Generally speaking, government regulations normally ban anything from smoking in public places to parking in certain zones. But officials in the Brazilian town of Biritiba Mirim, 70km (45miles) east of Sao Paulo, have gone far beyond that. They plan to prohibit residents from dying early because the local cemetery(墓地) has reached full capacity.

    There's no more room to bury the dead, they can't be cremated(火化) and laws forbid a new cemetery. So the mayor has proposed a strange solution: outlaw death. Mayor Roberto Pereira says the bill is meant as a protest against federal regulations that prohibit new or expanded cemeteries in preservation areas. "They have not taken local demands into consideration", he claims.

    A 2003 decree(法令) by Brazil's National Environment Council forbids burial grounds in protected areas. Mr. Pereira wants to build a new cemetery, but the project has been stopped because 98% of Biritiba Mirim is considered as a preservation area.

    Biritiba Mirim, a town of 28,000 inhabitants, not only wants to prohibit residents from passing away. The bill also calls on people to take care of their health in order to avoid death. "I haven't got a job, nor am I healthy. And now they say I can't die. That's ridiculous," Amarido do Prado, an unemployed resident said.

    The city council is expected to vote on the regulation next week. "Of course the bill is laughable, illegal, and will never be approved," said Gilson Soares de Campos, an assistant of the mayor. "But can you think of a better resolution to persuade the government to change the environmental decree that is prohibiting us from building a new cemetery?" The bill states that "offenders will be held responsible for their acts." However, it does not say what the punishment will be.

    Will it matter if you don't take your breakfast? Recently a test was given in the United States. Those tested included people of different ages, from 12 to 83. During the experiment, these people were given all kinds of breakfasts, and sometimes they got no breakfast at all. Special tests were set up to see how well their bodies worked when they had eaten a certain kind of breakfast. The results show that if a person eats a proper breakfast, he or she will work with better effect than if he or she has no breakfast. This fact appears to be especially true if a person works with his brains. If a student eats fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, he will learn more quickly and listen with more attention to class.

    Opposite to what many people believe, if you don't eat breakfast, you will not lose weight. This is because people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch, and end up gaining weight instead of losing. You will probably lose more weight if you reduce your other meals.

    UK is becoming a popular destination for people who wish to study abroad. However, Britain is quite an expensive place to study and live in. Tuition fees have now reached £ 9,250 a year and students also face some of the highest living costs in the world.

    Fortunately, there are a number of countries where universities offer degree programs entirely in English, along with the chance to learn the local language while you live there. Here are three of the options.

    Tianjin University

    Moving to China is not for the faint hearted. Undergraduate degree courses at Tianjin last four years. Living costs are only around £ 400 a month and tuition fees are £ 2,300 a year. Flights will cost £ 3,600 over the four years. The total cost, at £ 28,800, is still around half that of a three-year degree in Britain. Tianjin is one of the world's latest cities and is only a half-hour train ride from Beijing. Three undergraduate programs are offered in English: Chemical Engineering, Environment & Energy and Pharmaceutical Science.

    University of Amsterdam

    The Dutch capital is not a cheap city to live in, but standard tuition fees of £ 1,800 a year make it significantly cheaper than a British degree. There are 14 bachelor's degrees on offer that are taught in English, including Political Science, Economics & Business Economics and Actuarial Science. Nearly all Dutch people speak English, making it an easy country to get by in.

    University of Milan

The University of Milan's fees range from £ 140 to £3,650 a year. The one bachelor's degree offered entirely in English—Political Science is a three-year course. While living costs in Milan are high, the significantly lower fees make it a cheaper option than a British university.

    People seem to have a natural need for friends and with good reason, friends increase your enjoyment of life and relieve feelings of loneliness. They even can help reduce stress and improve your health. Having good friends is especially helpful when you are going through any kind of hard time such as when you are experiencing anxiety, panic(恐慌) attacks, or depression.

    When you are with good friends, you feel good about yourself, and you are glad to be with them. A friends is someone who—

●you like, respect, and trust, and who likes, expects and trusts you, doesn't always understand you, but accepts and likes you as you are, even as you grow and change, allows you the space to change, grow, make decisions, and even make mistakes.

