Ways to sleep smarter

    Studies show that poor sleep influences people to make good decisions, concentrate on tasks or even manage a friendly mood(情绪) at work. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Today we've got our top favorite sleep tips and facts.

Set a regular bedtime

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Choose a time when you normally feel tired. Try not to break this routine(惯例) on weekends when you will probably stay up late. If you want to change your bedtime, make the change gradually, such as 15 minutes earlier or later each day.

Eat the right food

    Some foods are more helpful to a better night's sleep than others.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Others like bananas, potatoes, and whole-wheat bread are also helpful.

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    Exercising provides lots of good health benefits(好处). A good night's sleep is one of them. But make sure you exercise in the morning or afternoon. The National Sleep Foundation reports that exercise in the morning or afternoon can help deepen sleep. However, those who worked out in the evening hours saw little or no improvement in their sleep.

Reduce(减少) screen time before bed

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A recent study shows that people who use electronic media(媒体) just before bedtime report lower-quality sleep even when they get as much sleep as those who don't.

A. Avoid the alarm clock.

B. Exercise to improve sleep.

C. Try to solve problems in your sleep.

D. Go to bed at the same time every night.

E. There are many ways to increase the quality of your sleep.

F. Everybody knows that warm milk helps people sleep better.

G. Stop watching TV just before bedtime and you'll sleep better.

    Ebola is a dangerous virus that can cause people to get very sick and even die. The virus is causing the biggest problems in western Africa, where it has spread quickly. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But it can get worse and cause life-threatening symptoms(症状), such as bleeding and trouble breathing.

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    Ebola does not spread like colds or the flu because it does not float through the air. Ebola also doesn't spread through food or water, like some other viruses. Instead, Ebola spreads when someone touches the body fluids(液体) of a sick person.

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    An outbreak is when many people are getting sick with the same illness around the same time. You may have heard of a flu outbreak, which is when lots of people get sick from the same types of flu virus. When an outbreak happens because of a virus, more people could get sick because there is a lot of that virus around.

    Where did Ebola come from?

    Scientists aren't sure how the first person gets Ebola at the start. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Tropical animals in Africa believed to carry the virus include great apes, chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, fruit bats, porcupines, and forest antelopes.

    What do kids need to do about Ebola?

    Ebola is making many people sick in Africa, but no matter where you live, it's always a good idea to wash your hands well and often. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. How do people catch Ebola?

B. But they think that people may pick up the virus by touching or eating infected animals.

C. Why do I need to wash my hands?

D. It's very important that infected people get treatment right away.

E. Ebola symptoms can start with fever and headache, kind of like the flu.

F. What is an outbreak?

G. Keeping hands clean can help protect you from common illnesses like colds and the flu.

    Hilary Smith belonged to a good family. But by the age of twenty, he had spent all the money the good old family had. He then had some trouble with the bank and was put in prison. He escaped from the prison and ran to Australia without delay.

    Hilary did not like Australia and Australia did not like Hilary. What he could do seemed to be one of two things: die or work. Then he remembered that he was not alone in the world. He had an aunt.

    She was his father's only sister, but his father used to say she brought no glory to the family. Hilary, of course, tried to discover what she had done. It seemed that she had failed to marry a nobleman. Instead, she had chosen a husband who was connected with "trade". Of course as soon as she became "Mrs. Parks", her brother considered her dead. Later on, Mr. Parks died and left her a lot of money; but that did not bring her back to life in her brother's opinion.

    Hilary discovered his aunt's address. Fortunately she remained faithful and honest to him even after she fell ill. So Hilary's star shone again, and soon he moved into her house and lived as comfortably as a sailor who had just reached harbor. He had only about six pence in his pocket.

    One thing was soon clear: his aunt was seriously ill, and nothing could cure her illness. Hilary was very worried. Fate had found a home for him, and was now going to throw him out of it. There was only one thing that could save him: her will.

    "Will?" she said, "yes, I have made one. That was when I was a girl and had not much money. I left all my money to some religious people."

    "Didn't you make another will when you were married?" Hilary asked.

    His aunt shook her head. "No," she said in a low voice, "There was no need. When I finally had a lot of money, I found I had no relations."

    On the next day he went to the public library and examined a book of law. It told him what he already believed. When a woman is married, an earlier will loses its value. A new will must be made. If no new will is made, the money goes to the nearest relation. Hilary knew that he was his aunt's only relation. His future was safe.

    After a few months had passed, Hilary's problems became serious. He badly needed money. He had expensive tastes, and owed a lot of money to shopkeepers. They trusted him because his aunt was rich, but the debt was terrible.

    Unfortunately his aunt did not want to discuss money matters at all. In the end they had a quarrel about the small amount of ten pounds. Hilary was not very angry. He began to wonder about a new problem. Was it kind to want his aunt to live any longer? Was it not better for her to die now? While he was considering what to do, his aunt told him that she was going to send for her lawyer. So she was going to make a new will, Hilary thought. She might leave all her money to someone else. Soon he reached a clear decision. He must do a great kindness to the poor old woman.

