Over the last week, a "poisonous kale（甘蓝菜）" theory has been going widespread after an article warned that the vegetable was associated with a variety of medical conditions. It's time to separate fear from fact on the health benefits of kale.

    As a member of the cabbage family, kale is low in calories and rich in nutrients and minerals, especially vitamin A,C and K. Consumed for thousands of years, it's been a health plus for millions of eaters throughout the world.

    However, numerous web articles have reported on some evidence offered by a medicine researcher. The researcher found that thallium（铊）was detected in a few people who were heavy consumers of kale. Thallium is a heavy metal often found in trace amounts（微量）in soil and minerals. His conclusion was that these medical conditions were connected to the impact that trace amounts of thallium detected in some kale samples had on the body.

    I don't think the conclusion is based on a strict scientific basis. It's essential to point out that the original report was in a web magazine, not a scientific journal which is subject to peer review by other scientists. A scientific review includes a careful evaluation of how the findings and conclusions were made. Certain factors are critical before an evidence-based conclusion can be made, such as: how many people were in a study; how well controlled were other factors; how much kale was consumed and for how long; how much thallium was in the kale.

    It is a fact that kale and other vegetables can absorb thallium from the soil. But the ability for a plant to absorb traces of a chemical does not automatically make it harmful to your health. And even finding measurable amounts of thallium in someone's body doesn't imply that the thallium is causing an ill health effect, according to the CDC.

    But we can still learn a lesson from this. Plants grow in soil. Growers must continue to be careful in monitoring the quality of their soil. And what about consumers? Eat your kale—and include lots of other colorful fruits and vegetables. As with all things in nature, variety is key for good health.

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    Both men and women are living longer these days in industrialized countries. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In general, they can expect to live six or seven years more than men. One reason for this is biological.

    One important biological factor(因素) that helps women live longer is the difference in hormones between men and women. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Between the ages of about 12 and 50, women produce hormones that are involved in fertility(生育能力). These hormones also have a positive effect on the heart and the blood flow. In fact, women are less likely to have high blood pressure or to die from heart attacks.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} They help the body defend itself against some kinds of infections. This means that women generally get sick less often and less seriously than men. The common cold is a good example: women, on average, get fewer colds than men.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Scientists are still not exactly sure how genes influence aging, but they believe they do. Some think that a woman's body cells have a tendency(倾向) to age more slowly than a man's. Others think that a man' s body cells have a tendency to age more quickly. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. However, women, on average, live longer.

B. The biological factor plays an important part.

C. Women are also helped by their female genes.

D. The female hormones also protect the body in another way.

E. Recent research seems to support both of these possibilities.

F. Therefore, women are more healthy than men and can live a better life.

G. Hormones are chemicals which are produced by the body to control various body functions.

Dear Dad,

    Today I was at the shopping mall and I spent a lot of time reading the Father's Day cards. They all had a special message that in some way or another reflected how I feel about you. Yet as I selected and read, it occurred to me that not a single card said what I really want to say to you.

    You'll soon be 84 years old, Dad, and you and I will have had 55 Father's Days together. I haven't always been with you on Father's Day but I've always been with you in my heart.

    You know, Dad, there was a time when we were separated by the generation gap. You stood on one side of the Great Divide and I on the other.

    The Father-Daughter Duel shifted into high gear ( 档位) when you taught me to drive the old Dodge and I decided I would drive the Chevy whether you liked it or not. The police officer who sent me home, after you reported the Chevy stolen, didn't have much tolerance for a stubborn 16 year old, while you were so tolerant about it, Dad, and I think that was probably what made it the worst night of my life.

    Our relationship greatly improved when I married a man you liked, and things really turned around when we began making babies right and left. Somewhere along the line, the generation gap disappeared. I suppose I saw us and our relationship as aging together, rather like a fine wine.

