Sandra Bullock turned 51 last month. But because she looks exactly the same as she did in Miss Congeniality, a movie filmed back in the 20^th century, everyone calls her “ageless.” Bullock is just one of a number of stars in their 40s and 50s who've had birthdays recently but have not gotten older, unlike the rest of us in their age group. Take Halle Berry. One website put a photo of her 20 years ago next to one of the newly 49-year-old Berry and dared us to choose which was which. “This Is What 49 Looks Like,” it said. Seriously, if that's what 49 looks like, I must be 71.

    However, even a generation ago, famous faces evolved. Look at a picture of Grace Kelly at age 52 in the early 1980s. She looks like a beautiful middle-aged woman. Today she'd look old for her age.

    The goal now is to prevent aging while you are still young, using all the magical nonsurgical options medicine has to offer. Eventually these techniques will become less expensive, and ordinary people my daughter's age will have them. Already anti-aging is starting to be considered maintenance, like coloring your hair. My friends and I find ourselves openly debating techniques that we used to make fun of. Does fat-freezing work? How much time do you have to spend in the gym to keep the body of a 35-year-old after 50? It's all so exhausting. But members of the next generation have it tougher. They'll have to ask themselves whether they want to spend their youth trying not to get old. I've already seen “Sexy at 70” headlines. Will everyone be expected to go to their graves(坟墓) looking hot?

    I also have to wonder what else we are slowing along with age. How do you move on if you're working so hard to stay the same? And besides, if you've known the ache of watching a daughter pack up for college, you know you can't stop the clock.

B

    Researchers say they have created a new super-tough material in the laboratory. It is stronger, lighter and costs less than steel. But the new material is not a product of high technology. It is wood. Researcher Liangbing Hu says that it can compete with some of the world's strongest materials or even replace steel.

    The product is called Super Wood. It doesn't require any special raw, unprocessed material. That means the cost of the product will be relatively low.Hu said, “We can start with very cheap wood, and also very fancy, expensive wood. But in the end, we get very similar performance.”

    Super Wood is made by partially removing a natural polymer called lignin（木质素）. Hu explained, “Lignin is like glue to hold all the parts together in natural wood. To be able to densify（增密）the wood completely, some of the lignin has to be removed. “Strong chemicals are put on the wood to remove about half of its lignin. Then, after being left in extreme heat and pressurized for a day, the treated wood is ready.

    The wood is strong enough to build automobiles, airplanes, wind turbines and more. Researchers are finding many new ways to use wood, including creating batteries and see-through wood and paper.Hu said, “Wood has been existing on Earth for more than a million years. And human beings have been using wood for furniture, construction for more than 10 thousand years. And the more we worked on this material, we realized, we have never fully exhausted the potential of this amazing material.”

    The British economy is showing the greatest signs of stress since the Eurozone crisis and fears of a double-dip recession（衰退）six years ago, as worrying reports show the steepest fall in manufacturing（制造业）output and the greatest degrees of pessimism among employers since 2012. Concerns over Brexit（英国脱欧）and a slowdown for high street spending are among the major factors contributing towards 2018 being the worst time in six years for British firms planning to take on new staff, according to a closely watched survey conducted by the employment firm ManpowerGroup.

    Watched by the Bank of England and the government for early warnings of hiring increases or downturns, the quarterly poll（季度民意调查）of about 2,000 major employers from nine different industry sectors across the UK found a net balance of only 4% planning to hire more staff rather than cutting back.

    The weakest outlook from the survey was reserved for the banking and finance industry, which recorded the worst outlook since the depths of the financial crisis almost a decade ago, suggesting job cuts may be on the way over the summer.

    The barometer（晴雨表）of hiring sentiment comes as Britain's factories unexpectedly recorded the sharpest drop in output for more than five years in April. Pointing to fewer orders for steel used in infrastructure（基础设施）projects and a wider slowdown in demand for British goods at home and abroad, the Office for National Statistics said manufacturing output fell by 1.4% in April from the previous month. Economists had forecast modest growth of 0.3%.

    Although the situation does not appear to be as severe this year, forecasts issued by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research on Monday suggest the UK has done little to bounce back from heavy snowfall earlier in 2018. Putting the growth rate for GDP at only 0.2% in the three-month period to May, up from 0.1% in the same period ending in April, Niesr's head of UK macroeconomic forecasting, Amit Kara, said: “Economic growth has slowed materially since the start of this year and it continues to remain weak.”

    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.

    Crossing your legs is an extremely common habit; most people don't even notice that they're doing it when they sit down. While you may find it comfortable to sit with one knee crossed over the other, it might be causing health problems that you are not aware of.

    A study published in Blood Pressure Monitoring stated that sitting with your legs crossed can increase your blood pressure. The reason for this is that the blood in your legs has to work against gravity to be pumped back to your heart and that crossing one leg over the other increases resistance(阻力), making it even harder for the blood to circulate. This causes your body to increase your blood pressure to push the blood back to the heart. You won't feel any immediate effects, but repeated, drawn-out increases in blood pressure can cause long-term health problems. So, planning to sit for a long period of time? Don't keep your legs crossed.

    Crossing your legs at the knee can also cause pressure on the major nerve in your leg that passes just below your knee and along the outside of your leg, explains Richard Graves, a medical expert. This pressure can cause numbness and temporary paralysis (麻痹) of some of the muscles in your foot and leg, preventing you from being able to raise your ankle—what we know as that “pins and needles” sensation. While the feeling of discomfort may only last a minute or two, repeatedly crossing your legs until they feel numb can cause permanent nerve damage.

    So next time you sit down, try to get yourself in the habit of sitting with both of your feet on the floor. Not only will it help your posture and stability, but it will also save your health in the long run.

    Liana nervously bit her nails while she waited for the exam to arrive. She looked around the room; hundreds of other law students sat in rows staring anxiously at the tables in front of them. Just as she began to take a deep breath to calm her anxiety, an exam booklet(册子) was placed in front of her. This was the moment she had been expecting ever since she began law school three years ago. She picked up her pencil, and opened to the first page of the bar exam, a test for all students wanting to become licensed lawyers.

    Liana never thought she would want to become a lawyer. Her parents were both artists. Law was something she had not been exposed to as a child. But art made for a tumultuous career—both of her parents had struggled to find jobs and worked round the clock when they were young. Even though they finally seemed successful and happy, Liana wanted something different.

    She was the anchor on her high school debate team, and consistently impressed her competitors with her analytical thinking. "Never argue with Ms. Lakes," her teachers would say. So she chose to major in law. In her mind, she pictured herself in a New York City courtroom(法庭) dressed in an expensive suit, with papers in her hand, waving at the jury(陪审团) in a speech on human rights.

    But now, with the bar exam sitting in front of her, she started to worry. "What if I don't pass? Did I study enough?" Her thoughts raced through her mind. On the first page were seven paragraphs detailing a law situation followed by a series of questions. Liana read through the paragraphs, and quickly scribbled down an explanation of the first question before moving onto the next question. The next few hours went like this as the clock ticked closer and closer to the lunch hour.

    At 12:00 p.m. sharp, a buzzer(蜂鸣器) sounded and everyone was told to put down their pencils and walked out for an hour-long lunch break. At lunch, Liana met her friend, Kevin.

    "How did it go?" she asked. "To be honest, I've no idea. I just kept writing." Kevin said. Liana laughed and said she felt the same way.

    After lunch, the two exchanged words of encouragement. They strolled back into the exam center a bit more refreshed. Liana finished the second half of the exam that day with a better feeling than what she started with in the morning.