You may have heard adults say they are uncomfortable in the morning without a cup of coffee. One reason they may feel that way is that coffee contains caffeine(咖啡因). Caffeine appears naturally in coffee, tea, and cocoa beans, which are used to make chocolate. But now food makers are adding it to many products, from potato chips to water.

    The US government is especially worried about the problem. That's why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is studying the health effects of caffeine on young people. Studies show that too much caffeine can make people nervous and unable to sleep. What's more, caffeine is habit-forming. Those who consume it regularly and stop suddenly may experience headaches and feel tired.

    One of the biggest concerns is the large amount of caffeine added to so-called energy drinks, like Red Bull. A 12-ounce can of cola has about 35 milligrams of caffeine. A similar serving of Red Bull contains more than three times that amount.

    The Institute of Medicine is also working on caffeine-safety measures. “Teenagers should not drink beverages that contain caffeine. They should be aware of caffeine's effects on health and on how the brain works. Take, for example, teenagers who consume caffeine to stay awake and study for a test. They will remember less of what they just studied,” said Stallings, a member of the institute.

    Companies that make products with added caffeine claim they do not advertise them to kids. However, there is no law to stop children from buying them. So the FDA needs to set limits on caffeine, especially in energy drinks. As for added caffeine in foods, the government should just say no. If not, the amount of caffeine should be printed on food labels to remind consumers. The government must do that.

    Doctors say kids should avoid caffeine. If you need extra energy, try these natural boosters: eat right, exercise, and get plenty of sleep.

    My first visit to Angkor Wat was in 1980. The country had been at war for many years and the temple was deserted and falling to pieces. Plants were growing out of the roofs, and trees were growing in the courtyards.

    Today, the temple is the scene of a busy repair programme. A team of 15 Indian experts are organizing a workforce of 400 Cambodians, most of them women, who are cleaning, repairing and rebuilding parts of this temple.

    As I walked through the courtyards, I noticed the Cambodian women devote hours to cleaning carefully a tiny area of stone. Boards are laid down to protect the precious painted stones while the repair work is going on. There are very few machines and little heavy equipment. Workers carry building materials in buckets at the end of long poles. Piles of stones lie in a corner of the courtyard, waiting to be replaced.

    The work of cleaning the stones is watched over by three Indian chemists. It is a very slow task. First they clean the stones with brushes using buckets of a weak chemical. Then gaps between the stones are filled in. Finally another material is painted onto the stones which will protect them from water forever.

Work starts every day at 7 a. m. and goes on until late afternoon six days a week, with a break at midday.

    Evening is the best time to visit the temple, after the tour groups have left. As the sun sinks lower, shadows spread across the courtyard. After sunset, the sky turns pink. The grey stone towers take on a golden colour before turning pink. Nowhere else in the world can there be such a quiet, beautiful place.

    February 14th is Valentine's Day! In China, it is only a day for boyfriends and girlfriends. But my teacher and my friends in America told me that Valentine's Day is a public day.

    This was my first Valentine's Day in America. I didn't understand the customs clearly. Maybe I didn't need to send any gifts. I watched others to see what they did, so next time I can understand.

    On that day, when we began the reading class, Mr. Peters gave every student some chocolates and said, “Happy Valentine's Day!” I was very happy. The teacher gave his students gifts and blessings! I never saw that in China. Maybe American teachers are very different. I didn't buy a gift for the teacher, so I owed a gift to the teacher. Anyway, I want to say, “Thank you teacher, and I'm sorry.”

When we had a break, one of my classmates gave me a Pokemon card. It was very funny. I felt we were children. I thought I owed a gift again, but I felt thankful. It was another gift, but it was from my new classmate.

    When we were moving to our grammar class, suddenly I heard someone calling me, “Shelly!” I stopped. Another classmate who had only been in our class one day gave me some chocolates. She said, “These for you and your friends. Have a good day!” I was looking at her leaving and thinking she spoke Arabic. We were in the same class only one day, but now we are friends. That's very good, but I owed a gift again.

    When I came home, my Chinese friend sent some roses and chocolates. I was surprised and happy because I had never received roses in my past life, but I hoped it was the last gift. I didn't want to owe more gifts.

    Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman's smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities). Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don't smile enough. In Southeast Asian culture, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.

    Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not try to "read" people from another culture as we would "read" someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as members of another do does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.

    It is difficult to make a general statement about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of "reading" the other person incorrectly.

    Sheffield

    Lincoln College of English

    Classes for foreign students at all levels.

    3 months, 6 months, 9 months and one year course.

    Open all year.

    Small class (at most 12 students).

    Library, language laboratory and listening center.

    Accommodation (住宿) with selected families.

    25 minutes from London.

    Course fees for English for one year are ￡ 1,380 with reduction for shorter periods of study.

    A Scientist turns out to be able to see the future by offering each of some four-year-olds a piece of candy and watching how he or she deals with it. Some children reach eagerly for the treat they see. Some last a few minutes before they give in. But others are determined to wait until the last moment.

    By the time the children reach high school, something remarkable has happened. A survey found that those who as four-year-olds had enough self-control to hold out generally grew up to be more popular, adventurous, confident and dependable. The children who gave in to temptation early were more likely to be lonely, easily frustrated and inflexible.

    Actually, the ability to delay reward is a sign of emotional intelligence which doesn't show up on an IQ test.

    The hardware of the brain and the software of the mind have long been scientists' concerns. But brain theory can't explain what we wonder about most, like the question why some people remain upbeat in the face of troubles that would sink a less resistant person.

    Here comes the theory of Daniel Goleman, writer of Emotional Intelligence: when it comes to predicting people's success, brain ability measured by IQ may actually matter less than the qualities of mind once thought of as "character".

    EQ is not the opposite of IQ. What researchers have been trying to understand is how they work together; how one's ability to handle stress, for instance, affects the ability to concentrate and put intelligence to use. Among the ingredients for success, researchers now generally agree that IQ accounts for about 20%; the rest depends on everything from social class to luck.

    While many researchers in this relatively new field are glad to see emotional issues finally taken seriously, some few fear EQ invites misuse.