A survey has shown that what you do on a plane can be determined by which nationality is listed on your passport.

    According to the results of an international passenger survey, Australians are the biggest drinkers on board with 36 percent choosing to down the hatch, compared to 35 percent of Americans and 33 percent of Brits.

    The Airline Passenger Experience Association(APEX) spoke to around 1,500 people, aged 18 and older, who have travelled by plane at least once during the last three months and were living in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, China, Singapore, Australia and Brazil.

    The results found Chinese travelers are most likely to nod off once the seat-belt sign switches off. They are also the first to take out their credit card for some in-flight shopping and the biggest fans of gaming. Americans on the other hand like to use their time in the air more productively—when not drinking—choosing to work while flying at 35,000 feet.

    Meanwhile, Brits and Germans are the best at making chat with random strangers—spending 50 percent more time than any other nationality. Comparatively, Brazilians conduct their conversations online via email, messaging apps or social media.

    Despite plane food having a bad reputation, seven out of ten interviewees said they were happy to eat up on the selection of in-flight snacks and meals. In-flight magazines were also popular with four out of five passengers.

    The international flyers did however express their desire for better in-flight entertainment. “The industry has greatly improved the comfort, entertainment and on board service, and passengers are accepting those improvements” said Russell Lemieux, APEX executive director. “At the same time, passengers are demanding more from their air travel experiences which will drive more improvements touching all aspects of the journey. ” he added.

    A new study of 8,000 young people in the journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily，it is a bad thing for young people. Puppy love（早恋）may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression. The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all.

    The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “loss of self”. According to the study, even though boys would say “lose themselves in a romantic relationship”, this “loss of self” is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls. Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions. They won't tell that to their parents.

    Dr Marianm Kaufman, an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing. Trying romance often causes the depression. She advises kids not to jump into romance too early. During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendships and a strong sense of self. She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends, attend more interesting school activities and spend enough time with family.

    Parents should watch for signs of depression—eating or mood changes—and if they see signs from their daughters or sons，they need to give help. The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age. Love will always make us feel young, but only maturity(成熟) gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects.

    Sooner or later, many families will face the situation of moving. The experience can be very bad for kids, who may not be a part of the decision to move and may not understand it. You can take steps to make the entire process (过程) easier for everyone.

    Many kids like to stay in familiar places. So as you consider a move, weigh the benefits (好处) of that change against the comfort that neighborhood, school, and social life give your kids. If your family has recently dealt with a big life change, such as death, you may want to put off a move to give your children time to accept the fact.

    The decision to move may be out of your hands, perhaps because of a new job or money problems. Even if you're not happy about the move, try to keep a positive (积极的) attitude to it. During the move, a parent's attitude can greatly influence kids.

    No matter what the results are, the most important way to prepare kids to move is to talk about it. Try to give your children as much information about the move as possible. You can ask kids to join in the planning such as house-hunting or the search for a new school. This can make the change feel less like it's being forced on them. If you're moving across town, try to take your children to visit the new house and the new neighborhood.

    A move can have many problems, but good things also come from this kind of change. Your family might grow closer and you may learn more about each other by going through it together.

    We are lucky to live in a world that is full of incredible technology. Our living rooms are packed with computers, LCD TVs, video game systems, and Blue-ray players that help us enjoy the latest entertainment. Although these items bring us joy and convenience, they also create a lot of junk. Each device needs its own plug and adaptor to keep its batteries recharged, and over time these wires get tangled (缠绕在一起的). Thankfully, something has come along to help rid our homes of this mess while still supplying these devices with the power they need. It's called wireless charging and this trend is just starting.

    Wireless charging has a lot of potential for smartphones and other electronic devices. Electronic devices can absorb the electricity once they're placed on a special charging mat. There are several advantages that wireless charging offers over traditional methods. For starters, cords (电线) have a tendency to wear out with use. Wireless charging users never have to worry about buying replacement cords. Wireless charging is also far more convenient for medical implants, as patients won't need to recharge their devices through the skin using cords. In turn, this cuts down on the risks of infection. Wireless charging can also bring safety benefits, as wired charging devices that come in contact with water can increase the chances of getting an electric shock. Wireless charging gets rid of that danger completely.

