As global temperatures continue to rise, more “extreme rain” events—intense, cats-and-dogs down pours—can be expected, said the study, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change. And that, scientists said, means an increased flood risk, particularly for the world's driest areas. The study challenges the idea that global warming is causing dry areas to become drier and wet areas wetter.

    “In both wet and dry regions, we see these great increases in heavy precipitation（冰雹）,” lead author Markus Donat, a climate scientist at the University of New South Wales, told Nature.

    Donat and his team collected data from 1951 to 2010 on extreme precipitation events from 11, 000 weather stations around the world, Nature reported.

     In that time, the number of days with“extreme precipitation” increased 1 percent to 2 percent per decade.

  “We found a strong relationship between global warming and an increase in rainfall, particularly in areas outside of the tropics,” Donat said in a statement.

  “Importantly, this research suggests we will see these extreme rainfall events increases at regional levels in dry areas, not just as an average across the globe,” Donat added.

    Peter Stott, a senior climate scientistat Met Office, told Climate Central that the study's findings are important, because more violent rainfall and flooding will “challenge our capability toadapt to a rapidly changing climate.”

    As Nature reported, the researchaligns（结盟）with a 2015 study that found global warming has led to a sharp increase in record-breaking precipitation events. Donat told Nature that his study should come as a warning to world governments.

    China is a country on the move—especially around its Lunar New Year holiday. This year, the holiday crush（客流量） promises to be even heavier than before.

    Government officials estimate that Chinese people will take to the air, roads and railways 3.62 billion times over a 40-day period around the nation's most important holiday this year as people push their way home for family gatherings or to satisfy their new-found passion for travel.

    Getting tickets to all those would-be travelers is a discounting challenge that annually tries patience. And it is the railway system that routinely is most unable to cope. Railways are the transport of choice for low-cost long-distance travel, and that's where the ticketing system routinely falls down.

    Much of the criticism has, focused on the railway's online purchasing system, which has been unable to keep pace with the huge demand and also failed to stop scalpers（票贩子） from ending up with many of the hard-to-find tickets.

    While insisting that online sales were the fairest way to get tickets for travelers, railway officials told reporters that the public need to be patient. Efforts were being made to provide online identity checks that would reduce the ticket scalping problems. While officials had little good news for rail passengers, they did manage to bring a few smiles to those traveling by car as the country's extremely expensive highway tolls （通行费） will be free of charge for the period of the official holiday.

    For most people, Christmas is a time to relax in the company of family and friends. But for Santa Claus, and the thousands of fake Santas who impersonate（模仿） him every year, the Christmas season is time to get to work.

    Although Santa Claus waits until Christmas Eve to take his famous sleigh (雪橇) ride, Santa impersonators can be found at shopping malls around America throughout the six weeks leading up to December 25. "When you see Santa talking with kids at your local mall, that's when you know Christmas really is on the way," says Mary Lewine of New York City.

    With the excitement of Christmas, people often forget about the real people behind the red robes （长袍) and white beards, but being a mall Santa. is a tough job. "There is more to it than just sitting in a chair. There is more to it than just a red suit," said Timothy Connaghan, who has worked as a Santa for.38 years. "Children can really put the wear and tear on you.”

    A recent survey showed some of the challenges that mall Santas face every year. About 90 percent of Santas claimed that children pulled their beards to see if they were real, and 60 percent said that up to ten kids cough or sneeze on them every day. Even more disturbing, one-third of the Santas admit to having children wet themselves while sitting on their laps.

    So why would anyone take this job? For Ben Brauch, a retired high school teacher who has worked as a Santa for the last six years, the answer is simple-the children. "I see maybe 12,000 kids in a six-week period.

    It's hard work, but it's worth it because you get to play with kids." In fact, Brauch loves his job so much that he keeps his white beard long all year.

    Here's some good news for the foodies in the USA: One of China's most popular and fastest-growing restaurant chains is coming to the United States,and folks better watch out.This braised（炖，焖）chicken rice shop could upend a lot of competitors in the area.

    First opened in 2011,Yang's Braised Chicken Rice is definitely the new kid on the fast food block.However,the chain already has 5,000 locations globally,proving that they're perfect when it comes to speed,service,and flavor.

