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　　American author Mark Twain once noted that “life would be surely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18．” Twain’s words were only one of many complaints about aging．The ancient Greek poet Homer called old age “hateful”, and William Shakespeare termed it “terrible winter”．

　　Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the known world before he died around 323 B．C．, may have been looking for a river that healed the ravages of age．During the 12^th century A．D．, a king called Prester John ruled a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth．

　　But the name linked most closely to the search for a fountain of youth is 16^th-century Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon．He thought it would be found in Florida．In St．Augustine, the oldest city in the U．S．, there’s a tourist attraction．It is said to be the fountain of youth that Ponce de Leon discovered soon after he arrived in what is now Florida in 1513．However, elderly visitors who drink the spring’s water don’t turn into teenagers．

　　But the tale of the search for a fountain of youth is so appealing(有吸引力的)that it survives anyway, says Ryan K．Smith, a professor of history．“People are more attracted by the story of looking and not finding than they are by the idea that the fountain might be out there somewhere．”

　　Still, a few grains of truth have helped to support the story．Kathleen Deagan, a professor of archaeology, says a graveyard and the remains of a Spanish mission dating back to St．Augustine’s founding in 1565 have been discovered near the so-called fountain of youth．Michelle Reyna, a spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St．Augustine, says the fountain has been a tourist attraction since at least 1901 and may have been attracting visitors since 1860．

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　　A healthy dose of sunshine may be the secret to staying young, British scientists have disclosed．

　　Vitamin D is produced naturally by the skin in response to sunlight and may help to slow the ageing process and protect against heart disease, according to the study．

　　Researchers from King's College London studied 2,160 women aged between 18 and 79, looking at their telomeres - a biological marker of ageing found in DNA．As people get older, their telomeres get shorter and they are easy to have illnesses．

　　But the study found women with high levels of vitamin D had comparatively longer telomeres - a sign of being biologically younger and healthier．

　　The study suggests vitamin D may help to slow down the ageing process of DNA, and therefore the ageing process as a whole．

　　Lead researcher Dr Brent Richards said："These results are exciting because they prove for the first time that people who have higher levels of vitamin D may age more slowly than people with lower levels of vitamin

　　D．"This could help to explain how vitamin D has a protective effect on many ageing related diseases, such as heart disease and cancer．"

　　He said further studies are required to confirm the findings．

　　Professor Tim Spector, head of KCL's twin research unit, and a co-author of the report, added："Although it might sound absurd(荒谬的), it's possible that the same sunshine which may increase our risk of skin cancer may also have a healthy effect on the general ageing process．"

　　Vitamin D made by the action of sunlight on the skin accounts for 90 per cent of the body's supply, but lower levels can also be obtained through food such as fish, eggs and breakfast cereals．

　　Other studies have suggested the vitamin plays a key role in protecting against cancer and heart disease．

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　　It’s “laughably absurd(荒谬)” on one blog and a “magical revolution” on another．Bloggers are talking about the same thing, the same divisive device．They’re referring to the much-hyped Apple iPad that hit store shelves last week．

　　The new e-tablet product starts from ＄499, and has split the tech world so sharply that experienced New York Times tech writer David Pogue says he’s never seen such a polarizing product．Opinions come to a simple statement：If you are a tech-head you will hate it, if you are everyone else you will love it．

　　Tech-heads hate the iPad because of its various functions–you can e-mail, browse the Web, read books–and yet it has no specialty．There are other products on the market that do all its functions faster, cheaper and more efficiently．Get an Amazon Kindle to read an e-book, a Blackberry to scan e-mails or any old laptop to access the Internet．

　　The iPad lacks many basic features．Tech-heads dislike the product not because of what it offers, but because of what it doesn’t offer．It doesn’t have Flash(that program required to run most online video), and it doesn’t have a camera．It can’t access many of the world’s mobile applications, and it has a very restricted app store．Based on purely technological grounds, the iPad is said to lack more than it gives．

　　But if you are not part of the technologically well-versed, and you love the iPod and iPhone, “this product is for you,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO．

　　The iPad will take online activities truly mobile．It will allow you to read the news in bed, play multiplayer scrabble on any surface, check a recipe in a busy kitchen or view a large-scale Google map．

　　Perhaps most important to the masses, it is a traditional computer without all the trouble．There are no cords, and it’s totally mobile．You press a button and it comes on in seconds．To add a program, you just download it from the Internet．There is no file directory, so you won’t be confused with file locations．

　　But no matter how you feel about the iPad, as a tech-head or an everyman, there’s no arguing with its appeal．Love it or hate it, the iPad sold over 600,000 units on its opening weekend, surpassing the iPhone’s record sales in 2007．

　　It’s uncertain how long it will take to hit the tech markets here in China, but when it does, expect the iPad craziness to continue．Apple predicts it will sell over 7.1 million units in the first year．Maybe not magical, and definitely not absurd, but if the iPad follows in the footsteps of the iPhone and iPod, you could be reading this newspaper on it in the near future．