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    Nowadays, the Internet is usually one of the first places a lonely heart turns to as the following story shows.    

    A 63-year-old retired woman in Zhengzhou, made headlines two days after she posted an advertisement on her Wechat(微信) page, in which she said she wanted to find a young female companion for a trip to Sanya, China's Southern Hainan island, a local newspaper Dahe Daily reported. In the advertisement, the Chinese dama (Chinese term for middle-aged and elderly women) surnamed (a person's last name) Li said she is in good health, and she was particularly looking forward to a sea trip this winter.

    "I have a daughter who works in Canada, and I don't want to disturb her. My husband rarely has time to travel with me. But I'm afraid of traveling alone, so I am looking for a sweet, happy young woman, aged between 19 and 25 to travel with me. Hope she could chat with me, take photos with me."

    At the end of the advertisement, Dama Li showed her sincerity by saying she would be responsible for all the costs of the trip, including accommodation(膳宿) and air tickets, plus an iPhone 7 as a gift. Dama Li told Dahe Daily that she did not expect her advertisement to receive so much attention. "My phone keeps buzzing all the time. "However, some people question the truth of Li's advertisement. They say it might be organized by travel agencies aiming to promote(促进，推销) Sanya tourism, or even served as a promotional advertisement for real estate（房地产） on the island. Li denied those doubts and said all she wants is just to find a sweet "daughter".

    But Li's advertisement for a daughter has also received as many online mockeries(嘲笑) as positive feedback.

    Next time you raise an eyebrow at the views of your partner, friend, sibling (兄弟姐妹) or colleague, remember they could be helping to make you smarter.

    New research shows that intelligence is not fixed but can be boosted throughout adulthood by family members, bright mates and intellectually stretching (拉伸) careers.

    The study challenges the commonly held belief that intelligence is static by the age of about 18. Current scientific consensus suggests that intelligence is controlled by genes, with environmental factors such as schooling and nutrition playing a partial role up to this age. After this point, IQ scores stabilize (稳定).

    But James Flynn, professor of political studies and psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, argues that people can “upgrade” their own intelligence throughout their lives. He believes intellectual stimulation (刺激) from others is crucial as the “brain seems to be rather like a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets”. However, the opposite is also true – so people sharing a home or workplace with those who are intellectually challenged risk seeing their IQ levels fall as a result.

    He found the “understanding quality” of a family changes the IQs of all members, especially children. It can “lift” or hold back, depending on the “gap between their brightness and that of their siblings and parents”. A bright ten-year-old with brothers and sisters of average intelligence will suffer a five to ten point IQ disadvantage, compared to a similar child with equally bright siblings. However, children with a low IQ could gain six to eight points by having brighter siblings and special educational treatment to help pull them up.

    Professor Flynn also concluded that although genetics and early life experiences determine about 80 percent of intelligence, the remaining 20 percent is linked to lifestyle. This means that people can raise their IQ, or allow it to fall, by ten points or more. Therefore, the best way to boost IQ level is to mix with bright friends, find an intellectually challenging job and marry someone cleverer.

    Getting paid to stay in bed all day sounds pretty good. But what if someone offered you $23,000 to stay in bed for two months? That's the deal that are search team is offering to 24 volunteers.

    Researchers are looking for volunteers to help them study the influences of weightlessness on the human body by spending 60 days lying down. Lying in bed isn't exactly the same as being weightless, but the influences on the human body are similar.

    When astronauts spend a long time in an environment with no gravity(重力), like the International Space Station (ISS),their bodies are affected in many ways. After a couple of months on the ISS, astronauts' hearts don't beat as hard. Their muscles（肌肉）become weaker because they no longer have to work against gravity. Their bones may break more easily. There may also be changes in the astronauts' sleep habits.

    Dr. Arnaud Beck, the researcher in charge of the study, said his goal is to measure the influences of weightlessness, and also to find ways to prevent problems. The study will take 88 days altogether. During the first two weeks the volunteers will be tested to establish(确定) their levels of fitness. Then they will spend 60 days lying in bed with their heads slightly lower than their bodies. They will have to do everything while lying down, including brushing their teeth and going to the bathroom. Dr. Beck said the rule is that they must have at least one shoulder touching the bed at all times. Half of the volunteers in the study will be taking capsules(胶囊) containing special food supplements（增补物）several times a day to see if they help reduce the health problems caused by weightlessness. The last two weeks of the study will be spent trying to let the volunteers recover. Volunteers must be men between the ages of 20 and 45 who are in perfect health. They must be non-smokers.

