Improve your memory

    Some people often complain about their poor memory. Actually there are several ways to keep your memory sharp. This article will show you some simple tips.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}When you say these things, you begin to plant the thought in your mind and it may become true. Tell yourself you can remember anything as long as you put your mind to the task. You  will see an improvement in your memory.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}If you have trouble remembering phone numbers or other blocks of numbers, it can be really helpful to try this method. If you remember them in smaller groups, like two or three digits (数字), it will also be much easier to remember the numbers.

    Be sure to see a doctor if you are really losing your memory. A poor memory can be a sign that you are in low spirits.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Playing games also helps improve your memory. Any type of games that involves(涉及) remembering things is wonderful.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Try and remember it when you have nothing better to do. A useful tip for anyone interested in games is to often work on solving word puzzles and similar types of games.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Not only will your memory probably improve, but you will also have a great deal of fun.

A. Remember numbers in small groups.

B. Stop telling yourself you have a weak memory.

C. Take a right attitude.

D. If you don't like games, you can go over a list of "to do things".

E. If so, treating it could be the key to getting your memory back.

F. If you don't know your condition, you cannot treat it!

G. Such games use the same skills needed to remember facts and help keep the mind sharp.

    Some educators told us that more years of school could help students get higher scores on intelligence tests. That was a finding of a study of teenage males in some countries. Now, another research shows that physical activity may help students do better in their classes.

    The research comes as educators in some countries are reducing time for activities like physical education. They are using the time instead for academic（学术的）subjects like math and reading. The studies appeared between 2008 and 2014. They included more than 55, 000 children, aged 6 to 18.

    Amika Singh:“ According to the results of our study, we can conclude that being physically active is beneficial for academic performance. There are, first, Physiological explanations, like more blood flow, and so more oxygen to the brain. Being physically active means there are more hormones(荷尔蒙)produced like endorphins(内啡肽). And endorphins make your stress level lower and your mood improved, which means you also perform better.”

    Also, students taking part in organized sports learn rules and how to follow them. This could improve their classroom behavior and help them keep their mind on their work.

    The study leaves some questions unanswered, however. Ms. Stash says it is not possible to say whether the amount or kind of activity affected the level of academic improvement. This is because of differences among the studies.

    The researchers said they found only two high-quality studies. They needed more high-quality studies to confirm (证实) their findings. They also pointed out that “results for other parts of the world may be quite different.”

    Still，the general finding was that physically active kids are more likely to do better in school. Ms. Singh says schools should consider that finding before they cut physical education programs. Her paper on “Physical Activity and Performance at School” is published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

    There are a lot of reasons why people calling 911 might not be able to tell operators which floor they're on in a high-rise building. They could be injured or simply confused. Yet precious minutes are wasted when emergency personnel have to search a building to find a person in need. With a new app called Sensory, emergency responders soon may be able to use a caller's smartphone to locate his exact position in a building.

    Columbia University researchers William Falcon and Henning Schulzrinne created Sensory using a two-step process. First, they used all existing smartphone features that help narrow down a caller's location. All iPhones produced after 2014 already include GPS and altimeter（测高仪） that can help emergency responders determine if a person is outdoors or inside a building. But when it comes to tall buildings, just knowing a person's altitude may not be enough，because the distance between floors changes from one building to another.

    So Falcon and Schulzrinne analysed the plans of figuring out the average distance between floors in residential（住宅的）buildings and office buildings among more than 1000 buildings in New York City. They tested their app in 63 experiments in five high-rise buildings and found that it could find a caller's location within two floors with about a 91 percent accuracy.

    In a survey conducted by Find Me 911 this year, dispatchers（调度员）said that they regularly received calls from people in need who often couldn't share their location. They sometimes accidentally give the wrong address or floor number. Some callers are too young to know their address. Dispatchers also received calls from those who are deaf or have hearing problems and they often couldn't hear the operator's questions.

    The new Sensory app could help shave precious minutes off the time it takes first responders to get to those calling for help. And it could make the difference between life and death.

