Sugars are popular in the processed food industry because they add taste, colour and thickness to food products. The studies have shown that sugars can provide a source of energy. The body breaks down the sugar into simple forms that can be readily used in the body. But too much sugar can contribute to health problems like obesity and tooth disease.

Having too much sugar is not the only reason for obesity or being overweight，but it does add to the amount of kilojoules in food. Eating too much of any food, without doing enough exercise,will cause you to become overweight.

Governments in the United States and United Kingdom are waging a war on sugar in the   interests of public health. Both countries claim that the overconsumption of sugar by much of the population is harmful to people’s health. On Thursday，the U.S government issued new dietary guidelines that strongly recommend people receive less than 10 per cent of their daily calorie intake from added sugar. On the same day，British Prime Minister David Cameron said he has not ruled out the idea of a tax on sugar to encourage consumers to buy food with reduced levels of the sweet. Politicians in the U.K. are debating how a reduction in the intake of sugar could help reduce Britain’s rising rates of obesity.

The American and British governments both refer to a study conducted in Mexico that showed a tax on sugary，carbonated drinks led to a reduction in consumption. The tax was carried out on January 1，2014 and purchases of the taxed drinks went down by 12 per cent by December of that year. Sales of mineral water increased by 4 per cent over the same period. An alternative(可替代物) to taxing sugared drinks is to reduce the level of sugar in them. Researchers at Queen Mary University in London say that reducing the sugar content in sugar－sweetened drinks by 40 percent over five years could prevent one million cases of obesity in the U．K. Researchers say people might not even notice the changes.

Are you shy? If you are, you are not alone. In fact, close to 50 percent of people are shy. Almost 80 percent of people feel shy at some point in their lives. These days, shyness is becoming more and more common. Now scientists are trying to understand shyness. They have some interesting ideas about why people are shy.

Is it possible to be born shy? Many scientists say yes. They say 15 to 20 percent of babies behave shyly. These babies are a little quieter and more watchful than other babies. Interestingly, these shy babies usually have shy parents. As a result, scientists think that some shyness is genetic.

Family size might cause people to be shy as well. Scientists at Harvard University studied shy children.

They found that 66 percent of them had older brothers and sisters. As a result, they became shy. At the same time, children with no brothers and sisters may be shy as well. Growing up alone, they often play by them- selves. They are not able to learn the same social skills as children from big families.

You may also be shy because of where you were born. When scientists studied shyness in different countries. They found surprising differences. In Japan, most people said they were shy. But in Israel, only one of three people said so. What explains the difference? One scientist says the Japanese and Israelis have different opinions of failure. In Japan, when people do not succeed, they feel bad about themselves. They blame (责备) themselves for their failure. In Israel, the opposite is true. Israelis often blame failure on outside reasons, such as family, teachers, friends, or bad luck. In Israel, freedom of opinion and risk taking are strongly supported. This may be why Israelis worry less about failure and are less shy.

For shy people, it can be difficult to make friends, speak in class, and even get a good job. But scientists say you can get over your shyness. They suggest trying new things and practicing conversation. And don’t forget — if you are shy, you are not the only one.

Do you find getting up in the morning so difficult that it’s painful? This might be called laziness, but Dr. Kleitman has a new explanation. He has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle.

During the hours when you labor through your work, you may say that you’re “hot”. That’s true. The time of day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak. For some people the peak comes during the forenoon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so, but it leads to such familiar monologues as, “Get up, John! You’ll be late for work again!” The possible explanation to the trouble is that John is at his temperature-and-energy peak in the evening. Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what these energy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has.

You can’t change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. Habit can help, Dr. Kleitman believes. If your energy is low in the morning, but you have an important job to do early in the day, rise before your usual hour. This won’t change your cycle, but you’ll get up steam and work better at your low point.

Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a leisurely yawn and stretch. Sit on the edge of the bed a minute before putting your feet on the floor. Avoid the troublesome search for clean clothes by laying them out the night before. Whenever possible, do routine work in the afternoon and save tasks requiring more energy or concentration for your sharper hours.

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Among all the fast growing science and technology,the research of human genes,or biological engineering as people call it, is drawing more and more attention now. Discussions about it are increasingly heated around the world.

The greatest thing that gene technology can do is to cure serious diseases that doctors at present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by these two killers.   up to date, doctors have not found an effective way to cure them. But if the gene technology is applied,not only these two diseases can be cured completely, bringing happiness and more living days to the patients,but also the great amount of money people spend on curing their diseases can be saved. Therefore, it benefits the economy as well.In addition,human life span(寿命) can be prolonged.

Some families have genetic diseases.This means their children will for sure have the family disease,which is a great trouble for these families.Gene technology can help people give birth to more healthy and clever children.In the past,doctors could do nothing about genetic diseases.But gene technology can solve this problem perfectly.Scientists just need to find the wrong gene and correct it,and a healthy child will be born.

Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to create human beings in large quantities. In the past few years,scientists have succeeded in cloning animals such as mice,sheep,and dogs.Therefore,these people predict that human babies would soon be cloned and that it would be beyond control,leading to some disastrous consequences.But many believe that cloned babies will not come out in large quantities,for most couples in the world can have babies in a very normal way and they also believe the governments will control gene technology and make laws to make sure the gene technology will help better our lives instead of harming us.