The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place

    Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet… We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically.

    Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale(秤)instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels.

    On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don't have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.

    The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients. Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemicals that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.

    Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological and physical harm that comes from using them.

    It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest man would become fierce tigers behind the wheel. It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver's seat is another matter.

    Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense. It takes the most cool-hearted drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting. A friendly nod or a wave, or thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and becomes so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough. Many drivers nowadays don't even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.

    However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous. Typical example is the driver who waves to a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may not be able to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to.

    An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total jams that give rise to unpleasant feelings. Unfortunately, modern drivers can't even learn to drive, let alone master the roadmanship(驾车技能). Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more give-and-take from all road users. It is high time that all of us took this message to heart.

    Spanish River Park

    Location: 3001 Ocean Blvd.,Boca Raton.

    Admission: $16 per vehicle on weekdays,$18 on weekends and major holidays.

    Special Comments: About 95 acres,more than a half-mile of beach with lifeguards.No pets.1,680-foot nature path and large playground area.

    Food/Dining: Picnic areas with barbecue grills（烤肉架）.Phone: (561)393-7811

    Restores: Restrooms and showers available.

    Red Reef Park

    Location: 1400 N.Ocean Blvd.,Boo2 Raton.

    Admission: $16 per vehicle on weekdays,$18 on weekends and major holidays.

    Special Comments: Developed beach (67 acres) with lifeguards.No alcohol or pets permitted.It offers grills and a small playground area.

    Food/Dining: Picnic areas available.Phone: (561) 393-7812

    Restrooms: Restrooms and showers available.

    South Beach Park

    Location: 400 N.Ocean Blvd.,Boca Raton.

    Admission: $15 per vehicle on weekdays,$17 on weekends and major holidays.

    Special Comments: 1,670 feet of beach,25 acres,lifeguards,955 feet of developed beach south of Boca Inlet with lifeguards.

    Food/Dining: Picnic areas available.Phone: (561) 393-7813

    Restrooms: Restrooms and showers available.

    Coconut Cove Waterpark

    Location: 11200 Park Access Road,Boca Raton.

    Admission: Adult $7; Children(4~12)$5; 3 and under free.

    Special Comments: The waterpark offers Sea Monster（怪物）walk pool,Meandering River,a waterslide and a waterfall.No alcohol or pets permitted.

    Food/Dining: Concessions.Phone: (561) 274-1140

    Restrooms: Restrooms and showers available.

    Do you want a pleasant holiday? The summer holidays are upon us again. Here is our guide to summer holiday fun in Peterborough!

    Peterborough Museum

    The Age of the Dinosaur is the museum's main attraction this summer. Get close to prehistoric creatures via some great hands-on exhibits! The museum is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sundays in August.

    Call 01733-864663 for details.

    Saxon Youth Club

    School holiday fun: Young people aged 13—19 will be able to produce their own music, compete in sports activities, or try their hand at cooking at Saxon Youth Club, Saxon Community Centre, Norman Road, Peterborough every Monday and Wednesday from 3:00 p.m. Plus an aeroball tournament will take place on Thursday,12th August between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

    Call 01353-720274 for details.

    Houghton Mill

    Alice Through the Looking Class—a new production of the family favorite on Monday, 30th August. Bring rugs or chairs to sit on and a picnic if you wish to eat during the play. Gates open 5:30 p.m., performance 6:30 p.m.—8:30 p.m. Tearoom will be open until the end of the interval. Adult￡ 10. Child ￡7. Family ￡20.

    Booking advisable on 0845-4505157.

    Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey

    Farmland Games: From Welly Wanging to Pretend Ploughing matches, come and join the Farmland Team. Collect your sporting stickers and create a colorful rosette that is fit for a winner! No need to book, just turn up between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, 19th August. Suitable for children aged four and above, each child should be accompanied by an adult and all activities are included in the normal admission. Tickets Cost￡7 per child.

    For further information, call 01223-810080.

    Today, the Chinese traditions of Qixi have combined with Western celebrations of love and romance. Lovers often use flowers, chocolates, sweet gifts or grand declarations to express feelings deep in their hearts.

    But this year, you could let your love take off by traveling with that special someone on a romantic adventure. Where should you travel? Find inspiration (灵感) from these four romantic movies, which all took place in breathtakingly beautiful places. Choose one as the ideal setting for your own real-life love story.

    Trevi Fountain in Rome

    Trevi Fountain is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. It has appeared in several notable films, including Roman Holiday. In the film, Ann (played by Audrey Hepburn) has her hair cut a barbershop near the fountain, which becomes the style-setting “gamine” haircut in fashion history.

    Empire State Building, New York

    The Empire Sate Building is an American cultural icon and has been featured in more than 250 TV shows and movies. In the comedy-drama Sleepless in Seattle, Annie (played by Meg Ryan) writes a letter to Sam (Tom Hanks) suggesting meeting on top of the Empire State building on Valentine's Day. After twists and turns, they finally see each other on the observation deck on top of the building.

    Somerset House in London

    Located in central London, Somerset House is a popular filming location with its exterior featuring in several big budget Hollywood films. In the winter, its central courtyard is turned into an open-air ice rink, as seen during the well-received film Love Actually.

    Daocheng, Sichuan Province

    Daocheng is a county in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, located at the eastern Hengduan Mountains. This magical place combines the beauty of snow mountain, glacier, lake, grassland and waterfall. After the film I Belonged to You, Daocheng grows to be a major tourist attraction, a remote sacred place for unchanging love.

    Language learning apps are very popular now and offer opportunities to learn vocabulary and practice grammar. But there has been a discussion about just how effective such apps can be.

    Among the most popular apps are Duolingo and Busuu. A previous research found positive results on the use of them. But it mainly concentrated on studies with learners who had signed up to language courses and these apps worked as an after-class support, so the results were not always reliable. A recent study of 4,095 Busuu users has been carried out aimed to find out if users can actually learn a language with an app.

    Busuu provides learning materials for 12 different languages. It offers special model where some content is available for free while some content is not. We find that its users are an even mix of men and women. More than half consider themselves to be at the beginner level as there is a decrease in users as their language levels go up. Most people use the app because of personal interest, or because they want to study or live abroad. Female users tend to use it less often but for longer periods of time than male users.

    Getting any feedback on Busuu depends on whether your answer is correct or not. While it is helpful, this is not the sort of feedback language teachers prefer, as it does not explain why the answer is right or wrong. In spite of this, feedback in the app is very highly rated.

    More than 92% of respondents state that the app has met their expectations and 86% rate the app as very good or good. In fact, more than 80% of the users surveyed strongly agree that using the app has helped them improve their knowledge of the language they are learning.

    Besides, language learning apps also create an environment where mistakes are only known to the users, and this can address the performance anxiety that many learners suffer from when asked to speak a foreign language. So language teachers should encourage their students to use them to do the grammar work, leaving precious class time for more language communication.