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　　Everyone who has eaten instant noodles(方便面)before knows how it looks like．It is very easy to cook it instantly by putting the noodles into the boiling water and add in those MSG(味精)packets, together with your other food like eggs or vegetables．However, have you ever wondered whether this is the correct way of cooking it? When you first took out the noodles from the packaging, you will notice that the noodles are joined together nicely as a piece．In order to make the noodles joined together nicely side by side it needs some form of wax coating(石蜡涂层)in order to show an attractive instant noodles in front of us．Many people who enjoy eating instant noodles frequently do not really think too much of it as it seems very normal to everyone to have it nicely shown in front of us．However, researches have shown that the wax coating on the noodles is quite harmful to our body and we should not eat it too frequently．It is advisable to have a break of 2-3 days before we start to eat another packet of instant noodles as our body need about 3 days to clear that layer of wax coating away from our body system．Do you know the danger of having too much wax coating stored in our stomach? It will lead to CANCER if it is stored in our body system for a long period of time．

　　There are 2 key points to take note while preparing instant noodles：

　　1)Wash the instant noodles with warm water first, stir it and pour away the water containing the wax coating．

　　2)Repeat Step 1 and try to stir the noodles again to wash away the wax coating on the noodles before cooking it in a new pot of water．

　　Hope this article will let more people have self-awareness of the hidden danger of instant noodles and thus eat safely and stay healthy．

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　　I was 9 years old when I found out my father was ill．It was 1994, but I can remember my mother's words as if it were yesterday：“Kerrel, I don't want you to take food from your father, because he has AIDS．Be very careful when you are around him．”

　　AIDS wasn't something we talked about in my country when I was growing up．From then on, I knew that this would be a family secret．My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone．For a while, he could take care of himself．But when I was 12, his condition worsened．My father's other children lived far away, so it fell to me to look after him．

　　We couldn't afford all the necessary medication for him, and because Dad was unable to work, I had no money for school supplies and often couldn't even buy food for dinner．I would sit in class feeling completely lost, the teacher's words muffled as I tried to figure out how I was going to manage．

　　I did not share my burden(负担)with anyone．I had seen how people reacted to AIDS．Kids laughed at classmates who had parents with the disease．And even adults could be cold．When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside table even though he was too weak to feed himself．

　　I had known that he was going to die, but after so many years of keeping his condition a secret, I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days．Sad and hopeless, I called a woman at the nonprofit National AIDS Support．That day, she kept me on the phone for hours．I was so lucky to find someone who cared．She saved my life．

　　I was 15 when my father died．He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me．He didn't want to call attention to AIDS．I do．

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　　"Without freedom no one really has a name．"

　　－Milton Acorda

　　Nothing is as precious as one's freedom．Dreams, aspirations and ideals mean nothing if one does not have the freedom to pursue them．A lot has been done in the name of freedom．A lot has been said and written about freedom．

　　In the past six months, the world witnessed Tunisian uprising, Egyptian revolution and Libyan civil war．Thousands of people fought for freedom, hundreds of people lost their lives(for freedom), people are craving for freedom．But．what exactly is freedom? We are fighting for it, we are ready to die for it, we are craving for it, but, can we really define it?

　　Albert Camus thinks freedom is a chance to be better．Abraham Lincoln calls it best hope of Earth．Epictetus says it"s the right to live as we wish．For Moshe Dayan it's oxygen for soul．According to Urban Dictionary it's everything．And going by Oxford Dictionaries, it's power of self determination attributed to the will．

　　Everyone has different views about freedom．But somehow I am still not convinced because we can't really be fighting for a chance or hope．And the concept of everything is full of uncertainties．I don't think we are fighting for power of self-determination either．And as for the right to live as we wish, if we have the right to fight, then, how can we be denied the right to live as per our wish?

　　But the question still remains unanswered, what is freedom?

　　For me, freedom has a deeper and greater meaning．I think freedom is much more than just a right, it's a responsibility of doing what you think is good, not only for you but even for society．It is a state when one realizes their duties and starts respecting others' freedom．

　　Freedom is when we realize that we can do absolutely anything except force another person to follow us in our madness or our lust for．life．Freedom is when we are no longer slaves to our desires, society, its expectations, luxury or slaves to a life we did not choose．

　　Freedom is when we have the courage to speak out what we know is true, do what we feel is right, and fight for what we think is unfair．One shouldn't really fight for freedom; rather, they should try to achieve it．

　　"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved．"

　　－Franklin D．Roosevelt

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　　Family life is being disrupted because parents and children are overwhelmed by the huge volumes of emails and social messaging updates they are handling each day, according to a new study．As a result one in three of us are now desperate to cut down our use of Twitter and Face book as well as emails．

　　Surprisingly the study, by Cambridge University, found children as well as adults preferred to communicate face to face．More than half of all families said a "technology-free" time is important and a third of parents said technology had disrupted family life．The findings led family groups to warn that if parents end up spending more time checking emails and social networks than with their children, it could have a detrimental effect on the home．

