How many times a day do you check your WeChat(微信) or QQ? When you wake up? Before bed? A dozen times in between? The technology which was supposed to make our lives simple has taken up too much time. The young people spends more than seven hours a day using technological devices(设备), with an extra hour just text-messaging friends.

    The advantage of technological devices is connection: we are in touch with more people during more hours of the day than at any other time in history. But is it possible that we're lonelier than ever? That's what professor Sherry Turkle observes（观察）in her new book, Alone Together, which clearly describes our changing relationship with technology.

For Turkle, technology isn't offering us the lives we want to live. “We're texting people at a distance,” says Turkle, “We're using lifeless objects(物体) to convince(使确信) ourselves that even when we're alone, we feel together. And then when we're with each other, we put ourselves in situations where we are alone—always on our mobile devices. I call it a storm of confusion(困惑) about what's important in our human connections. That's my biggest worry.”

    Besides, communicating online is not equal to face-to-face communication. Online, you can ignore(忽视) others' feelings. In a text message, you can avoid eye contact(目光接触). A number of studies have found that this generation of young people is less sympathetic(有同情心的)than ever. “That doesn't lead to disaster,” says Turkle, “but the disadvantages still cannot be ignored.”

    English teenagers will receive cooking lessons in schools. The idea is to encourage healthy eating to solve the problem that many people are overweight. Also, it worries people that basic cooking and food preparation skills are being lost because parents use too much pre-prepared fast food.

Cooking was once regarded as an important part of education in England—even if it was mainly for girls. In recent years cooking has become less important in schools. But the rising level of obesity has led to rethink about the food that children are given and the skills they should be taught.

    “What we want is to teach young people how to do basic, simple meals, which they can use now at home and then in their life,” said Ed Balls, an education expert.

    The new lessons will start in September, but some schools without kitchens will be given a longer time to prepare. Also, there may be a shortage of teachers with the right skills, since schools have been teaching food technology rather than practical cooking. Besides, the lessons for hand-on cooking will only be one hour a week for one term. But the well-known cookery writer, Pru Leith, believe it will be worth it.

    “If we'd done this thirty years ago we might not have to face the problem about obesity and lack of knowledge about food and so on. Every child should know how to cook, not just so that they'll be healthy, but because it's a life skill which is a real pleasure.”

    The renewed interest in cooking is an effort to reduce the obesity rate, which is almost the highest in Europe, and according to the government, half of all British people will be obese in 25 years if present trends are not halted.

    Courses Available at North Coast College Campuses

    Agriculture

    Specialist agriculture centres of the North Coast College offer courses ranging from agricultural skills to beef production, horse studies and rural management. The Wollongbar Campus is famous for its Tropical(热 带的) Fruit Growing program and has introduced courses on bush foods and coffee production. Taree offers the Veterinary(兽医的) Assistant program and has introduced “Agristudy”, which enables students to learn flexibly and by correspondence( 函 授 ), using a mixture of student learning guides, telephone tutorials, information sessions and workshops. Mullumbimby has the popular Rural Business Management program, which can also be studied by correspondence. Grafton, meanwhile, offers traineeships in agriculture including beef and dairy.

    Health Programs

    The continued improvement of healthier living within the community has seen an increase in fitness awareness and a need for trained staff in the Fitness and Sport industries. Fitness Instruction courses are offered at Tweed Heads and teach students how to keep healthy and lead a safe fitness program.

    Lismore offers the Aged Support program and Port Macquarie offers the Early Childhood Nursing program. These courses give you the theoretical skills, knowledge and practical experience needed to work in a variety of residential and community-based health care institutions. For students interested in working in the Medical Health Care industry, Kingscliff is a specialist centre for the Natural Therapy Diploma and has a health clinic on campus.

    Environmental Studies

    The Environmental Studies courses offered by the North Coast College have been developed to help students increase their awareness and understanding of environmental issues and to enable them to determine their environmental impact. The Environmental Practice course, which includes Coastal Management, is offered through the Ballina Campus.

    For people interested in working to protect natural forests, the North Coast College offers the Forest Protection course at Casino. This course can provide a pathway for students into the Natural Resource Management Diploma at university.

