Bars are very important in providing a place where people can meet and make friends. People who enjoy a drink in a local bar are happier and have more friends. They are more likely to be engaged in conversations in small community pubs, and social skills improve after a drink.

    Professor Robin Dunbar of Oxford University said, “Friendship and communities are probably the two most important factors influencing our health and well-being. Making and maintaining friendships is something that has to be done in the real world. The digital world is simply no substitute(n.替代物). Given the increasing tendency for our social life to be on the Internet rather than in real life, having relaxed, accessible places where people can meet old friends and make new ones becomes even more necessary.”

    Tim Page, chief executive of CAMRA, said, “Bars offer a social environment to enjoy a drink with friends in a responsible community setting. The role of community bars in ensuring well-being cannot be overstated. For that reason, we all  need to do what we can to ensure that everyone has a ‘local' near to where they live or work.”

    Bars have long been part of British society and have played a key role in British social life since the 16th century. Bars came to represent the heart and soul of a community, providing both a place of entertainment and an engine for community bonding. In a world before the arrival of the motor car, the bar provided a venue in which people could get friendships and a sense of community.

    But the closing decades of the 20th century witnessed major changes in both the style of bars (for example, themed bars) and their numbers. As of 2015, the number of bars declines sharply, with bars continuing to close at an average rate of 29 a week.

    You walk into the classroom, look at that white piece of paper in front of you and are told you've got an hour and a half to do it. That can make anyone nervous, but here is the guide to stay calm.

    Get a good night's sleep the night before the test, and eat a healthy breakfast next day. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you're too tired, you won't remember what you learnt the night before.

    Get to class a little earlier. If you get there early, you'll make sure to get your favorite seat. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Breathe. Before the test, breathe in through your nose deeply and slowly. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Repeat this several times. If you experience a sudden panic during the test, perform the exercise again.

    Skip questions if necessary. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you come across a difficult question, skip the question and move on. You can come back to it at the end of the test if you have time, and later questions may help you get the answer(s) to the one(s) you skipped.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Don't panic if you notice other students writing very quickly or handing in their tests early. Tell yourself it's just a test. Really, it is. No matter what happens, everything will be OK.

    You know that balloons must be kept away from sharp objects. They also needed to be kept away from flames. A fire can weaken the rubber and cause it to break. However, in this experiment you will find out how you can hold a balloon directly in a flame without breaking the balloon.

    Materials needed:

● two round balloons not inflated(充气的)

● several matches

● water

    Inflate one of the balloons and tie it. Place 1/4 cup of water in the other balloon, and then inflate it and tie it. Light a match and hold it under the first balloon. Allow the flame to touch the balloon. What happens? The balloon breaks, perhaps even before the flame touches it. Light another match. Hold it directly under the water in the second balloon. Allow the flame to touch the balloon. What happens to this balloon? It doesn't break.

    Why does the balloon with no water break in the flame? The flame heats the rubber of both balloons. The rubber of the balloon without water becomes so hot that it becomes too weak to resist the pressure of the air inside the balloon. However, when the balloon with water in it is placed in the flame, the water takes in most of the heat from the flame. Then, the rubber of the balloon doesn't become very hot, it doesn't weaken, and the balloon doesn't break.

    Water is a particularly good absorber(吸收者) of heat. It takes a lot of heat to change the temperature of water. On the other hand, when water cools, it gives off a great deal of heat. That's why areas near oceans or other large bodies of water don't get as cold in winter as areas at the same latitude(纬度) further inland.

    "Can I see my baby?" the happy new mother asked. When the baby was lying in her arms and she moved the fold of  cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped(喘气). The doctor turned quickly and looked out of the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.

    Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was imperfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be unfortunate. He cried out the tragedy, A boy, a big boy… called me a freak(怪人).

    He grew up, handsome. A favourite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music. “But you might communicate with other young people,” his mother blamed him, but he felt a kindness in her heart.

    Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, “You're going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it's a secret.” The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged.

    Later he married and entered the diplomatic service. One day, he asked his father, “Who gave me the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him or her.” “ I do not believe you could,” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know… not yet.”

    The years kept their secret, but the day did come. He stood with his father over his mother's casket, Slowly. Tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to reveal the mother had no outer ears

    “Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut,” his father whispered, gently, “and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they?”

    Because of the financial crisis in the US and UK, college students are beginning to struggle to find ways to pay their tuition fees and accommodations.

    Recently, two major US student loan (贷款) lenders, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase, announced they were leaving the student loan industry altogether. Because banks currently have a lack of credit, they are reluctant to offer students low-interest loans that need a several-year wait for any return of interest.

    In the US, many undergraduates fill up their financial needs with a private loan, although the majority can get government-funded loans. In the 2015-2016 academic year, $ 17 billion in private student loans was used to finance higher education. The lack of private funding has yet to be covered and will hit many US students hard.

    Across the Atlantic, UK students have been less troubled by the crisis. Most undergraduates in the UK cover their university expenses with government-funded loans and grants. Their biggest concern is a sudden increase in student rent.

    Most young professionals now rent houses, since 80 percent of UK mortgage schemes (按揭计划) have disappeared—a direct result of the credit crisis. This has boosted the house rent market.

    In large cities, UK students are paying almost 6.5 percent more in rent than the previous year. Figures from the UK organization Accommodation for Student show students in big cities such as London paying an average weekly rent of $ 203.

    Yet, despite students' suffering, the number of this year's university applications is expected to grow. During economic slumps, people regard further education as a way to survive tough job market.

    Optimism May Help People Live Longer

People who have an optimistic view on life are more likely to live longer, a US study said Wednesday.

    The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, analyzed data from 2004 to 2012 from 70,000 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study, a long-running US study tracking women's health via surveys every two years.

    The researchers looked at participants' levels of optimism and other factors that might play a role in how optimism may affect mortality risk, such as race, high blood pressure, diet, and physical activity.

    It found the most optimistic women, or the top 25%, had a nearly 30 percent lower risk of dying from any of the diseases analyzed in the study compared with the least optimistic women, or the bottom 25%.

    The most optimistic women had a 16 percent lower risk of dying from cancer; 38 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease; 39 percent lower risk of dying from stroke; 38 percent lower risk of dying from respiratory disease; and 52 percent lower risk of dying from infection.

    Previous studies have linked optimism with reduced risk of early death from cardiovascular (心脑血管的) problems, but this was the first to find a link between optimism and reduced risk from other major causes.

    “While most medical and public health efforts today focus on reducing risk factors for diseases, evidence has been mounting that enhancing psychological resilience (弹性，复原力) may also make a difference,” said Eric Kim, research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and co-lead author of the study.

    “Our new findings suggest that we should make efforts to boost optimism, which has been shown to be associated with healthier behaviors and healthier ways of coping with life challenges.”

    The study also found that healthy behaviors only partially explain the link between optimism and reduced mortality risk. One other possibility is that higher optimism directly affects our biological systems, Kim said.

    Co-lead author and postdoctoral research fellow Kaitlin Hagan said optimism can be varied with relatively uncomplicated and low-cost interventions (干预), even things as simple as having people write down and think about the best possible outcomes for various areas of their lives, such as careers or friendships.

    “Encouraging use of these interventions could be an innovative way to enhance health in the future,” Hagan said.