Sweet or salty? What kind of tastes do you like? If like me, you have a sweet tooth and you probably can't resist eating cakes, biscuits or chocolate and will sweeten your tea or coffee with spoonfuls of sugar-delicious! But the taste makes it very easy to ignore the warnings that too much of the white stuff（东西）is bad for our health.

    Consuming sugar is an addiction-the more we eat, the more we want. Today's processed food, like ready meals, is related to the stuff and many fizzy（起泡的）drinks contain seven teaspoons of sugar in just one can. In the UK, statistics show that sugar consumption is at its highest level in history and the government is trying to get the food industry to cut the amount of sugar in popular products like chocolate bars by 20% by 2020.

    Of course, sugary food tastes nice, it can help lift our mood, and a part in it can refresh us. But there are dangers too :a high-sugar diet is linked to putting on weight, and being overweight can increase the risk of getting type 2 diabetes（糖尿病）. With these warning signs, I have considered changing my diet by replacing sugary snacks with fruit and salty biscuits-but that's boring!

I'm not alone. BBC journalist Radhika Shanghani, has gone one step further. Encouraged by some well-knowns and nutritionists promoting a 'zero tolerance' approach to sugar, she gave it up altogether, thinking it would make her healthier. Initially she says, “My first fortnight involves mood swings. I have disturbing headaches and feel permanently hung-over.” These symptoms disappeared but she still found food shopping hard as she was stressing about buying the right things.

    Her experiment wasn't a success. She eventually sought advice from Susan Jebb, professor of diet and population health at Oxford University who said: “Lots of people enjoy sugar and gain pleasure from it, so one has to find a balance between enjoyment and eating the right amount.”

    Shyness is the cause of much unhappiness for a great many people. Shy people are anxious and self-conscious; that is, they are concerned with their own appearance and actions too much. Negative thoughts are constantly occurring in their minds: What kind of impression am I making? Do they like me? Do I sound stupid? Am I wearing unattractive clothes?

    It is obvious that such uncomfortable feelings must affect people unfavorably. A person's self-concept is reflected in the way he or she behaves and the way a person behaves affects other people's reactions. In general, the way people think about themselves has a deep effect on all areas of their lives.

    Shy people, who have low respect, are likely to be passive and easily influenced by others. They need faith that they are doing "the right thing". Shy people are very sensitive to criticism. It makes them feel inferior（自卑）.They also find it difficult to be pleased by praises because they believe they are unworthy of praise. A shy person may respond to a praise with a statement like this one: "You're just saying that to make me feel good, I know it's not true.” It is clear that, while self-awareness is a healthy quality, overdoing it is harmful.

    Can shyness be completely got rid of, or at least reduced? Fortunately, people can overcome shyness with determination since shyness goes hand in hand with lack of self respect. It is important for people to accept their weakness as well as their strengths. Each one of us has his or her own characteristics. We are interested in our own personal ways. The better we understand ourselves, the easier it becomes to live up to our chances for a rich and successful life.

    In every British town, large and small, you will find shops that sell second-hand goods. Sometimes such shops deal mostly in furniture, sometimes in books, sometimes in ornaments（装饰） and household goods, sometimes even in clothes.

    The furniture may often be "antique", and it may well have changed hands many times. It may also be very valuable, although the most valuable piece will usually go to the London salerooms, where one piece might well be sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds. As you look around these shops and see the polished wood of chests and tables, you cannot help thinking of those long-dead hands which polished that wood, of those now-closed eyes which once looked at these pieces with love.

    The books, too, may be antique and very precious; some may be rare first printings. Often when someone dies or has to move house, his books may all be sold, so that sometimes you may find whole libraries in one shop. On the border between England and Wales, there is a town which has become a huge bookshop as well. Even the cinema and castle have been taken over, and now books have replaced sheep as the town's main trade.

    There are also much more humble shops, sometimes simply called "junk shops", where you can buy small household pieces very cheaply. Sometimes the profits（利润）from these shops go to charity. Even these pieces, though, can make you feel sad; you think of those people who once treasured them, but who have moved on to another country or to death.

