Smoking is harmful. But as soon as you quit the habit, everything will be OK, right?

    Wrong

    New research has found that even if you give up smoking, the damage it has done to your genes (基因) will stay there for a much longer time.In the research, a team of US scientists studied the blood of 16,000 people. Among them, some were smokers, some used to smoke, and the rest were non-smokers. Scientists compared their genes and found that more than 7,000 genes of smokers had changed--a number that is one-third of known human genes.

    According to NBC News, both heart disease and cancer are caused by genetic changes. Some people may have had the changes when they were born, but most people get them in their day-to-day lives while doing things like smoking.

    When you stop smoking, a lot of these genes will return to normal within five years.

This means your body is trying to heal (治愈) itself of the harmful effects of smoking. But the changes in some of the genes stay for longer. They can stay for as long as 30 years, It's almost like leaving a footprint on wet cement (水泥)—-it will always be there, even when you've walked away and when the cement becomes dry.

    Although the study results may make people unhappy, there is a bright side: the findings could help scientists invent medicine to treat genetic damage caused by smoking or find ways to tell which people have heart disease or cancer risks.

    Washington, D.C. Bicycle Tours

    Cherry Blossom Bike Tour in Washington, D.C.

    Duration: 3 hours

    This small group bike tour is a fantastic way to see a world-famous cherry trees with beautiful flowers of Washington, D.C. Your guide will provide a history lesson about the trees and the famous monuments where they blossom. Reserve your spot before availability — the cherry blossoms—disappear!

    Washington Capital Monuments Bicycle Tour

    Duration:3 hours (4 miles)

    Join a guided bike tour and view some of the most popular monuments in Washington, D.C. Explore the monuments and memorials on the National Mall as your guide shares unique facts and history at each stop. Guided tour includes bike, helmet, cookies and bottled water.

Capital City Bike Tour In Washington, D.C.

    Duration:3 hours

    Morning or Afternoon, this bike tour is the perfect tour for D. C. newcomers and locals looking to experience Washington, D.C. in a healthy way with minimum effort. Knowledgeable guides will entertain you with the most, interesting stories about Presidents, Congress, memorials, and parks. Comfortable bikes and a smooth tour route(路线）make cycling between the sites fun and relaxing.

Washington Capital Sites at Night Bicycle Tour

    Duration:3 hours (7 miles)

    Join a small group bike tour for an evening of exploration in the heart of Washington, D.C. Get up close to the monuments and memorials as your bike the sites of Capitol Hill and the National Mall. Frequent stops are made for photo taking as your guide offers unique facts and history. Tour includes bike, helmet, and bottled water. All riders are equipped with reflective vests and safety lights.

    China is showing the world its great resolve in the global climate campaign with concrete and self-motivated efforts as well as serious commitment.

    At the opening ceremony of the Paris climate summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping restated China's plan made in June to cut its carbon emissions(排放)per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, and increase non-fossil fuel sources in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent.

    With a large population, China is facing increasing resource limits, severe environmental pollution and a worsening ecosystem, and its citizens are also becoming increasingly aware of environmental problems. Suffering environmental problems and seeing the efforts as important to transforming its economic growth pattern, the country has much at risk if climate change is left unattended.

    Actually, climate change efforts are already included in China's medium-and long-term program of economic and social development, and ecological efforts are the clear characteristics in China's 13th Five-Year Plan(2016-2020).

    Although it is and will be a developing country for a long time to come, China has been actively involved in the global campaign against climate change, now topping the world in terms of energy conservation and use of new and renewable energies.

However, China's development rights need to be respected. It is unfair to overstress China's status as one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters and regard it as the major part of responsibilities in the global fight against climate change.

    It is worthy of notice that China's emissions of greenhouse gases per person are far lower than those of developed countries, especially the United States, although rapid economic expansion and its population base have made it one of the biggest producers of the gases.

    To show its great resolve, Beijing in September also announced the establishment of an independent South-South cooperation fund of 20 billion RMB to help developing countries affected by global warming.

    While China is eagerly accomplishing its policy commitments, developed countries should stop questioning China's commitment to fighting climate change and pointing fingers, and start shouldering their due responsibilities instead.

    To find out how the name Canada came about we must go back to the 16th century. At that time, the French dreamed of discovering and controlling more land, of expanding(扩大) trade beyond their borders and of spreading their beliefs across the world. In 1535, Francois I, king of France, ordered a navigator(航海家) named Jacques Cartier to explore the New World and search for a way to India.

    Carrier first arrived at the gulf of the St. Lawrence, which he intended (打算) to explore. He did not know what to expect but he hoped that this gulf was just an arm of the ocean between two islands. If it was, he would soon be on his way to the Far East. So he sailed upstream along the St. Lawrence River. However, instead of reaching Asia he arrived at Quebec or Standalone, as the Indians called it. It was at this point that the term "Canada" entered the country's history. Apparently the word "Canada" came from an India word" kanata", which means community or village. Cartier first used it when he referred to Standalone or Quebec. What a huge "village" Canada is!

October 15th is Global Handwashing Day. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.

Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called extremely important moments. These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food.

Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public Private Partnership for handwashing with soap. The goal, they say, is to create a culture of handwashing with soap. The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs. They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails.  Then, wash well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth.

The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs.  And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again.

It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea, which is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year, by almost half.

Today, what we have, is an always-in-your-pocket, 24/7 news cycle. When you open a news app, you'll notice a brief moment when the "old news" is still there. In a flash, the ancient history of a few hours ago is swept away for the next "breaking news". {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It's endless, but you had better keep up. 

Researchers introduce this world to the phrase, "noise bottleneck". A noise bottleneck is where we are overwhelmed with so much information or noise that our cognitive （认知的） abilities can't keep up. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Thus, while our attention can watch hours. of videos, our long-term learning processes can't. 

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} We watch TV holding our phones, and we listen to music while shopping. However, the human brain might have structural limitation rooted in the cognitive architecture which causes the slowing down that occurs when two tasks are performed at the same time. 

In short, your brain is not as good as you think it is. You are a human being who can only take in so much a day. Understanding the noise bottleneck allows us to fix it. So, here are three tips to get you going:

Clear your content-set up a new account on social media and follow only accounts or people that you think are really valuable. 

Single-task-you don't need to rid the phone but do rid the distractions. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Say, "I will only read this magazine after dinner. Multitasking is for show; single-tasking is for pros. 

Accept your limits-you'll never read all the news. Accept you can only choose two or three and embrace that fact. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You're getting more out of those few than that "super-productive" person on social media who says they read five books a week. After all, it's better to have a little remembered than a lot forgotten. 

A. Give yourself a time limit or restriction if it helps. 

B. Don't beat yourself up that you're being unproductive. 

C. Every second, you are presented with new information. 

D. Breaking through the noise bottleneck is a legendary idea. 

E. The matter is made worse by our modern addiction to multitasking. 

F. Multitasking has dramatically changed the way we use information. 

G. Our brains have limited resources, spread across numerous functions.