Starting the day on an egg could keep your blood pressure under control, research suggests. Scientists have shown that eggs produce proteins with a function similar to that of powerful blood pressure-lowering drugs.

    The research, from the University of Alberta in Canada, showed that when eggs come in contact with stomach enzymes (酶) they produce a protein that acts in the same way as Ace inhibitors, but more work is needed to show the effects outside a lab and in the human body.

    Earlier this month, British researchers declared that, contrary to popular beliefs, it is healthy to go to work on an egg. They concluded that the type of cholesterol (胆固醇) found in eggs has little effect on increasing heart disease risks.

    Researcher Professor Bruce Griffin, from the University of Surrey, said, "The wrong beliefs linking egg eating to high blood cholesterol and heart disease must be corrected. The amount of fat in our diet has an effect on blood cholesterol that is several times greater than the relatively small amounts of cholesterol found in eggs. The UK public do not need to be limiting the number of eggs they eat. They can be encouraged to include them in a healthy diet as they are one of nature's most nutritious foods."

    The British Heart Foundation dropped its three-egg-a-week limit in 2005. However, almost half of Britons believe the limit still applies.

    Modern graffiti began in big cities in the United States in the 1970s. In New York, young people wrote their names, or 'tags', in pen on walls around the city.

    One of the first 'taggers' was a teenager called Demetrius. His tag was TAKI 183. He wrote his tag on walls and in stations in New York. He did it just for fun and he had never imagined his behavior would have launched an amazing art campaign. Other teenagers saw Demetrius's tag and started writing their tags too. Soon, there were tags on walls, buses and trains all over New York.

    Then, some teenagers started writing their tags with aerosol paint. Their tags were bigger and more colourful. Aerosol paint graffiti became very popular in the 1970s and 1980s. It appeared on trains, buses and walls around the world.

    In the 1990s and 2000s, a lot of graffiti artists started painting pictures. Some artists' pictures were about politics. Other artists wanted to make cities beautiful and painted big, colorful pictures on city walls.

    In some countries, writing or painting on walls is a crime. Sometimes, graffiti artists have problems with the police. In other countries, artists can draw and paint in certain places. For example, in Taiwan, there are 'graffiti zones' where artists can paint on walls. In São Paulo in Brazil, street artists can paint pictures on walls and houses. Their pictures are colorful and beautiful. Some tourists visit São Paulo just to see the street art!

    In Bristol in the UK, there is a street art festival in August every year. Artists paint all the buildings in a street. Lots of people come to watch the artists and take photos. You can see exhibitions of street art in some galleries too. There have been exhibitions of street art in galleries in Paris, London and Los Angeles.

    Young people and older people do not always agree. They sometimes have different ideas about living, working and playing. But in one special program in New York State, adults and teenagers live together in a friendly way.

    Each summer 200 teenagers and 50 adults live together for eight weeks as members of a special work group. Everyone works several hours each day. They do so not just to keep busy but to find meaning and fun in work. Some teenagers work in the forests or on the farms near the village. Some learn to make things like tables and chairs and to build houses. The adults teach them these skills.

    There are several free hours each day. Weekends are free, too. During the free hours some of the teenagers learn photo-taking or drawing. Others sit around and talk or sing. Each teenager chooses his own way to pass his free time.

    When people live together, they should have rules. In this program the teenagers and the adults make the rules together. If someone breaks a rule, the problem goes before the whole group. They talk about it and ask, “Why did it happen? What should we do about it?”

    One of the teenagers has said something about it, “You have to stop thinking only about yourself. You learn how to think about the group.”

    Hundreds of years ago, a Roman army came north from England to make war on Scotland. The Scots, a brave people, love their country. They fought hard to drive the enemy out of Scotland. But there were too many of the Romans. It looked as if the Romans would win.

    One night, the leader of the Scots marched his soldiers to the top of a hill. “We will rest here tonight, my men,” he said, “Tomorrow we will fight one more battle. We must win, or we will die.”

    They were all very tired. So they ate their supper quickly and fell asleep. There were four guards on duty, but they were very tired, too, and one by one, they fell asleep.

    The Romans were not asleep. Quickly they gathered at the foot of the hill. Slowly they went up the hill. Closer they came to the sleeping Scots. They were almost at the top. A few minutes more the war would be over. Suddenly, one of them put his foot on a thistle (蓟). He cried out and his sudden cry woke the Scots. In a minute they were on their feet and ready for a battle. The fighting was hard, but it did not last long. The Scots wiped out the Romans and saved Scotland.

    The thistle is not a beautiful plant. It has sharp needles all over it. Few people liked it. But the people of Scotland liked it so much that they made it their national flower.

    In 1921, long before the Walt Disney Company turned Pooh (维尼熊) into an international star of TV and films, Christopher Robin Milne was given a toy bear on his first birthday from his father, A.A. Milne, who bought the stuffed (填充的) animal from a store. The stuffed animal was named Edward Bear. Years later, Edward was named Winnie. From the time Christopher Robin Milne was a baby until he was about 8 years old, he would receive different stuffed animals.

    A.A. Milne was a famous English author. As he watched his son interact (互动) with Winnie and friends, A.A. Milne thought his child's interaction with the collection of animals would make a great bedtime story. So Milne worked with artist Ernest H. Shepard and wrote the first Winnie the Pooh poem, where Edward Bear was known as “Teddy Bear”. The writings appeared in Punch magazine and in the book they wrote together, When We Were Very Young, which was published in 1924. In a four-year period, three more books that centered on the bear and his team followed: 1926's Winnie-the-Pooh; 1927's Now We Are Six; and 1928's The House at Pooh Corner.

    The books and poems about Pooh brought great success to the author, and the characters became favorites with young children and their families around the world. Their popularity led Disney to get the rights to make films about the characters in 1961. Five years later, Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and the rest of the team appeared on screen for the first time in Winnie-the-Pooh and the Honey Tree. The characters later appeared in TV shows, movies, video games and short films. Pooh's most recent appearance came last year in the popular children's program, Doc McStuffins, where he was a special guest.

    "No matter where you are or what time it is there's something going on at a Hard Rock Cafe. All over the world our cafes not only serve great food, but they serve up great music." Hard Rock Cafes around the world symbolize the timeless energy, originality and unifying (团结的) spirit that have helped to shape rock music over the last century.

    Founded by two Americans, the first Hard Rock Cafe (HRC) opened its doors to the public on June 14, 1971, in London. Today, HRC has become a global phenomenon with more than 180 cafes in different countries.

    HRC has also become the world's leading collector and exhibitor of rock ‘n' roll memorabilia. It all started when Eric Clapton, a regular at the first HRC, asked the staff if they could hang his guitar on the wall to mark his favourite stool (凳子) as "his spot". They did and one week later, a package from Pete Townshend arrived with a guitar and a note with the message, "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete."

    Ever since then, Hard Rock Cafes have been collecting pieces of rock memorabilia and covering their walls with them. Their collection is rotated from restaurant to restaurant and provides the world's most comprehensive "visual history" of rock ‘n' roll. These treasures include an awe-inspiring collection of classic guitars and other instruments, posters, music, etc.

    Throughout its history, HRC has been governed by a special service philosophy: "Love All—Serve All." Since it was established, HRC has taken part in a wide variety of humane activities around the world. Following its idea of being more than just a restaurant, HRC tries to connect its business and its passion to make the earth a safer, healthier and better place to live.

    All in all, Hard Rock Cafe International is an entertainment company that continues to successfully expand the Hard Rock brand through countless music-related activities.