The weather is getting hotter. You are thirsty playing basketball or riding home from school. A cold drink may be just the thing. But be careful what you are drinking. Something that looks cool may not be good for your health.

    There are plenty of “energy drinks” on the market. Most of them have beautiful colors and cool names. The lists on them tell you they are helpful to your health. Sounds great!

    But after a careful check you may find that most energy drinks have lots of caffeine(咖啡碱)in them. These drinks are especially aimed at young people, students, busy people and sports players. Makers sometimes say their drinks make you better at sports and can keep you awake. But be careful not to drink too much. Caffeine makes your heart beat fast. Because of this, the International Olympic Committee(IOC) has limited(限制) its use. Caffeine in most energy drinks is at least as strong as that in a cup of coffee or tea.

    Possible health dangers have something to do with energy drinks. Just one box of energy drink can make you nervous, have difficulty sleeping and can even cause heart problems. Scientists say that teenagers should be discouraged from taking drinks with a lot of caffeine in them.

    Today is National Bike-to-Work Day. And on New York City's jammed streets, people are cycling on hundreds of miles of new bike lanes. But New York's widespread efforts to make streets safer for bikes have also left some locals complaining about the loss of parking spots and lanes for cars.

    When the weather is good, Aaron Naparstek likes to pedal（用踏板踩） his two young kids to school on a special Dutch-made bicycle. Naparstek supports the new lane.

    Aaron: The bike lane on Prospect Park West is really introducing a lot of new people to the idea that it's possible to use a bike in New York City for transportation or to travel around. This is what 21^st century New York City looks like.

    Prospect Park West is still a one-way road, but where it used to have three lanes of car traffic, now it has two, plus a protected bike lane. Supporters say that makes the road safer for everyone, including pedestrians, by slowing down cars and taking bikes off the sidewalk. But some longtime residents disagree. Lois Carswell is president of a group called Seniors for Safety. She says the two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents who are used to one-way traffic.

    Lois: We wanted a lane — the right kind of lane that would keep everybody safe, that would keep the bikers safe. But we want it to be done the right way. And it has not been done the right way.

    Craig Palmer builds bars and restaurants in Manhattan. I was interviewing him for a different story when he brought up the bike lanes all on his own.

    Craig: I think the biggest problem is that Bloomberg put all these bike lanes in. You took what used to be a full street and you're shrinking it.

    Then there are the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who forced the city to remove a bike lane through their neighborhood. But polls show that the majority of New Yorkers support bike lanes by a margin of 56% to 39%. Bicycle advocate Caroline Samponaro of Transportation Alternatives calls that a mandate.

    Caroline: If this was an election, we would have already had our victory. The public has spoken and they keep speaking. And I think, more importantly, the public is starting to vote with their pedals.

    You discover a shampoo that leaves your hair looking beautiful. But gradually, as you use it more, it's magical effects seem to disappear. "It's just your hair getting used to it, "your mom says. And so you put the shampoo away and look for your next wonder product.

    It sort of makes sense -why would something that left you looking nice at first suddenly start losing its effect after some time? Are there some other factors(因素)at play? Can your hair really get used to a certain shampoo?

    Marie Claire spoke to hair experts and it turns out that it's not true. Your hair cannot get so used to a product that it just stops working.

    So what is the deal? Cynthia Alvarez, a famous hair stylist, explained that there are a number of factors leading to your hair puzzle, but basically, it's not the shampoo. "A shampoo does not stop working because your hair get used to it, she said." If your shampoo stops giving you the results you want, the condition and needs of your hair have most likely changed, or the season may have changed -it's more humid(in $), the sun is stronger, or the air is drier. Your state of health may also be different from a recent illness.

    In other words, you need to give up blaming the shampoo. So what can you do to make your hair look beautiful for a little longer? Alvarez suggests changing your ways of hair care when factors, such as the weather, change. Experts also suggest keeping an eye on the amount of shampoo and conditioner(H%i )you're using because over conditioning can be bad for your hair.

Confidence Comes From Treating Others As Equals

    There's been recent discussion over Chinese attitudes toward foreigners, caused by another quarrel between a foreigner and a taxi driver. According to the studies described in the Oxford Handbook of Chinese Psychology, Chinese have lower self﹣confidence compared to Westerners. Yet does the result still apply to the Chinese people today？

    Yes and no. For the moment, different attitudes toward foreigners can still be found in China's society, with some displaying low self﹣confidence like "Foreigners are awesome （令人敬畏的）, and Western countries are awesome. We should respect them and be as polite as possible, and shouldn't let them look down on us, " and a few unfriendly opinions such as "Some foreigners are rude and disrespectful, and their level of civility （礼貌） is far behind China."

