The idea of being able to walk on water has long interested humans greatly. Sadly, biological facts prevent us ever accomplishing such a thing without artificial aid—we simply weigh too much, and all our mass pushes down through our relatively small feet, resulting in a lot of pressure that makes us sink.

    However, several types of animals can walk on water. One of the most interesting is the common basilisk Basilicus basilicus, a lizard (蜥蜴)native to Central and South America. It can run across water for a distance of several meters, avoiding getting wet by rapidly hitting the water's surface with its feet. The lizard will take as many as 20 steps per second to keep moving forward. For humans to do this, we，d need huge feet that we could bring up to our ears in order to create adequate w hitting.

    But fortunately there is an alternative : cornflour. By adding enough of this common thickening agent to water (and it does take a lot), you can create a “non-Newtonian” liquid that doesn't behave like normal water. Now, if the surface of the water is hit hard enough, particles(粒子）in the water group together for a moment to make the surface hard. Move quickly enough and put enough force into each step, and you really can walk across the surface of an adequately thick Liquid of cornflour.

    Fun though all this may sound, it's still rather messy and better read about in theory than carried out in practice. If you must do it, then keep the water wings handy in case you start to sink--and take a shower afterward!

    I recently posted a picture on Facebook from the movie Mad Max, a film where two groups race through the desert in steam punk vehicles, and wrote, “Actual picture of my way to work today.” It was meant to be a joke because of the sandstorms in Beijing, but one of my friends from back home thought it was real.

    I couldn't imagine how they could think that is actually what China is like. China has so many more conveniences and advantages than the West, and many of my friends agree. “I don't know how I will be able to deal when I go back home,” said a friend who is about to end her gap year in Beijing. “I've become so spoiled in China.

    China seems to be leading the way in innovation and convenience for daily life. Back home I could never shop, pull out my phone and scan a QR code to pay.

    There have been rumors of starting bike sharing in my hometown for years with little success while bike sharing suddenly appeared in Beijing overnight. I just step outside and scan a code, and I am on my way.

    Going out to eat with a group of friends back home was troublesome for both the group and the servers. Splitting checks and swiping (刷) 10 different cards or making change for each person in the group can be a pain. But with China's WeChat, you can quickly send your friends your part of the bill.

The list goes on...

    When I first arrived in Beijing, I was dead set on leaving in a month. That month has come and gone. Now, when someone asks me when I'm coming back, I think to myself, “Who knows?”

    While my friends think I'm riding through the desert on a motorbike, I am actually taking a “Didi” for what is the equivalent of $5 in the US.

    With all the conveniences and technology here, I may never want too go back.

    Contrary to popular belief, people who sleep six to seven hours a night live longer, and those who sleep eight hours or more die younger, according to the latest study ever conducted on the subject. The study, which has tracked the sleeping habits of 1.1 million Americans for six years, weakens the advice of many sleep doctors who have long recommended that people get eight or nine hours of sleep every night.

    “There's an old idea that people should sleep eight hours a night, which has no more scientific basis than the gold at the end of the rainbow,” said Daniel Kripke, professor of psychiatry（精神病学）at the University of California at San Diego who led the study published in a recent copy of JAMA Psychiatry.

    The study was not designed to answer why sleeping longer may be harmful or whether people could extend their lifespan by sleeping less.

    But Kripke said it was possible that people who slept longer tended to suffer from short-term absence of sleeping, a condition where weak breathing puts stress on the heart and brain. He also stressed that the need for sleep was similar to that for food, where getting less than people want may be better for them.

    The study quickly caused warnings and criticism（批评）, with some sleep experts saying that the main problem of America's sleep habits was deprivation（剥夺）, not sleeping too much.

    “None of this says sleep kills people,” said Daniel Buysse, a psychiatrist at the university of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

    “You should sleep as much as you need to feel awake, alert and attentive the next day,” Buysse added. “I'm much more concerned about people short-changing themselves on sleep than people sleeping too long.”

    “Sleeplessness produces a variety of health consequences that were not measured in the study,” critics said.

    Some people learn a second language easily. Others have trouble learning a new language. How can you help yourself learn a new language, such as English? There are several ways to make learning English a little easier and more interesting.

    The first step is to feel positive about learning English. If you believe that you can learn, you will learn. Be patient. You do not have to understand everything all at once. It is natural to make mistakes when you learn something new. We can learn from our mistakes. In other words, do not worry about taking risks.

    The second step is to practice your English. For example, write a diary every day. You will get used to writing it in English, and you will feel comfortable expressing your ideas in English. Several weeks later, you will see that your writing is improving. In addition, you must speak English every day. You can practice with your classmates outside class. You will all make mistakes, but gradually you will become comfortable communicating in English.

    The third step is to keep a record of your language learning. You can write this in your journal. After each class, think about what you did. Did you answer a question correctly? Did you understand something the teacher explained? Perhaps the lesson was difficult, but you tried to understand it.

    You must be positive about learning English and believe that you can do it. It is important to practice every day and make a record of your achievements. You will enjoy learning English, and you will feel more confident in yourself.

    Moving abroad can be a challenging experience. You leave your family, friends and everything you know behind. You enter a new culture where the customs and sometimes the languages are different. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. It's a time to discover new things, make new friends and begin a new adventure.

    So what are the best ways to involve yourself in the new culture while living abroad?

    Live with a native speaker

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. First, you have a friend! Living alone can be a lonely experience, especially if you're far from home. I've also had the opportunity to meet my housemate's friends and socialize (交往) with them. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. In addition, you have someone to tell you about the cultural customs and interesting places in the area.

    Socialize with the local people

    The thought of making friends and mixing with the local people may seem scary at first but it's worth it. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, attending an evening class or participating in a language exchange with people that are interested in learning your native language.

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    The food in France is amazing and discovering new food is a fun experience. I've tried things that I've never tried before. My knowledge of different bread and cheese types has grown greatly.

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.