Do you hear that noise? Look at me! What's that smell? Taste this! Feel this, isn't it soft? When you hear, or even use these phrases, you probably don't stop to think about why we use them．Well, it's because of your senses．

　　Your body has five senses, namely hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch．They play an important role in your daily life．Every minute, you're using at least one of your five senses．You hear, see, smell, taste, and touch in order to adapt to a new environment．The five senses are important for everyone．For those who are blind or deaf, they still use the other four senses．

　　The five senses work together all the time to allow your body to function properly and make your life easier．Your brain is the general CPU(中央处理器) for your body．The nerves(神经) in your ears, nose, eyes, skin, and tongue bring all the different sights, smells, feelings, sounds, and tastes together and send messages to tell your brain what they are like．Then your brain processes (处理) information and lets you know what you are smelling, seeing, feeling, hearing or tasting, and gives you orders to act properly．For example, when you see a film star on the street, your brain will tell you not to move your eyes off her; but when you smell your brother's old sports shoes, your brain will order you to cover your nose, and ask your brother to move his shoes out of the house at once．

　　The five senses are wonderful, aren't they?

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　　The world population is aging．More and more people are expected to live longer．In Japan, there is an island called “the island of long life” －Okinawa(冲绳岛)．

　　Okinawa has had the highest proportion of centenarians in Japan since 1990．Centenarians are those people who have lived one hundred years or more, in other words, people who have lived a “century”．In 2003, the number of centenarians per 100,000 for Japan as a whole was 14.09; Okinawa topped the nation with 39.50．The total number of centenarians in Japan was 17,934; 525 of them lived in Okinawa．By 2006, the number of centenarians in Okinawa had risen to 740, and the proportion had grown to about 50 per 100,000．

　　Okinawa is said to be a model of long life．The Okinawans believe they will return to their childhood when they turn 97．They will even receive a certificate and a cash prize as birthday gifts from the government．

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　　Michael Fleming, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians(AAFP) answers your health questions．

　　I have such a terrible time falling asleep every night that I'm always tired and it's affecting my schoolwork．What should I do?

－Amelia

　　One in every five young people have sleep problems, so you're not alone．Getting enough sleep has become as important as eating vegetables and exercising regularly．It's very important for your body．

　　Most young people get only seven hours of sleep each night, when they actually need nine hours．And making up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping on weekends doesn't really work．In fact, sleeping late on weekends may actually do you more harm than good, if you have sleep problems．What happens if you don't get enough sleep? If your sleep problem continues for a few nights, you could suffer serious problems．Lack of sleep can affect learning and memory．Worse, if your sleep difficulties last a long time, that could lead to anxiety or depression(抑郁)．Therefore, you've got to have some healthy sleep habits．Below are some suggestions：

　　●GO TO BED AT THE SAME TIME including weekends, if possible．

　　●WAKE UP AROUND THE SAME TIME EVERY MORNING．When you get up late just one morning during the week, it may disturb your body clock．This will make it hard for you to sleep that night．

　　●DO SOMETHING RELAXING before going to bed．

　　●EXERCISE DURING THE DAY．Don't exercise right before going to bed．

　　●AVOID DRINKING ALCOHOL．Alcohol makes you excited．This prevents you from falling asleep or wakes you up during the night．

　　●DON'T SMOKE．Smoking is always bad for the body．Smoking before bedtime keeps you awake．

　　If trying these tips over a couple of weeks does not help you, speak to your doctor．Do not take any sleeping pills without asking your doctor first．Many have strong side effects．

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　　Body piercing and tattoos are out of date．The latest fashion trend to hit the Netherlands is eyeball jewelry．

　　Dutch eye surgeons have put tiny pieces of jewelry “JewelEye” into eyes of six women and one man in Rotterdam．The procedure(程序) involves putting a 3．5-mm-wide specially developed jewel into the eye's mucous membrane(黏膜) and it costs 500 to 1,000 euros．

　　“In my view, it is a little more difficult than body piercing．It is a fun thing and a very personal thing for people,” said an eye surgeon．The procedure takes about 15 minutes．

