There is an English saying that “Laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter can really improve people's health.

    Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, makes the heart beat quicker and makes people breathe deeper; it also works on several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.

    Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effects of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated（忍耐）the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemical in the brain which diminishes both stress and pain.

    As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help to improve their patients' condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.

    It was in the Victorian Era(维多利亚时期) that the novel became the leading form of literature in English. Most writers were more concerned to meet the tastes of the middle class. The best known works of the period included the works of Charles Dickens and the Bronté sisters and others.

    Charles Dickens came on the literary scene in the 1830s. Dickens wrote vividly about London life and the struggles of the poor. Most of his works were written in a very humorous style, which was popular with readers of all classes.

    The Bronté sisters were English writers of the 1840s and 1850s. They began to write from early childhood. In 1846 they published the first book at their own expense as poets; however, their book attracted little attention, selling only two copies. Then the sisters turned to writing novels, each producing a novel in the following year.

    An interest in rural matters and the changing social and economic situation of the countryside may be seen in the novels of Thomas Hardy and a number of others.

    Literature for children developed as a single style. Some works became well-known, such as those of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. Adventure novels were written for adults but are now generally grouped in the list for children. Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author at the end of the Victorian Era, best known for her children's books, which featured animal characters. In her thirties, Potter published the highly successful children's book The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902.

    The most important lessons in life that we need to learn are the results of our poor decisions. Although time and experience are the best teachers, we also suffer from experiences such as our sacrifices, suffering and the hardships. Good judgment develops only when we truly learn from our mistakes. However, many people keep repeating the same mistakes before learning their lessons because as they say, they are just humans who are subject to making mistakes.

Our weaknesses in life can be turned into our strengths if we immediately acknowledge and recognize the fact that we mess up and learn from them. Our good or bad experiences help us learn better judgment in life. Yet, too many people are in denial and place the blame on others without realizing that the minute they take responsibility for their action is when the learning process begins. Apart from learning from our own experience, we can also learn valuable lessons from the experience of others. It allows us to observe our behavior from another angle. When we recognize our mistakes and prevent them from happening again, we are, therefore, learning.

    Quickly identifying our mistakes and changing behavior accordingly requires less time and energy than denying mistakes. However, acknowledgement of mistakes requires belief in the idea that the perfection is not possible.

    It is easier to analyze our mistakes especially when we talk to others, which can help people to sort out comments or criticisms after a mistake is made. Despite our tendency to avoid mistakes, timely acknowledgement is one of the best ways to prevent them from repeating.

    It is easier to float in the ocean than it is to float in a swimming pool.Do you know why?

    Ocean water is full of salt--and salt water can hold up more weight than fresh water.See for yourself!

You will Need:

3 cups of warm water

Measuring cup(量杯)

Wide-mouthed jar

Salt

Spoon

Raw(生的)potato

You Will Do:

⒈Pour 1.5cups of warm water into the jar.

⒉Add 1/3 cup of salt.

⒊Stir(搅拌) until the salt is completely dissolved.

⒋Add another 1.5 cups of water.Pour it slowly over the back of the spoon into the jar so that the two liquids will not mix together.

⒌Gently place the potato into the jar.Do not drop it.

    What Will Happen:

    The potato will sink--but only halfway!

    Why?

    Salt water is heavier than fresh water,so it will stay on the bottom.The fresh water will remain on top.

    The potato is heavier than the fresh water,but it is lighter than the salt water.That is why the potato will sink halfway down.

    Climbing Without Ropes

    The popular image of the mountain climber is of a person carefully climbing a steep cliff with a network of safety ropes, but it is not the only kind. Many climbers now enjoy bouldering. It's more accessible and better for the environment.

    Here is an example of a climber addressing a bouldering problem.

    Figure 1: The climber has two routes she could take, one to the left and one to the right. The left one appears easier because it has a jug within easy reach, but look what happens if she chooses that direction. She gets stuck on the rock and has to go back down. Sometimes that is even more difficult than going up.

    Figure 2: The climber takes the one to the right this time. Using a foothold and placing her right hand in a crimp, she is able to lift herself up and locate other handholds. After only a few moves, she is able to throw her leg over the top of the boulder and pull herself up.

    The first newspapers were written by hand and put up on walls in public places. The earliest daily newspaper was started in Rome in 59 BC. In the 700's the world's first printed newspaper was published. Europe didn't have a regularly published newspaper until 1609, when one was started in Germany.

    The first regularly published newspaper in the English language was printed in Amsterdam in 1620. In 1621, an English newspaper was started in London and was published once a week. The first daily English newspaper was The Daily Courant (《每日新闻》). It came out in March, 1702.

    In 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first American newspaper in Boston. But not long after it was first published, the government stopped the paper. In 1704, John Campbell started The Boston Newsletter (《波士顿新闻通讯》), the first newspaper published in the American colonies. By 1760, the colonies had more than thirty daily newspapers. There are now about 1,800 daily papers in the United States.

    Today, as a group, English language newspapers have the largest circulation (发行量) in the world. But the largest circulation for a newspaper is that of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Dhimbun (《朝日新闻》). It sells more than 11 million copies every day.