【推荐1】The World Health Organization (WHO) says people around the world are eating more sugar. As a result, health problems related to weight gain and tooth damage are increasing. Sugary foods and drinks also weaken the bone.

The WHO finds that, on average, the amount of sugar in the foods we eat has risen about 10 percent over the past 10 years. But it has risen at a faster rate in some areas.

In the Middle East and North Africa, sugar intake (摄入) has risen about 15 percent over the past 10 years. In some Asian and Pacific countries, sugar intake is 20 percent higher. And in South America, people eat more sugar than anywhere else in the world.

Francesco Branca is director of the WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health. He said, “In South America, it is about 130 grams per person, per day, so much more than twice the WHO’s recommendations, but we also have some parts of the world where the intake is still low, such as in Equatorial and Southern Africa, where it is about 30 grams per person, per day.”

Mr. Branca says reducing the sugar intake can be difficult because so many cooks and food­makers add sugar. He says researchers found that 80 percent of the food items in the US markets included some kind of sugar.

The WHO is calling on governments to take measures to reduce the sugar intake. It advises taxing (对……征税) products with a lot of sugar and requiring food­makers to list how much sugar is added to their products. Another advice is to restrict (约束) marketing of sugary foods and drinks to children.

However, the WHO says it is fine to eat foods that naturally have sugar, such as fresh fruits, vegetables and even milk.

【推荐3】Throwing a party is a great way to get all your favorite people in one place for music, conversation, and, of course, food.     1     when you're the one planning the party. Not to worry; your planning will be a breeze （微风）if you plan ahead of time and take the process course by course, from appetizers （开 胃 菜）on down to desserts.

Ask your guests about food restrictions before you start preparing food. For guests with food allergies or gluten-free diets, ask them to make their own restrictions clear. And ask if any guests are vegetarians or vegans and provide dishes accordingly.     2    

Choose an appetizer-only meal for a relaxed, inexpensive party. You'll save money and preparation time, and be able to socialize more with your guests.     3     so guests aren't thrown off when no main course is served. You⁵11 want to offer your guests some diversity of taste in your appetizers for a more satisfying meal.

    4     If your appetizers are just the start of a more fbnnal meal with a main course, you can keep it a bit simpler. Plan just a few handfuls of chips and dip or a couple veggies each for your guests, if you're serving a main course afterwards.

Prepare fruits and vegetables. Many guests will want a fresh, healthy option to start off a meal. A fruit tray or veggie platter with carrots, cucumbers, and broccoli is an easy and colorful addition to your appetizer spread.     5     Besides, you'd better offer quick snacks like nuts, chips, or pretzels.

【推荐1】A new experiment shows that the more energy consumed by a clock, the more accurate its timekeeping.

Clocks consume energy and release heat. A kitchen clock, for example, does this by using up its battery. Generally the most accurate clocks require the most energy, which suggests a fundamental connection between energy consumption and accuracy. This is what an international team of scientists from Lancaster. Oxford, and Vienna set out to test.

To do this, they built a particularly simple clock, consisting of a super-thin membrane (薄膜), combined with an electronic circuit. Each vibration (振动) of the membrane generated one electrical tick (滴答). The inventive aspect of this design is that it is powered simply by heating the membrane, while the complete flow of energy through the clock can be measured electrically.

The scientists found that the more heat they supplied, the more accurately the clock ran. In fact, the accuracy was directly relative to the heat released. To make the clock twice as accurate, they needed to supply twice as much heat.

The experiment shows a similarity between the operation of a clock and a steam engine. With a steam engine there is fundamental restriction on how much heat we must supply to do a desired amount of work. This restriction is the famous Second Law of Thermodynamics (热力学) which is central to modern engineering. What this experiment suggests is that clocks, like engines, are restricted by the Second Law, with their output being accurate ticks instead of mechanical work.

Dr Edward Laird of Lancaster University said: “This experiment suggests that clocks are also restricted by thermodynamics. It also poses an interesting question: are all possible clocks limited in this way, or is it just a characteristic of the ones we have studied?”

Interestingly, many everyday clocks have an efficiency that is close to what the scientists’ analysis predicts. For example, their analysis predicts that a wristwatch whose accuracy per tick is one part in ten million must consume at least a microwatt of power. In fact, a basic wristwatch usually consumes only a few times this amount. The laws of thermodynamics, discovered in the nineteenth century, are still finding new applications today.