　　Amongst children aged 10 to 18, who have grown up with new technology, 38％ admitted to feeling overwhelmed by the volume of messages．Similar numbers of adults felt the same way, with 34 per cent of 25 to 34 year olds agreeing．

　　Justine Roberts, founder of parenting website Mums net, warned："Social media is something we have to keep a watch on because it can eat into your life．"

　　"We encourage our members to switch off because otherwise you can't give your kids and husband the time they need．" She added："Websites like Face book and Twitter can be enjoyable and addictive but, like with everything, it needs to be taken in moderation．"

　　The survey also discovered that 43 percent of children and 33 percent of adults are taking steps to reduce their reliance on messaging, text and networking．But only one in five said they would be reducing the number of text messages they are sending and even less said they will be writing fewer emails．Nearly 43 percent said they have had a cull of their Face book "friends" and followers on Twitter in an attempt to cut down on the amount of time spend on the websites．

　　As part of the research, 63 families were asked to keep a diary of their use of communications technology．More than 1,250 adults were questioned in the research which was paid for by BT – the biggest broadband provider in the country．

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　　For many years large supermarkets have been encouraging us to spend money by pumping the smell of freshly-baked bread into their stories．Now Dale Air, a leading firm of aroma(香气)consultants, has been approached by Barclay's Bank to develop suitable artificial smells for their banks．Researchers have suggested that surrounding customers with the "smell of money" will encourage them to feel relaxed and optimistic and give them added confidence in the bank's security and professionalism．

　　But before a smell can be manufactured and introduced into banks' air conditioning systems, it must be identified and chemically analyzed, and this has proved to be difficult．The problem is that banknotes and coins tend to pick up the smell of their surroundings．So cash that has been sitting in a cash register at a fishmonger's(鱼贩)will smell of fish, and banknotes used to pay for meals in restaurants will tend to smell of food．

　　It may be a challenge, but aroma experts have little doubt that the use of artificial smells can be an effective form of subconscious advertising．Lunn Poly, a British travel company, introduced the smell of coconuts into its travel agencies and saw a big increase in spending by holiday makers．Many cafes now have electric dispensers(自动售货机)that release the smell of freshly roasted coffee near their entrances, subtly encouraging customers to come in and have a drink or snack．Even prestigious car maker Rolls-Royce has been spraying the inside of its cars to enhance the smell of the leather seats．

　　"The sense of smell is probably the most basic and primitive of all human senses," explains researcher Jim O'Rordan．" There is a direct pathway from the olfactory(嗅觉的)organs in the nose to the brain．" It is certainly true that most people find certain smells incredibly strong, stringing memories and feelings in a way that few other stimulants(刺激物)can rival．It is a phenomenon marketing consultants have long recognized, but until recently have been unable to harness．"We've made great progress but the technology of odour production is still in its infancy," says O'Riordan, "Who knows where it will take us．"

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　　Most people think of zoos as safe places for animals, where struggles such as difficulty finding food and avoiding predators(食肉动物)don't exist．Without such problems, animals in zoos should live to a ripe old age．

　　But that may not be true for the largest land animals on Earth．Scientists have known that elephants in zoos often suffer from poor health．They develop diseases, joint problems and behavior changes．Sometimes, they even become infertile, or unable to have babies．

　　To learn more about how captivity(监禁)affects elephants, a team of international scientists compared the life spans of female elephants born in zoos with female elephants living outdoors in their native lands．Zoos keep detailed records of all the animals in their care, documenting factors such as birth dates, illnesses, weight and death．These records made it possible for the researchers to analyze 40 years of data on 800 African and Asian elephants in zoos across Europe．The scientists compared the life spans of the zoo-born elephants with the life spans of thousands of female wild elephants in Africa and Asian elephants that work in logging camps, over approximately the same time period．

　　The team found that female African elephants born in zoos lived an average of 16.9 years．Their wild counterparts who died of natural causes lived an average of 56 years-more than three times as long．Female Asian elephants followed a similar pattern．In zoos, they lived 18.9 years, while those in the logging camps lived 41.7 years．

　　Scientists don’t yet know why wild elephants seem to fare so much better than their zoo-raised counterparts．Georgia Mason, a biologist at the University of Guelph in Canada who led the study, thinks stress and obesity may be to blame．Zoo elephants don't get the same kind of exercise they would in the wild, and most are very fat．Elephant social lives are also much different in zoos than in the wild, where they live in large herds and family groups．

　　Another finding from the study showed that Asian elephants born in zoos were more likely to die early than Asian elephants captured in the wild and brought to zoos．Mason suggests stress in the mothers in zoos might cause them to have babies that are less likely to survive．

　　The study raises some questions about acquiring more elephants to keep in zoos．While some threatened and endangered species living in zoos reproduce successfully and maintain healthy populations, that doesn't appear to be the case with elephants．"Currently, zoos are net consumers of elephants, not net producers," Mason says．

