.

    Go to NYU Precollege Summer Program

    Make the most of your summer vacation with this six-week academic summer camp for high school juniors and seniors. Earn college credits, explore New York City(NYC), and experience academic and student life at New York University(NYU), Scholarships are available.

    Participants

    NYU Precollege summer camp offers rising high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to experience academic and student life at New York University. Teens take college-level courses for academic credits which may be applied to a future degree. Residential（住校的）and non-residential choices are available.

    What to do

    Participants take credit-bearing（学分计的）courses with current college students. Courses are available in over 36 subjects. Students can explore the archeological（考古学的）history of New York City, visit major New York sports equipment, learn the business of sports management, begin to master the Chinese language, practice the art of news reporting, or dig into the service industry while going behind the scenes at Manhattan hotels and restaurants.

    Additionally, students have the opportunity to participate in free noncredit seminars taught by NYU's distinguished writing experts. The seminars offer students an opportunity to improve writing skills and focus on college-level writing.

    Harvest Outside the classroom, NYU Precollege offers seminars regarding the college admissions and application process, as well as a variety of on-and-off-campus social event and activities. NYU Precollege summer camp allows outstanding teens to get a taste of college while still having time to work or volunteer outside of school, and enjoy the summer vacation.

    Buster used to be a lovely dog playing and running on a farm all day. His life had a big change after his handler Will's presence because Will found he did extremely well in sniffing tests. Will thought Buster had a special talent and decided to let him become a member of RAF police working dogs. Buster began working with Will in 2007, and the pair was sent to Afghanistan's deadly Helmand province. There, Buster saved countless lives by sniffing out explosive devices (IEDs), as well as weapons. He joined his comrades repeatedly on foot patrols hunting Taliban terrorists and tracking down bombs. He also acted as a useful diplomatic tool, due to his friendly approach to local children. The RAF soon had a long train of children in tow, as Buster drew in his crowd and entertained them.

    After his glittering service with the RAF, Buster retired in 2011,and died in 2015 at the age of 13 at the home of his handler, Will, in Lincolnshire where he had been enjoying retirement with his handler Will, his wife Tracy and their two dogs who will inherit (继承) their father's career.

    Over the course of his career, Buster is thought to have saved more than 1,000 lives. He also helped patrol British bases and searched vehicles at check points, and upon retirement was made the official RAF Police mascot (吉祥物). Buster's brave exploits were even documented in Will's book, which was published in January and soon became a best-selling one.

    Buster completed five tours of duty in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq and earned a row of campaign medals, and it was because of his great efforts in these austere environments full of wars and confrontations that he would be remembered. It was the saving of countless lives by searching out IEDs that saw the honor of official lifetime mascot of the RAF Police bestowed (授予) upon Buster. The RAF police are now planning to commemorate Buster as part of a special event to celebrate RAF Police Working Dogs.

    Are you interested in movie musicals? Here are some best movie musicals you need to watch.

    Singin' in the Rain (1952)

    Debbie Reynolds (the heroine) is ultra-charming in this time-honored classic musical about the coming of the talking pictures in movie history. She plays a winning showgirl with a golden singing voice designed for Hollywood stars. You can also see how Gene Kelly (the hero) made a hit in the timeless "Singin'in the Rain".

    The Sound of Music (1965)

    It hit the big screen in 1965 and became an early blockbuster. It's one of those movies that everybody watches again and again. Whether you're singing along to "Do-Re-Mi" or "My Favorite Things", you'll still think of the cute Von Trapp children and the beautiful Austrian setting. Christopher Plummer (the hero) is wonderful as the serious captain melts into gentleness when singing "Edelweiss". And Julie Andrews (the heroine) shows her addictive voice in such songs as "I Have Confidence".

    Chicago (2002)

    Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones sing and dance as criminals in this musical about fame, envy, and murderous love. Famous songs include "Cell Block Tango", where female criminals sing about how they ended up in jail. It won Best Picture, Best Actress in a supporting role, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound in Oscar 2003.

    La La Land (2016)

    Struggling actress Mia (Emma Stone) and ambitious jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) begin a romance as they both follow their heart in the path of their dreams in Los Angeles. It won Best Performance by an Actress in a leading role, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, and Best Achievement in Production Design in Oscar 2017.