    The study will take place from September 1^st to November. The first two days are the time for volunteers to sign in.

    It is not always a good thing to praise children because "empty" words may make them unhappy. Words such as "well done" may make them doubt their own abilities, a leading psychologist (心理学家) Stephen Grosz has warned. He says that words such as "you're so clever" or "you're such an artist" could also hinder their future development at school. He says that such empty praise causes children to be unhappy as they may say they can't live up to these expectations.

    Instead he advises parents and teachers to praise children less frequently and use words like "trying really hard," Mr. Grosz said, "Empty praise is as bad as thoughtless criticism (批评). People often pay no attention to children's feelings and thoughts." He also mentions research showing that children who are heavily praised probably perform worse at school.

    Some psychologists from Columbia University asked 128 pupils aged 10 and 11 to work out a number of math problems. Afterwards, some were told, "You did really well­—you're so clever." But the researchers told the other group, "You did really well­—you must have tried really hard." Both groups of children were then given more difficult questions and those who had been told they were clever did not do as well as the others.

    He says that when collecting his daughter from a school near their home in North London, he heard a teacher tell her, "You have drawn the most beautiful tree. Well done," Later, after she had done another drawing, the same teacher said, "Wow, you are really an artist." In his book, Mr. Grosz writes, "How could I explain to the teacher that I would prefer it if she did not praise my daughter?"

    As a parent of two children, I strongly agree with Mr. Grosz. I praise them when praising is proven right. I want them to know if I praise them, they have done something beyond my expectation, beyond what they are able to do.

If you walk slowly through downtown Helsinki(赫尔辛基) during the day,taking in the splendid 19th century buildings,white boats and noise of passing trams(有轨电车),you will start to understand why it is called a city of two colours:white and blue.

The sea is always present in Helsinki.When you take a walk over the great open space of the central square,you will hear seabirds screaming.When you take the tram,suddenly and unexpectedly,you are faced with a calm,shining blue sea.You may notice that people in Helsinki do not rush about as in other cities.Instead,walk along the roads,politely letting other people by.

A usual way to see Helsinki for the first time is to start out by the boats.You will walk by the elderly women selling fish and vegetables in the market square and find yourself in front of a beautiful park.You may enjoy a pleasant walk in the park for a few hours and then take the tram.Trams are the perfect way to get around in Helsinki.Watching the old houses,parks,theatres,churches,shops,restaurants and people in the streets,you may have a slightly sad film feeling to it.

The pale summer nights are another wonder in the city.Following waterfront(滨水区) of the city after sunset,you couldn't help stopping and listening to the sweet silence,interrupted only by the screaming seabirds and leaving fishing boats.

However,in some way,Helsinki is also the most modern city in northern Europe.You will surely want to visit the white Glass Palace,the art museum,all those extremely popular cafes and design stores.

"WOW, THIS is not what I was expecting at all," says Allison, a nurse, remembering the first romance novel she ever read. Having shared the general literary bias (偏见) towards romance novels, she is now crazy about this genre (体裁). Allison was browsing in The Ripped Bodice, a romance-novel shop that recently opened in Brooklyn. The day the shop opened, the queue to get in was more than an hour long. The shop, which is uniquely-decorated, is serious in its devotion to romance novels.

The popularity of The Ripped Bodice (the second chain store devoted to romance in the district) is part of a larger shift. During the pandemic, when many were stuck at home and looking for escapist reading, fictional romance blossomed. In the year to May, romance print sales were up by 52%, according to a market-research firm. List-price sales grew by 74%. Annual growth in sales went from 6% in 2020 to more than 50% last year.

Readers have changed too. Newer fans are mostly young adults and many are teenagers. They are keen on romance novels with a central love story and a happy ending. 

"The industry has a lot of respect for what has been happening with romance," says Kristen, the manager of the market-research firm. "Now modern authors want to seek something deeper. Love is a powerful feeling. I wish that the writers could all see their way past thinking that those emotions are somehow less valuable than emotions that are built out of pain and sorrow," says Sarah, author of "Knockout"－a best-seller about romance in this season.

Librarians have noticed the shift too. Stephanie Anderson, of BookOps, which buys books for public libraries in New York and Brooklyn, notes that "the biggest challenge with romance at this point is finding the money and space to keep up with all the popular titles."