Making friends is a skill like most skills. It improves with practice. If you want to meet people and make friends, you must be willing to take some action. You must first go where there are people. You won't make friends staying home alone.

    Joining a club or a group, talking with those who like the same things as you do is much easier. Or join someone in some activity.

    Many people are nervous when talking to new people. After all meeting strangers means facing the unknown. And it's human nature to feel a bit uncomfortable about unknown. Most of our fears about dealing with new people comes from doubts about ourselves. We imagine other people are judging us, finding us too tall or too short, too this or too that. But don't forget that they must be feeling the same way. Try to accept yourself as you are, and try to put the other person at ease. You'll both feel more comfortable.

    Try to act self-confident even if you don't feel that way. When you enter a room full of strangers, such as a new classroom, walk tall and straight, look directly at other people and smile.

    If you see someone you'd like to speak to, say something. Don't wait for the other person to start a conversation.

    Just meeting someone new does not mean that you will make friends with that person—friendship is based on mutual liking and “give and take”. It takes time and effort to develop.

    If a woman has an extra piece of cake，don 't blame it on greed, blame it on her brain.

Scientists have found that women's brains react to food very differently — and much more strongly — than men' s. Academics found that decades of dieting pressure on women and advertising have programmed certain parts of the female brain to react strongly when faced with any kind of food. Men，on the other hand, are not usually as obsessive (着迷的）about what they eat.

    Dr. Rudolf Uher and his colleagues at the Institute of Psychiatry in King's College London used brain scanning technology，known as functional magnetic resonance imaging ( FMRI)，to look at the brains of eighteen men and women.

    The volunteers were given images of food to look at, as well as food to taste. Their brain reactions were observed by the scientists. They found that the female brains reacted much more strongly than those of males. The same reaction did not happen when they were shown non-food images. The team believe this means women think more about food than men tend to. Dr. Uher said, “This could be related to biological differences between men and women. But the more likely explanation is that women have a more complicated reaction to food because of social pressure. ”

Professor Carey Cooper，psychology and health professor at Lancaster University，said，“for centuries women have had a providing role — preparing and cooking food for their families. And it's part of that role to make sure the food is safe. They will therefore be much more sensitive to food than men are, and I would not be surprised if that was now built into their DNA. If the female brain react to food because it historically has developed neural (神经的）pathways to do this, then food will be the way they express their stress. Food actually，is a comfort for women. ”

    But other experts have said that more research must be done before the results can be proved. American scientist Angelo del Parigi of the John B. Pierce Laboratory in New Haven, Connecticut, said, “Looking at an FMRI alone cannot make sure whether the stronger reaction in women is due to innate (天生的）differences or a learned process. ''

                                                              Ways to Improve Vocabulary in Just One Day

    The average American has a vocabulary in the thousands. Try these tricks to make sure yours builds up.

    ①Watch movies

    "If you see the movie version of your favorite book you're likely to have a deeper understanding and knowledge of the words in it," says Neuman, professor of Childhood and Literacy Education at New York University. "Seeing and reading something on the same topic is really important."

    ②Read magazines

    If you want to improve vocabulary, don't just flip through your favorite magazine, really read it.

    ③Listen to how words sound

    Many people won't remember tricky words unless they come across them frequently. But if you hear a word that you think sounds interesting, you become word conscious(有意识的) and start using it yourself, says Neuman.

    ④Join a book club

    "Book clubs are a wonderful strategy(策略) to learn new words," says Neuman. Not only will it force you to set aside time in your day to read, it's also a good way to discover books you might not normally be drawn to.

    ⑤Listen to the radio

    Those types of programs can expose you to topics you may not be familiar with. Don't miss these middle school vocabulary words adults still don't know.

    ⑥Pay attention to your surroundings

    Next time you walk down a busy street or take a walk in the park, try to describe what you're seeing as much as possible inside your head.

    ⑦Read, read, read

    Even if you don't stop to look up every single foreign word, chances are you can improve vocabulary simply by figuring out(想出)their meaning based on the context

    Every summer, my family and I visit our relatives in India and whenever we travel, my parents always remind me to drink only bottled or boiled water. On one of my trips to India, I saw children drinking water from the roadside. I was troubled to learn that millions of people, most of them children in developing countries, die each year because of water related diseases.

