The Rugby (英式橄榄球) World Cup is currently being held in New Zealand. The tournament, due to finish on October 23, is living up to the famous English saying, “Rugby is a thug's (暴徒) game played gentlemen. ”

    The games are physically aggressive; the tackles (冲撞) on the pitch are brutal; but the end of each match is a civilized affair. Players shake hands and applaud each other. Of course, the other side to this saying is: "Football is a gentleman's game played by thugs. " Indeed, unlike soccer players, rugby players don't often question the referee's (裁判员) decisions or pretend to be injured when they are not.

    “Football could learn a lot from rugby," said Brian Moore, a former England rugby player "The wonderful spirit of rugby is: there is a gentlemanly code to it. You play hard on the pitch, but you always respect your opponent..

    Rugby is mainly played in Europe. Australia, New Zealand and parts of Africa. "It is more enjoyable to play than soccer because you are always involved in the game," said Peter, a Welsh rugby coach. "Rugby is also a far superior test of strength, stamina (耐力) and determination. "

    Most professional rugby players are large, strong and weigh over 90 kilograms. People who play the sport need to be tough and be prepared to get hurt. Black eyes, broken bones, lost teeth and being knocked unconscious—all these are common injuries. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is blind in one eye thanks to a rugby accident at school.

    In England, children begin playing the game at school at the age of 8. When they enter high school, many begin to play full contact rugby. Children are taught to play for around one hour a week during their PE lessons. Most schools have a rugby team. Children who play for the school team are usually the sportiest kids, and are seen as brave and athletic.

    If you want to live longer and lower the risk of heart disease, a move to the mountains may help. Research by scientists in Greece shows that living in the mountains is good for the heart and longevity(长寿). People living at higher altitude(海拔) have lower possibility of dying from heart disease than those closer to sea level, even if they have factors that could increase their risk. "Residence in mountainous areas seems to have a 'protective effect' from heart disease," said Dr Nikos Baibas of the University of Athens. He and his colleagues suspect that the increased exercise from walking up mountainous area gives the heart a good workout and enables it to cope with lower levels of oxygen.

    Researchers studied the health records and death rates of 1,150 Greeks who lived in three villages near Athens over 15 years. One village was 1,000 meters above sea level and the other two were in low-lying areas. Although men and women living in the mountainous village had higher blood pressure rates and other risk factors than people in the other villages, they had a lower rate of death from heart disease and other causes after a fifteen year follow-up." The contrast was more evident among men than among women," Baibas added in a report in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Heart disease is one of the world's top killers. Smoking, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol levels, being overweight and a family history of the illness increase the possibility of developing the disease.

    Killer whales in Alaska's Bering Sea have figured out an easy way to get fed. Instead of seeking out the fish them- selves, the clever whales chase down fishing boats and steal the entire catch of the day, as much as 20,000 to 30,000 pounds.

    Killer whale “thieves” are not a new phenomenon. Japanese fishermen have reported being followed by killer Whales since the 1950s. However, the increasing frequency of whale fish theft in the Bering Sea's continental shelf is now threatening the livelihood of fishermen.

    Paul Clampitt, a local fisherman, says his crew tried to keep the whales away with loud sounds. Though that worked for a short time, the whales now consider the noise “ a dinner bell”. Jay Herbert tried using sonar to keep the whales away. He also met with little success. According to the experienced fisherman, the smart whales deliberately seek out longliners (延绳钓渔船）, and, all the first opportunity presented to them, steal the fish, leaving behind just the lips of the fish caught!

    NOAA Fisheries biologist John Moran is not surprised at the whales' thieving skill. The expert says whales are skilled hunters who can distinguish the sounds of different boats and even recognize the sounds of the operating system that places the fishing equipment into the ocean. The expert jokes, “ Grabbing a fish off a line is nothing.” Since they are social animals, it is easy for whales to pass their skills on to others.

    Killer whales are not the only whale species that have learned to steal from humans. In the Gulf of Alaska, sperm whales also conduct similar thefts. Longline fishermen off Washington, Chile, Australia, Hawaii, and many other countries have reported similar incidents. There is, unfortunately, no easy fix to this problem. One of the possible solutions is using pot traps similar to the ones used to catch crabs. However, the cost of switching from longline to pot fishing is too high, especially for small-scale fisheries. There is also no guarantee that the catch will be safe from the intelligent whales which, many fear, will eventually figure out how to open the pots!

    It is widely acknowledged that nearly every kid might come across some kind of school bullying(欺侮), however, the age at which kids were first bullied could influence how strongly they are affected, suggests a new study. And, surprisingly, it is not the youngest kids who are hurt the most in the long term.

    Bullying can have long-lasting effects, but particularly when it begins in adolescence(青春期), the researchers say, people subjected to either verbal or physical bullying are known to be at greater risk of developing depression, anxiety disorders or to behave violently. But not everyone reacts in this way.

    Children who were bullied for the first time before they hit adolescence seem to get over it, but those who are bullied for the first time later on in adolescence seem to become more aggressive(富有攻击性的) or are more likely to turn to drinking as a means of coping with it. These are the conclusions of psychologists Matthew Newman and colleagues of Texas at Austin, US.

    The team gave questionnaires to nearly 1,500 college students about their experience of physical and psychological bullying before adolescence- before high school- and in late adolescence- at high school. They assessed mood and mental state, judging by signs of anxiety or depression, such as sleeplessness. The group was also questioned about how they would react to certain challenges, such as humiliation.

    People who were bullied all showed slightly higher levels of stress. But while those bullied earlier in life seemed to respond normally to provocation (煽动), people bullied for the first time late in adolescence are more withdrawn and sensitive to violence.

    There are also sex differences between those bullied for the first time during adolescence: females are more likely to react aggressively when provoked and males are much more likely to turn to drinking to escape bad situations. The best solution in all cases was strong social support, whether from friends, family or school. Those with no one to share their problems with suffered the most.

    So perhaps it is best not to shelter children completely from bullying early on, suggests Newman, "They may get stressed, but unhealthy coping really jumps out when they are bullied for the first time later on."

    My wife and I went to this vegan(严格的素食主义的) restaurant to give it a try. As we were eating our pepper and salt tofu, a young lady named Debra walked in. She wasn't aware that the place is vegan and was looking for some meat. My wife and I talked up the place and invited her over to try some of our tofu. Debra tried it, nodded and went out.

    After a few minutes, she and her mother both walked back in. We were having the rest of our meal at that time, so we told her what we had ordered. Debra then asked the waitress to just repeat our order for them. Next, Debra said. "And we want to pay for their meal", pointing to my wife and me. We tried to say no, but Debra wouldn't listen.

    That was not the end of it. Hugs were in order. Debra came over to our table and my wife got up to hug her. Debra hugged my wife and put $ 100 into her hand. My wife firmly said NO, but Debra insisted. Debra kept talking about our kindness, and we did the same about hers and her mother's. With tears in the eyes, the workers were blown away by this whole exchange between four strangers. I left the waiters and waitresses a tip that would cover all of our meals and we were on our way.

    I've been witnessing so much kindness, especially over the last few years, as I began to pay more attention. We now have a new favorite restaurant and every time we go there my plan is to pay for someone else's meal.