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　　New York used to be the city that never sleeps．These days, it's the city that never smokes, drinks or does anything naughty(at least, not in public)．The Big Apple is quickly turning into the Forbidden Apple．

　　If you wanted a glass of wine with your picnic in Central Park, could you have one? No chance．Drinking alcohol in public isn't allowed．If you decided to feed the birds with the last crumbs(碎屑)of your sandwich．, you could be arrested．It's illegal if you went to a bar for a drink and a cigarette, that would be OK, wouldn't it? Er…no．You can't smoke in public in New York City．

　　What's going on? Why is the city that used to be so open-minded becoming like Ais? The mayor of New York is behind it all．He also brought in a whole lot of new laws to stop citizens from doing what they want, when they want．

　　The press are shocked．Even the New York police have joined the argument．They recently spent ＄100,000 on a "Don't blame the cop" campaign．One New York police officer said, "We raise money for the city by giving people fines for breaking some very stupid laws．It's all about money．"

　　The result is a lot of fines for minor offences．Yoav Kashida, an Israel tourist, fell asleep on the subway．When he woke up, two police officers fined him because he had fallen asleep on two seats(you mustn't use two seats in the subway)．Elle and Serge Schroitman were fined for blocking a driveway with their car．It was their own driveway．

　　The angry editor of Vanity Fair magazine, Graydon Carter, says, "Under New York City law it is acceptable to keep a gun in your place of work, but not an empty ashtray．" He should know．The police came to his office and took away his ashtray(烟灰缸)．

　　But not all of the New York's inhabitants are complaining．Marcia Dugatty, 72, said, "The city has changed for the better．If more cities had these laws, America would be a better place to live," Nixon Patricks, 38, a barman, said, "I like the new laws, if people smoked in here, we'd go home smelling of cigarettes．"

　　Recent figures show that New York now has fewer crimes per 100,000 people than 193 other US cities．And it's true-it's safe, cleaner and more healthy than before．But let's be honest-who goes to New York for its clean streets?

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The Best of Friends

　　The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families．But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly held image(印象)of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels．

　　An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past．” We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seen to be about their families,” said one member of the research team．” They’re expected to be rebellious(叛逆的)and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well．There’s more negotiation(商议)and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-makin mso-ascii-font-famg process．They don’t want to rock the boat．”

　　So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends．” My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me,” says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall．” I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing．As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it．” Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees．” Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation．For example, as long as I’d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night．But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that．”

　　Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected．It is possible that the idea of teenagers rebellion is not rooted in real facts．A researcher comments,” Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in out social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings．But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled．The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over．”

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　　Attending a university is an important part of a person’s life．Today, many people go to a university to study and train for a future job in subjects like law, medicine, or education．But the university is not a modern invention．It has a history that is over a thousand years old．

　　The world’s oldest university, Al-Azhar, is in Cairo, Egypt．It was first built as a mosque in A．D．972．A few years later, learners and teachers began meeting in the mosque in “tutoring circles”．They read and talked about the subject of law．Around 988, leaders in the city of Cairo decided to create a school for higher learning and the University of Al-Azhar was founded．

　　At Al-Azhar, there were many university ‘firsts．’ Courses were created．The earliest ones taught at Al-Azhar were in law and religion．In a course, students read and studied with the teacher, but there was also free discussion．Often, students and teachers talked about a topic, and there was no ‘right’ answer．Finally, scholars from around the world came to Al-Azhar to teach and do research．At the university, people studied the past, but it was also a place for sharing new ideas．

　　Over a thousand years later, Al-Azhar is still an important university in the world．Its library contains more than 250,000 of the world’s oldest and most valuable books．Today, many of the world’s most important universities such as Oxford and Harvard still follow the traditions started at Al-Azhar．

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　　Can storms in Africa cause asthma(哮喘)in the Caribbean(加勒比)? Islanders point to the desert insects that land on beaches after a 5,000-kilometer flight across the Atlantic．If they can use winds to get from one continent to another, so can clouds of dust that carry disease．

　　Scientists think that as Africa becomes drier, dust from expanding deserts is being blown away into Caribbean islands．A study in Barbados shows that asthma has increased 17 times since Africa’s drought(干旱)began in 1973．

　　Other forms of life are suffering, too．Among them are the Caribbean’s famous coral reefs(珊瑚礁), which began dying in large numbers in the 1900s．Eugene Shinn of the U．S．Geiological Sudrvey(USGS)in Florida went to the virgin Islands to study the reefs．The tests he and his colleagues carried out showed that the coral was dying of disease caused by Africa microbes(微生物)from across the ocean．

　　William Sprigg of the University of Arizona is studying the problem as part of a major UN project．He says that dust is causing problems in the U．S．, too．

　　“We are just beginning to collect the evidence of airborne(空气传播的)dust influences on human health,” he told The Washington Post．

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