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　　David Beckham is the king of the football world, but it is his wife Victoria, former “Posh Spice” girl, who makes it possible．She was the person who turned him from a footballer into a world-famous attractor．Even now that he has left Manchester United for Real Madrid, instead of Barcelona or Milan, it might be because of her．

　　“Posh Spice” has become a name for Victoria．The Collins Dictionary even has the term “Posh and Becks”(Victoria and David Beckham)．

　　Before meeting Victoria Adams, Beckham was a good-looking and likeable footballer with a bright future at Manchester United, but that was about all．

　　Since he married her in 1999, he has become the most famous player British sport has ever produced, and, some say, the most influential(有影响的)man in the country．“When they got together, she was clearly the more popular of the two,” said Andrew Parker, a sports expert at Warwick University in Britain．“She certainly introduced him to a new circle of people and, all of a sudden, he was a top list celebrity(名人)．”

　　It's believed that, behind the high walls and iron gates of their “Buckingham Palace”, it is Victoria who decides everything．

　　When their baby boy, Brooklyn, fell in 2000, Beckham left a united training session to look after him, and this led to his being dropped from the team．Many were sure it was Victoria who had asked her husband to stay at home．During a trip to the United States this year, Victoria has worked hard to push her husband to the US public．They would not have recognized him if they met him in a car park．

　　She may appear to have taken a back seat, but Victoria is still at the forefront of the “Posh and Becks” project．

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　　After moving to the United States, immigrant groups trying to fit in tend to choose high calorie fatty foods in an attempt to appear more American, a new study finds．That's one reason why immigrants approach US levels of obesity within 15 years of moving to America．

　　The researchers also did an experiment that measured whether or not the threat of appearing un-American influenced respondents' food choices．After being questioned about their ability to speak English, 75 percent of Asian-Americans identified a typical American food as their favorite．Only 25 percent of Asian-Americans who had not been asked if they spoke English did the same．

　　When their American identity was called into question during a follow-up study, Asian-American participants also tended to choose typical American dishes, such as hamburgers and cheese sandwiches．In that experiment, 55 Asian-Americans were asked to choose a meal from a local Asian or American restaurant．Some participants were told that only Americans could participate in the study．Those who chose the more typical American fare ended up consuming an extra 182 calories, including 12 grams of fat and 7 grams of saturated fat(饱和脂肪)．

　　"People who feel like they need to prove they belong to a culture will change their habits in an attempt to fit in, "said Sauna Cheryan, an author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Washington．" If immigrants and their children choose unhealthy American foods over healthier traditional foods across their lives, this process of fitting in could lead to poorer health．" Cheryan added．

　　Social pressures, the study concluded, are at the heart of the problem．"In American society today, being American is associated with being white．Americans, who don't fit this image even if they were born here and speak English, feel that pressure to prove that they're American," said Cheryan．

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　　Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air for their children, but experts now have identified a related threat to children's health that isn't as easy to get rid of：third-hand smoke．

　　That's the term 　　1　　 to discuss the invisible yet poisonous mixture of gases and particles(颗粒)clinging(依附)to smokers' hair and 　　2　　, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that stays long after second-hand smoke has cleared from a room．The remaining 　　3　　 heavy metals, carcinogens(致癌物)and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and take in, 　　4　　 if they're crawling or playing on the floor．

　　Doctors from Mass General Hospital for Children in Boston used the term "third-hand smoke" to 　　5　　 these chemicals in a new study that 　　6　　 on the risks they pose to infants and children．The study was published in the 　　7　　 issue of the journal Pediatrics．

　　"Everyone knows that second-hand smoke is bad, 　　8　　 they don't know about this," said Dr．Jonathan P．Winickoff, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School．

　　"When their kids are 　　9　　 the house, they might smoke．Or they smoke in the car．Or they settle the kid in the car seat in the back and 　　10　　 the window and smoke, and they think it's okay because the second-hand smoke isn't getting to their 　　11　　．We needed a term to describe these tobacco toxins(毒素)that aren't 　　12　　．"

　　The study reported on 　　13　　 towards smoking in 1,500 households across the United States．It found that the vast majority of both smokers and nonsmokers were 　　14　　 that second-hand smoke is harmful to children．Some 95 percent of nonsmokers and 84 percent of smokers 　　15　　 with the statement that "inhaling smoke from a parent's cigarette can 　　16　　 the health of infants and children"．

　　But 　　17　　 fewer of those surveyed were conscious of the 　　18　　 of third-hand smoke．Since the term is so new, the researchers asked people if they 　　19　　 the statement that "breathing air in a room 　　20　　 where people smoked yesterday can harm the health of infants and children"．

　　Only 65 percent of nonsmokers and 43 percent of smokers answered yes．