1 . Americans spend billions on vitamins, multivitamins for their health, but a review of numerous studies concluded there is little to no evidence that some of those vitamins prevent heart disease, cancer or death.

The report, released by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force last week, concluded that “recent evidence is not enough” to determine whether vitamins actually help or hurt your health, based on 84 studies, 52 of which were done since 2014. Vitamins examined included vitamins A, B, C, D and E, as well as other multivitamins.

“Our suggestion is neither for nor against taking vitamins, or combinations of those nutrients (营养物质). We just don’t have enough evidence,” said Dr. John Wong, a doctor in the Department of Medicine at Tufts Medical Center who was involved in the report.

While the finding is that vitamins don’t have any benefits to “healthy, non-pregnant (未怀孕) adults”, it doesn’t apply to “children, people who are pregnant or may become pregnant, or people who are hospitalized.”

The Task Force admitted it makes sense that people would take vitamins in hopes of health benefits, as some shortage may lead to illness. But experts agreed the best way to get good health and prevent cancer is a balanced diet and regular physical activity.

“The suggestion across all organizations about vitamins is to eat a balanced diet, and then the key tends to be on plenty of fruit and vegetables and less junk foods,” Wong said.

Wong added people should refer to their health doctors to determine if any vitamins are worth taking. He said this suggestion should also serve as a need to further research into proving the official benefits and risks for each vitamin.

2 . Parks around the world

Hyde Park, London, England

There are many parks in London. Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, which covers over 350 acres. There are paths for people on bicycles and there are often open - air concerts held in the park.

Park Güell, Barcelona, Spain

In this park, designed by Antony Gaudi, there are different houses in different colours. There are also things like a colourful dragon. At the top of the park is a terraced area where you can get a wonderful view of the city of Barcelona and the sea.

Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver is a city near the sea and mountains. There is beautiful Stanley Park in the city centre, covering an area of one thousand acres. It is the largest park in North America. There are First Nations totem poles (图腾柱) in the park.

Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan

Ueno Park is an old park in the city of Tokyo and there are hundreds of beautiful cherry trees. In April and May every year, the trees are pink or white.

Chapultepec Park, Mexico City, Mexico

This is the largest urban park in Latin America. It's a very important green space in this big city. Containing nine museums, a zoo, an amusement park, and a variety of green recreational spaces, Chapultepec Park is an invaluable place for the city residents and its visitors.

4 . At most schools in the U. S., it’s customary to have a cheer squad (啦啦队) to support athletics. Cheerleaders drum up excitement before games, put on jaw—dropping routines at games, and provide support on the sidelines of most events. But students who participate in performing and visual arts seldom receive the same displays of support as athletes do. A group of students at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah, decided to change that fact by creating a cheer squad just for the arts.

Their school’s athletics cheer squad is called the Bruin Crazies, so they named their artistic cheer squad the Bruin Classies! This is a new brand with which they could create something for all of the arts, whether it is band, dance show, photography and art galleries—to give them some publicity and cheer them on.

Classies wear a “uniform” of bow ties to indicate the “sense of class”artistic efforts bring their school. They carry around signs to advertise the upcoming play, musical, or dance performance. Hoping to drum up ticket sales, they encourage their fellow students to come out to support the hard work of others. They also attend performances and displays at school to cheer their classmates on.

After years of discussion to make a cheer squad for the arts, this is the first time they’ve been able to pull it off. More than 90 students have already signed up to be a Bruin Classy! “The students have poured their time and energy into their arts, and it is worthy to be celebrated. ”Caleb Stay, the cheer squad leader, said, “If you worked really hard on something and no one showed up, it would be disappointing. We just want to make sure that no one feels that way. ”

This is such an amazing idea! We can’t believe no one has come up with it before, but hopefully these thoughtful teens have started a new trend to support the arts in other schools, too.

5 . One of the most beneficial skills you can learn in life is how to consistently put yourself in a good position. But not everyone knows how we can create that foundation. The position you find yourself in today is the accumulation of the small choices that you’ve been making for years.

The ordinary choices that guarantee a strong future go unnoticed. There is no pat on the back for doing the right thing just as there is no slap on the wrist for doing the wrong thing. Reading a chapter of a great book today won’t solve your problems just as not reading it won’t make them worse. Not doing the obvious thing that positions you for future success — rarely hurts you right away. But as the days turn to weeks, weeks into years, and years into decades do the small choices create massively different results.

Whenever this idea is brought up, people are quick to interject. “I do these things and I don’t get the results.” Most of us make the right choices most of the time. But most of the time isn’t the same as all of the time.

For your choices to compound, you need to be consistent. A lack of consistency keeps ordinary people from extraordinary results. It’s like we’re Sisyphus rolling a boulder halfway up the hill, only to throw our hands in the air and go home. When we show up the next day, we see the boulder at the bottom of the hill. Not only did this undermine our progress but it makes getting started even harder.

