Urban swans might be born with a daredevil gene that makes them less fearful of humans, compared with their rural colleagues.

    A study has found swans living in cities tend to be bolder and it is at least partly determined by a gene called DRD4. Birds with this gene could therefore be better adapted to settling in more populated areas, while more timid（胆怯的）swans would escape to less inhabited regions.

    It could help to explain why swans in public parks and on urban rivers have a reputation for being so aggressive towards humans - they are simply not afraid of us.

    Biologists from some universities in Australia, tracked and collected blood samples from black swans living in two wetlands near cities. One group of swans lived in a recreational urban park, while the other occupied a waste-water processing site out of town. The two areas were less than 20 miles apart. Later, from 2011 through 2013, the researchers started systematically scaring the swans at both sites. The researchers approached the birds and calculated how close they could get before they flew away. As expected, they noticed that while rural swans started flying away if a human was closer than 119 meters, the scientists could come as close to urban swans as 39 meters before taking off.

    Analyses of the blood samples, in fact, showed that 83 per cent of the less cautious swans presented the same genetic DRD4 variation（变异)while rural swans have different genetic makeups resulting in more wariness(谨慎，小心）.

The researchers conclude that swans with the bold variation of the gene might choose to live in urban environments, as they tend to be less bothered by human presence.

    People have smoked cigarettes for a long time now. The tobacco which is used to make cigarettes was first grown in what is now part of the United States. Christopher Columbus, who discovered America, saw the Indians smoking. Soon the dried leaves were transported to Europe. In the late 1800s, the Turks made cigarettes popular.

    Cigarette smoke contains at least two harmful substances, tar and nicotine. Tar, which forms as the tobacco burns, damages the lungs and therefore affects breathing. Nicotine, which is found in the leaves, causes the heart to beat faster and increases the breathing rate. Nicotine in large can kill a person by stopping a person's breathing muscles. Smokers usually take in small amounts that the body can quickly break down.

    Nicotine can make new smokers feel dizzy(头晕) or sick to their stomachs. The heart rate for young smokers increases 2 to 3 beats per minute. Nicotine also lowers skin temperature and reduces blood flow in the legs and feet. It plays an important role in increasing smokers' risk of heart disease and stroke.

    Smoking cigarettes is dangerous. Cigarette smoking was the cause of lung cancer and several other deadly diseases.

    Most people say that most people have not more than 30 friends at any given time, and 400 over the whole of their lives. However, on social networking sites, most users have about 150 friends. If these numbers are correct, then friendship means different things in different situations.

    Also, there are no rules about friendship. There are no instructions about how to make friends, how to keep friendships going, and how to finish friendships if we want to move on. People have very different opinions about this: some people would die for their friends and they value them more than family. Others say that friends are temporary, only there to help each other until they are no longer needed. If people with such different views become friends, this can lead to problems.

    Because of these different definitions of friendship, it is easy to be unhappy about our friendships. We may want them to be deeper or closer, or we may want to have more friends in our lives. Sometimes we simply do not have the time to develop our friendships, or we fear we have left it too late in life to start. If we move to another country or city, we have to find ways, to make new friends again.

    This dissatisfaction shows us how important friendships are for most of us. We should not think that it could be too late to build friendships. We also need to understand that the need to be around other people is one that is shared by many. Therefore, we should not be too frightened about starting to talk to people who in the future may become our friends: it is likely that they too would like to get closer to us. Remember what people say: strangers are friends we have not met yet.

    It puzzled Emily when she was aware of something wrong. She tripped upon men's clothing "hidden" around her house.

    The 38-year-old woman says, at the beginning, she was confused to see quite a few photographs in her phone that she did not remember taking. She was the subject but something was different. Her friends started falling away and she did not know why. Her long-term relationship with her boyfriend also ended suddenly.

    Now she knows those men's clothing belonged to one of her "alternatives" and the same person was responsible for her closest friends' leaving her.

