Sometimes, you just can't help it. Maybe you're watching a sad movie, or thinking about the friend who moved away. Next thing you know, your eyes are watering, and you havetears running down your cheeks. Why do peoplecry when they are emotional? What are tears? Scientists are working hard to find the answers to these questions.

    Ad Vingerhoets is a professor of psychology at Tilburg University, in the Netherlands. He is one ofthe few scientists in the world who have studied crying. According to Vingerhoets, there are three types of tears. Basal tearsare the first type. Theylubricate(润滑) the eyes andact as a protective barrier between the eye and the rest of the World. Next arereflex tears. They wash youreyes clean when something gets in them. Finally, there are emotional tears. “These are released in response to emotional states, ”explains Vingerhoets. “Especially when we feel helpless.”

    Scientists believe that crying has something to do with how humans developed and learned to depend on each other.“Humans are very complex social creatures,”says Lauren Bylsma, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania.“It seems that tears serve to arouse help and support from others," She says. “Another reason we weep is that humans have the longest developmental period of almost any animal. It takes along time to grow up. ”

    Vingerhoets agrees. “I think that the reason why humans shed tears(流眼泪) has somethingto do with our childhood,”he says. “That's the time when we are stir dependent on adults for love and protection and care. The major advantage of emotional tears is that you can target them at a specific person.”Vingerhoets says this ability to target someone could have come in hand in prehistorictimes, when humans were living among dangerous animals. Crying couldattract predators(捕食者). Tears were asafer way to get attention. In this case, it is better to use a silent signal to ask for help,”he says.

    Vingerhoets and Bylsma do frequent studies to better understand why humans cry. According to Byhma, there is still much more to discover. “It's surprising,”she says,“how much we still don't know.”

    Well-known for historic architecture and chocolates, Lviv, Ukraine's official capital of culture, looks, smells, and tastes like the best of Europe. Indeed, its western flavor has earned it the title "Little Paris of Ukraine".

    For centuries Lviv, located 50 kilometers from the Poland-Ukraine border, was an important stopping point on the main trade routes between the east and west. During the Renaissance, the city could afford Italy's finest architects because every merchant passing through was forced to stay and sell their goods for at least two weeks. "It was a very smart move to collect money from them," said Yaroslav Hrytsak, a local historian, adding, "It kept the wealth in the city, and that wealth has been transformed into architectural richness."

    Many historic buildings remain but Lviv's prosperity didn't survive its bloody history. Over the centuries, the city fell under the rule of Poland, Austria, Austria-Hungary, Russia and the Nazi Germany. In addition, both Sweden and Turkey tried unsuccessfully to conquer the city. Then for almost half a century Lviv was ruled by the Soviet Union (苏联). With that, the city was condemned to relative obscurity(无闻). But recently things have started to change. Lviv experienced a sudden 40% increase in tourism in early2010, which was the highest rate in Europe. Just last month, its gates opened even wider, when Lviv became a host city for the Euro 2012 football championships.

    So how has this happened? With the Soviet collapse, some saw new opportunities for reviving Lviv's former wealth and fame.

    Limelight networks is a US-founded company. It's one of many digital tech firms to have opened offices in Lviv over the past few years. "It had good growth and experience in the US, however, the company needs more talent to do the new cool projects and products for our customers. This is why we're here in Ukraine." said CEO of Limelight networks.

    Lviv's unexpected abundance of I.T. talent is in fact a legacy(遗产) of the former Soviet Union. To help the military, many Soviet universities focused on turning out world-class engineers and Lviv's university is still producing them. Now, the city is home to 23 higher education institutions. It's clear that the city of Lviv does not intend to remain a hidden jewel for much longer.

    Many kids don't drink enough water daily, according to a new study. The study's lead author, Erica Kenney, at first planned to look into the amount of sugary drinks kids were drinking in schools. However, during her research she found that many kids were simply not drinking enough water.

    Kenney and her team examined data from a group of 4,000 children, aged 6 to19. The data was taken from the National Health and Nutrition Survey, a study on the health of children in the United States done each year by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

    While looking through the survey results, she noticed that more than half of the kids who took part in the study were dehydrated (脱水的). Of that group, boys were 76% more likely than girls not to have enough water in their system. Nearly one quarter of the kids in the survey reported drinking no plain water at all.

    “These findings highlight (突出) a possible health issue that wasn't given a lot of attention in the past,” Kenney said in a statement. “Even though for most of these kids this is not an immediate and great health risk, this is an issue that could really be reducing quality of life and well-being for many children and youth.”

    The United States-National Agriculture Library says average kids need between 10 to 14 cups of water every day. This water can come from a mix of drinks and foods that contain high amounts of water, such as celery, melons or tomatoes. It is also suggested that fluids (液体) come from water instead of sugary drinks that are high in calories and can lead to weight problems.