【推荐2】With a number of rivers globally in crisis due to pollution, damming, and reduced rainfall, there’s never been a better opportunity to appreciate everything that rivers give to the world.

Two thirds of the UK’s tap water is either from a river or from a river-fed body of water.     1    . For example, the Colorado River alone supports nearly 40 million Americans. That’s why it is vital to keep rivers clean and free of pollutants.

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Ancient farming depended on these life-giving waters, so does modern agriculture. During the rainy season, many rivers overflow their banks, nourishing the soil with minerals and nutrients. Besides, rivers act as water sources for irrigation.

A fifth of the fish that are fished globally come from rivers and other freshwater sources. Another two thirds of fish that people eat rely on rivers for breeding, nutrients, or other reasons.     3    .

    4    . The names of the rivers in England including Thames, Leith, and Taff, disclose the island’s history. Other examples are the religious connections to the Ganges in India or the Jordan River in Israel.

Rivers provide leisure activities

    5    . River sports, boating, fishing, swimming, braving rapids, and visiting waterfalls are all ways that rivers add value and entertainment. It’s essential to work to conserve rivers for generations to come.

【推荐3】Having a goodnight’s sleep allows your body to function at its best. We found some lesser-known ideas that are well worth a try.

People in China Wash Their Feet Before Bed

Foot massages and spa treatments that are focused on the feet are widely practised across China.     1    The routine is done right before bed, so that after you dry your feet, they are still warm when you sleep.

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In Germany, couples have solved the problem of one of them waking up cold whenever their partner rolls over and takes the sheets with them.     3    Not only does that make it less likely that your partner will disturb your sleep when they move around, but you can each customize the amount of bedding you use to stay as warm or as cool as you prefer at night.

Guatemalans Rely on Worry Dolls

Guatemala has a longstanding tradition of parents putting “worry dolls” under their kids’ pillows to comfort them if they are afraid of the dark. Plus, children can tell the tiny dolls their worries before they go to sleep.     4    Adults in that country and in Mexico are increasingly relying on the dolls, too. Expressing your worries before bed can help — so why not tell them to a doll?

The British Sleep Naked

Thirty percent of people in the United Kingdom sleep naked, or at least they did when the most recent global poll (民意调查) on the subject was done.    5    “The biggest one is thermo-regulation. It’s easier for ‘hot sleepers’ to be comfortable.”

【推荐2】At first glance, the snow that’s changed from white to bright pink in the Italian Alps seems like a stunning feat of nature. But scientists say it may actually be a warning sign of environmental trouble.

Algae (藻类) are to thank or blame for the pink layer that coats the Presena Glacier in northern Italy. Scientists say it’s not an uncommon phenomenon in the spring and summer, but they warn that it could become a problem if it starts occurring more frequently.

Biagio Di Mauro, director of the Institute of Polar Sciences (ISP) at Italy’s National Research Council, traveled to the glacier to investigate the mysterious algae. While the phenomenon is well-documented, “there is relatively little scientific literature on this phenomenon, which has the direct effect of accelerating the melting of snow and ice,” the institute said.

Photos from the trek show a massive algae bloom, turning large swaths of the glacier from white to pink. Di Mauro said on Twitter that the algae was likely Chlamydomonas nivalis (极地雪藻). According to a study published in the journal Nature, snow algae has influence on carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The algae is not dangerous; it is a natural phenomenon that occurs during the spring and summer periods in the middle latitudes but also at the Poles, Di Mauro said in a press release.

The algae could accelerate melting in the already fragile region. Climate change, contributing to 2020’s unseasonably warm temperatures and lack of snow, is exacerbating the issue. Typically ice reflects the majority of the sun’s radiation, but algae darken the ice, causing a decrease in reflectivity. This causes the snow to absorb more heat and melt more quickly. “Everything that darkens the snow causes it to melt because it accelerates the absorption of radiation,” said Di Mauro, In order to flourish, the organisms need an available supply of water. So, as the ice melt even more algae will appear.

In May, Antarctica saw green snow, also caused by microscopic algae. At the time, scientists said that as the planet warms and more of Antarctica’s snow melts, the algae will only continue to spread.