When I was watching a sports event yesterday, I met with an amazing sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of pure courage and determination.

    The event was swimming. I watched a man dive off the blocks and knew right away that something was wrong. I'm not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold — his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle.

    I heard the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes (划水) and you could tell he was worn out. But in those few awkward strokes, the crowd changed. No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and yell things like, "Come on, you can do it!" He did. The crowd went wild.

    Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to take part in the event. Even though he recorded the slowest time, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors—a man that gave his all, knowing that he had no chance but to compete because of the spirit of the games.

    Sandra Bullock turned 51 last month. But because she looks exactly the same as she did in Miss Congeniality, a movie filmed back in the 20^th century, everyone calls her “ageless.” Bullock is just one of a number of stars in their 40s and 50s who've had birthdays recently but have not gotten older, unlike the rest of us in their age group. Take Halle Berry. One website put a photo of her 20 years ago next to one of the newly 49-year-old Berry and dared us to choose which was which. “This Is What 49 Looks Like,” it said. Seriously, if that's what 49 looks like, I must be 71.

    However, even a generation ago, famous faces evolved. Look at a picture of Grace Kelly at age 52 in the early 1980s. She looks like a beautiful middle-aged woman. Today she'd look old for her age.

    The goal now is to prevent aging while you are still young, using all the magical nonsurgical options medicine has to offer. Eventually these techniques will become less expensive, and ordinary people my daughter's age will have them. Already anti-aging is starting to be considered maintenance, like coloring your hair. My friends and I find ourselves openly debating techniques that we used to make fun of. Does fat-freezing work? How much time do you have to spend in the gym to keep the body of a 35-year-old after 50? It's all so exhausting. But members of the next generation have it tougher. They'll have to ask themselves whether they want to spend their youth trying not to get old. I've already seen “Sexy at 70” headlines. Will everyone be expected to go to their graves(坟墓) looking hot?

    I also have to wonder what else we are slowing along with age. How do you move on if you're working so hard to stay the same? And besides, if you've known the ache of watching a daughter pack up for college, you know you can't stop the clock.

    Many people trying to sell homes find that an increase in home prices has turned the market in their favor. But sellers can still get the short end of the deal if they aren't careful. Here are a few tips for you:

    Don't test your luck. Of course you think anyone who moves into your lovely home should be willing to pay top dollars, especially if you've recently invested in some improvements. But listing a home at a price that's too high above the market price could turn away some buyers.

    Buyers noticing that the home still hasn't sold may begin to assume there's something wrong with the house and use that as a reasonable excuse for offering a lower price. And if a home hasn't received any offers after two weeks, it might be time to reset the price.

    A price that's too low can bring about an undesired outcome. Listing your home at or slightly below the market price can have the effect of drawing in a large group of buyers and increase the chances that a home will receive multiple offers. But setting the price too low comes with several risks. One possibility is that buyers will get skeptical of the home that is listed for $ 15,000 to $ 20,000 less than similar homes in the area, especially if it's not properly marketed. Once again, people might assume there is something wrong with the home and may not bother to look at it.

    Spy on the competition. Going to other people's open houses can give you a better sense of how your home compares to others on the market. Check out the finishes in their kitchens, the size of their backyards and use the information to figure out where your home should fit in the range of the price. But don't set your pricing just on what you see elsewhere.

    It's not often you get information about a destination from a heavy metal band, but in Debrecen, Hungary's second largest city, locals are used to having to make a noise to get heard.

    Just off the historic center, Roncs bar is a pub that also hosts live music.  It has the atmosphere of a student party in an old building that might soon be knocked down.

    Roncs is owned by Hungary's best-known heavy metal rock band, Tankcsapda. Sometimes referred to as the “Hungarian Metallica", the band has taken a type of music that is famous worldwide and-through lyrics, album covers, and an annual New Year's party and concert-made it all about their home city.