    One night when the old servant who had been nursing his aunt went off, he doubled the amount of some medicine. The total amount was too great and it could just put her to sleep forever.

    "Thank you," his aunt took the glass from his hand with a grateful look." I want, more than anything, to sleep, and never to wake up again. Is that what you wish, Hilary? Don't blame me if I have some doubts about what you intended to do. Sick people get these ideas, you know. One thing I ought to explain to you. Mr. Parks never married me. He already had a wife and couldn't marry again. That made your foolish father very angry with me...Well, if I am alive tomorrow, I shall make another will in your favor. If I die tonight, you'll get nothing...No, Hilary, don't try to take the glass away. If you do that, I shall know and I don't want to know. Good night, Hilary."

    Then, very carefully, she raised the glass to her mouth and drank.

    It sounds almost too good to be true, but a new study on sleeping brains suggests that listening to languages while you sleep can actually help you to learn them.

    For the study, researchers played recordings of foreign words and their translations to subjects enjoying slow-wave sleep, a stage when a person has little consciousness of their environment. To ensure that the results were not compromised by foreign language words that subjects may have had some contact with at some point in their waking lives, researchers made up totally nonexistent foreign words.

    When the subjects woke up, they were presented with the made-up words again without their translations. The subjects were then asked to imagine whether this made-up word indicated an object that was either smaller or larger. This vague(模糊的)way of testing their understanding of the words is an approach that is supposed to tap into the unconscious memory.

    Unbelievably, the subjects were able to correctly classify the words in this way at an accuracy rate that was 10 percent higher than random chance. That's not a rate high enough to have them suddenly communicating in a foreign tongue, but it is enough to suggest that the brain is still absorbing information on some level, even during sleep.

    Researchers have long known that sleep is important for memory, but previously its role in memory was thought to relate only to the preservation and organization of memories acquired during wakefulness. This is the first time that memory formation has been shown to be active during sleep.

    In other words, our brains are listening to the world, and learning about it, even when our conscious selves are not present.

    The next step for researchers will be to see if new information can be 1earned quicker during wakefulness if it was already presented during sleep. If so, it could forever change how we train our brains to learn new things. Sleep learning might become a widespread practice.

    Red leaves are a symbol of autumn. Enjoying red leaves in the clear, refreshing autumn weather is indeed a good choice.

    Now let's have a look at the best red leaves around China and the beauty of autumn.

    Destination 1

    With different red colors, the Red Leaf Valley extends (延伸) more than 50 kilometers from Jiefang village in Qingling town to Yanjiang village in Songjiang town, Jilin province, Northeast China. Leaves are like different red pigments (颜料), including Chinese red, orange red, ruby red and bright red.

    Best time: October

    Destination 2

    Tachuan or Tashang village is in Huangshan city, Anhui province, East China. The beautiful autumn scenery there is known as one of the four best in China. The red leaves and clear spring add beauty to traditional houses, offering material for photography lovers.

    Best time: early to late November

    Destination 3

    As a result of low temperatures, maple leaves in areas south of the Yangtze River are like shy girls, gradually showing their beauty, turning from green to gold, gold to orange and finally to red. And as it changes slowly, different colors can be seen on the same trees called "colorful maple trees". Viewing at the mountainside is the best choice.

    Best time: October to November

    Destination 4

    For Guangdong province in South China, autumn always comes a little late and lasts longer. Through the end of January, you can see the red leaves any time you want. If you feel pity at saying good-bye to red leaves in North China, you can head to South China to view the beautiful scenery again.

    Best time: end of November to end of January

On August 1, 2023, new rules went into effect in the United States thạt make it against the law to sell most incandescent (白炽的) light bulbs.

Incandescent light bulbs have been common since the late 1800s. They use electricity to create light by heating a metal wire, which glows. Over 90% of the electricity used by the bulbs goes into making heat — not light.

Since 2005, countries around the world have been banning incandescent bulbs. That's what's happening in the US. The new rules don't actually make incandescent bulbs illegal. They just say that light bulbs that are sold must be able to create a certain amount of light (45 lumens) with a certain amount of energy (l watt). Most incandescent bulbs can only create about 15 lumen s with I watt.

These days, the best way to replace incandescent bulbs is with LED light bulbs. These bulbs can create about 75 lumens with 1 watt of electricity. And they can last 25 or more times longer than incandescent bulbs.

Though the rule just took effect at the beginning of August, it was first created in 2007. Since then, the rule has been delayed many times, usually for political reasons. In the early 2000s, LED bulbs cost more money than they do today, and weren't nearly as good. But in recent years, people have been switching over to LED lights, even without the rule. The lights have become more and more popular, since they use less energy and save people money by lasting longer.

The new rules will also help the environment. Over the next 30 years, LED bulbs are expected to help prevent a huge amount of pollution in the US — about as much as would be used by 28 million homes in one year. That will be an imperative step in tackling the climate crisis.