    In an interview, Emily said she was not allowed to name "the man" who takes over her body. She was not allowed to name any of her six alternative persons. She said, "I am aware that they are not real people, not physical people. They exist in an imaginative world. However, all those alternatives should be treated with dignity and respect."

    Emily has what's called Dissociative Identity Disorder（DID分离性身份识别障碍）, a condition characterized by the presence of two or more split personalities that have power over a person's behaviour.

    Her condition resulted from a car accident five years ago. It was August, 2012, when her vehicle broke down on the side of the road. A speeding driver crashed into her car. She wasn't physically injured but she suffered a mental condition caused by severe brain injury. Shortly after that, she discovered she wasn't alone inside her head. Switching between personalities happens frequently but there is no real pattern. It can be weeks between incidents then, for whatever reason, it happens more regularly.

    One of her alternatives is a smoker, even though she is not. Upon waking, she says there are messages in her head that she is a smoker. She describes her lifestyle as "isolated".

    "People consider DID as tragedy" she says, "I just want to make an effort to tell others that we deserve respect, that we are legally accepted members of society, and we hope to live a normal life. I'm not stupid, I'm not spiting or running around people with knives. I have a mental problem but try to live a normal life. I completed a course at Harvard, I wrote a book, I'm able to communicate well. I mother my two kids well. I'm not on welfare."

    Actually, she volunteers for an organization helping children. She also spends time speaking out about her condition and has written a book on the subject, hoping to help others who are experiencing the same trouble.

    Every year in America, high-school students who want to go to college take a national examination called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT in a shortened way. Their score is an important factor in determining which colleges will admit them or whether any will be admitted at all. The Scholastic Aptitude Test measures one's mathematical ability and use of the English language. Traditionally, the English portion (部分) involved grammatical questions and paragraphs that test reading comprehension.

    But the SAT folks have added a single question, to be answered in an essay, hand-written on the spot. That's an interesting way to test writing ability, put content aside, have you ever seen young people's handwriting lately? Or anyone's for that matter, in this age of computer keyboards? Students write numbers and sign their names on bank checks.

    They scribble class notes in what can generously be described as the written word. And they hand-write, or more often print, a word or two of identification on luggage and lunch bags. Otherwise penmanship (书法) - once taught so morally and easefully by second-grade teachers, has gone the way of the dodo bird which has died out.

    Yet today's kids are asked to write, thoughtfully and legibly (字迹清楚地),for several minutes on this SAT Test. Good luck to the text scorers who must work out difficultly the scrawl of young people who've been typing on computers since the age of three! Teachers insist that good handwriting can not only help one's score on the SAT, but also, later on in life, impress potential employers and earn bigger tax refunds (退税) because the tax inspectors can actually read the computations (计算结果). And don't forget, we all have to turn to handwriting from time to time, as computers go down when power goes out.

    Then how to improve the handwriting? Well, with a few simple steps you can improve your handwriting.

    PositiQn the pen. You should hold the pen between the forefinger and the thumb, then rest it near the first knuckle(指节)of the middle finger. The rest of your fingers should be curled(卷曲)under your hand and your hand should remain relaxed.

    Evaluate your writing. Make changes to your letters till you like how they look. Take your time. Speed is bound to make your writing messy-looking.

    Practice. Practice it a lot; it's not enough to do it once and hope for the best. It has to be something you work at to make great improvements.

    International Foundation(预料)humanities(人文学科)and Law

    The International Foundation programs provide academic preparation for first year undergraduate(本科)entry and ensure you meet the academic English language requirements for your chosen degree program.

    Course features

Develop the knowledge and skills for your chosen degree.

    Benefit from smaller class sizes than at university, meaning you'll have more time with your teachers.

    Adapt to studying in the UK thanks to university-style teaching.

Guidance with your university applications.

Dates and prices

How do I qualify(取得资格)？