Scientists have found that human eyes are more likely to be damaged by UV rays (紫外线) while skiing in the snow-covered areas than sitting on the beach, according to a report by the UK newspaper The Telegraph.

    The researchers at Kanazawa Medical University, Japan and American company Johnson conducted the study together. They looked at the effects of light reflection on newly fallen snow on a ski trail (a rough path) in Ishikawa District, northern Japan. They compared the results with the levels of UV rays on a sand beach in southern Japan's Okinawa District They found that on the beach, eyes are exposed to a daily 260 kilojoules (千焦耳) of UV a square meter compared to 658 kilojoules in snow-covered areas. The findings are supported by the Japan Meteorological Agency. According to the agency, the reflection rate of UV light on beaches is often between 10 and 25 percent, compared to 80 percent in lie new snow areas. The amount of light increased 4 percent with a 300-meter rise in height.

    Most of us know that UV rays can harm the skin. That's why we wear sunscreen on our skin before we get out in the suit. But many of us may not realize that UV rays are also harmful to the eyes.

    If your eyes are exposed to large amounts of UV radiation over a short period of time. You may experience a kind of sunburn of the eye, which is harmful. Your eyes will become red and feel a strange feeling. They may be sensitive to light. Fortunately, this is usually temporary and seldom causes permanent damage to the eyes.

    Long-term exposure to UV radiation, however, can be more serious. Scientific studies and researches have shown that exposure to small amounts of UV radiation over a period of many years increases chance of eye damage, which could lead to total blindness.

    This day marks the rising of a new food startup, the first company to be financed entirely by the crowd, and of it every business thus relies on thousands of customers to grow. Lisa, 25, its main founder and CEO, believes it will be a path that will become increasingly popular, and ultimately will produce more thriving（繁荣的）businesses from the scratch.

    “In the food industry, no venture capital (VC, 风险投资) will even look at you until you've hit a million in sales. As a fresh hand in business, unless you're independently wealthy, you will likely need to raise some money before then,” Lisa complained. So few businesses approached VC firms at the beginning. It was no exception with her. Thus, she turned to a new financing tool at hand, crowdfunding, to raise money from the crowd who'd like to take a bet on her company.

    But for a company, it didn't make sense to seek investments when all they had was an idea and a few months of consumer testing data. The food market is extremely competitive. No investor would put money behind a totally unproven new super food product founded by a bunch of twenty-somethings. “But we had a story. And crowds love stories.” Lisa said delightedly. So she put together an online crowdfunding campaign, explaining how she began working with this amazingly nutritious plant in the Peace Corps and then started selling it in the U.S. to support the poor in the West Africa.

    On the online platform where they were to raise the money, a friend convinced them to change their goal from $20,000 to $50,000. Lisa stayed up all night worrying they wouldn't hit it. But they reached $24,000 in 24 hours and ended their funding with $53,000. Seeing the number, Lisa said, “Thank you! To my crowd and for your belief!”

    In the 1880s, Mark Twain managed his own publishing company. He also became interested in various investments（投资）, especially a kind of typesetting machine. He lost almost $200,000 in investments in the machine between 1881 and 1894. Also, his publishing company declared bankruptcy（破产）in April 1894. Thus, in January 1895, Mark Twain found himself publicly shamed by his inability to pay his debts.

    Mark Twain finally recovered from his financial difficulties, through his continued writing and a successful lecture tour in 1895 and 1896. During this much-publicized tour, Twain lectured in such places as India, South Africa and Australia. By the time he returned, he had become an international hero. Twain enjoyed this attention, and his habits of smoking cigars or a pipe and wearing unusual white suits contributed to his showy image. He also made use of his position as a public figure to criticize the US foreign policy.

    Although he was recovering from his financial problems by 1898, Mark Twain had begun to experience tragedy（悲剧）in his personal life. Suzy, his oldest daughter, died of meningitis （脑膜炎）in 1896, while her parents and sister Clara were abroad. In 1903, Mark Twain sold the beloved house in Hartford, which had become too closely associated with Suzy's death. His wife, Olivia, who had developed a heart condition, died on June 5, 1904. His youngest daughter, Jean, died on Dec.24, 1909.

    When Katie Stagliano was 9 years old, she was given a class project to grow her first cabbage from just one seed. She took it home and planted it in her home garden. It didn't even take her long to come up and begin to grow. But as friends came over, they pointed out that it was bigger than any of theirs. And it grew so much that the cabbage ended up weighing 40 pounds! Katie then decided that she could use this cabbage to do something nice for the community. So she took the huge cabbage to a local soup kitchen, where they used it, and cooked it with ham and rice. And because of her cabbage, 275 people were fed.

    She began to realize that gardening and helping people is what she likes to do most. So, she decided to start her first garden on a plot of land donated by her school.

    "I think if more kids get to experience gardening they would find out how cool it is and how many people can be fed if you donate your produce," said Katie. Now, just 9 years later, Katie is 18 years old, and has set up her own business called "Katie's Krops" with the help of her family friends.

    But this doesn't even come close to the other amazing part. She has raised over 200,000 dollars! And there are over 100 Katie's Krops within 33 states in the United States. She loves gardening and loves inspiring other children to experience the joy of gardening as well. As of today, her first garden is still doing amazing and is even responsible for supplying over 3,000 pounds of produce donated to local charities. Her goal now? To get 500 gardens across all 50 states.

    Teenagers who spend hours in front of the television may have a poorer diet as young adults.

    A study, which included nearly 1, 400 high school students, found those who watched TV for five hours or more per day had less healthy diets than peers (同龄人) five years later. Why does this happen? Should the parents take any measures?

    On the one hand, people who spend a lot of time in front of the TV, especially teenagers, may snack more, and that may affect their long-term diet quality.

    On the other hand, TV ads for fast food, sweets and snacks tempt teenagers to eat more of those foods. And TV time might also replace exercise time for some kids.

    Lead researcher Dr. Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told Reuters Health a clear correlation between TV time during high school and diet quality in young adulthood. While the heaviest TV viewers were eating the most junk food, those who'd watched less than two hours per day had the highest intake (吸收) of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and high-calcium food. In her opinion, parents should limit and monitor TV viewing.

    As far as I am concerned, children should watch no more than two hours of television per day. And parents should set a good example by eating right, being physically active and curbing their own TV time.