The effects of coffee consumption on health have long been a subject of conflict and uncertainty.Since the 1980s,some have spoken out against coffee as harmful to health,while others have welcomed coffee for its supposed benefits to health.

    According to a scientific report,mild coffee consumption,three to five cups per day,can he taken as a healthy dietary pattern,along with other healthful behaviors.The report also says that coffee consumption helps reduce the risk of heart disease and it protects against Parkinson's disease.

    According to Dr.Donald Hensrud of Mayo Clinic,high consumption of coffee has health risks.Dr.Hensrud mentions the dangers of high coffee consumption for people with a certain illness that slows the breakdown of caffeine in the body.Some studies said that drinking two or more cups of coffee daily can actually increase the risk of heart disease in these people.

    According to conclusions from a recent study led by Dr.Gregory Marcus,a doctor from the University of California San Francisco,daily moderate consumption of caffeine,less than 4 cups,is not associated with these issues.

    Until the scientific community reaches a general agreement on the effects of coffee consumption on human health,it will be up to the individual to decide whether the benefits of drinking coffee are greater than the risks.

    When informed of these possible health benefits and harms of drinking coffee,Harwood,a high school student stated,"Even though there might be some negative effects of drinking coffee,for the most part,coffee drinking sounds good for health.Not to mention I need coffee to stay awake."

    They aren't great artists like Leonardo da Vinci or Vincent van Gogh, but their paintings are just as popular on Chinese social media, with millions of Chinese people willing to pay for them.

The 36 works were painted by ordinary Chinese people who live with autism (自闭症) or cerebral palsy (脑瘫), aged from their early teens to late thirties. They all studied art at World of Art Brut Culture (WABC), which is a Shanghai-based non-profit organization (非赢利组织) for art education. The project was started by WABC and supported by the Tencent Charitable Foundation. Users could buy a digital copy of each painting by donating (捐赠) 1 yuan or more. By Aug 29, donations totaled more than 15 million yuan, with about 5.8 million people participating (参与).

    “The paintings by these autistic kids and adults are beautiful: the style is similar to that of the Dutch artist Van Gogh. I'm really impressed by their talent,” Feng Li, a customer service officer in Shanghai, told the South China Morning Post.

    However, the popular campaign also led to certain questions.

    Li Laoxi, an experienced special education teacher in Hangzhou, said that based on his experience, people with autism could only draw a few lines or fill in colors under the guidance of their trainers. “Maybe there are some geniuses out there, but I've never met them”. Others questioned where the money would go, as the donations went to WABC instead of the painters. In response to these concerns, Miao Shiming, founder of WABC, said the money would be used to employ art teachers, buy supplies, and rent facilities. Meanwhile, Tencent said that all donation information would be open to the public.

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    Atlantic puffins（角嘴海雀）are specially used to living on the open sea. Their feathers allow them to stay warm as they float at the ocean's surface or swim underwater. Diving as deep as 60m, they swim by flapping their wings as if flying through the water. There, they hunt herring, capelin, and sand eels.

    Atlantic puffins are also excellent fliers. Flapping their wings at up to 400 beats per minute, puffins can reach speeds of 88km/h.

    April to mid-August is the breeding season for puffins. When a puffin is around three to five years old, it will choose a partner at sea to mate with for life. It is thought that the birds' colourful bills and feet, which fade in the winter and brighten in the spring, help puffins find their potential（可能的）mates.

    Puffins create shelter（庇护所）, about 90cm, in rocky cliffs either in the soil or between rocks. Often, couples will return to the same shelter year after year. At the back of the shelter, they build a nest lined with grasses, seaweed, and feathers. After the female lays a single egg, both parents take turns incubating（孵化）the egg for about 40 days.

    Once the chick hatches, the mother and father will take turns bringing it fish to eat several times a day. Atlantic puffins have the ability to carry several fish in their beaks at one time. The ridges（脊）at the top of their bill hold the fish in place, which allows puffins to keep their mouth open to catch more fish without losing any. In general, they can hold around ten fish in their beak at one time.

