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.”

A Competitive Sport

    Cheerleading

    Over the years, cheerleading has taken two primary forms: game-time cheerleading and competitive cheerleading. Game-time cheerleaders' main goal is to entertain the crowd and lead them with team cheers, which should not be considered a sport. However, competitive cheerleading is more than a form of entertainment. It is really a competitive sport.

    Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activity. The majority of the teams require a certain level of tumbling (翻腾运动) ability. It's a very common thing for gymnasts, so it's easy for them to go into competitive cheerleading. Usually these cheerleaders integrate lots of their gymnastics experience including their jumps, tumbling, and overall energy. They also perform lifts and throws. This is where the “fliers” are thrown in the air, held by “bases” in different positions that require strength and working with other teammates.

    Competitive cheerleading is also an activity that is governed by rules under which a winner can be declared. It is awarded points for technique, creativity and sharpness. Usually the more difficult the action is, the better the score is. That's why cheerleaders are trying to experience great difficulty in their performance.

    Besides, there is also a strict rule of time. The whole performance has to be completed in less than three minutes and fifteen seconds, during which the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area. Any performance beyond the limit of time is invalid.

    Another reason for the fact that competitive cheerleading is one of the hardest sports is that it has more reported injuries. According to some research, competitive cheerleading is the number one cause of serious sports injuries to women. Emergency room visits for it are five times the number than for any other sport, partially because cheerleaders don't use protective equipment. Smiling cheerleaders are thrown into the air and move down into the arms of the teammates, which may easily cause injuries. Generally, these injuries affect all areas of the body, including wrists, shoulders, ankles, head, and neck.

    There can be no doubt that competitive cheerleading is a sport with professional skills. Hopefully, it will appear in the Olympics since cheerleaders are just as athletic and physically fit as those involved in the more accepted sports. It should be noted that it is a team sport and even the smallest mistake made by one teammate can bring the score of the entire team down. So without working together to achieve the goal, first place is out of reach.

    It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of the dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

    Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

    “Jack, did you hear me?”

    “Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

    “Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce (回忆) about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it, ” Mom told him.

    “I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

    “You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life,” she said.

    “He's the one who taught me carpentry. I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important. Mom, I'll be there for the funeral.” Jack said.

    Busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

    The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time, which was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture … Jack stopped suddenly.

    “What's wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

    “The box is gone,” he said.

    “What box?” Mom asked.

    “There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most',” Jack said.

   It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

    “Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said sadly.

    Returning to his office the next day, he found a package on his desk. The return address caught his attention.

    “Mr. Harold Belser” it read.

    Jack tore open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside,

    “Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bernett. It's the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, and tears filling his eyes. Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the fine cover, he opened it.

    Inside he found these words carved: “Jack. Thanks for your time! Harold Belser.”

    “Oh. My God! This is the thing he valued most …”

    Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” his assistant asked.

    “I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.

    Climate change is perhaps the key issue of our time. Often, however, it is presented to us as being so abstract that it seems impossibly distant. For those of you looking for something a little more concrete, a new report suggests that the effects of climate change may significantly affect coffee.

    The report, put out by The Climate Institute, describes the effects of climate change on various coffee-growing nations and the resultant effects on the plants and those who grow them.

    Coffee Arabica plants, which produce 70% of all commercial coffee, can be adversely affected by even a half-degree change in typical weather conditions. This sensitivity to temperature puts the plant at increased risk of the effects of climate change.

    In Central America the average temperature has risen by a full degree Celsius since 1960. In Ethiopia the average temperature has increased by 1. 3 degrees. This increase is enough to have notable effects on the plants. In Tanzania the productivity per hectare of coffee has fallen by half since the 1960s due to changes in temperature.

    Indeed, studies claim that by 2050 the area of the world suitable for growing coffee will be cut by half. Coffee production is likely to then be pushed to higher elevations (海拔) to take advantage of lower temperatures, but this will not be enough to make up for lost lowland areas.

    Coffee is the second most traded goods by developing nations, and the inability of producer nations to export it could cause dramatic chain reactions in their economies. Millions of people make a living in the production, processing, transport, and sale of coffee; their livelihoods would stand to take a blow as growing areas decrease and prices rise.

    As the temperature keeps rising, your cup of coffee will become much more expensive, and it may also carry an aftertaste bitterer than usual, for all those workers in the coffee belt left without the means to make a living as conditions worsen. Not only that, but the economic effects will cost the West millions in increased foreign aid.

    Everyday Food by Martha Stewart

    No matter how busy you are, at the end of the day you want meals that are easy to prepare. And you want lots of choices and variations. You'll find all of that in this book: 250 simple recipes for delicious meals that bring freshness and nutrition.

    Paperback, published by Random House, $16.79

    Zeroes

    By Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Deborah Biancotti

    The New York Times best-selling author Scott Westerfeld teams up with Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti in the book about six teenagers with amazing abilities. These teenagers have powers that set them apart. They can do things ordinary people can't.

    Paperback, published by Simon & Schuster, $12.99

    Mighty Jack

    By Ben Hatke

    Jack dislikes summer. But he's got a good reason: summer is when his single mom takes a second job and leaves him at home to watch his sister, Maddy. It's lots of responsibility, and it's boring, too, because Maddy doesn't talk. But one day, at the market, Maddy does talk—to tell Jack to trade their mom's car for a box of mysterious seeds. It's the best mistake Jack has ever made.

    Hardcover, published by First Second, $14.15

    Only Daughter

    By Anna Snoekstra

    She's caught stealing. She's homeless and on the run. But she happens to look the same as a girl who went missing a decade ago, Rebecca Winter. She takes Rebecca's identity, using it as a way out. Little does she know her new life as Rebecca is itself a prison and it looks like a killer might be after her.

    Kindle edition, published by Harlequin Enterprises, $8.88

Brushing your teeth twice a day should keep the dentist away. But if a group of scientific researchers have their wish, it will make the rest of your body healthy too. A toothbrush that checks blood sugar and bacteria while you brush is currently in development in the USA. It is one of many gadgets (小器械) proposed by engineers and doctors at the Center for Future Health in New York.

The gadgets seem fanciful, but the basic principles are simple. The gadgets should make it easy for people to detect illness long before it strikes and so seek treatment far earlier than normal. Instead of relying on hi-tech hospitals, the emphasis (重点) is shifted to the home and easy-to-use gadgets. In the long run, the technology may even prevent illness by encouraging us to lead healthier lives.

Intelligent bandages are a good example. Powerful sensors within the bandage could quickly identify tiny amounts of bacteria in a wound and determine what medicine would work best. The cut could then be treated instantly.

The biggest development is melanoma(黑色素瘤) monitor designed to give early warnings of cancer. It could be used to take a picture of your body each week, and then compare it to previous images. If a problem is found, the system would advise you to get a check-up.

If all this sounds worrying, then help is at hand. Experts are also working on a "digital doctor", complete with a comforting bedside manner. A standard computer would be able to understand your voice and answer questions about your symptoms in plain English and in a way which could calm your nerves.

Stress is no sweat either. A portable communication aid could recognize certain phrases and tones and let you know when you are about to lose your temper. The software would also suggest ways of keeping your cool.

Researchers are still struggling, however, with making the technology cheap and simple enough for the household user. That is going to be the difficult part.