●listens to you and shares with you both the good times and the bad times.

●respects your need for secrets, so you can tell them anything.

●lets you freely express your feelings and emotions without judging, laughing at or criticizing you.

●accepts the limitations you have put on yourself and helps you to remove them.

    A person once said. "Friendship is a continuing source of bonding(连接),releasing, and creating in yourself and with the other person, there is an emotional bond between the two people."

    A good friend or supporter may or may not be the same age or the same sex as you, and may not have the same educational, cultural, or religious background, or share interests that are similar to yours. Friendships also have different depths(深度). Some are closer to the heart and some more superficial, but they're all useful and good.

    Older women who walk a little over three kilometers each day might live longer than less active women of the same age, a new study suggests.

    Many Americans hoping to stay healthy set a daily goal of 10, 000 steps, or about eight kilometers. They often have this goal because they are wearing electronic devices which set that target, note researchers in the United States. Their findings appeared recently in the publication JAMA Internal Medicine.

    But it is not clear how much intensity(强度)or speed matter when counting the health benefits of every step, the researchers write. They add that 10,000 steps per day might not be the right goal for everyone.

    For the study, researchers observed 17,000 women, all in their early 70s. They asked the women to wear accelerometers for at least four days. Accelerometers are small devices that measure the number of steps and the intensity of movement. The researchers followed up with the women much later, around 4. 3 years later, on average. Since the beginning of the study, 504 women had died. Compared to women who took no more than 2, 718 steps daily, the women who took at least 4,363 steps per day were 41 percent less likely to die.

    "Even a modest amount of steps is associated with lower death rates," said I-Min Lee, the lead writer of a report on the study. "The rate of stepping did not matter in these older women: it was the number of steps that mattered.

    The study had a few limitations. For example, the researchers only measured women's movements once, at the start of the study period. It is possible that the women's behaviors changed over time. Still, the results are "good news for older adults who may have difficulty walking at faster paces, "said Keith Diaz, a researcher at Columbia University. He was not involved in the study.

    "Any walking is better than nothing," Diaz said by email. "With even small amounts of walking, your risk of death will be sharply reduced "For those who have difficulty walking, other research shows that any form of aerobic activity provides health benefits," he added. "Swimming, bicycling or any form of activity that is continuous in nature will provide health benefits.

    From whale watching to shopping, the activities are as varied as the scenery along Queensland's Great Sunshine Way.

    Day 1

    Morning

    The Sunshine Way begins in Queensland's Gold Coast. Start the day with a visit to one of the Gold Coast's world-class theme parks. Then see stunt (特技) shows at Warner Bros Movie World. You can also jump on exciting rides and visit the new Lego Store at Dreamworld.

    Afternoon

    While the drive to Brisbane only takes an hour, enjoy a trip inland into the Gold Coast hinterland and explore the rainforest hikes and waterfalls in Tamborine, Lamington and Springbrook national parks.

    Day 2

    Morning

    Wake early to climb Brisbane's famous Story Bridge, where you can see the sun rise over the city. From the top, you'll be rewarded with full views over the snaking river, out to Moreton Bay in the east and the green hills of the Scenic Rim to the west.

    Afternoon

    Drive 144 kilometers north to Noosa. Hastings Street is thick with designer fashion stores and impressive restaurants. Explore one of the walking trails that run through Noosa National Park. The Coastal Track is a popular choice. Look out for dolphins and whales between May and November.

    Day3

    Morning

    Continue 185 kilometers north, through the gold rush towns of Gympie and Maryborough to the whale watching capital of the world, Hervey Bay. About 10,000 humpback whales visit it every year, making it the best place to see the ocean giants up close.

    Afternoon

    From River Heads, catch a 50-minute ferry to the world's largest island completely made of sand, Fraser Island. Alternatively, continue 110 kilometers north to Bundaberg. Then travel just east of the city to Mon Repos Beach in time for the sunset.