    It's perhaps fitting that Tankcsapda should be seen as ambassadors for Debrecen-the city sometimes needs loud heavy metal rock music to get noticed. “Foreigners think that Hungary is Budapest and there's nothing else,” is a familiar saying on Debrecen's:streets.

    Debrecen has, at times, been more important than the current seat of power, with locals claiming it takes over in times of trouble.

    That doesn't quite add up.

    Debrecen survived an attack from the Mongols in the 13th century, the Black Death, 150 years of struggle against the Ottomans and numerous conflicts, and yet it has still only briefly been the country's capital twice. This happened for the first time after a short-lived revolution in 1849, and for a second time at the end of World War II.

    Today, Debrecen may not be well known to tourists, but that only adds to the charm of this relaxed city. It's a small place; the historical center is sized for strolling (散步) and regular cafe stops. There's also a view of Debrecen's mix of architectural styles, a result of the frequent large fires that back in the 19th century led the city's students to form one of Europe's first-ever fire brigades (消防队).

    You can also see traditional weathercocks from the rooftops, featuring Islamic star and crescent moon symbols that once advertised to Ottoman invaders that the city preferred trading to fighting.

    Trade meant that Debrecen's skilled people became very successful and the city became famous for-among other things-fine foods, hats and clay pipes. In the early 19th century, 10 million clay pipes were reportedly made a year, with thousands bought for Britain's navy.

    More than two thirds of the world's polar bears will be wiped out by 2050, according to a shocking new study. By then, scientists say, global warming will have melted 42 percent of the Arctic sea ice. By 2100, only a very few of these important creatures will be left.

    The report has been produced by the US Geological Survey. The scientists have publicized their findings in the hope of influencing US Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, who has been asked to put polar bears on the US endangered species list.

    Polar bears depend on floating sea ice as a platform for hunting seals, which are their main food. Without enough ice, polar bears would be forced to go onto the land, where they are poorly skilled hunters, and would be unlikely to adapt to the life on the land in time. Experts say few little bears would survive and the stress could make many females unable to get pregnant.

    The team of American and Canadian scientists spent six months studying bears, on the ground, from spotter planes and in the lab, using computer models. Some team members fear the result is even worse for the bears than what their report says. They say the Arctic is warming faster than anywhere in the world and much faster than their computer had been forecasting. Satellite observations have showed that the ice has decreased to an all­time low.

    However, not everyone in the scientific community believes that global warming is happening on such an alarming scale. Another investigation has found that polar bears are still being hunted by wealthy “sportsmen” who want their skins and heads. At least ten international companies offer bear­hunting trips.

    Picture this: You're searching the Internet and come across a website with interesting articles. Some are news stories. Their goal is to share information. Others only look like news stories. They're actually advertisements, or ads. The goal of an ad is to get you to buy something. How do you, the reader, tell the difference between a news story and an ad?

    Back when I was growing up, it was easier. We got most of our information from newspapers. Big news stories appeared on the front page, and ads were boxed off and clearly labeled. But on the Internet, the two are often presented together. It can be hard to tell which is which.

    That's why the research group I direct conducted a study. My research team showed kids like you the home page of a popular digital magazine. We asked them to tell us what was a news story and what was an ad.

    Most were great at identifying certain types of ads. "It has a coupon (优惠券) code, a big company logo, and the words 'limited time offer'," one student wrote about an ad on the site. So where did kids get stumped (难倒)？

    Some ads seem identical to real news stories. They have headlines and contain information. But they may also include the words "sponsored content". Sponsored means "paid for," and content refers to the information in the story. "Sponsored content" is a way of saying that something is an ad. Most kids in our study, even if they used the Internet often, didn't know this.

    Something sponsored doesn't necessarily mean it's false. It means someone paid money for it to appear. Companies pay so that readers will see their stories, buy their products, and like what the company stands for.

    As a reader, you have a right to know who's behind the information you're consuming. So, look for the phrase sponsored content. (And look carefully. Sometimes, it will be written in tiny letters.) The Internet is a vast sea of information. To use it well, we not only have to know how to swim but also how to avoid the sharks.