The police in Taiwan are unable to judge whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat. Either way, it could be the perfect crime, because the criminals are birds — homing pigeons!

    The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you want the car back, pay up. Then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off.

    There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind — one that avoids not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place. Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return. Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad in the newspaper asking for help.

    The theory is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned. Also, the amount of money demanded — under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars — seems too little for a car worth many times more.

    Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal. “We have more important things to do,” he said.

It's long been thought that in order to succeed in life you need to think only of yourself and ignore the needs of others. New research,however,suggests the exact opposite is true and being nice to others actually makes you more likely to be successful. The scientists found that ‘givers' were more likely to share knowledge,and in turn gain more information themselves.

    Researchers divided participants into three groups based on a personality test: givers, takers and matchers. In a social dilemma task, participants were given a made-up donation which was equal to the amount of ￡ 240( $400). They were then asked to decide how much of their money they would give to a shared group pool. They were told that the money in the pool would be doubled and divided equally among all group members. Thus,it would be more beneficial to the group as a whole if everyone contributed their individual donations. However, it would be more beneficial for the individual if everyone else from the group contributed,while the individual kept his or her own money. The researchers used this strategic (策略的) information sharing task to examine how much and which pieces of information participants shared:the less important and already known information or the really important information only known by the individual.

    The results showed that givers are less self-centered and self-loving than takers. Givers shared not only more money with the group, but they also shared important information. Takers on the other hand kept both the money as well as different types of information.

    The findings suggest that it may not be enough to simply provide knowledge management tools in order to make the best of knowledge exchange in a group of people. It may be necessary for leaders and managers to keep in mind the personality styles of their employees. Specifically, they should be aware that takers may keep the important information for themselves.

    I sit on the stoop (门廊) in front of my friend's house at the top of a steep hill. And now my friend is late, and I'm stuck here waiting.

    I see a man approaching.

    "Por favor. Call 911," the man says. "Finger. Cut." With his left hand, he is pressing the handkerchief around his right little finger.

    "No. Have. Phone," I say, as if English is also my second language.

    "Have phone," he says, and dips his chin toward his front pants pocket. There, I find a phone, and call 911.

    The operator answers, and I say "I'm with this guy, and he cut his finger."

    "Did he cut it off?"

    "Did you cut it off?"

    "Sí." He sighs.

    "Yes. He cut it off."

    "Where is it?" the operator asks.

    "Where is it?"

    "Upstairs," he says, pointing with his elbow to the house next door.

    "Go get it," she instructs me.

    I follow the man toward the house. Inside, I see a table saw(锯), and the blood spreading across the ceiling, but I don't see the finger. I lift up each foot and look underneath to be sure I've not stepped on it. I'm getting that jumpy, tight-shouldered feeling like when you've lost sight of a spider that was on your ceiling a moment ago.

    "Do you see it?" I ask him.

    He points at his own finger beside the table saw. I grab a paper towel, pinching it carefully, the way you might pick up a harmless but frightening insect.

    "We have secured the finger," I tell the operator.

    "Hang tight. The ambulance is on its way."

    We sit on the stoop waiting for the ambulance.

    "You're going to be OK," I say, putting my free hand on his sawdust-covered back.

    "Gracias," he says.

    "De nada. Esta no problemo," I reply in broken Spanish.

    It feels good to be able to comfort someone, anyone. For months now, the second my hands would go idle(闲散的), a familiar depression would climb on my back. I have been trying to put on a good face for my kid, but I feel as if I've been failing. Could I save myself? I wouldn't know how. But I am determined to save this man.

    Finally the ambulance arrives, picks him up, and they're off.

    Throughout the evening, I can't stop worrying about the man. I decide to call the hospital.

    "Hi! I helped a guy who cut off his finger, and I don't even know his name, but I'm wondering whether he came to your hospital."

    The nurse says, "His name is Jose Ramos, and he's waiting for surgery. Would you like to leave a message?"

    "No. I don't want to bother him. I just wanted to be sure he was OK."

    The next morning, I call the hospital again. This time, I'm put through to Jose's room. "How was the surgery?"

    "No surgery," he says. "No enough blood."

    "Oh, I'm sorry," I say.

    Later that day, I remember that old proverb about how if you save someone's life, you are responsible for them for the rest of their life, which never made sense to me before. Shouldn't the person who got saved owe a debt, and not the other way around? But today, I get it. It's a great honor to help someone in need.

    I start keeping a lookout for other people in need of assistance. I help push a stalled car out of the road. I aid a disoriented cyclist when her bike gets clipped by a car. I adopt a dog. Then one day, a month or two after the finger incident, I realize I have completely forgotten to be depressed. I've been so busy playing the role of local hero that I have ignored to drag my feet and stare into space and imagine the world without me.

