Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be a simple fact? Do you argue whether it's cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit (限速)?

    If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant's trunk (象鼻) said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant's side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear( 矛 ) as he touched the animal's tusk. The fourth, who took hold of the elephant's tail insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked liked a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant's legs. The last, who was tall and got hold of the elephant's ears, said it was like a huge fan.

    Each man's idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it's often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.

    To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a “simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water (温水)in the third. Now put your left hand in the hot water. Put your right hand in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it is hot.

    A new study of 8,000 young people in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily, it is a bad thing for young people. Puppy love, (早恋) may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression. The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all.

    The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “loss of self”. According to the study, even though boys would say “lose themselves in a romantic relationship”, this “loss of self” is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls. Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions. They won't tell that to their parents.

    Dr Marianm Kaufman, an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing. Trying romance often causes the depression. She advises kids not to jump into romance too early. During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendships and a strong sense of self. She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends, attend more interesting school activities and spend enough time with family.

    Parents should watch for signs of depression-eating or mood changes-and if they see signs from their daughters or sons, they need to give help. The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age. Love will always make us feel young, but only maturity gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects.

Building your healthy diet

    Although some extreme diets may suggest something else, we all need a balance of protein ( 蛋白质), fat, carbohydrates ( 碳水化合物), fiber, vitamins, and minerals in our diets to keep a healthy body. You don't need to remove certain kinds of foods from your diet, but rather select the healthiest ones.

Protein

    Protein gives us the energy to get up and go — and keep going — while also supporting mood and cognitive function. Too much protein can be harmful to people with kidney  ( 肾 )  disease,  but  the  latest  research  suggests  that  many  of  us  need  more high-quality protein, especially as we grow up. That doesn't mean you have to eat more animal products — a variety of plant-based sources of protein each day can ensure your body gets all the essential protein it needs.

Fat

    Not all fat is the same. While bad fat can destroy your diet and increase your risk of certain diseases, good fat protects your brain and heart. In fact, healthy fat — such as omega-3s — is necessary to your physical and emotional health. Understanding how to include more healthy fat in your diet can help improve your mood and your well-being.

Fiber

    Eating foods high in dietary fiber (grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and beans) can help you stay regular and lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. It can also improve your skin and even help you to lose weight. Depending on your age and gender, nutrition experts suggest you eat at least 21 to 38 grams of fiber each day for optimal (最 佳的) health. Unfortunately, most of us aren't eating even half that amount.

Calcium (钙)

    Your body uses calcium to build healthy bones and teeth, keep them strong, send messages through the nervous system, and regulate the heart's rhythm. Not getting enough calcium in your diet can also lead to anxiety, depression, and sleep difficulties. Whatever your age or gender (性别), it's necessary to include calcium-rich foods in your diet.

    Come to the AG Society's expedition (探险) program and you will surely get unique experiences!

    Why do some people live to be older than others? You know the standard explanations: keeping a moderate diet, engaging in regular exercise, etc. But what effect does your personality have on your longevity（长寿）? Do some kinds of personalities lead to longer lives? A new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society looked at this question by examining the personality characteristics of 246 children of people who had lived to be at least 100.

    The study shows that those living the longest are more outgoing, more active and less neurotic (神经质的) than other people. Long-living women are also more likely to be sympathetic and cooperative than women with a normal life span. These findings are in agreement with what you would expect from the evolutionary theory: those who like to make friends and help others can gather enough resources to make it through tough times. Interestingly, however, other characteristics that you might consider advantageous had no impact on whether study participants were likely to live longer. Those who were more self-disciplined, for instance, were no more likely to live to be very old. Also, being open to new ideas had no relationship to long life, which might explain all those bad-tempered old people who are fixed in their ways.

    Whether you can successfully change your personality as an adult is the subject of a longstanding psychological debate. But the new paper suggests that if you want long life, you should strive to be as outgoing as possible.

    Unfortunately, another recent study shows that your mother's personality may also help determine your longevity. That study looked at nearly 28,000 Norwegian mothers and found that those moms who were more anxious, depressed and angry were more likely to feed their kids unhealthy diets. Patterns of childhood eating can be hard to break when we're adults, which may mean that kids of depressed moms end up dying younger. Personality isn't destiny, and everyone knows that individuals can learn to change. But both studies show that long life isn't just a matter of your physical health but of your mental health.

    "Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move," said David Belle, the founder of parkour.

    Do you love running? It is a good exercise, yet many people find it boring. But what if making your morning jog a creative one? Like jumping from walls and over gaps, and ground rolls? Just like James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond's wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.

    Yes, that's parkour, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the barriers in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Parkour is considered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.

    Parkour can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see parkour much more than that.

    Overcoming all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy behind parkour. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in parkour and never fall back in your life, to reach the destination successfully. A parkour lover said, "I love parkour because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything."

    Another philosophy we've learnt from parkour is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself.