Hey, ladies! It's summer again and it's time for a new you! No more make-up, no more pretending! Yes, that's right! It's time to stop making ourselves beautiful for the camera, and start posting confident pictures without all the make-up and extra tricks we add onto ourselves in the hope of appearing more attractive and beautiful. Because believe it or not, we already are!

    After we wash our face and go to bed, it is not so perfect. You know it the face we should confidently be showing to the world! Who cares if you have pimples（面痕）or your eyes look small, or if you have crow's feet? Guess what? Those are actually what make you such a beautifully grown woman. And any person who doesn't think so is just not as strong as you.

    Nowadays we tend to do anything and everything to make us look as young and perfect as possible. Yet the truth is, by doing this, we are actually making our true skin get worse and badly affected by all the junk we put on. We are making ourselves believe that by changing our appearance we will be more accepted and seem more attractive to other people. And yet, our final goal is to find that without all of the make-up. What kind of twisted（扭曲的）game are we really playing with ourselves?

    So I would like to make a suggestion for all women out there to give yourself a break at least this summer. Take a couple of pictures without all of that make-up on. You don't need it every single day, especially not this hot summer! You'll be surprised that the more confident you are about showing the real side of you, the more attractive you will be to everyone else.

    Yes, the saying, “Beauty comes from within” is an old one, definitely still holds some truth today. So be brave, carefree, and make-up free! Let the world see you for who you really are!

    Many facts suggest that children are overweight (超重的) and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.

    Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.

    There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives.

    There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime (消遣), it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food. What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.

    The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.

    It seems that technology could be changing the places where we live. A project conducted by Johann Siau, a senior lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire's School of Engineering and Technology, has built on the university's InterHome project aimed to create a home that supervises people living at home who are weak or elderly.

    “We've developed a wristband type of device（装罝）,” said Johann Siau, “which allows us to monitor the condition of an elderly person, or whoever is wearing the device. It allows us to collect data of a person to see if the person has fallen or is away from where they are supposed to be. It connects an elderly person with an assisted living type of device with the InterHome.” The assisted living project is part of the university's wider InterHome project, which is the development of a smart house. The house stores the usage patterns of the person living there and can adapt to make it use as little energy as possible. Connecting the two together and building the service element（元素）allow us to introduce the assisted living idea to care for the elderly. It's very important that these technologies are there to help and support rather than to replace any of the existing services.

    The InterHome is not just a prototype（样品）or a vehicle for research. It's a study tool to help students from different scientific backgrounds learn about and develop technology. The InterHome combines the latest broadband technology, mobile data and communication. Researchers and students make sure that all the technology works together. Students get experience by developing new hardware and software themselves. It requires a variety of skills from students—electronic engineers, computer students, design students and so on. “The present plan we are working on is a smart home project in Watford with some commercial companies, ” said Johann Siau. “We are looking at how a smarter home can provide extra value services.”

    According to new research from the University of Cambridge in England, sheep are able to recognize human faces from photographs.

    The farm animals, who are social and have large brains, were previously known to be able to recognize one another, as well as familiar humans. However, their ability to recognize human faces from photos alone is novel.

    The recent study, the results of which were published in the journal Royal Society showed that the woolly creatures could be trained to recognize still images of human faces, including those of former President Barack Obama and actress Emma Watson.

    Initially, the sheep were trained to approach certain images by being given food rewards. Later, they were able to recognize the image for which they had been rewarded. The sheep could even recognize images of faces shown at an angle, though their ability to do so declined by about 15 percent – the same rate at which a human's ability to perform the same task declines.

    “Anyone who has spent time working with sheep will know that they are intelligent, individual animals who are able to recognize their handlers,” said Professor Jenny Morton, who led the Cambridge study. “We've shown with our study that sheep have advanced face-recognition abilities, comparable with those of humans and monkeys.”

    Recognizing faces is one of the most important social skills for human being, and some disorders of the brain, including Huntington's disease, affect this ability.

    “Sheep are long-lived and have brains that are similar in size and complexity to those of some monkeys. That means they can be useful models to help us understand disorders of the brain, such as Huntington's disease, which develops over a long time and affects cognitive abilities. Our study gives us another way to monitor how these abilities change.” Morton said.

    Who doesn't want to live life in style? Life is like a road on which you never get a chance to return, and is not a very long road either. So we should try to live life to the fullest and enjoy every bit of it.

    Every individual has unique likings and preferences, and all of us try to live the lives that suit us best. The world is like a painting cloth on which different people with different races, different languages, and different cultural backgrounds interact. But among these, the arts provide an easy and natural way for people to connect.

    People with a knack for the arts usually discover it in childhood. But art isn't only for the talented; it can help everyone grow. Those with a strong artistic background are often more energetic, and more successful in all fields of life. Art widens the range of a person's life.

    Painting is one of the most popular art forms. Those who are interested in taking it up as a career need to go through extensive training to get familiar with the various styles. Professional painters often host art exhibitions, with art lovers from all over the world coming to see and buy their creations. Sometimes the paintings are sold at high prices.

    Performing arts are equally popular and admired. Dance, instrumental music, drama and so on require unusual artistic talent as well as a long period of education and training before audiences start to applaud the performances. But anyone with some artistic sense can make art part of his/ her life, and benefit from it.