Two new studies suggest that modem running shoes could increase the risk of injuries to runners.

    One study involved sixty-eight healthy young women and men who ran at least twenty-four kilometers a week. The runners were observed on a treadmill machine (跑步机). Sometimes they wore running shoes. Other times they ran barefoot.

    Researchers from the JKM Technologies Company in Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of Colorado did the study.

They found that running shoes create more stress that could damage knees, hips and ankle joints than running barefoot. They observed that the effect was even greater than the effect reported earlier for walking in high heels.

    The study appeared in the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine.

    The other study appeared in the journal Nature. It compared runners in the United States and Kenya. The researchers were from Harvard University in Massachusetts, Moi University in Kenya and the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

    They divided the runners into three groups. One group had always run shoeless. Another group had always run with shoes. And the third group had changed to shoeless running.

    Runners who wear shoes usually come down heel first. That puts great force on the back of the foot. But the study found that barefoot runners generally land on the front or middle of their foot. That way they ease into their landing and avoid striking their heel.

    Harvard's Daniel Lieberman led the study. He says the way most running shoes are designed may explain why those who wear them land on their heels. The heel of the shoe is bigger and heavier than other parts of the shoe, so it would seem more likely to come down first. Also, the heel generally has thick material under it to soften landings.

    But the researchers do not suggest that runners immediately start running barefoot. They say it takes some training. And there can be risks, like running when your feet are too cold to feel if you get injured.

    The study was partly supported by Vibram, which makes a kind of footwear that it says is like running barefoot. The findings have gotten a lot of attention. But the researchers say there are many problems in the way the press has reported in their paper. So they have tried to explain their findings on a Harvard Website.

    A 60-year-old homeless woman named Smokie has been sleeping outside in the dirt a few doors down from a man named Elvis Summers.

    Most mornings, she stops by Elvis's Los Angeles apartment and asks if he has any recyclable materials for her. Through these conversations, they struck up a friendship.

    One morning, Elvis saw a news article about man in Oakland who has been making tiny houses out of deserted materials. He was inspired to put off paying a few bills so he could buy the wood and hardware to make Smokie a brand new shelter. It took him five days to build it, and now, for the first time in ten years, Smokie has a place to hang the sign “Home Sweet Home”.

    “I had nowhere to really build it, so I just built it in the street outside of my apartment,” Elvis told Good News Network. “The local LAPD police have been super cool, and have told me they support it—as long as we move it to a different spot every 72 hours.”

    He made this pretty time-lapse(延时的) video showing how he did it. The materials, including two locks on the front door and strong wheels for moving it around, cost him about $500.

    “I've met so many homeless people, good people,” Elvis said in an email, “Since I built Smokie's , I've had several people asking me to make them a tiny home and it's turned into much more than just the one house I wanted to build.”

Although he runs an online retail store that sells EDM clothes, he has decided to launch an ambitious project to fund more shelters. He plants to get lighter and cheaper materials—without sacrificing the strength of the house—for the next round. Rick Sassen, a branch manager, kindly donated the roof shingles and cedar supporting Smokie's house, final items Elvis couldn't afford on his own. Sassen has promised to work out a deal on future building materials for the same cause.

Need a Job This Summer?

    The provincial government and its partners offer many programs to help students find summer jobs. The deadlines and what you need to apply depend on the program.

    Not a student? Go to the government website to learn about programs and online tools available to help people under 30 build skills, find a job or start businesses all year round.

    Jobs for Youth

    If you are a teenager living in certain parts of the province, you could be eligible(符合条件)for this program. Which provides eight weeks of paid employment along with training.

    Who is eligible: Youth 15-18 years old in select communities(社区).

    Summer Company

    Summer Company provides students with hands-on business training and awards of up to $3,000 to start and run their own summer businesses.

    Who is eligible: Students aged 15-29, returning to school in the fall.

    Stewardship Youth Ranger Program

    You could apply to be a Stewardship Youth Ranger and work on local natural resource management projects for eight weeks this summer.

    Who is eligible: Students aged 16 or 17 at time of hire, but not turning 18 before December 31 this year.

    Summer Employment Opportunities(机会)

    Through the Summer Employment Opportunities program, students are hired each year in a variety of summer positions across the Provincial Public Service, its related agencies and community groups.

    Who is eligible: Students aged 15 or older. Some positions require students to be 15 to 24 or up to 29 for persons with a disability.