    Living in the US, I am lucky to be able to turn on the tap and get potable water(饮用水), while one sixth of the world's population lacks access to clean water This year, I entered the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. In late June, I learned that I was selected as one of the top 10 national finalists of this famous middle school science competition. Over the summer, I worked with Dr. Jim Jonza, my Scientist mentor(导师 )from 3M, and developed a system that uses solar energy to purify water. My invention is green and cost effective, and I am looking forward to implementing this in places that are affected(影响)by harmful water pollution.

    In October, my family and I flew to 3M Headquarters in St Paul, Minnesota, where the final event was to be held. For the last challenge, each of us had to present the invention we had been working on over the summer. The first place winner would win $25,000, a trip to Costa Rica, and the title of America' Top Young Scientist. At the awards ceremony, all of us waited anxiously until one of the judges, Danny Forester, started announcing "The winner of the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge is…" You could hear a pin(大头针) drop as he opened the paper with the winner' s name, "Deepika Kurup!"

    As America's Top Young Scientist, I was given an opportunity to show my invention on national television and deliver several presentations. One of the most important things I have learned is that communication and teamwork are key to success.

China Experience Tours

    China Experience Trip

    Beijing →Shanghai →Xi'an (8days)

    Price: Adult $1,517 p/p Under 17 $1,230

    Imagine you are a king or queen when entering the great Forbidden City

    Have a hike on the world famous Great Wall

    Discover the Terracotta Warriors (兵马俑)

    Admire Shanghai where east meets west and walk around some local markets

    Glories of China

    Beijing →Xi'an →Guilin →Yangshuo →Shanghai (11days)

    Price: Adult $2,219 p/p. Under 17 $1,650

    Discover more of China's extraordinary history from Beijing and Xi'an

    Visit the easy part of the Great Wall at Mutianyu

    Cycle near Yangshuo and admire the beautiful rural scenery

    Discover Shanghai lifestyles ancient and modern

    China Impression Experience

    Beijing →Xi'an →Yangtze River →Shanghai (11 days)

    Price: Adult $2, 329 p/p. Under 17 $1,810

    Explore both the ancient cultures and modern features, and relax on the yangtze river Cruise (乘船游览) to see the various ideas of China. Your guides will show you around not only the most classic spots, like the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army, and the Three Gorges but also take you for a local experience by visiting lovely giant pandas and local markets.

    Cultural and Natural Wonders of China

    Beijing →Xi'an → Zhangjiajie →Shanghai (11days)

    Price: Adult $2,159 p/p. Under 17 $1,360

    Wind your way from Beijing to Shanghai in style and discover. Climb up the Great Wall, walk around the Forbidden City while listening to the stories of kings, and see the Great "Avatar Mountain" in Zhangjiajie.

Despite extreme cold, cruel ice and being brushed off as mad, Slovenian Davo kamicar became the first person to ski non-stop down Mount Everest. After a dramatic fall over almost sheer cliffs of snow, stones and ice, 38-year-old Kamicar returned to his base camp after five hours of skiing. "I feel only absolute happiness and absolute tiredness," he said. 

Due to the severe weather conditions, Kamicar flung himself back down the mountain as soon as he reached the top rather than have a rest as planned At one point, he had to speed overstretches of ice that collapsed and broke underneath him and could have sent him falling into the deep crevasses(裂缝) that dot the mountain.

The descent (下落) had been widely regarded as extremely dangerous. The Darwin Awards website, known for documenting foolhardy deaths, urged people to log on to their website and "keep your eyes peeled for a live Darwin Award". However, the only body to make the news was the corpse (尸体)of an unknown mountaineer which Kamicar zipped past as he descended one of an estimated 120 corpses, thought to litter the slopes." This mountain is always full of surprises. Seeing a dead man out there was still a shocking experience," he said. 

Thanks to strategically placed cameras on the mountain and one attached to his safety helmet hundreds of thousands of people witnessed the process online, which was one of the record highs ever of more than 650,000 hits. The website was once jammed as people tried to access the site.

A previous failed attempt had already cost Kamicar two fingers when he got frostbite as a fierce storm hit the peak. Coming from a skiing family and had his first Himalayan skiing expedition in 1989, he has been ever since tireless in raising funds and sponsorship for more expeditions, with Everest as the permanent goal.