Can laughing every day help keep the heart attack (心脏病) away? Maybe so. Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect people against the heart attack, according to a recent study from the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

“The old saying that ‘Laughter is the best medicine.’ seems to be true when it comes to protecting your heart,” said Michael Miller at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

In the study, researchers compared the humor responses (反应) of 300 people. Half of them had suffered a heart attack. The other 150 did not have heart disease. Researchers provided people from the first group with a series of multiple-choice (多选的) questions to find out how much or how little they laughed in certain situations. And the second group were given true or false questions to help researchers know more about anger.

Miller said the most important study finding was that “people with heart disease responded less humorously to everyday life situations” They generally laughed less, even in positive (乐观的) situations, and they showed more anger. “We know that exercising, no smoking and eating foods low in fat will help cut down on the risk of heart disease. Perhaps hearty laughter should be added to the list.” Miller said.

It may be possible to put laughter into our daily activities, just as we do with other heart-healthy activities, such as walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift. According to Miller, every one of us is supposed to read something humorous or watch a funny video, and try to find ways to take ourselves less seriously.

4 . My friend, Robert, has a twin sister named Amanda. Though they get along well, there are some things about Amanda and her friends that puzzle Robert. He can't understand how girls can talk for so long. For example, sometimes when he leaves home to play football, Amanda and her friend, Sharon, are sitting on the sofa, talking. When he comes back three and a half hours later, they're still sitting on the sofa, continuing the same conversation on the same topic. One day Robert was so curious that he asked Amanda what they talked about, but she replied, "We're best friends. We talk about almost everything—film stars, pop songs, recipes, everything!"

Boys and girls have different attitudes towards friendship. Friendships between girls are usually based on shared feelings and support, but friendships between boys are based on shared activities or interests. A boy is likely to be careful about sharing his feelings with his close friends. A girl's closest friend, however, might be eager to tell her about something that has happened in her life.

Many studies worldwide show that girls have more friendships than boys. In fact, many teenage boys cannot name a single best friend. When asked, they hesitate before answering, "My best friend? I can't think about that. I am busy with my homework, and I have so many different friends that it is hard to choose just one best friend.”

Girls who have been asked can usually answer the question without pausing, “A best friend? Of course. We have a lot to share with each other. We do a lot of things together such as talking and shopping.”

We have to realize: boys share activities, while girls share feelings. The qualities that boys and girls consider important in a friend seem to be the same, regardless of（无论）the basis of these friendships. The important thing to remember is that both of them are friendships. We all need friends in our lives.

6 . How many of you do household chores at home? It’s reported that few teenagers would like to spend time on them. In their opinion, it’s a complete waste of time. Some even think they should be taken good care of by their parents all the time. However, such life skills are really necessary.

On June 3, 2020, the Ministry of Education(MOE) produced a document(文件) for high schools. According to the document, labor education is listed as a compulsory(必修的) course for high school students. It would be as important as the foreign language or physics. And each of them takes six credits(学分). Voluntary service, as part of labor education, would take two credits. The MOE also asks schools to make sure students do 40 hours of voluntary service during the full three school years.

A recent study shows that teenagers in China are doing very little housework. Primary and middle school students spend only 12 minutes a day on chores, compared to 72 minutes in the US, 42 minutes in South Korea and 30 minutes in France.

Parents think doing household chores would make students pay less attention to their school work. In fact, it is very helpful for teenagers. According to Northwest Educational Service, chores can not only teach teamwork and problem-solving skills but also give people a sense of pride. “Through such education, students are expected to develop working abilities as well as a better understanding of the world,” said Zheng Fuzhi, vice-minister of the MOE.

8 . Are robots going to take over the world? This was one of the biggest fears people had about the development of technology. But since then, those fears have been largely replaced by COVID-19. Now, more and more people are beginning to regard robots as a useful way for social distancing problems.

Robots have been used for years, even though you might not connect these tasks with robots ATMs in banks are common examples of everyday robots. There are many companies using robots even before the pandemic(疫情). Robots have also been used for tasks considered dangerous.

Among COVID-19 conditions new robots are being tested in many fields. At McDonald's and other fast-food restaurants, robots are being tied as waiters and even cooks. Restaurants are using robots to send their food safely to homes of old people because they're at high risk from COVID-19. Disinfection(消毒) robots have been developed to fight against COVID-19 in Qingdao, Shandong Province. They can replace human beings in carrying on the responsibility of disinfection. These newly developed disinfection robots have been put into operations in the quarantine wards(隔离病房) of some hospitals.

The arguments against robots include the loss of human jobs and the idea that machines could control our lives. But now that COVID-19 has changed the world, more people will likely be accepting robots. The situation now is showing us how technology can be used to improve the world.

9 . Many foreigners find that one of the most interesting parts of Chinese culture is food. Foods that are normal in China. like chicken feet and duck tongue, are often very strange to foreigners. In fact, some of the biggest culture shocks are the kinds of animals that are eaten.

I was once invited to a special meal in China. When I arrived at the meal. I was happy to eat everything that was given to me. I did not want to be rude. I ate a meat dish that tasted rather strange，but I still wolfed（狼吞虎咽地吃）it all down. After the meal to my great surprise.   I was told that I had eaten a dog. In European countries, it is a very strange idea to eat a dog. My Chinese friends explained that the dog meat is very useful for warming the body during winter and is often eaten in the north of China.

In England we call dogs “man’s best friend”. It would be against the law to eat a dog in England. In China, it is a big shock when we hear of people eating dogs, or, as I did, end up eating them ourselves.

Look up at the sky at night. What can you see? Less than 100 years ago, everyone could look up and see the night sky full of stars. Now, in most big cities we can see few or no stars. Why? That’s because light fills the skies over our cities.

Air, water, and noise pollution are not new to us, but do you know that light can also be a kind of pollution? The improper use of lights — known as light pollution — may have serious effects (影响) on humans, wildlife and weather conditions.

Cities and towns usually have more light pollution than the countryside. Much outdoor lighting used at night for offices, factories, streetlights and sports centers is much too bright and sometimes completely unnecessary.

Some scientists are finding ways to stop light pollution and make our lives better. The good news is that light pollution, unlike many other kinds of pollution, is controllable and each one of us can make a difference! Just realizing that light pollution is a problem is not enough: what we need is action. For example, many streetlights now have covers. The covers let the light only point to the ground. They stop the light from going up into the sky. They also save energy. The covers are a small change, but they can still have a good effect.