    Living in the wild can be hard. Finding food and staying safe aren't easy. Each day, animals try to survive in their habitats. Not all animals get by on their own. Some animals form a close partnership with other kinds of animals. These pairings are called symbiotic(共生的)relationships.

    In a symbiotic relationship, the animals depend on each other. One animal helps the other meet its needs. Sounds good, right? Not always. Some animals are not very kind to their partners. In some cases, one animal meets its needs but hurts its partner. Take ticks(扁虱), for example. These insects suck blood to live. To get blood, they attach themselves to other kinds of animals. Ticks can pass germs(细菌)that cause disease instead of helping their hosts.

    In other relationships, animals don't treat their partners so poorly. Both animals benefit from living with the other animal.

    Small animals called cleaner shrimps(清洁虾)have found a way of helping fish. As their name suggests, the shrimps clean the fish. They hang out at what scientists call a cleaning station. A fish stops by. Then a shrimp climbs onto the fish and even steps into the fish's mouth. The shrimp uses its tiny claws to pick stuff off the fish's body. That can include dead skin and tiny pieces of food that can hurt the fish. The fish gets a nice cleaning. The shrimp enjoys a tasty meal of fish trash.

    Small birds called plovers(灰斑)are also in the cleaning business. They have big customers-crocodiles. Crocodiles have long noses filled with sharp teeth. Cleaning them is funny. When a crocodile opens its mouth, the plover hops right in. It lets the plover eat small, harmful animals attached to the crocodile's teeth. The plover gets an easy meal while the crocodile gets clean teeth.

    Many of us love July because it's the month when nature's berries and stone fruits are in abundance. These colorful and sweet jewels form British Columbia's fields are little powerhouses of nutritional protection.

    Of the common berries, strawberries are highest in vitamin C, although, because of their seeds, raspberries contain a little more protein (蛋白质), iron and zinc (not that fruits have much protein). Blueberries are particularly high in antioxidants (抗氧化物质). The yellow and orange stone fruits such as peaches are high in the carotenoids we turn into vitamin A and which are antioxidants. As for cherries (樱桃), they are so delicious. Who cares? However, they are rich in vitamin C.

    When combined with berries of slices of other fruits, frozen bananas make an excellent base for thick, cooling fruit shakes and low fat "ice cream". For this purpose, select ripe bananas for freezing as they are much sweeter. Remove the skin and place them in plastic bags or containers and freeze. If you like, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice on the bananas will prevent them turning brown. Frozen bananas will last several weeks, depending on their ripeness and the temperature of the freezer.

    If you have a juicer, you can simply feed in frozen bananas and some berries or sliced fruit. Out comes a "soft-serve" creamy dessert, to be eaten right away. This makes a fun activity for a children's party; they love feeding the fruit and frozen bananas into the top of the machine and watching the ice cream come out below.

    Cassandra Feeley finds it hard to manage on her husband's income. So this year she did something more than a hobby. She planted vegetables in her yard. For her first garden, Ms. Feeley has put in 15 tomato plants, and five rows of a variety of vegetables. The family's old farm house has become a chicken house, its residents arriving next month. Last year, Ms. Rita Gartin kept a small garden. This year she has made it much larger because, she said, "The cost of everything is going up and I was looking to lose a few pounds too; so it's a win-win situation all around."

    They are among the growing number of Americans who, driven by higher living costs and a falling economy, have taken up vegetable gardening for the first time. Others have increased the size of their existing gardens. Seed companies and garden shops say that not since the 1970s has there been such an increase in interest in growing food at home. Now many gardens across the country have been sold out for several months. In Austin, Tex, some of the gardens have a three-year waiting list.

    George C Ball Jr. owner of a company, said sales of vegetable seeds and plants are up by 40%, over last year, double the average growth of last five years. Mr. Ball argues that some of the reasons have been building for the last few years. The big one is striking rise in the cost on food like bread and milk, together with the increases in the price of fruit and vegetables. Food prices have increase of higher oil price. People are driving less, taking fewer vacations, so there is more time to garden.