　　“Without doing any harm to the eye we can implant a jewel in the conjunctiva(结膜),” the surgeon said．“So far we have not seen any side effects and we don't expect any in the future．”

　　The Dutch institute, which carries out the procedure together with an eye clinic, said there were a lot of people waiting for the implant．

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　　Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living．One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2：30 a．m．When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window．

　　I walked to the door and knocked．“Just a minute,”answered a weak, elderly voice．

　　After a long pause, a small woman in her eighties stood before me．By her side was a small suitcase．

　　I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman．She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car．

　　She kept thanking me for my kindness．“It's nothing,” I told her．“I just try to treat my passengers the way I want my mother would be treated．”

　　“Oh, you're such a good man,” she said．When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”

　　“It's not the shortest way,” I answered quickly．

　　“Oh, I'm in no hurry,” she said．“I'm on my way to a hospice(临终医院)．I don't have any family left．The doctor says I don't have much time．”

　　I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器)．

　　For the next two hours, we drove through the city．She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl．

　　Sometimes she'd ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing．

　　At dawn, she suddenly said, “I'm tired．Let's go now．”

　　We drove in silence to the address she had given me．

　　“How much do I owe you?” she asked．

　　“Nothing,” I said．

　　“You have to make a living,” she answered．

　　“Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered．

　　Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug．She held onto me tightly．Our hug ended with her remark, “You have given an old woman a little moment of joy．”

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　　A hobby can be almost anything a person likes to do in his spare time．Hobbyists raise pets, build model ships, weave baskets, watch birds, hunt animals, climb mountains, raise flowers, fish, ski, skate and swim．Hobbyists also paint pictures, attend concerts and plays, and perform on musical instruments．They collect everything from books to butterflies and from shells to stamps．

　　People take up hobbies because these activities offer enjoyment, friendship, knowledge, and relaxation．Sometimes they even give financial(财政)profit(利润)．Hobbies help people relax after periods of hard work, and provide a balance between work and play．

　　Hobbies also offer interesting activities for persons who have retired．Anyone, rich or poor, old or young, sick or well, can follow a satisfying hobby, regardless of his age, position, or income．Hobbies can help a person's mental and physical health．Doctors have found that hobbies are valuable in helping patients recover from physical or mental illness．Hobbies give bed-ridden or wheel-chair patients something to do, provide interests that keep them from thinking about themselves．Many hospitals treat patients by having them take up interesting hobbies or pastimes(娱乐)．

　　In early times, most people were too busy making a living to have many hobbies．But some persons who had spare time did enjoy hobbies．The ancient Egyptians played games with balls made of wood, pottery(陶器)．People today have more time than ever before for hobbies．

　　Machines have reduced the amount of time they must spend on their jobs．Hobbies provide variety for workers who do the same unchanging tasks all day long．More people are retiring than ever before, and at an earlier age．Those who have developed hobbies never need to worry about what to do with their newlyfound spare hours．Sir．William Osier, a famous Canadian doctor expressed the value of hobbies by saying,“No man is really happy or safe without a hobby．”

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　　Do animals communicate?

　　When we think of communication, we normally think of using words－talking face to face, writing messages and so on．But the fact is that we communicate far more in other ways．Our eyes and facial expressions usually tell the truth even when our words do not．

　　Then there are gestures, often unconscious(无意识的)：raising the eyebrows, rubbing the nose, raising the shoulders, tapping the fingers, nodding and shaking the head．There is also the even more subtle(微妙的) body language of posture(姿势)：are you sitting or standing with arms or legs crossed? Is that person standing with hands in pockets, held in front of the body or hidden behind? Even the way we dress and the colors we wear communicate things to others．

　　So, do animals communicate? Not in words, although a parrot might be trained to repeat words and phrases which it doesn't understand．But, as we have learnt, there is more to communicate than words．

　　Take dogs for example, they show their teeth to warn, shake their tails to welcome and stand firm, with hair up right to fight．These signals are surely the equals of the human body language of facial expression, gesture and posture．

　　Color can be an important means of communication for animals．Many birds and fishes change color, for example, to attract partners during the mating(交配) season．And mating itself is commonly done after a special dance which both partners take part in．

