Japan is very serious about robotics (机器人技术). If robots are going to fit in, they probably need to learn the Japanese custom of serving tea. Fortunately, researchers at the University of Tokyo are just exploring that. In a show this week, a humanoid(人形机器人)with camera eyes made by Kawada Industries Inc. poured tea from a bottle into a cup. Then another robot on wheels delivered the cup of tea in an experimental room that has sensors embedded in the floor and sofa as well as cameras on the ceiling, to simulate(模仿)life with robot technology.

    "A human being may be faster, but you'd have to say ‘Thank you'," said Professor Tomomasa Sato from the University of Tokyo. "That's the best part about a robot. You don't have to feel bad about asking it to do things."

    Sato believes Japan, a rapidly aging society where more than a fifth of the population is 65 or older, will lead the world in designing robots to care for the elderly, sick and bedridden(长期卧床的).

    Already, monitoring technologies, such as sensors that automatically turn on lights when people enter a room, are becoming widespread in Japan.

    The walking, child-size Asimo from Honda Motor Co. greets people at show-rooms. NEC Corp. has developed a smaller robot-on-wheels companion called Papero. A seal robot available since 2004 can entertain the elderly and others in need of fuzzy companionship.

    Sato says his experimental room is raising awareness about privacy questions that may arise when electronic devices(设备)monitor a person's movements down to the smallest detail.

    On the bright side, the tea-pouring humanoid has been programmed to do the dishes.

    We know cats like to hide in boxes and knock things over. But if you make a square on your floor, what will your cat do? Turns out a lot of cats will get inside it. Amazed cat owners repeated the experiment, often with tape(带子), but others with squares made out of ribbon, sheets of paper and even shoes.

    Cat experts weigh in

    So what makes cats so interested in a square on the floor?

    “We know that cats like safe spaces. It's possible that the mark on the floor creates some illusion(幻觉) on the floor that doesn't actually exist,” says cat behavior expert Mikel Delgado. “It might have enough similarity to a low-sided box that a lot of cats are attracted to it for safety.”

    Another cat behavior expert Ingrid Johnson agrees. “I would imagine they probably feel as if they are 'in' something. Though shallow, still comforting, offers the idea of sides,” she says. Johnson points out that cats have poor close-up sight, so they may have the idea that the tape is actually the sides of a square area. “Their sight is built for distance and speed, watching a mouse run across the field,” she says. “Close up, they're blind 8 to 12 inches off their noses.”

    Kitty curiosity(好奇心)

    Another reason cats are attracted by the square? Pure curiosity.

    Because cats are very sensitive to their environment, the tape square might be attracting them just because it's new and different, she says. The same thing would likely happen if you put a piece of cardboard or a paper bag on the floor. A lot of cats would check it out.

    Recently some American scientists have given a useful sincere piece of advice to people in industrialized nations that they would be much healthier if they ate more of the same kind of food eaten by humans living more than 10,000 years ago.

    The scientists say that the human body has changed very little since humans first appeared on the earth, but the way we live has changed greatly. Our body has not been able to deal with (处理,对付)these changes in life style and this has led to new kinds of sicknesses. These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times, so they are called "diseases of civilization". Many cancers and diseases of the blood system, including heart attacks and strokes (中风) are examples of such diseases.

    Scientists noted that people in both the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age enjoyed very little alcohol (酒精) or tobacco (烟草), probably none. Ancient people also got a great deal of physical exercise, but a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and that of today.

    Stone-age people hunted wild animals for their meat, which had much less fat than domestic or tame ones (家畜). They also ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables and fruits. They didn't have milk or any other dairy products, and they made very little use of grains. But today, we eat a large amount of these. We eat six times more salt than our remote ancestors (祖先). We eat more sugar. We eat twice as much fat but only one third as much protein (蛋白质) and much less vitamin C.

    People today probably do not want to live the way people thousands of years ago did, but scientists say that we would be much healthier if we ate much the same way as remote ancestors did, cutting the amount of fatty, salty and sweet food.

    The British live on a small island. They are surrounded by the sea, so it is not surprising that the sea has always played an important role in their lives. After the development of large, ocean­going sailing ships in the fifteenth century, the sea became even more important to the country's development. Ships setting sail from England determined to extend Britain's territories, its wealth and its knowledge of the world. Ships returned to England bringing goods, people and new ideas from foreign places. By the nineteenth century, Britain had the largest, most powerful navy in the world.

