Which boy hasn't dreamed of being a cool secret agent? The wonderful fighting abilities and the world-saving adventures are much more colourful than most people's everyday lives. Well, Cody Banks is just like any other boy, except that he is not just dreaming. He has a big secret his friends never know about. He was trained to be a spy by a special CIA programme, which was made to look like a summer camp. He learned high-speed driving, hand-to-hand fighting and the use of high-tech tools.

    After proving he could become a young hero by saving a baby from a runaway car, Banks gets his first real task. He must make friends with a popular girl at school, Natalie Connors. Then, he must spy on her father, a scientist who has developed a dangerous technology. Banks must stop a group of bad people from forcing Natalie's father into using the technology to endanger the world.

    The CIA may have taught him first-class self-defence moves, but they didn't show him how to talk to girls. Banks has zero ability when it comes to dealing with girls. How can he get around his problem and get an invitation to the girl's upcoming birthday party? Will he finally become Natalie's boyfriend and find out whatever he can about her father's work?

    Agent Cody Banks has everything that young people are interested in: big explosions, breath-taking performances and funny girl-dating experiences. It was listed No.2 in the American box office last week.

    “This story is interesting and fun for the whole family to enjoy, and especially cool for young boys,” said Paul Perkins, a film reviewer in the US.

    What happens inside the head of a soccer player who repeatedly heads a soccer ball. That question motivated a study of the brains of experienced players.

    Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York selected 34 adults, men and women. All of the volunteers had played soccer since childhood and  now competed year﹣round in adult soccer leagues. Each filled out a detailed questionnaire developed especially for this study to determine how many times they had headed a soccer ball in the previous year, as well as whether they had experienced any known concussions in the past.

    Then the players completed computerized tests of their memory and other learning skills and had their brains scanned. using a complex new M.R.I. technique which can find structural changes in the brain that can't be seen during most scans.

    According to the data they presented, the researchers found that the  players who had headed the ball more than about 1, 100 times in the previous 12 months showed significant loss of white matter in parts of their brains involved with memory, attention and the processing of visual information, compared with players who had headed the ball less.

    This pattern of white matter loss is "similar to those seen in traumatic brain injury", like that after a serious concussion, the researchers reported, even though only one of these players was reported to have ever experienced a concussion.

    The players who had headed the ball about 1, 100 times or more in the past year were also generally worse at remembering lists of words read to them, forgetting the words far more often than players who had headed the ball less.

    Ray Tokuda, a 54-year-old Japanese American, is proud of the title his school has given him. He is a Shifu, a Chinese word literally meaning a master, mentor or senior practioner of martial arts.

    Tokuda has reason to be proud. He has been involved with Chinese martial arts for almost four decades. After learning them at the martial arts school in New Mexico State, today he is among the most experienced kung fu teachers of the school.

    Practicing martial arts two to three hours and helping students improve their skills have become Tokuda's daily routine. He expects to practice and teach martial arts for the rest of his life. "I'm still learning. It's worth more than a lifetime to learn Chinese martial arts," he said." Once I started, I just couldn't stop. I think it's also the magic of Chinese culture."

    Tokuda was sent to the martial arts school when he was 10. He still remembers how unwilling he was when starting out." My father had always wanted to learn Chinese martial arts but never got the chance, so he put his kid in," he said. "I was so afraid at that time because I thought kung fu was all about fighting."

    But things changed after he learned that martial arts were more than punching and kicking.

    "One of the things martial arts teach me is overcoming adversity," Tokuda said. "As a little kid, my first lesson was like, oh, look, this is a thing that I can get through by diligence, perseverance(毅力)and dedication, and that was priceless for my life."

    Learning Chinese martial arts opened a gateway for him to better understand Chinese culture because he could hear a lot of ancient Chinese kung fu-related stories. "It is like in America, where we hear stories about knights in shining armor and King Arthur and noble deeds done," he said. "I feel martial arts preserve something of ancient China that can't be found in books. They are sort of an oral history."

    Tokuda has also been invited to various events in his home state to showcase traditional Chinese culture, including the dragon dance and lion dance, which he also learnt at the martial arts school. Because of this, he is now considered a cultural envoy (使者) in the eyes of the public.

    Who decided that blue jeans and T-shirts are "cool" for kids to wear today? Who designs the clothes you see for sale in stores? All of these questions concern the world of fashion.

    Fashion refers to the styles of dress that are currently popular. Fashion goes beyond just clothes, though. It's important for some people to wear only the latest fashions and styles. For others, though, keeping up with trends isn't that important. The one thing that stays the same with fashion is this: it always changes!

