Watching a 3D movie can more than double the concentration powers and cognitive(认知) processing of children, a new research claims.

    A study made by visual technology firm RealD and led by child psychologist Dr. Richard Woolfson suggests that children aged between 7 and 14 experienced twice the cognitive processing speed and performed better in testing after watching 20 minutes of a 3D film. This is despite suggestions that attention spans(时期) in children have shortened in the last decade due to unlimited to access to entertainment, including on-demand TV, gaming and social media. A 2015 study claimed that watching 3D content had a similar effect to brain-training exercises.

    Consumer psychologist Mr. Fagan said that the increased stimulation(刺激) found in watching something in 3D "exercised" the brain and improved performance in the short term. "3D films can play the role of ‘brain-training' games and help to make children ‘smarter' in the short term," he said. "The shortening of response times after watching 3D was almost three times as big as that gained from watching 2D; in other words, 3D helps children process aspects of their environment more quickly. This is likely to be because 3D is a mentally stimulating experience which ‘gets the brain's juices flowing'."

    The experiment saw children given a range of cognitive tests before watching 20 minutes of a movie in either 2D or 3D and being tested again. The results showed those who saw the 3D content reacted faster and performed bettering the second round of testing. Mental engagement also rose by 13% among 3D watchers. Child psychologist Dr. Woolfson added that “supportive parenting” and regularly listening to classical music can also aid a child's memory.

    Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.

    “I think we are knocking at the door of immortality (永生),” said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. “I think by 2075 we will see it and that's a conservative estimate (保守的估计).”

    At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology (纳米技术) make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. “There is a great effort so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,” he said. “Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”

    However, many scientists who specialize in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last past about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.

    Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. “It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?” said Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Centre. “At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all.”

    A new library in Tianjin—Tianjin Binhai Public Library—recently became an online hit. The Daily Mail described it as the “world's ultimate (终极的) library”, while the word “breathtaking” was the choice of Newsweek magazine. One look at the library and you'll see why. With its futuristic (未来主义) design and walls loaded with books, it's the dream library of every book lover.

    But as the surprise continues, there's a burning question lying in the back of our minds: When physical bookstores are closing down one by one, what makes libraries safe from the wave of digitalization (数码化)? And do we really still need libraries now that we've got the Internet in our hands?

    Reporter Ian Clark has the answer. “Libraries are not declining in importance—people are simply changing the way they use them,” he wrote on the Guardian website.

    What Clark means is that libraries have shifted from simply being storehouses of books to a medium to help “bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots” according to website Libraries Are Essential. Since not everyone can afford a smartphone, a tablet or an Internet connection, and not everyone has the know-how to search the Internet correctly and efficiently, it's public libraries that make sure that these resources and technologies are available to a larger group of people.

    "Nobody is trying to sell you anything in the library. There is no pressure to buy and there is no judgment of your choices/' Anne Goulding, a professor at Victoria University in New Zealand, wrote on the Newsroom website. “There are few other spaces that you can just 'be' without somebody questioning your presence or your motivation."

    Starting Cycling

    We have two services designed to give people the confidence and knowledge to cycle successfully.

    Lessons

    All our instructors have been trained to National Standards level of “Bikeability”. This means you will be trained to a standard consistent across the whole country.

    There are 3 levels of skills to progress through. Children would start with levels 1 & 2, progressing from the playground or park to cycle on less busy local roads. Teenager and adult beginners can also learn levels 1 & 2 in an off-road and quiet environment.

    Confident teenagers and adults can broaden their skills by learning level 3, using multi-lane (多道) roads and larger roundabouts (环岛). We provide both a complete package of lessons for the beginner or individual lessons tailored to the client. You can ride a bike but don't feel confident about right turns on multi-lane roads. Whatever the need we can address and practice until perfect!

    Everyone can be taught to ride a bike!

    We train both adults and children.

    We cover London Zones 1 & 2

    The cost is ￡30 per hour.

    Guided Ride

    We know that riding on the roads in London can be scary, and if you have to navigate (确定行车路线) as well it can become a real hard task! The Guided Ride service takes all the stress out of it for you by providing the following:

    Route planned in advance to suit your skill level. Route map provided to you.

    Cycle and equipment checked. We will teach you a simple method to check basic roadworthiness (车辆性能) of your bike that you can perform on a weekly basis.

    Route discussed and focus given to any areas requiring special attention.

    Cycle along with the instructor close behind. Here the traffic can be controlled by the instructor and rider observed.

    Occasionally stopping to discuss events.

    We currently cover London Zones 1 & 2. Please contact us if your requirements are outside of these areas.

    Cost ￡30

    I have learned something about myself since I moved from Long Island to Florida three years ago. Even though I own a home in Port St. Lucie just minutes from the ocean, an uncontrollable urge wells up to return to Long Island even as others make their way south. I guess I am a snowbird stuck in reverse. Instead of enjoying Florida's mild winters, I willingly endure the severe weather on Long Island, the place I called home for 65 years.

    I'm like a migratory bird that has lost its sense of timing and direction, my wings flapping against season.

    So what makes me fly against the tide of snowbirds? The answer has a lot to do with my reluctance to give up the things that define who I am. Once I hear that the temperature on Long Island has dipped into the range of 40 to 50 degrees, I begin to long for the sight and crackling sound of a wood fire. I also long for the bright display o£ colors — first in the fall trees, and then in the limits around homes and at Rockefeller Center. Floridians decorate too, but can't create the special feel of a New England winter.

    I suppose the biggest reason why I return is to celebrate the holidays with people I haven't seen in months. What could be better than sitting with family and friends for a Thanksgiving turkey dinner, or watching neighbors' children excitedly open gifts on Christmas? Even the first snowfall seems special. I especially enjoy seeing a bright red bird settling on a snow-covered branch (My wife and I spend winters at a retirement community in Ridge, and I'm grateful that I don't have to shovel.）

    While these simple pleasures are not unique to Long Island, they are some of the reasons why I come back. Who says you can't go home?

    When a terrible earthquake hit, many people were killed and many houses fell down. After the earthquake, all the newspapers reported many stories about some of the families who were in trouble.

    One Sunday, when I was reading a newspaper, a special picture touched me. It gave the clothing sizes of each family member. I thought that this would be a good chance to teach my children to help those who were less lucky than ourselves. I said to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and three-year-old Meghan. "We have so much, and these poor people now have nothing. We'll share what we have with them."

    I filled a box with foods and clothes. While I was doing this, I encouraged the boys to choose their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys took out their old toys and games and put them together. Then she walked away. A few minutes later she came back with Lucy, her much-loved doll. She put the doll on top of the other toys. "Oh, dear," I said. "You don't have to give Lucy. You love her so much." Meghan said, "Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she'll make another little girl happy, too."

    I looked at Meghan for a long moment. She taught me a lesson. It's easy to give something that we don't want any more, but harder to give what we cherish (珍爱), isn't it?