    Although the British do not worship（崇拜）their ancestors, they do treasure the past and the things of the past. This is true of houses as well. These days no one knocks them down; they are rebuilt until they are often better than new. In Britain, people do not buy something just because it is new. Old things are treasured for their proven worth; new things have to prove themselves before they are accepted.

    Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life. Relationships with family, friends, neighbours, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity(长寿) boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship. The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote that widows and widowers(鳏夫) were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers. Studies since then suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man's life and two to a woman's. The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm.

    Even if the odds are stacked against you (the conditions are not favourable), marriage can more than compensate. Linda Waite of the University of Chicago has found that a married older man with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart. Likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn't smoke. There's a flip side, however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse's death, and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems. Even so, the odds favour marriage. In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects.

    So how does it work? The effects are complex, affected by socio-economic factors, health-service provision, emotional support and other more physiological mechanisms(机制). For example, social contact can boost development of the brain and immune system, leading to better health and less chance of depression later in life. People in supportive relationships may handle stress better. Then there are the psychological benefits of a supportive partner.

    A life partner, children and good friends are all recommended if you aim to live to 100.The best social network is still being mapped out, but Christakis says: “People are interconnected, so their health is interconnected.”

    They're in restaurants, hotels and homes all over the world. The saltwater aquarium, with its colour fish, bring a piece of the wild into your living room.

    But do you really know where those saltwater fish come from? A full 97 percent, yes, almost all kinds of saltwater fish can't be bred in captivity (人工养殖). They must instead be taken from the ocean. And how is that done?

    Most of the time, with sodium cyanide, it is a harmful chemical compound that many fish collectors in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia use to catch fish. They mix it with water and use it on the fish. Stunned, the fish can then be easily caught.

    What does cyanide do to the fish? There is a scientific study on cyanide's effects. When there is cyanide in water, fish lose their balance and have difficulty breathing. Some fish simply die then and there. Many, many more die on the way to captivity.

    Although cyanide fishing in the Philippines, Sir Lanka, and Indonesia is not allowed, it still happens too often. According to the World wildlife Fund, up to 90 percent of the saltwater fish that enter the US each year are caught this way. The Center for Biological Diversity is calling on the US government to avoid these imports.

    “Compared to many environmental problems now facing the world's oceans, this is one that can easily be solved,” said Nicholas Whipps of the Center. “Because the US is such a powerful market player in this industry, the responsibility to stop this practice falls largely on the United State' shoulders.”

    In the Philippines, private planes bring in cyanide to the fisherman and then take away the live fish. Live fish give the fisherman a better life than dead ones, so more and more fishermen have turned from supplying the fish-for-food trade to the fish-for-aquariums trade.

    The Center for Biological Diversity hopes the government will use the law to turn away cyanide-caught fish and persuade people to buy those only raised in captivity.

    It's one of the most common questions adults ask children: what do you want to be when you grow up? Although childhood is supposed to be fun, kids also discuss important topics regarding their futures. Now, a new study finds that children who set big goals regarding their future status and education often set themselves up for success as they age. 

    The findings, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, are the first to reveal a connection between life goal development and future success in school or the workplace. Rodica Damian, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Houston, and other researchers discovered that as children grow up, their goals naturally begin to change. However, as some childhood goals fall away, other goals related to a family stay strong. These include being close to relatives, building more friendships or finding a romantic partner, and even becoming more involved in your community or helping others. 

    During the study, researchers compared how their goals evolved as children moved from adolescence to adulthood and how a person's goals impacted their success in school and as an employee later on. Overall, a child's goals focusing on their education and future status were the most consistent predictors (预测因素) of income in adulthood. Simply put, when a child dreams big about doing well in school or achieving great success as an adult, these goals accurately paint a picture of how successful these children will be. So, the message is simple: dream big and dream of success, kids! Those goals can drive you to success when you grow up! 

    "Our work proves a strong connect ion between a child's life goals, educational achievement, and future occupational outcomes. This information is valuable for parents and educators who can use it to encourage children to set ambitious goals. Additionally, it helps develop strategies to support individuals in achieving their goals and reaching their full potential," Damian concludes.