    Best Southern winter Beer Festivals to Challenge Your Taste

    Bluffton International Craft Beer Festival

    This festival is considered to be "The Best Little Beer Fest in the US". This festival shows over 125 beers from more than 40 breweries (啤酒厂) across the US and focuses on unique and new beers that you usually can't find in a grocery store. The festival even has hourly surprises of a limited quantity of rare beers as well as food for those who can arrive in time.

    Bayou Beer Fest

    The Bayou Beer Fest is the premier beer festival in the Bayou Region of southern Louisiana and is held at the historic 19th century sugar farm, making it a truly memorable beer festival. The festival will provide hundreds of beers from state-based, national, and even international breweries, of course, there will also be food to purchase, and several Louisiana-style musical acts to keep the festival alive.

    Key Largo Brew on the Bay

    It's actually winter at this beer festival held in the largest section of the Florida Keys. The festival covers two days, and will feature at least 40 different breweries, including local breweries. Besides, because it does harm to your health to enjoy beer on an empty stomach, Brew on the Bay will feature a food court, with fresh Florida lionfish, fish sandwiches and shellfish.

    Yaga's Chili (辣椒) Quest& Beer Fest

    Beer and chili go together like peas and carrots, so you will not want to miss the annual Yaga's Chili Quest Beer Fest. The festival will feature over 100 import beers, including rare finds and a few surprises prepared for all people present. Of course, there will also be a variety of tasty chili for you to try.

    Kids and science seem to be made for each other!

    The basic science is a combination of thought and experiment called the scientific method. It's where you start with an idea, create a way to prove or disprove your idea, and show what you learned based on facts. Learning to follow this process helps you think logically (逻辑地) and carefully. These important thinking skills can be used in many areas of study. To give a child practice with these thinking skills is like giving vitamins (维生素) to a developing mind.

    One of the greatest things we can teach our children is to love learning. Learning science is a great way to do so. Children are easy to be interested in science. Because much of science is hands­on, it attracts most children. Nothing makes a child sit up and take notice like the "WOW!" of a great science showing.

    Science opens doors to many subjects at school. Building love for science can be helpful in other areas of study. For example, one cannot love science for very long without becoming good at its language — math! So science encourages children to study math. An interest in science is an interest in how things were once understood compared to how they are understood now. Thus studying science lends itself easily to studying history. And after you do an experiment, you need to write a lab report. Therefore, writing becomes an important part of science.

    Science is the basic thing for much of our life. The science of farming shows how our food is produced; biomedical science keeps us healthy; even our beds these days are designed according to scientific facts. We almost eat, sleep and breathe with the help of science! When we prepare the next generation (一代) of voters, creators, and policy makers, it is important to make sure they are not only comfortable but also good at science.

    Vaping can be just as damaging to your health as smoking. But the minute you kick the habit, you'll feel a difference.

    Vaping is the use of electronic cigarettes-e-cigarettes. Vaping became mainstream in the United States in the late 2000s. When e-cigarettes first hit the market, people believed they were a safer choice to tobacco cigarettes. We now know, however, that vaping, like smoking cigarettes can be quite damaging to your health-and equally addictive.

    Kids and teenagers are especially attracted to vaping, thanks to attractive flavors. Vape use in high school students rose by 900 percent between 2011 and 2015.

    Quitting vaping can be difficult, just like trying to stop smoking. There are some immediate, though often temporary, negative effects. The positive ones soon outpace the negative, however.

    In as little as 20 minutes, your heart rate returns to normal, your blood pressure drops, and your circulation starts to normalize. Your breathing may improve, too.

    Daily e-cigarette doubles a person's risk for a heart attack. If you quit, however, the risk begins to fall very quickly. Also, vaping, like cigarette smoking, can blunt your senses, reducing your ability to smell and taste. After just 48 hours without vaping, you may begin to notice your ability to taste and smell food has improved. Nicotine affects more than your brain: new research suggests nicotine can raise your blood sugar, too.

    Smokers often have a troublesome cough or make a breathless sound when they breathe that many refer to as a smokers cough. Smoking even e-cigarettes can badly harm your lung health and make fighting off infections difficult. Quitting, however, will help your lungs recover. After one month, your lung capacity improves.

    There will come a day when the bad habit of vaping won't have any lasting influence on your body and your health.