Paying a higher price than usual for a ticket to see a film in 3D is the annoyance of many a cinema-goer's life.

    But there may be a benefit to doing so, as a study has found that 3D films exercise the brain and improve short-term functioning in a similar way to brain-training tests.

    The research found that people who watched a movie in 3D improved cognitive (认知) skills, compared to those who watched it in 2D.

    The research was led by neuroscientist(神经学家) Dr Patrick Fagan from Goldsmiths University in London. More than 100 people took part in the experiment, where participants watched Disney film Big Hero 6 in either standard format or RealD 3D.

    They also carried out a brain-training-style test before and after seeing a section from the film. The test covered memory, reaction times and cognitive function and the results were compared later.

    According to the research, which was carried out in partnership with science group Thrill Laboratory, participants experienced a 23 percent increase in cognitive processing, as well as an 11 percent increase in reaction times.

     Fagan said that the results showed enough of an improvement in brain function to suggest that 3D could play a part in improving brain power in the future.

    “These findings are more significant than you might think,” he said. “It is a fact that people are living longer and there is a noticeable decline in cognitive brain function in old age which can worsen future quality of life. There has never been a better time to look at ways to improve brain function. The initial results of this study show that 3D films may potentially play a role in slowing this decline.”

    A second part of the experiment involved those watching the film being fitted with headsets that scanned brain activity and this too showed heightened (加强的) activity when watching 3D. According to the results, participants were seven percent more engaged with what they were watching, adding to argument that 3D movies are more like watching real-life—something Professor Brendan Walker from Thrill Laboratory agreed with.

    “As Professor Brendan Walker's test concluded, 3D films are more attractive and heighten the senses — this, in turn, makes the brain run at quicker speeds,” Dr Fagan said.

    Young people frequently say that they want to exercise, but they just can't find the time.

    The solution just might be in-office interval training.

    Recent studies show that very short but intense exercise rapidly builds and maintains fitness and health, even when the workout is only a few minutes long.

    Work the stairs

    You can complete an excellent, effective — and very brief — workout in an office stairwell, says Martin Gibala, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Canada and an expert on interval training.

    For a study that he and his colleagues presented earlier this year, they asked 12 out-of-shape women in their 20s to warm up for two minutes by slowly walking up and down stairs in a campus office building.

    They completed three of these abbreviated stair workouts per week for six weeks.

    By the end, their aerobic fitness had improved substantially, the researchers reported, by about as much as if they had been running or cycling each week for hours.

    Fidget your way to fitness.

    Parents and teachers may once have urged you to sit still, but wiggling, tapping your toes, standing briefly, and otherwise fidgeting as much as possible at your desk is in fact good for your body.

    In one recent study, college students showed healthier blood flow in their lower legs if they fidgeted than if they did not.

    Even better, a 2008 study found that among office workers, those who frequently fidgeted burned as many as 300 calories more each day than those who resolutely stayed still.

    “Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move,” said David Belle, the founder of parkour(跑酷).

    Do you love running? It is a good exercise, yet many people find it boring. But what if making your morning jog a creative one? Like jumping from walls and over gaps, and ground rolls? Just like the James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond's wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.

    Yes, that's parkour, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the obstacles in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Parkour is considered an extreme sport. As its participants(参与者) dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from roof top to roof top.

    Parkour can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see parkour much more than that.

    Overcoming all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy(理念) behind parkour. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in parkour and never fall back from them in your life to reach the destination successfully. A parkour lover said, “I love parkour because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything.”

    Another philosophy we've learnt from parkour is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself. It is only a state of mind. It is when you trust yourself that you earn energy.

    After a few moments, my passenger started a conversation. It began ordinarily enough: "How do you like driving a cab?"

    "It's OK," I said. "I make a living and meet interesting people sometimes. How about you? His reply intrigued me.

    "I would not change jobs even if I could make twice as much money doing something else."

    I'd never heard that before. "What do you do?''

    "I'm in the neurology department at New York Hospital."

    Then I decided to ask for this man's help. We were not far from the airport.

    "Could I ask a big favor of you? I have a son, 15, a good kid. He wants a job, but a 15-year-old can't get hired unless his old man knows someone who owns a business, and I don't." I paused. "Is there any possibility that you could get him some kind of summer job?"

    He didn't respond for a while. Finally, he said: "Well, the medical students have a summer research project. Maybe he could fit in. Have him send me his school record." I tore off a piece of my brown lunch bag, and he scribbled his name on it and paid me. It was the last time I ever saw him.

    After I nagged, yelled, and finally threatened to cut off his pocket money, my son Robbie sent off his grades to the guy the next morning.

    Two weeks later, when I arrived home from work, my son was beaming. He handed me a letter from my passenger, saying he was to call my passenger's secretary for an interview.

    Robbie got the job. He did minor tasks, unpaid, but he fit in well. The following summer, he worked at the hospital again with more responsibility. As high school graduation neared, Dr Plum was kind enough to write letters of recommendation for Robbie and he was accepted by Brown University. Finally, Dr Robert Stern, the son of a taxicab driver, became OB-GYN chief president at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

    Some might call it fate, and I guess it was. But it shows that something as ordinary as a taxi ride can change your life.

    In the mid-1990s, Tom Bissell taught English as a volunteer in Uzbekistan. He left after seven months, physically broken and having lost his mind. A few years later, still attracted to the country, he returned to Uzbekistan to write an article about the disappearance of the Aral Sea.

    His visit, however, ended up involving a lot more than that. Hence this book, Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia, which talks about a road trip from Tashkent to Karakalpakstan, where millions of lives have been destroyed by the slow drying up of the sea. It is the story of an American travelling to a strange land, and of the people he meets on his way: Rustam, his translator, a lovely 24-year-old who picked up his colorful English in California, Oleg and Natasha, his hosts in Tashkent, and a string of foreign aid workers.

    This is a quick look at life in Uzbekistan, made of friendliness and warmth, but also its darker side of society. In Samarkand, Mr Bissell admires the architectural wonders, while on his way to Bukhara he gets a taste of police methods when suspected of drug dealing. In Ferghana, he attends a mountain funeral(葬礼)followed by a strange drinking party. And in Karakalpakstan, he is saddened by the dust storms, diseases and fishing boats stuck miles from the sea.

    Mr Bissell skillfully organizes historical insights and cultural references, making his tale a well-rounded picture of Uzbekistan, seen from Western eyes. His judgment and references are decidedly American, as well as his delicate stomach. As the author explains, this is neither a travel nor a history book, or even a piece of reportage. Whatever it is, the result is a fine and vivid description of the purest of Central Asian traditions.