Blind tasting is a very strange activity. Contrary to what many people imagine, it has nothing to do with blindfolds. It involves tasting a wine without seeing the label and it can deliver shocking surprises. I tasted seven champagnes (香槟) blind with a group of professionals recently. There was a shock when they discovered the wine most of them preferred carried a label they regarded as their least favorite. That sort of result is especially common with champagne, the most image-driven rather than quality-driven wine of all. But it happens all the time when wine is tasted blind.

    Because I'm interested in how wines really taste instead of how I think they should, I taste wine blind as often as I can, especially when assessing similar young wines. But blind tasting when you know absolutely nothing about the wine in front of you is something completely different. The most difficult Master of Wine exams include three sessions during which you have a dozen glasses in front of you and nothing more helpful than a printed exam paper asking you to identify each wine as closely as possible, and assess its quality.

    Now that the MW is behind me, I taste wine completely blind only very rarely, and never in public. So my blind tastings these days are round the dinner table with good friends and once a year when I act as a judge, with Hugh Johnson, in the Oxford vs Cambridge wine-tasting competition. This is the most extraordinary match, always held before the Boat Race but taken just as seriously nowadays. This year's taste-off took place at the end of last month, as usual in the Oxford and Cambridge Club on Pall Mall in London.  

    I was in my first year of college, making friends and enjoying life, but then my whole world turned upside down. I had a heart attack. It felt like someone was stabbing (刺) me in the chest with a knife over and over again.

    After three months of rest I went back to college, but then things took a turn for the worse. I was staying at my Nana's house and woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible pain in my chest. I knew I was having a heart attack again.

    I couldn't even shout for help. Luckily my grandpa was going to the toilet and heard me falling out of bed. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be here.

    The two holes in my heart were causing the problems and I needed an operation immediately to repair them. Unfortunately, the surgery didn't go well and they only managed to repair one of the holes.

    When I woke up from the operation, I had a really dry mouth and couldn't wait to have something to eat and drink. The biggest shock of all came when I was told that I needed a heart transplant and was put on the register. The doctors were stunned at how quickly heart failure came on – it usually takes years, but it took my heart less than six months to get to that stage. My whole world came crashing down, but I stayed strong. It was a choice between crying every day and getting on with my life.

    As time went on, life became even harder. I hated feeling weak all the time and needing help with everything. It got to the point where I thought I would never get a new heart. I was diagnosed with depression.

    Even though I thought that Christmas 2008 would be my last, I really enjoyed it and even had a good New Year. Everyone was crying for me when the clock struck midnight and they told me to keep fighting.

    A week later, I got a call from the doctors saying they'd found a suitable donor (捐赠人). My wish came true and thankfully the operation went well. I spent four hours in surgery where they took out my old heart and put a new one in. When I woke up I burst out crying. I had a second chance at life.

    A woman's home is her castle. She cleans, cooks, decorates, repairs, works, plays and relaxes within the walls of her home. Sometimes women choose to stay at home to raise their children instead of working outside of the home. So you think she must be bored. I was one of those women.

    After finally getting pregnant, and giving birth, I found my home to be the best place. During the nine months I carried my daughter, my body had been broken and back. Being able to relax was just what my weak body needed. Besides, nursing was a rest because I home certainly cured my broken body.

     other families grow one child after the next was a horrible dream, when I didn't think I would ever be able to have my own child. But after having Alyssa, my own cute little baby girl, I was e to let my heart recover from the wounds. I watched and I valued every small change of her body and personality. Nothing was more exciting than time spent with my child. I loved to stay at home.

    Mentally I remained challenged with new opportunities every day. I learned to be perfect and organized. Everything worked like a clock. By 9:00 in the morning, the house was clean--beds made, bathrooms cleaned, house cleaned, and windows cleaned. I enjoyed finishing them quickly so that I could devote most of the day to my daughter. Between nursing, short breaks and staring at her, I thought of ways to improve my home and myself. Even with all the housework, every day was filled with so much fun!

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    Most kids go to school during the day and come home to their families or caregivers at night．Sometimes kids can't go home every night so they board or live at school during term-time．

    Whatever the reason for going to boarding school, living with a group of people is very different from living with your family．You have to learn to get on with others, be responsible for looking after your own stuff and follow the rules that are there to make everyone's life pleasant and safe.

The following are some tips from boarders.

    "Remember that the other new students are probably as shy as you are．If you don't talk first and try to make friends, it may not happen．"

    "Don't hold things back inside you．The more you talk, the easier it gets．You can talk to older boarders as well as adults．They understand what you are feeling—they've been through it too．"

    "Be respectful of others' space and give them privacy．Having people around all the time means you don't get much time to yourself."

    "Join in sports and other afterschool activities．You'll meet lots of new people who are interested in the same things as you．And keeping busy will help you get over feeling homesick．"

    "If you are a weekly boarder or go home most weekends it can be harder to make friends, so see if you can organize to stay in for a weekend."

    "Make friends with non-boarders too．It's good to visit someone's home sometimes."

    "Boarding has its ups and downs, you get homesick and sometimes the food is not that great but most of the time it is like being in one big family．You make friends that you know you'll keep for the rest of your life．"

    A new research shows that in Britain more and more people are returning to the old tradition that the whole family has a meal at table. Worrying about the obesity(肥胖症) and breakdown of a family, people change their eating habits so greatly, according to analysis. They find the number of the family having a meal together increases by 5% from 2002 to 2004, and most people who have meals with their family come from the rich social class.

    The new discovery makes doctors and the people struggling against obesity extremely excited. Giving up the tradition that the whole family have a meal together is exactly one of the reasons for a series of problems including children's overweight. If a child has a meal in front of the television or the computer alone, he will often eat some fast food.

    Jason Collins is one of the persons returning to the old tradition. Collins is a manager of a bake house. He finds after he gets used to having a meal at home with his child, the child becomes much more obedient(听话的). Dr. Jin is a child psychologist, and she expresses welcome to this result of the study. She says it can make parents have a very good chance to chat with the child when the whole family have a meal together.

Brazil sports are out of control! Brazil may be one of the most sports­crazy countries in the world. Whether you are into watching or playing, Brazil sports have a lot to offer everyone.

Football in Brazil is more than a sport. It's a way of life. Football is popular in Brazil for several reasons. One reason is that it is fast paced and fun to watch. This is the reason why the World Cup Soccer is the most watched sports event in the world aside from the Summer Olympics. Also, you don't need anything to play soccer except for something to kick, and a big area in which to play. Few will argue if you say that Brazil leads the world in football. No nation has won as many world cups as Brazil.

Volleyball is a close second in Brazil sports. In the world of international volleyball, Brazil wins many championships of all kinds, including indoor and beach volleyball. Brazil has nearly 5,000 miles of coastline. If you go to a beach in Brazil, there will always be a volleyball game going on somewhere, and usually two or three.

Footvolley was created in Brazil in the 1960s. It is a mix of football and volleyball, where the players must use their feet and head to get the ball over the net and into the opponents' court, and is also played in sand. It is one of the most popular beach sports in Brazil.

Swimming, tennis, rugby, boxing, judo, sailing, golf, surfing, and handball are all greatly popular in Brazil.