    The United States of America is mainly an English-speaking country. The majority of the population speak English as their native language. Besides, education, social activities, etc. are conducted in English. Across but for the most part, Americans speak one common language. This language is sometimes called American English.

    However, not everyone in the USA is a native speaker of English. Most immigrants (移民)are speakers of other languages. There are hundreds of communities around the USA where English is not the most commonly used languages. Chinese, Italian, German, Greek, Spanish and French are all spoken in various communities in the USA. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language after English. It is widely spoken in New York and across the southern part of the country. For speakers of other languages, learning English is important, but teaching people to speak English as a second language was given little attention. Non-English speakers were expected to "pick up" the language by meeting with others in public. Recently, this has changed.

    Today, most large public schools and community colleges have ESL(English as a Second Language )programs; American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will use it. Therefore, ESL programs offer different English lessons to different students. Some programs teach students to communicate in English in public. Other programs teach the kind of English people who will need for their jobs. American ESL instructional methods do not lay emphasis on grammar or translation, but on the importance of communication. The goal is to get the English learners to learn by using the language.

    Eating out is such a pleasure ― the food, the wine, the joy of having it all brought to you by someone else—that it's a pity to ruin the experience by sharing it with other people.

    Well, I do like visiting restaurants with friends. But dining out alone has its own very special attractions. For a start you can give all your attention to the food. There's nothing worse than having to invent and deliver an opinion on school league tables or Sanchez's move to Manchester United, plus listen to everyone else's opinions, when all you really want to do is enjoy each mouthful along the way.

    A second great thing about eating out alone is the chance to combine food with one of life's other true pleasures: reading. You have to plan this carefully: Indian or Chinese restaurants are best ― you need food you can eat with just one hand, leaving the other free to hold your reading material.

    But perhaps the biggest attraction of a table for one is the chance it gives to people-watching. Restaurants and the different reasons for visiting them ― first date, business meeting, night out with friends ― produce human behaviour of surprising richness and variety. Will the man selling his business idea get any joy out of his possible investor (投资者)? Will the married couple think of anything to say to each other before their main courses arrive?

    This "human zoo" part of eating out alone is one of the reasons I'd hate to be famous: everyone would be watching you, so you wouldn't be able to watch them. The snooker player Steve Davis says this was one of the strangest consequences (后果) of becoming well-known: he got very worried about his eating in public, almost to the level of doubting whether he was "doing it right."

    So next time you're considering your eating out choices, remember the advice of the businessman Nubar Gulbenkian: "The best number for a dinner party is two ― myself and a super head waiter."

    Forget Cyclists, Pedestrians are Real Danger

    We are having a debate about this topic. Here are some letters from our readers.

    ■ Yes, many cyclists behave dangerously. Many drivers are disrespectful of cyclists. But pedestrians are probably the worse offenders.

    People of all ages happily walk along the pavement with eyes and hands glued to the mobile phone, quite unaware of what is going on around them. They may even do the same thing while crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing or elsewhere. The rest of us have to evade (避让) them or just stand still to wait for the unavoidable collision.

    The real problem is that some pedestrians seem to be, at least for the moment, in worlds of their own that are, to them, much more important than the welfare of others.

—Michael Horan

    ■ I loved the letter from Bob Brooks about cyclists (Viewpoints, May 29). I am afraid they seem to think they own the roads.

    I was walking across Altrincharn Road one morning when a cyclist went round me and on being asked what he was doing he shouted at me.

    The government built a cycle lane on the road but it is hardly used.

    The police do nothing. What a laugh they are!

    The cyclists should all have to be made to use the cycle lanes and wear helmets, fluorescent (发荧光的)jacket and tights at night and in the morning. They should pay some sort of tax and be fined for not wearing them.

—Carol Harvey

    ■ Cyclists jump on and off pavements (which are meant for pedestrians), ride at speed along the pavements, and think they have a special right to go through traffic lights when they are on red.

    I was almost knocked down recently by a cyclist riding on the pavement when there was a cycle lane right next to him.

    Other road users, including horse riders, manage to obey the rules so why not cyclists?

    It's about time they had to be registered and insured, so when they do hit a pedestrian or a vehicle, or cause an accident, at least they can be traced and there might be an opportunity to claim.

—JML

    Write to Viewpoints of the newspaper.