    Chinese used to be lacking in self﹣confidence. It might start from the modern history, after the failure in the Opium wars, and the following humiliation （耻辱） of being bullied （被欺负） and brought to their knees by Western guns. And the dark history is still to some extent affecting our mentality （心态） today.

    For some time, the Western world represents the best of everything in some Chinese eyes. But our state of mind is gradually changing. When asked "What makes you feel proud of your country？" in school classes in China, answers vary from the World Expo to the Olympic Games, from athletes to astronauts, from the mushrooming skyscrapers to busy metropolises, which have all filled us with growing self﹣confidence.

    While answering the question "Since China is so good today and Chinese people are more confident, why are an increasing number of Chinese emigrating abroad？" Zhang Weiwei, a professor at Fudan University, replied that at least 70 percent of Chinese migrants （移民） become more patriotic （爱国的） after leaving their home country, no matter whether they have become a naturalized citizen of another nation or not. Such result and experiences are much more convincing and have better effect than dozens of "patriotic education" classes.

    There is no reason for us not to be self﹣confident. We live in the world's second﹣largest economy. Chinese net financial assets per capita （人均纯金融资产） and the purchasing power of people have seen a sharp rise, with more and more people starting to purchase works of art, instead of only necessities. These all indicate a rising standard of life and self﹣confidence.

    Nevertheless, the point of the changing attitudes toward ourselves or other countries is not realizing other nations are better or worse than China, but treating them like how we treat our fellow Chinese. That is what confidence means, not being condescending （屈尊）, not worshiping, but looking each other in the eye with trust and respect.

    Supermarket shoppers who buy lots of foods on "two for one" deals are far more likely to be obese (肥胖的), a major study suggests.

    Cancer Research UK found that those with highest consumption of discounted foods were at 50 percent greater risk of obesity, compared with those with low take-up of such deals.

    The study of more than 16,000 households found almost one in three food and drink items in UK supermarket baskets were bought on promotion. And the discounts were far more likely to be applied to unhealthy foods, with almost half of all chocolate, crisps, popcorn, and savoury snacks bought on promotion.

    Shoppers whose baskets contained between 40 and 80 percent of goods on special offer were 54 percent more likely to be obese than those with a maximum 20 percent of foods on such deals. Those with highest take-up of the deals bought 30 percent less fruit, and nearly 25 percent fewer vegetables than those shunning the deals.

    The study follows a government consultation on proposals to ban "buy one, get one free" deals on unhealthy foods and supermarket "guilt lanes" as part of its childhood obesity strategy.

    One in five children are overweight or obese when they start primary school, rising to around one in three when they leave.

    Research has found that obesity increases the risk of 13 different types of cancer including bowel and breast disease.

    Alison Cox, director of cancer prevention at Cancer Research UK, said: "The government's proposed 9 p. m. ban on junk food ads is a step forward in fighting childhood obesity. Now we want to see restrictions on price promotions for unhealthy food and drink items, as well as those strategically placed at checkouts. This will help families to make healthier choices.

    "There isn't one magic fix for the problem, but getting rid of these encouragements to buy unhealthy food is key to changing it."

    We are the CEOs. We are the head designers. We are the top engineers. We are the senior creators. We are the inventors. We are the only maker of our own happiness.

    However, we still have learned that people's views on happiness often change with many outside things. Some people smile happily beside their new cars and homes. Students feel excited when they get better grades. Babies laugh loudly when they get new toys. Maybe true happiness has been lost in these things.

    How could we have allowed ourselves to be cheated for so long? Something outside may give us happiness, but what directs us to real happiness is inner (内在的) spirit.

    Our spirit is so easily broken, yet it is the single strongest thing we own. Why do people with terrible diseases still smile? Why do those with a broken heart still find joy? The inner spirit is powerful, and it is the only thing on earth that can be broken into pieces but can perfectly mend itself with time. Think about those who suffer a lot but still feel happy. Their inner spirit is very strong.

    Our inner spirit will be the greatest gift that we give ourselves. It is our compass (指南针) to happiness, but we are the tour guides.