Tips for Staying Sharp

    It's not abnormal to feel out of it from time to time or perhaps you're feeling a bit sluggish(迟钝的)when it comes to remembering things. If you're worried about your forgetfulness, try out these five tips to stay sharp.

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    You've probably heard the term “you are what you eat.” If you decide to eat sugary foods that are heavy with fats then expect to feel lazy and have no energy. But if you decide to eat fruits, vegetables and make other healthy eating decisions you'll find that you're full of energy.

    Never stop learning

    Challenge yourself constantly---whether it is puzzles, reading, cooking or other tasks that will keep your mind working. If your mind is always learning new things and active, you'll realize that it's much easier for you to learn new things and to function. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Stay fit

    Being in good health and staying in shape is a big part of staying sharp. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you choose to be lazy then your body is not going to give you the energy that requires remembering things and completing tasks. However, if you put forth the effort into being health then your body will expel(释放)the energy you need to achieve your goals.

    Ensure enough sleep

    Be sure to get the necessary amount of sleep that your body needs to function on a daily basis. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It also helps your body build up an energy reserve so you can improve your ability to focus and avoid distractions.

    Socialize more

     {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Social interaction will help you develop multitasking, problem solving and other skills that are necessary in life to keep your mind sharp.

A. Feed your brain

B. Avoid eating too much

C. Your body will only give you what you put into it

D. Lack of sleep contributes to tiredness and slow reaction

E. Conversations require individuals to stay aware and active

F. According to studies, sleep helps strengthen and recover your memories

G. Remember you brain is a muscle and if you want to get the most out of it, you must use it

    During his first week as a new Atlanta police officer, Officer Che Milton answered a call for shoplift at the nearby Family Dollar store. When he arrived, Milton found a 12-year-old girl in tears over trying to steal a $2 pair of shoes. Crying, she told Milton that the shoes were supposed to surprise her 5-year-old sister.

    Milton, instead of arresting the girl, asked her to take him to her home instead. When he arrived, Milton's heart sank. He found a house nearly empty, with only a sofa and sheets on the floor instead of beds. There was no food in the kitchen and the kids were there. The girl's mother told the officer that her husband worked but didn't make much money and that she couldn't afford to do the same with several children to take care of and no daycare money to spare.

    Moved, the officer drove to a restaurant and bought four pizzas for them and he called the Division of Family and Children Services and asked if there was a social worker who could help.

    When the police department found out about Milton's trips, instead of punishing him, the department decided to share his story on Facebook and added that “not only is he here to enforce(实施) the law but also to go the extra mile and be a bigger part of the community he is policing.”

    Hundreds of citizens liked the post, asking how they could help. The department followed with posts including the six children's sizes and mother's clothing sizes. It also called for blanket and furniture donations. Visit the posts to learn how you can help and find more useful ways to donate your old things.

    Next time you make yourself a hot cup of tea or coffee, you might want to let it cool down a bit before drinking.

    Researchers say letting your hot drinks cool off could help you avoid some kinds of cancer. Researchers at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found evidence that drinks at temperatures above 65℃, when swallowed, can cause cancer of the esophagus (食道). The researchers examined findings from other studies where tea and coffee were often served at 70℃ or above. Those studies were completed in Iran, China and South America.

    In developed countries, health experts have linked esophageal cancer to smoking and alcoholic（酒精）drinks. However, this form of cancer is more common in areas where people drink beverages（饮料；酒水）at very high temperatures.

    In Europe and the United States, many people drink coffee and tea at temperatures around 60℃.And they often add milk which lowers the temperature greatly. However, tea-drinkers in Iran and mate-drinkers in South America often enjoy their beverages at closer to 70℃.

    The researchers find that South Americans not only drink their mate very hot, they also drink it through a metal straw(吸管). This sends the scalding liquid directly into the throat.

    The findings, however, are good news for coffee drinkers. In 1991, the World Health Organization listed coffee as possibly carcinogenic (致癌的).” The WHO officials have since changed their position on that listing. They now suggest that the temperature of your hot drink is a greater risk factor than the actual drink itself.

    The results suggest that drinking very hot beverages is one probable cause of esophageal cancer and that it is the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, that appears to be responsible.

    As computers become more popular in China, Chinese people are more and more depending on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters(汉字). But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes(笔画) of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.

    Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more widely spread among university students. Almost all their homework and essays are typed on a computer.

    All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.

    It's faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that's why computers are being used more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.

    'When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I'm familiar with it.'

    'I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.'

    Many students don't feel this is something to worry about. Now that it's more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?

    Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei, headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, 'Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic (审美的)value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only keep their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer's feelings. Through one's handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.'

    To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory（必修的）and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.

    The Winter Olympics is also called the White Olympics. At this time, many colorful stamps are published to mark the great Games. The first stamps marking the opening came out on January 25, 1932 in the United States for the 3rd White Olympics. From then on, publishing stamps during the White Olympics became a rule.

    During the 4th Winter Olympic Games a group of stamps were published in Germany in November 1936. The five rings of Olympics were drawn on the front of the sportswear. It was the first time that the rings appeared on the stamps of the White Olympics.

    In the 1950's, the stamps of this kind became more colorful. When the White Olympics came, the host countries(东道国)as well as the non-host countries published stamps to mark those Games.

    China also published four stamps in February 1980, when the Chinese sports men began to take part in the White Olympics. Japan is the only Asian country that has ever held the White Olympics. Altogether 14,500 million stamps were sold to raise money for this sports meet. Different kinds of sports were drawn on these small stamps. People can enjoy the beauty of the wonderful movements of some sportsmen.

In early February 2019, 51-year-old Rainer Schimpf and his team set out to film South Africa's famous Sardine Run off the coast of Port Elizabeth. The migration of billions of South African sardines, is a big draw for hunters, especially seabirds and dolphins. The two species work together to herd the large group of fish into smaller shoals (浅滩), which are then eaten by not just the birds and the dolphins, but also sharks and Bryde's whales.

In an attempt to find the best scene of the amazing natural phenomenon, which has been the subject of many films, Rainer got into the middle of a swirling ball of fish. Suddenly the sea churned (翻腾), and the experienced diver and his photographer Heinz Toperczer, who was filming from the boat, instantly realized something strange was going on.

Toperczer later said, "As Rainer moved towards the shoals, suddenly the water churned widely up, dolphins shot out of the water and then a whale appeared and caught him!"

Rainer, who was swallowed in darkness inside the whale's mouth, was trying to survive. "I held my breath because I thought he was going to dive down and release me much deeper in the ocean," the diver said.

Fortunately for Rainer, the whale quickly realized he was no sardine! "I felt huge pressure around my waist (腰部) which is when I guess the whale realized his mistake," he said. "As the whale turned sideways, he opened his mouth slightly to release me, and I was washed out, together with tons of water, of his mouth." Though the entire event lasted just 1. 8 seconds, it felt like a century to Rainer.

Still holding his underwater camera, the diver swam to his boat, where he was quickly rescued by the members of the team. The terrifying adventure did not worry Rainer for too long. After checking to ensure he had no injuries, the diver returned to the water. Fortunately, the rest of the adventure went peacefully.