    In the 1960s and 1970s, hippies made bell-bottomed blue jeans popular. In the 1980s, Michael Jackson made parachute pants (降落伞裤) all the fashion. Now try to find these items in today's clothing stores!

Why do fashions change? The answer is probably as simple as the fact that people change. Over time, the new replaces the old. People are influenced greatly by popular culture, including athletes, musicians, movie stars, as well as popular films, television shows, books and music. We are also influenced by the fashion industry's advertising.

    The stars of popular culture are always searching for a new angle to maintain (保持) their popularity. Often these new angles come in the form of new clothing or hairstyles. When people see these new styles, they often want to imitate their favorite stars. To do so, they seek out the latest fashions to make themselves look like the people they want to imitate. In this way, fashions evolve and change over time.

    For years, clothes have been used to separate people into groups. Even today, brand-name clothing that is more expensive than other types of clothing can be used by some people to distinguish themselves from others.

    Unfortunately, this can often have the effect of distancing certain groups from others. Don't forget that it's always OK to develop your own sense of style that is unique and separate from what the fashion world determines! Stay true to yourself and let your personality — not your clothes — speak for who you are!

Forget Cyclists, Pedestrians are Real Danger

    We are having a debate about this topic. Here are some letters from our readers.

    Yes, many cyclists behave dangerously. Many drivers are disrespectful of cyclists. But pedestrians are probably the worse offenders.

    People of all ages happily walk along the pavement with eyes and hands glued to the mobile phone, quite unaware of what is going on around them. They may even do the same thing while crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing or elsewhere. The rest of us have to evade (避让) them or just stand still to wait for the unavoidable collision.

    The real problem is that some pedestrians seem to be, at least for the moment, in worlds of their own that are, to them, much more important than the welfare of others.

——Michael Horan

    I loved the letter from Bob Brooks about cyclists (Viewpoints, May 29). I am afraid they seem to think they own the roads.

    I was walking across Altrincharn Road one morning when a cyclist went round me and on being asked what he was doing he shouted at me.

    The government built a cycle lane on the road but it is hardly used.

    The police do nothing. What a laugh they are!

    The cyclists should all have to be made to use the cycle lanes and wear helmets, fluorescent (发荧光的)jacket and tights at night and in the morning. They should pay some sort of tax and be fined for not wearing them.

——Carol Harvey

    Cyclists jump on and off pavements (which are meant for pedestrians), ride at speed along the pavements, and think they have a special right to go through traffic lights when they are on red.

    I was almost knocked down recently by a cyclist riding on the pavement when there was a cycle lane right next to him.

    Other road users, including horse riders, manage to obey the rules so why not cyclists?

    It's about time they had to be registered and insured, so when they do hit a pedestrian or a vehicle, or cause an accident, at least they can be traced and there might be an opportunity to claim.

——JML

    Write to Viewpoints of the newspaper.

    What is the number one favorite pet in the UK? If you think the answer is dogs, you are wrong. There are 8.6 million cats and 8.3 million dogs in Britain according to recent figures. But experts predict that there will be more dogs than cats next year as dogs become more and more popular.

    Dogs as decorations

    We like to spend time with our pets. The Queen is famous for her affection for dogs and is often photographed with them. Nowadays some dog owners are more extreme — a few TV celebrities even take their dogs shopping or to restaurants. Chihuahuas are especially popular as "handbag dogs" because they are so tiny.

    Dog holidays

    People are also giving their pets holidays. Many UK hotels and holiday parks now welcome dogs as guests. What about owners who go abroad? They can leave their pets at a dog hotel or dog spa while they are away. Some even provide their dog guests with a TV.

    Dogs are for life

    The British charity, Dogs Trust, finds homes for thousands of lost and abandoned dogs every year. Their famous slogan "A dog is for life and not just for Christmas" was created in the 1970s to teach people about the responsibility of owning a dog. Dogs Trust told British people not to give dogs as gifts or treat them like toys.

    Dogs on TV

    Victoria Sitwell is the host of the popular TV programme called "It's me or the dog". In the show Victoria helps dog owners with their pets' bad behaviour. She tries to find solutions to problems such as a Dalmatian who thinks he owns the house and won't let the family sit on the sofa, dogs that will only eat ice cream and biscuits and even a bulldog who uses the owner's bed as a toilet.

    Fashion for dogs

    You can shop online or on the high street for the latest in dog clothes and accessories. Specialist shops sell items such as dog boots, dog fancy dress costumes, dog coats, dog dresses and dog pants.