　　Here, again, there are striking similarities to young men and women who dress up to meet partners at parties, where the music is often too loud for word　communication．Communication there takes place through appearance and movement．

　　The most carefully planned dances in the animal kingdom are those which bees use to communicate．With body movements alone they can tell other bees the direction and distance of a newly discovered food．

　　All these examples may suggest instinctive (本能的) rather than intelligent communication．But human body language is largely instinctive, too．And in many ways, body language says far more than intelligent word communication ever can．

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Perhaps Professor Ray Birdwhistell suggested the most famous theory, the study of body movement．He believes that physical appearance is often culturally programmed．In other words, we learn our looks －we are not born with them．A baby has generally informed face features．A baby according to Birdwhistell, learns where to set the eyebrows by looking at those around －family and friends．This helps explain why people of some areas of the United States look so much alike．New Englanders or Southerners have certain common face features that cannot be explained by genetics(遗传学)．The exact shape of the mouth is not set at birth; it is learned after．In fact, the final mouth shape is not formed until well after new teeth are set．For many, this can be well into grown-ups．A husband and wife together for a long time often come to look somewhat alike．We learn our looks from those around us．This is perhaps why in a single country there are areas where people smile more than those in other areas．In the United States, for example, the south is the part of the country where the people smile most frequently．In New England they smile less, and in the western part of New York state still less．Many Southerners find cities such as New York cold and unfriendly, partly because people on Madison Avenue smile less than people on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia．People in largely populated areas also smile and greet each other in public less than people in small towns do．

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　　Interestingly, while English was spoken by about 10% of the world's population in 1900, and by about 11% in 1950, it is today spoken by about 8.59%．The fact is that for more than 90% of the world's population, it is not the actual means of international communication．

　　English is a very difficult language to learn unless you've been immersed(沉浸于) in it since birth．English spelling is said to be the most difficult among the world languages except Gaelic(盖尔语)．English grammar, although it may be fairly simple, is riddled(迷惑的) with exceptions．Verbs are very often irregular．Many people just aren't going to devote several years of effort to learn it!

　　English has gained its present stature because of the current economic and political power of English speaking countries．In the past, every superpower has briefly seen its native tongue used internationally：France, Spain, Portugal, and the Roman Empire．In fact, one of the main reasons why Esperanto(世界语) was never adopted by the League of Nations was that France blocked efforts to adopt it．At the time, French was“the international language”, and France expected it to stay that way forever．They were proven wrong within twenty years．

　　Although many people all over the world study English and often think they speak it well, the number of people who can participate in a nontrivial(不平凡的) conversation in English is very small outside English speaking countries．Knowing English may be sufficient to survive as a tourist in many places, but not for more．

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　　Figuring out how to lose weight is a challenge for many of us, particularly considering that the quickest path to weight loss is different for everyone．Of course, the common method is always proper diet and exercise, which not only aid in(帮助) weight loss, but also keep a body healthy．Of course you've heard this before－the challenge is to follow through．Others have lost weight by following these simple guidelines, and so can you．

　　Set small, realistic goals．If you have a lot of weight to lose, try for 5 pounds, relax a bit and then go for 5 more．

　　Start a regular exercise program and stick to it．Don't be afraid of those sweat suits!

　　Sneak(偷偷地做) in extra exercise in addition to your regular program．Park at the far end of the parking lot and walk; take the stairs instead of the elevator．

　　Healthy foods are an important ingredient in losing weight．Eat low fat, high fiber foods such as salads and vegetable pastas．Choose foods that you like．Learn to prepare healthy, low calorie foods that taste good by checking healthy cook books for new recipes．

　　Eat smaller, more frequent meals．This way, your body starts to increase its metabolism(新陈代谢)so that calories are burned faster．Also, minimeals can prevent overeating．

　　Plan ahead and keep a food diary．Keep the fridge stocked with healthy food such as vegetables, and you'll be less likely to run out for high calorie, high fat junk food．This will help you pinpoint where you can improve your diet．

　　Once you discover your favorite snack time, be sure to have plenty of healthy options available．

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