    The great sailing ships were so much a part of British life that they even affected the language. Many English expressions we use today were originally nautical (航海的) terms, although most people no longer realize this. For example, people commonly describe an honest and fair business deal as being "above board". This expression was originally used in sailing ship times when secretive, dishonest ship's business would be carried out below decks (below the boards) out of public view. On the other hand, honest business was always conducted on deck (above the boards), in the open where everyone could see what was going on.

    "Pipe down!", meaning "Be quiet!", is another common expression that has nautical origins. The ship's boatswain (水手长) would blow a whistle, or pipe, at the end of the day to indicate (表明) to the sailors it was time to quieten down and go to sleep.

    Most native English speakers have heard the expression "not enough room to swing a cat", but few know that the "cat" does not refer to a small furry animal with four legs and a tail. The "cat" is actually a short form of "cat of nine tails" — a whip with nine, knotted (打结的) tails. A boatswain needed a lot of space in order to swing the whip properly when lashing (鞭打) a poor sailor under his control!

    Organic(有机的)farming is a type of agriculture that benefits from the recycling and use of natural products. Use of dried plants not only saves money，but also ensures the growth of crops. The technique is characterized by the use of green manure(肥料), biological pest control methods and special farming techniques to keep soil productive. Limiting the use of man－made chemicals or completely doing away with them reduces the risk of diseases. Today，organic farming is a major and preferred industry around the world. Organically grown food products have a huge market，with farmlands covering about 10% of the total world－farmland cover. The hard work of Sir Albert Howard, the Father of Organic Farming, has paid off.

    Advantages of Organic Farming:

    ⑴The economics of organic farming are characterized by increasing profits through reduced water use and reduced soil erosion(侵蚀).

    ⑵Organic farming produces the same crops as those produced through traditional farming methods，but uses half the energy，and holds 40% more top soil

    ⑶Farming the organic way enables farmers to get rid of weeds without the use of any chemicals.

    ⑷The use of green pesticides(杀虫剂) is environmentally friendly and does no harm to human's health.

    Disadvantages of Organic Farming：

    ⑴Organic methods of farming produce less，compared to traditional farming techniques.

    ⑵Organic agriculture does little to fight global climate change. Though organic farming practices are recognized as giving out less CO₂ ， but not to a significant degree.

    However，though there are some disadvantages of organic farming，farms where organic methods for cropping have been used have more advantages than traditional farms. Organic agriculture is surely better in the long term.

More than 400 athletes across a variety of sports, ages and levels of experience were questioned for the study by sports psychology experts from Staffordshire University and Manchester Metropolitan University. The findings reveal that athletes' belief systems—specifically irrational（非理性）beliefs—are related to poorer self-confidence, and in turn, greater competitive anxiety and depressive symptoms.

"Phrases that reflect self-depreciating（贬低）beliefs such as ‘If I lose, I'm a failure' or ‘If I face setbacks, it shows how stupid I am' are warning signs," said the authors. Paul Mansell, Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University, said, "Despite the psychological benefits of physical activity, studies frequently report poor mental health in athletes, which may be exacerbated by adversities, such as injury, de-selection, and performance pressure. We investigated athletes' beliefs, how they view stress, their levels of self-confidence and put all this data together to work out what might predict psychological well-being. We found irrational beliefs to be a core reason for symptoms of poor mental health in athletes."

This is the first known study that has examined irrational beliefs, self-confidence, and the psychological well-being of athletes all together. Irrational beliefs are extreme, rigid, and illogical ideas that people hold. For example, a person might believe that they "must" get what they want, or that just because they have failed, they are a "complete failure".

"We can all work to help athletes develop mindsets that help them deal with the challenges of sport and life. By encouraging rational and logical beliefs about performance, we can help athletes to stay healthy amidst the high demands of competitive sport," said Paul Mansell.

The author s propose Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy（REBT）as an effective tool for protecting self-confidence. REBT helps athletes to challenge these self-depreciating beliefs and develop beliefs that are more helpful and healthy. For example, rather than believe "I am a failure if I fail", this might be countered with "Failing is not ideal, but it does not mean that I am a failure".