If you want to get something done, you might want to put your mobile phone back in your pocket. Researchers have found that the mere presence of a phone is distracting (分心) — even if it is not your own. And the devices (设备) are likely to distract you, even if they are not ringing or “pinging” with text messages. People asked to carry out electronic tests of their attention spans were found to perform worse when a mobile phone was present than other people performing in the presence of a paper notepad.

    Scientists from Hokkaido University in Japan said that their findings show that it is harder to concentrate when one of the electronic devices is present. The effect was most marked on people who are not regular users of phones. In tests on 40 undergraduates. Associate Professor Junichiro Kawahara and a colleague divided the subjects into two groups — one asked to carry out tests in the presence of an Apple iPhone next to a computer monitor, and the other in the presence of a notebook.

    The test involved asking the participant to search for a particular character among a mess of other characters on the screen. Researchers measured the time it took to find the target. The results of the experiment found that those with the mobile phone took longer to find the character, indicating that participants were automatically distracted by the presence of the phone. The researchers suggest that people are drawn to the presence of a mobile phone, although there are individual differences in how one attempts to ignore it. In conclusion. Professor Kawahara said. “The mere presence of a mobile phone was a distraction among infrequent internet users.”

    Another finding is that listening to one half of a mobile phone conversation also distracts people, and other studies have found that placing a mobile phone in view has a negative impact on the quality of face-to-face communications. Holding a mobile phone makes you less likely to get a fair hearing from others.

    Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup (基因构成) as human beings. What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival. Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible.

    Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for. Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger. With knowledge, we can lessen its effects.

    Exploration also allows minerals and other potential (潜在的) resources to be found. Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later. Resources may be more than physical possessions. Knowledge or techniques have been acquired through exploration. The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives. We have already benefited from other spin-offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems. Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products (副产品) of technological developments in space.

    While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us. While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers. The danger exists, but knowledge can help human beings to survive. Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist.

    While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets. It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future.

    Most people can't live to 100. Those who do live so long can hardly walk, let alone take part in any activities. A few people, however, take part in dangerous activities even though they are more than 100 years old. They keep going and going! There is a great grandmother who likes challenging herself although she is 101 years old this year.

    Mary Hardison believes that people should always be cheerful and more importantly, take on all kinds of adventures while they physically still can. So, instead of celebrating her 101st birthday with a boring party, she decided to go paragliding（滑翔跳伞）﹣an idea she got from her 75﹣year﹣old son who recently took it up as a hobby.

    So on her birthday, cheered on by her big family, she tied herself up together with expert instructor Kevin Hintze, and jumped down fearlessly from the sky near her home in Ogden, Utah. And, it was not just a simple jump either. According to Kevin Hintze, the grandmother encouraged him to turn around, as they made their way down.

    This is not the first time that Mary has done something "wild" and "crazy". For her 90th birthday she rode all the adult rides at Disneyland. And, she is not done yet﹣ For her 102nd birthday she hopes to go down the 3,000 feet Alpine Slide at Utah's Park City Mountain Resort!

    Not surprisingly, this great action has made Mary Hardison very famous and also earned her a place in the Guinness World Records where she broke a 2007 record set by a 100﹣year﹣old British woman. What an amazing lady!

    The flowers are blooming and the birds are singing as Melinda sits in the rose garden of the nursing home. She is recalling old times as she waits for her family's arrival. The nursing home has been Melinda's new settlement ever since Thomas passed away a week ago. Thomas had fought a long and hard battle against lung cancer for three years. Unfortunately, he has broken the promise that he and Melinda had made: to be with each other for every birthday. Melinda knew this was unrealistic (不现实的) but agreed to the promise for Thomas's sake.

    "Thomas, you are completely a dreamer." Melinda shouted to Thomas as he dragged on about living on an island with his beautiful wife. That's what she loved about him most—he had a vivid imagination. They got married at age eighteen and began having children right away. Mary came within the year, followed by Thomas Benjamin II, Lilly-Ann, and Joseph “Little Joey” George. The family lived an exultant life filled with laughter and love.

    "Mom!" Lilly shouted, but it really sounded like a howl. Melinda had lost herself in thinking about the life she had shared with her late husband. Lilly pushed her down the long dark halls of the nursing home until they arrived at the recreational room.

When the doors opened, Melinda put her hand over her mouth and was completely speechless. The room was crowded with the people nearest and dearest to her and the warmth and love was felt instantly. The night went on; stories and cocktails were shared and everything was perfect.

    However, when Melinda caught a moment to herself she looked around at her family. With a smile on her face, she raised her Manhattan and called out for a toast. “This one is for you, Thomas, though you are not here.”

    A fresh and gentle wind on your face, soft sand under your feet and blue waters as far as the eye can see. Is there any other Olympic sport that is played in such pleasant conditions as beach volleyball?

    "I've gone to a lot of beautiful places, and met a lot of beautiful people. That wouldn't have happened if I had been playing another sport," said Randy Stoklos, America's most famous beach volleyball player.

    The sport began as a four-a-side game on beaches in Southern California in the 1920s.The first recorded two-man game took place there in 1930, and the first tournament was held in Los Angeles 18 years later. The winners were awarded a case of Pepsi. In the 1950s, women started playing and the sport soon spread to Europe and South America. Yet at that time, beach volleyball was more an entertainment show than a sport, with beauty contests included. The Association of Volleyball Professionals was founded in 1983 and beach volleyball developed into a fast, athletic sport. Its world-wide popularity won beach volleyball a place at the 1996 Olympics in Atalanta, where 24 male teams and 16 female teams took part. At present, the US and Brazil are the best in the world at beach volleyball.

    The game came to China in the early 1990s and there have been national tournaments since 1994. It became an official event at the Eighth National Games in 1997.China's You Wenhui and Wang Lu finished ninth in the women's beach volleyball world championships in Brazil.

I often wondered what it would be like to have cancer.

I didn't expect to find out, though, at last not for decades. I have always been healthy and strong; I regularly do hot yoga and swim two kilometers in a bay near my home in Sydney.

But now I know: it felt as if I was carrying a baby. Tumors (肿瘤) that silently grew inside me suddenly became bigger one weekend.

Then, one Saturday in June, I was struck with sharp pain and ended up in the hospital.

My doctor said it might be very serious. I spent two weeks waiting for the operation, not knowing if I'd live to the end of the year.

In the days before the operation, I turned off my phone and computer. I prayed so hard that I grew unnaturally calm.

The operation lasted five hours. The mass was fully removed, but it was unexpectedly complicated. I was in special care for eight days, in the wires, machines, with pipes in my lungs and liver.

Luckily, the operation was very successful and I am slowly growing stronger. I am walking upright again and waking without great pain. I can now drive, and am preparing to return to work. My prognosis (预后) is good, but I will need to live with the fear of return.

Everyone suddenly seems consumed with foolish worries. I have a different idea about the complaints posted by some Internet users who had the flu, were upset by the upcoming exams or burdened by work. I want to scream: BUT YOU ARE ALIVE! Alive! Each day is a gift, especially if you are upright and able to move with ease, without pain.

I'm still struggling with what all of this means. But in this short time, a truth became even clearer to me.

We should not have to move to the woods like Henry David Thoreau to "live meaningfully". It would be impossible and frankly tiring to live each day as if it were your last. My doctor asked me a few days ago how I became so calm before the operation. I told her: I prayed; I locked out negativity and drew my family and friends near; I tried to live meaningfully.

She said, "Actually you should do that for the rest of your life."