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The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place

    Diet Coke ,diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet…We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically.

    Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels.

    On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink,we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don't have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.

    The danger of diet products lees not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients. Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products my not be nutritional,and the chemicals that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.

    Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological harm that comes from using them.

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    In US, the potato is one of the most widely consumed crops. French fries are commonly found in typical American fast-food burger joints and cafeterias. French fries were introduced to the US when Thomas Jefferson served them in the White House during his presidency from 1801 to 1809. Potato chips are popular with consumers as well.

    The humble potato is more than just a kind of food. In many ways it's part of the American pop culture. Let's take a look at some pop culture potatoes.

Mashed Potato dance

    The Mashed Potato dance is a craze that began in 1962. The name of the dance came from the song it accompanies, Mashed Potato Time, performed by American R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp. The move vaguely resembles that of the Twist dance style, by Sharp's fellow Philadelphian.

Chubby Checker.

Hot Potato!

    Hot Potato! is an action puzzle video game released in 2001. In the game the player must drive a bus and clear the road of alien potato beings. The potato beings are either red or blue; when two like-colored potatoes touch each other, they disappear. Over the years, Hot Potato! has received mostly positive reception from critics.

Mr. Potato Head

    Mr. Potato Head is an American toy invented by George Lerner in 1949. The toy consists of a plastic potato model and a variety of plastic parts like hands, feet, ears and mouths. In 1952, Mr. Potato Head became the first toy advertised on television. This commercial revolutionized marketing and caused a boom that solidified this toy's place in American pop culture.

Dear friends,

    The recent success of children's books has made the general public aware that there's a huge market out there.

    And there's a growing need for new writers trained to create the $3 billion worth of children's books bought each year… plus stories and articles needed by over 650 publishers of magazines for children and teenagers. Who are these needed writers? They're ordinary people like you and me.

    But am I good enough?

    I was once where you might be now. My thoughts of writing had been pushed down by self-doubt, and I didn't know where to turn for help.

    Then, I accepted a free offer from the Institute to test my writing ability, and it turned out to be the inspiration I needed.

    The promise that paid off

    The Institute made the same promise to me that they will make to you, if you show basic writing ability: you will complete at least one manuscript (手稿) suitable to hand in to a publisher by the time you finish our course.

    I really didn't expect any publication(出版) before I finished the course, but that happened. I sold three stories. And I soon discovered that was not unusual at the Institute. Since graduation, I have written 34 nationally published children's books and over 300 stories and articles.

    Free test and brochure

    We offer a free ability test and will send you a copy of our brochure describing our recognized home-study courses on the basis of one-on-one training.

    Realize your writing dream today. There's nothing sadder than a dream delayed until it disappears forever.

    Sincerely,

    Kristi Hill

    Institute of Children's Literature

    Are you a morning person? You might not like the findings in this new research.

    From a lack of air and drinking water to solar radiation, theoretical Mars pioneers face any number of potential obstacles to settling on the red planet. Now, scientists have found something else to add to the list: seriously messed-up biological clocks.

    One day on Mars - which scientists refer to as the solar day, or “sol”- is 37 minutes longer than a day on Earth. A team of European scientists recently demonstrated why that could be a problem.

    Circadian rhythms are the body's natural cycles of rest and waking, which tend to follow roughly 24-hour light-dark cycles. These natural rhythms - which play a role in biological functions including brain wave activity and hormone production - can be interrupted by things like jet lag（时差）and night shift work.

    For the study, the researchers compared mice with healthy, 24-hour circadian clocks to mice with a genetic change that caused them to have shorter, 20-hour circadian clocks. The mice with healthy biological clocks were more likely to survive and reproduce, while the mice with shorter biological clocks were more likely to die off.

    What does this all have to do with space travel? Since the Martian sol is longer than a day on Earth, people with shorter circadian clocks could suffer from health problems as they try to adapt to the rotational speed of the red planet.

    Unfortunately, the body is unlikely to adapt to the new conditions or “learn” to develop a longer clock. As Loudon explained,“ Learning is not a likely option.”

    In other words: Sorry, super-early risers - NASA might not want you for the next Mars mission.

    I was getting ready to go to bed when the phone rang. This could not be good. My mind raced through the list of family members who might need help, but the voice was hardly familiar.

    "Lindy, this is Lesley." I didn't know Lesley well. We did occasionally speak with each other, but to say we were friends was not appropriate. I asked what she needed. Perhaps something really awful caused her to reach someone she barely knew. Instead, she asked me, "Do you have room for a turkey? In your freezer?" We had lots of room in our freezer, and in fact, too much. Sure." I responded, "Did your freezer break down?" "Not exactly," Lesley replied, "but I will explain when I arrive."

    Minutes later came a huge freezer truck, Lesley stepped down and explained the lease(租约) of the grocery store her husband serviced had run out and that they had to empty all the freezers that very night. Thinking it was a shame to throw away all this good food, they decided to drop off food to anyone she could think of. Noticing our freezer was pretty empty, Lesley asked to fill it up. Our home was their last stop and anything left would have to be put in our freezer. An hour later, everything finished, I asked her, "When will you come back for all this T' Lesley laughed, "We don't want it back. It is yours! Thanks for helping us out!" Then they waved goodbye and drove away.

    "For helping them out?" We opened our freezer door. Inside were all expensive foods we never bought but often longed to try. We were struggling to buy groceries, yet it was not something we shared with anyone. However, our needs were met in an unexpected way, by that call, "Do you have room for a turkey?"