    But the strangest thing happened last week. I was at a stop sign and I watched as you turned the corner in your car. It didn't immediately occur to me that it was you because the man driving looked so elderly and fragile behind the wheel of that huge car. It was rather like a slap in the face delivered from out of nowhere. Perhaps I saw your age for the first time that day.

    I guess what I'm trying to say, Dad, is what every son and daughter wants to say to their Dad today. Honoring a father on Father's Day is about respect and sharing and acceptance and tolerance and giving and taking. It's about loving someone more than words can say, and it's wishing that never had to end.

    I love you, Dad.

Love,

Jenny

    WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL REALITY CINEMA AMSTERDAM

    World's First Virtual Reality Cinema

    Going to the VR CINEMA offers you the opportunity to watch movies like you've never done before. You can see 360 degree movies using a VR headset. In the VR CINEMA, ringing mobile phones and noisy visitors belong to the past. Furthermore, traditional red cinema chairs or the big white screen are nowhere to be found. Instead, a Samsung Galaxy S6 (smart phone) together with the Samsung Gear VR (virtual reality glasses) transports you to a completely new world. Headphones shut out background noise, and above all, offer super sound quality. Turning chairs allow you to freely look around and see what's happening above, below, behind, in front, on the right and on the left side of you. So no sore neck, we promise.

    In the VR CINEMA, you will experience 30 minutes of the coolest virtual reality films. We proudly present four film selections in different themes in order to please every virtual reality lover. Are you brave enough for our scary films? Will you immerse (沉浸于) yourself in VR documentaries from around the globe? Do you prefer to go on an adventurous journey like no other? Or do your kids want to swim with dolphins, interact with magical characters, and experience the moving stories beyond imagination? Supernatural, Documentary, Journey and Fun are waiting for you!

    For kids, young and older ones, there's the cheerful and colourful selection. The only thing you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the VR experience of your choice.

    Location: Oosterdokskade 5, 1011 AD Amsterdam The Netherlands

    Tel: +31(0) 6 27 00 69 16

    E-mail: mail@thevrcinema.com

    Ticket Price: ￡12.5

    Opening hours: Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 14:00-21:00

    Saturday & Sunday: 12:00-22:00

    HONG KONG-Cross-border buses operated by Hong Kong companies on Friday started trial runs on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) in preparation for the bridge's upcoming opening.

    "The trial runs, arranged by the governments of the Chinese mainland, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and the Macao SAR, would last for three days and aimed at testing the readiness of boundary crossing facilities (设施) of the three places," the Hong Kong SAR government's Transport and Housing Bureau told Xinhua.

    Two major cross-boundary coach trade associations in Hong Kong were invited to send buses and members to participate in the trial runs.

    Freeman Cheung, secretary of Hong Kong Guangdong Boundary Crossing Bus Association, said his association would run one bus with about 10 passengers on Friday and Saturday respectively as part of the trial runs.

    "Our bus started at noon from the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities and ran all the way to Zhuhai in about 40 minutes," he said, adding that "the journey was smooth."

    Alan Chan, secretary of another trade association who participated in the trial runs as a passenger, said the clearance procedures at boundary crossing facilities of the three places all went on well and smoothly.

    "The boundary crossing facilities of Zhuhai and Macao, in particular, are operated in a collaborative (合作的) way, which helps remarkably shorten the time needed for the clearance procedures," he said.

    The HZMB, situated at the waters of Lingdingyang of Pearl River Estuary, is a mega-size sea crossing linking the Hong Kong SAR, Zhuhai city of Guangdong Province and the Macao SAR.

    The 55-km bridge is the longest bridge-and-tunnel (隧道) sea crossing in the world.

    The bridge is meant to meet the demand of passenger and freight land transport among Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and Macao, and to establish a new land transport link between the east and west banks of the Pearl River.

    Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his penname.

    Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother's care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn't like to go to school, and he often ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi(密西西比河). He was nearly drowned nine times.

    After his father's death, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full time writer.

    In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him great fortune.

    Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments(投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of his children passed away.

    At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.