    Take Action for a Better World: Volunteers Needed

    Six months' preparation in Denmark: Africa studies, team work combined with social work with risk group teenagers.

    Six months' community work in Malawi in People to People Projects: Child Aid, HIV / AIDS. Fights and Teacher Training.

    Qualifications: 18 years, hard-working and social engagement.

    Please contact us by e-mail: takeaction@ betterworld.com.

    Part-time work with Exchange Students

    YOUTH International is a non-profit high school foreign exchange students organization. We welcome teenagers from over 80 countries worldwide and provide host families. The community Representative(社区代表) is a part-time position designed for people with a strong desire to do something rewarding in the community and earn some extra money.

    Applicants best suited for this work should enjoy teenagers, have a strong interest in cross-cultural communication and feel comfortable networking. Full training and support will be provided through branch offices throughout the US. Positions available in most states.

If interested, please email staff@youth.org or call 888—123—9872.

    International Summer Job

    Hi, I'm an ESL student in China. I'm 20, quiet and polite, and I speak reasonable English. I'm looking for a summer job in an English-speaking country. I can teach Chinese or do house and garden work and cook Chinese dishes. Can anybody offer me a job? I don't need to earn much, just enough in two months ( July --August) to pay for my return ticket to China. My goal is to improve my English and see a bit more of the world. My email is: ram3462@ hotmail.com.

    Call for Native Speaker of English

    I am looking for native speakers of English to join in an experiment. This experiment is carried out over the Internet. You don't need any specific knowledge other than understanding and speaking English at a native level. The first task will take you around 15 minutes. After this task, you can decide whether you want to continue the experiment. The tasks involve reading texts and designing questions and answers.

    If you are willing to help me, then please email us: club3864@ hotmail.com

    Living and dealing with kids can be a tough job these days, but living and dealing with parents can be even tougher.

    If I have learned anything in my 16 years, it is that communication is very important, both when you disagree and when you get along. With any relationship, you need to let other person know how you are feeling. If you are not able to communicate, you drift apart()疏远). When you are mad at your parents, or anyone else, not talking to them doesn't solve anything.

Communication begins with the concerns of another. It means that you can't just come home from school, go up to your room and ignore everyone. Even if you just say "Hi", and see how their day was for five minutes, it is better than nothing.

If you looked up the word "communication" in a dictionary, it would say "the exchange of ideas, the conveyance（表达）of information, correspondence （通信）, means of communication: a letter or a message". To maintain (保持) a good relationship, you must keep communication strong. Let people know how you feel, even if it's just by writing a note.

    When dealing with parents, you always have to make them feel good about how they are doing as a parent. If you are trying to make them see something as you see it, tell them that you'll listen to what they have to say, but ask them politely to listen to you. Yelling or walking away only makes the situation worse.

    This is an example: one night, Sophie went to a street party with her friends. She knew she had to be home by midnight after the fireworks, but she didn't feel she could just ask to go home. That would be rude. After all, they had been nice enough to take her along with them. Needless to say, she was late getting home. Her parents were mad at first, but when Sophie explained why she was late, they weren't as mad and let the incident go. Communication is the key factor here. If Sophie's parents had not been willing to listen, Sophie would have been in a lot of trouble.

    Communication isn't a one-way deal: it goes both ways. Just remember: if you get into a situation like Sophie's, telling the other person how you feel and listening is the key factor to communication.

    The doctor made it sound easy. Just walk. It was easy for him to say. I couldn't walk to the end of the road to pick up my mail. I tried to stand up, but soon got breathless and just stopped. My mailbox seemed to be so far away. It was hard for me, though I am only 39 years old!

    A month ago, my wife Stephanie and I were in Colorado Springs with our friends when I woke up at 12 o'clock at night and didn't feel very well. Stephanie and I drove to the hospital, and my 10­day vacation turned into a 10­day hospital stay. I got a scar (伤疤) on my body. It was really tough to walk around then and I needed practice.

    Stephanie had to go to work so she encouraged me to try to take a few walks. Minutes later, she came back with a puppy. "Where did you get that?" I asked. "In our mailbox," she replied. What a wonder! The puppy was dirty, with big pleading (恳求的) eyes. Stephanie was late for work. I was not very happy. I couldn't take care of myself. How could I look after this puppy? "He's going to the pound (动物收容所)," I thought. However, wherever I went, the puppy would closely follow me. I tried walking. The puppy ran ahead, looked back and repeated it again and again. He seemed to say "come on". I took a deep breath, and then tried stepping; the puppy was right at my side. I succeeded at last. I didn't take the puppy to the pound. Instead, we walked toward the mailbox.

    We named him Cheyenne. Before long, I was walking with Cheyenne every day. Pretty soon, I was strong enough to work on the farm again. Now I wonder who put a puppy in a mailbox. Nobody is so crazy after all, Cheyenne was maybe what the doctor ordered.