    They've even been compared to the most popular In-N-Out burger for their business model,swift output,and delicious food.Similar to the burger legend,Yang's specializes in just one item and does it right: Huang Men Braised Chicken Rice.The only customization you can make to this dish is the level of spiciness.Other than that,the base to every clay pot of this Shandong delicious food is the exact same.

    In fact,the recipe has barely changed over the past 80-plus years.That's because Yang's Huang Men chicken recipe is originally from the 1930s.Xiao Lu Yang,the founder of the new restaurant powerhouse,has inherited the recipe from his grandmother.He's made some slight changes,but otherwise it's the same chicken dish Yang's grandmother first sold in the 1930s.

    Yang first opened his namesake chain when he discovered the national popularity of Huang Men chicken served with rice,and it's still the only item sold in the chain's 5,000-plus locations.Many of those locations are in China,but some locations are in Melbourne,Singapore,and Japan as well.

    On September 10th,Yang's Braised Chicken Rice will open its first USA location in Tustin,California.Yang's sole menu offering,the Huang Men chicken with rice,sells for $9.99 per clay pot.Each pot comes with a generous helping of rice and chicken thighs（鸡腿肉）that braise with vegetables in Yang's secret sauce.The sauce is actually made in China and shipped to the US,meaning the flavor should almost perfectly replicate what Yang's sells in China.

    If you want to be one of the first people to taste the food in the US restaurant,make sure to reserve a spot for this September 10th grand opening.Otherwise,Yang's does plan to expand out to the rest of the country and beyond. Franchise offers have already come in from Chicago,Los Angeles,New York,and Canada.

    Snoring(打鼾) is noisy breathing during sleep. It is a common problem among all ages and it influences about 90 million American adults. People most at risk are males and those who are overweight, but snoring is a problem of both genders, although it is possible that women do not present this complaint as frequently as men.

    Snoring is often the loud or harsh sound that can occur as you sleep. You snore when the flow of air makes the tissue in the back of your throat vibrate(颤动) as you breathe. The sound most often occurs as you breathe in air, and can come through the nose, mouth or both two organs. It can occur during any stage of sleep.

    About half of people snore at some point in their lives. Snoring is more common among men, though many women snore. It appears to run in families and becomes more common as you get older. About 40 percent of adult men and 24 percent of adult women are habitual snorers. Men become less likely to snore after the age of 70.

    Sleeping on your back may make you more likely to snore. You may snore when your throat or tongue muscles are relaxed. And substances(物质) that can relax these muscles may cause you to snore. These include alcohol, muscle relaxants and other medicine.

    Snoring can be a nuisance to your partner and anyone else nearby. You may even snore loudly enough to wake yourself up. Though, in many cases people do not realize that they snore. Snoring can also cause you to have a dry mouth when you wake up.

    Light snoring may not disrupt your overall sleep quality. Heavy snoring may be connected with a risk factor in the heart disease, stroke and many other health problems. So never take it lightly.

    Violette Childe, 67, is a dining companion who helps serve patients lunches. The role was introduced ten years ago by a dietitian concerning that some patients were not eating their meals.

    "Many of our patients are elderly and can be confused by the noisy, busy environment of the hospital and so won't focus on eating." explains Yvonne Donglas-Morris, head of volunteering, who oversees the activities of all 528 of the trusty volunteers. "Staff are busy with the clinical side of things, so the dining companions were introduced. They will assist the patients and encourage them to eat."

    Violette, a retired library manager, has been helping out for six years. "It makes me feel a bit more complete," she says simply. "Helping with the meals frees up the nurses to get on with other things. I believe in being a part of the community and this hospital is part of my community."

    Another key role is played by the discharge volunteers, who offer support to the elderly, especially those aged 70 and over-leaving hospital to return to an empty home. The team has a budget of ￡10 per person and will pop to the shops and buy milk, bread and a meal to tide them over for the first few hours. They then call the patients regularly, for as long as they need, to check how they are getting on and if they need extra support.

    The volunteers in Kingston work from a dedicated office-a small room in one of the buildings on the hospital grounds, where a Christmas tree decorated with baubles (小饰物) bearing the faces of volunteers sits in the corner. "All the volunteers come and gather here, it gets very busy at times," smiles Nicola Hutin, 67, a discharge support volunteer. A mother of two, and grandmother of four, she was a membership coordinator (协调员) for a trade association until she retired, and has since volunteered at the hospital one morning a week for 18 months.