Excelling at the small choices that compound over time perpetually (不断地) leaves you in favorable circumstances. If you want results you need to pay the price. The price is knowing that time is working on your side even when the results don’t show it yet.

When you look below the surface, giant leaps aren’t really giant leaps at all. If you look for the magic moment, you’ll miss how ordinary becomes extraordinary.

6 . From the heartland to urban parks, school kids were released onto the baseball diamond. There was a time when baseball was the only summer game. But with competition from soccer and lacrosse, the clap of leather gloves is not as omnipresent as it used to be. Still, America’s game is a place for young boys to prove themselves.

Some boys were born athletic but Tim seemed to be growing in the opposite way: thin shoulders and no meat on his bones. But he loved baseball. And game after game, strikeout after strikeout piled up in the stat sheet. The desire was there, but the body doesn’t respond to dreams and wishes. The strikes continued.

Tim practiced his swing every day. His teammates encouraged him. His coach worked with him. Even opposing teams wished for a hit, just one hit for a boy who seemed to deserve it more than any other kid in the world.

What teammates and even the coach never saw was a gray van that pulled up each game in the parking lot adjacent to left field. Inside was Tim’s father, too weak from cancer to get out of the van. It’s a tough to watch your kid strike out, even tougher when you don’t have the strength to pitch to him.

At the end of the season, Tim stood at the plate as determined as ever. On the first pitch, the bat fell from his shoulder in a downward swing and somehow made contact. The ball dribbled down the third-base line, and Tim galloped to first. He stood on the bag wearing a smile as big as the outfield. He didn’t have the chance to advance, and when the pitcher retired the final out, Tim ran straight into left field, climbed the fence and dove into the front seat of a gray van, into the arms of a frail father whose wish for his son had finally materialized.

Sometimes it is more than a game.

7 . Nothing says “I love you” like a homemade gift. But imagine if this specially-crafted gift actually ended up changing the world! Before they became popular items used by millions of people, these inventions were inspired by incredible acts of love.

John W. Hammes, an architect from Wisconsin, created the In-Sink-Erator in 1935. Hammes got the idea after watching his wife spend time wrapping food in newspaper and throwing it out. The In-Sink-Erator is a device, installed under a kitchen sink between the sink’s drain and the trap. The disposal unit shreds food waste into pieces small enough generally less than 2 mm in diameter to pass through plumbing.

Maura Horton’s husband, Don, was a football coach who had Parkinson’s disease. One day, after Don struggled to button his shirt before a game, Horton decided there needed to be a better clothing option for people suffering from disability. So, Horton designed a shirt with magnetic buttons in 2012. It will finally allow everyone to dress, and undress themselves efficiently.

William Stewart Halsted, M.D. (1852 – 1922) was a renowned U.S. surgeon who is often called the “Father of Modern Surgery.” Known for his strict adherence to sterile working conditions, Halsted invented a rubber glove that allowed surgeons to lessen the transfer of germs during their work. Yet the origin of why he created them is more romantic than you would think. Halsted’s wife, Caroline, was a nurse who suffered from dermatitis during her work. According to the Washinton Post, Halsted invented the gloves especially for her and gave them to her as a gift after their marriage.

8 . Skeleton is one of the three sliding sports at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, alongside the luge(单雪橇)and bobsleigh(大雪橇). With only six medals up for grabs, skeleton has the fewest events at the Winter Games—which means competition will be fierce.

The sport of skeleton has its roots in the most popular winter pastime: sleighing. In the mid-19^th century, British and American holidaymakers built the first toboggan(平底雪橇)run in Davos in 1882, and thus the sport of sleighing began.

Two years later, in 1884, the famed Cresta Run—a natural ice skeleton racing toboggan track—was built in St. Moritz, Switzerland(the course has hosted the annual Grand National championships since 1885).

In 1892, a new sledge made entirely of steel was introduced, and some claim that its bony appearance gave the sledge and the sport the name ‘skeleton’.

Men’s skeleton was first introduced on the Olympic program in the 1928 Games in St. Moritz. But due to the sport only being available at the Cresta Run at the time, it fell into obscurity(默默无闻)while the luge and bobsleigh grew in popularity. However, in 2002, the skeleton was reintroduced as a men’s and women’s event at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and has remained a part of the Olympic program ever since.

While Great Britain has the most medals(nine)in skeleton competition at the Olympics, the top spot belongs to the United States(eight medals)by virtue of having four silvers to Great Britain’s one(both nations have three golds, while Britain has five bronze medals, and the United States one).

Great Britain is the only nation to have won a medal every time skeleton has featured at the Olympic Games, and has won at least one medal in each of the five contests of women’s skeleton since its introduction.