    In the wild, puffins can live around 20 years. Their main predator is the great black-backed gull, which can capture a puffin mid-flight or attack a puffin on the ground. Gulls are also a threat because they steal puffins' fish (sometimes right from their mouths), and they pull puffin chicks or eggs from their nests.

    We hope you've finally made your peace with Pluto being downgraded from a planet to an ice dwarf (冰矮星)，because we have some more jarring news for you : It seems your teachers may have been wrong about the number of continents on the earth, too.

    Earlier this year, scientists published a report in the journal of the Geological Society of America detailing an eighth continent called Zealandia, roughly the size of India and almost completely hid itself under the Pacific Ocean east of Australia. Covering all of New Zealand as well as several nearby islands, Zealandia likely spent the best of its above-water days as part of the supercontinent Gondwana before fragmenting off Australia and Antarctica some 80 million years ago. This lost, underwater continent is just beginning to reveal its secrets, making for one of the most promising scientific discoveries this year.

    While researchers have been aware of the 1. 9 million-square-mile mass for two decades, Zealandia has only recently become the object of serious study since the Geological Society paper argued that it fits all the criteria for a proper continent, including a continental crust (地壳)that's distinctly separate from the seabed in terms of elevation, thickness, and geology. A team of 32 scientists from 12 countries just completed their first visit to six dig sites around Zealandia, where they drilled up more than 8,000 feet of sediment cores (沉积物岩心)that will help explain the lost continent's 80-million-year history.

    Because there is no official body that formally recognizes continents, whether or not Zealandia ends up in future geography textbooks will come down to its acceptance by the scientific community at large, possibly with a little help from travelers like you.

    What makes a building ugly? Everyone's got their own opinion, so it's hard to say. Now, let's take a look at some of the world's worst buildings.

    The Torre Velasca

    The Torre Velasca in Milan is in the centre of Milan(Italy). The tower, which went up in the 1950s, is about 100 metres tall. Its design is actually a modern representation(代表) of a traditional Lombard castle, where the lower parts were narrower than the upper parts.

    The Mirador Building

    The Mirador Building in Madrid(Spain)was created by Dutch studio MVRDV and the Spanish architect(建筑师)Blanca Lleó.The building, which is a block of flats, opened in 2005. There is a large rectangular(矩形的)hole in the upper part of it, which is used by the neighbourhood as a meeting area and playground.

    The Prague TV Tower

    The Prague TV Tower is in Prague(the capital of the Czech Republic). It stands 216 metres high and looks a bit like a tall, thin space ship. Prague is famous for its architectural beauty, so when the tower was put up in 1985 by architect Vaclav Aulicky and engineer Jiri Kozak, many felt it didn't fit in.

    The Longaberger Basket Company

    The Longaberger Basket Company building is in Newark, Ohio(USA). The office block was opened in 1997 and looks like a very large basket. It's got seven floors and two handles(把手)at the top. The handles weigh about 150 tons. It may not be the ugliest building in the world but it's certainly one of the most unusual.

    In Britain. Boxing Day is usually celebrated on December 26th, which is the following day after Christmas Day. However, strictly speaking, Boxing Day is the first weekday after Christmas. Like Christmas Day, Boxing Day is a public holiday. This means it's a non-working day in the whole of Britain. When Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is the public holiday.

    The exact origin(起源)of the holiday is unclear. One of the thoughts is that during the Middle Ages, when great sailing ships were setting off to discover new land, a Christmas Box was placed by a priest(神父)on each ship. Those sailors who wanted to ensure a safe return would drop money into the box. It was sealed up and kept on board until the ship came home safely. Then the box was handed over to the priest in exchange for the saying of a mass of thanks for the success of the sailing. The priest wouldn't open it to share the contents with the poor until Christmas.

    One more thought is about the "Alms Box" placed in every church on Christmas Day. Worshippers(做礼拜的人) put gifts for the poor into it. These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas. That is why that day became known as Boxing Day.

    Today, many businesses, organizations and families try to keep the traditional spirit of Boxing Day alive by donating(捐赠) their time, services and money to aid Food Banks, providing gifts for the poor, or helping families in need. Besides, spending time with family and shopping are popular Boxing Day activities now.