    Still, there are a few drawbacks to wireless charging. The first is speed. It takes a bit longer to charge devices wirelessly than it does if the device is plugged in. The process also requires more heat, so devices tend to get a bit hotter, which could create other safety issues. Also, since devices must be left on a special pad while charging, it is harder to operate them while they are powering up. This limitation may be gotten rid of in the future, as researchers are developing transmitters (发射器) that can charge several different devices in a room without the need to connect to a charging pad. Although wireless-charging technology may be far from perfect, it seems like a step in the right direction as we move towards a less-tangled future.

Training the Brain

    People who can accomplish unbelievable tasks, such as memorizing thousands of random numbers in under an hour, state that they just have normal brains. Some memory superstars compete in Olympic-like World Memory Championships. These mental athletes, or MAs for short, can memorize names of dozens of strangers in a few minutes or any poem handed them. Ed Cooke, a 24-year-old MA, explains they see themselves as participants rescuing the long-lost art of memory training. These techniques existed not to recall useless information, but to cut into the brain basic text and ideas.

    A study in the journal Nature examined eight people who finished near the top of the World Memory Championships. The scientists examined whether their brains were fundamentally different from everyone else's or whether they were simply making better use of memorizing abilities we all possess. They put the MAs and control subjects into brain scanners and had them memorize numbers and photographs. The result surprised everyone. The brains of the MAs and those of the control subjects were indistinguishable. On every test, the MAs scored in the normal range. However, when the scientists examined what part of the brain was used during a memory activity, they found the MAs relied more heavily on areas in the brain involved in spatial memory.

    MAs offer an explanation: anything can be fixed upon our memories and kept in order by constructing a building in the imagination and filling it with pictures of what needs to be recalled. Dating back to the fifth century, the building is called a memory palace. Even as late as the fourteenth century, when there were copies of any text, scholars needed to remember what was read to them. Reading to remember requires a different technique than speed reading. If something is made memorable, it has to be repeated. Until relatively recently, people read only a few books intensively (细致地) again and again, usually aloud. Today we read extensively, usually only once and without continuous focus.

    So the great difference is the ability to create impressive pictures in mind and to do it quickly. Using memory palaces, MAs create memorized pictures. For example, recombine the pictures to form unforgettable scenes such as the ways through a town. One competitor used his own body parts to help him memorize a 57,000-word dictionary.

    Anyone who wishes to train the mind needs first to create fantastical palaces in the imagination. Then they should cut each building into cubbyholes for memories. In a short amount of time, they will notice improvement with remembering things. To keep the skill sharp, MAs deliberately empty their palaces after competitions, so they can reuse them and they recommend that beginners do the same.

    Scientists in New Zealand have found fossilized (化石的) leg bones from a penguin believed to have been about the size of an adult human. The previously undiscovered giant penguin species likely stood about 1.6 meters tall and weighed up to 80 kilograms.

    The penguin existed about 60 million years ago. The bones are believed to be from the oldest of several species of giant penguins that lived after dinosaurs died out. A fossil hunter found the bones last year in the Waipara River bed near the city of Christchurch. The bones are from the animal's legs and feet. Scientists confirmed that the bones came from a newly discovered species.

    Paul Scofield is senior curator (馆长) at New Zealand's Canterbury Museum. He co-wrote a paper on the discovery. He said that the bones are an important find. They show that the species is similar to another giant penguin found in Antarctica in 2000. The latest discovery, he said, helps show a clear connection between the two areas during the Paleocene period. This period lasted from 66 million to 56 million years ago.

    Scofield said the penguins were able to grow larger after entering a new development period following the extinction of dinosaurs, sea reptiles and huge fish. Scofield added that the giant penguins became extinct within 30 million years, as large mammals began to rule the waters.

    John Cockrem is a penguin expert at the country's Massey University who was also not involved in the research. He said the discovery helps add to what we know about giant penguins. He said it also confirmed New Zealand as the penguin center of the world.

    New Zealand is believed to have been home to many giant bird species that later disappeared. These included the world's largest parrot, a giant eagle and an emu-like bird called the moa. Recently, Canterbury Museum announced the discovery of an unusually large parrot believed to have lived about 19 million years ago. Scientists say the bird stood about one meter tall.