    Now, more than a decade has passed since Jose's accident. Occasionally I search for "Jose" plus "Ramos" plus "finger." I wish I could see him again, to see how he's getting on. But more important, to thank him, because when he lost his finger, he saved my life.

    David Beckham was born in 1975 in London, at a place called Leytonstone. When he was a young boy, his greatest passion was in football. He played it whenever he had the chance. Sometimes he would go and watch a game with his friends. When David Beckham was 12 years old, he won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills award. This was an important step forward for this young boy, and it led him to go for a visit to a football training camp in Spain. As a boy he played for schools of Essex and also for his county team.

    In 1991, he became a trainee with Manchester United. This meant that he could practice football as much as he wanted to and play for the highly successful Manchester United Youth Cup team and Under-21 team. In April, 1995 he played his first football league game against Leeds Untied. During 1995 and 1996, David became a regular member of the team and Manchester United won in both football seasons, with David scoring many goals（进球）.

    His goals made him a household name. In the first game of the 1996-1997 season, he scored a surprising goal from beyond the halfway line and became famous overnight. He continued to score astonishing goals, especially from free-kicks. The speed of one of his shots was timed at 157 km/h. He also had the ability to make the ball go from left to right, or right to left, whenever he chose. Goalkeepers were never sure where the ball was going, and it regularly ended up in the goal.

    There are a couple different things that make ramen noodles an unhealthy choice. There's not much to these provision packets besides salt and carbohydrates. While those certainly get thrown around quite a bit as “bad-for-you” comments, you may not know how they actually harm your body. Firstly, there's the fact that most instant ramen servings contain over 1100 milligrams of sodium-that's approaching half of the maximum you should eat per day. When you take in that much sodium in a single sitting, your body overcompensates by holding more water. This can cause temporary water weight gain, leaving you feeling bloated(肿胀)and lacking in energy.

    But while you may feel bloated, chances are you won't feel full. Since the ramen contains lots of refined carbohydrates with virtually no protein or fiber, it's essentially the very definition of empty calories. And you've probably heard the song-and-dance about refined carbs; eating too much can lead your blood sugar to increase and then decrease, leaving you hungry and ready to eat again-which leads to weight gain.

    And, perhaps most upsetting of all, this quick-and-easy meal may stay with you much longer than you realize. Massachusetts General Hospital's Dr. Braden Kuo used a pill-sized camera to record the digestive tracts of volunteers who ate processed ramen noodles as well as fresh ones. With a video, Dr. Kuo was able to show that, after two hours when the fresh noodles were long gone, the ramen noodles were still there in the intestines.

    Doctors do know that years of eating the instant packets are linked to poor health. Another study, this one by the Harvard School of Public Health, assessed the long-term consequences of ramen consumption in South Korea, where it's a major course. They found that subjects, women in particular, who ate instant noodles at least twice a week had a 68 percent higher risk of diabetes and heart disease-than subjects who ate a more consistently natural diet.

    In short, eating ramen once in a while won't damage your health-as is true with most processed foods. But it's not something you should make a habit of-for your stomach and heart's sake.

    When Gitanjali Rao shared how she likes "finding solutions to real problems”, it was hard to imagine this dynamic 11-year-old girl could settle a problem that has escaped scientists for years.

    In just three months, Rao came up with a device（装置）that can replace the costly and lengthy tests currently used to reliably determine lead levels in our fresh water. Inspired by the current litigation （诉讼）in Flint, Michigan, a case of water pollution from 2014 to 2015, Rao designed a new testing system that resulted in her being named America's Top Young Scientist for 2017.

    Rao had been following the water problem for about two years. She was amazed by the number of people affected by lead pollution in water and wanted to do something to change this. Gitanjali spent months trying to convince local high schools and colleges to give her lab time to continue her experiment. At home, Gitanjali worked on her project in the "science room” she asked her parents to create for her. Rao has created a device that uses three parts: a cartridge, a Bluetooth reader and an app. To put it simply, the cartridge contains carbon nanotubes（纳米管） that react to lead. This reaction is then registered by the Bluetooth reader, which sends a signal to a mobile app that can tell you immediately if your water is safe to drink.

    Rao appropriately named the device Tethys after the Greek goddess of fresh water, and is hoping to make a little improvement to get the device on the market. While we may not be aware of any lead pollution present in our aging pipelines, lead poisoning can cause delays in physical and mental development. With Rao believing that the "purpose of science is to make a difference”, her incredible invention could make a difference to millions of people in the United States.