Topic Reading-Vol.2210-4/30/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

One skill to make you type a lot faster

How much time do you usually spend on typing keyboard? As searches and inputs can be done by simply touching to choose from options, or by speaking to the smartphone or AI speaker, the need for typing seems to have become less essential to our daily lives. However, when you write an essay or to create a report, you can’t simply copy and paste texts from somewhere.

Then a few questions arise. How fast should you be able to type? Do you need to master touch typing, a method to type without using the sense of sight to find keys? Should you always type the same character with the same finger? Is rollover typing, a method to type the next key before the previous one is released, an essential skill for fast typing?

Enjoy reading and learn various aspects and benefits of typing.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180423-one-skill-to-make-you-type-a-lot-faster

Topic Reading-Vol.2209-4/29/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

5 Great British recipes with a twist

Besides fish and chips, what British food have you ever tried or are you familiar with? Though British food isn’t as popular as French or Italian food, there are quite a few traditional dishes and desserts that are regularly enjoyed, such as Yorkshire pudding, Scotch eggs, sausage rolls, cheesecake bars, and meringue tart. While the recipes of these popular traditional foods are well established and preserved, they could be reinvented or tweaked to make them look refreshing and taste savory.

Enjoy seeing the photos and reading the descriptions of these makeovers of five British delicacies.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/great-british-recipes-twist

Topic Reading-Vol.2208-4/28/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

It's not just the oceans: Microplastic pollution is all around us

Microplastics are small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long. They come not only from plastic products, such as bottles and bags, but also from cosmetics, clothing and industrial processes. While plastic waste floating in the oceans and seas is visibly recognizable, microplastics aren’t. They can be swallowed by marine creatures like fish, and then their eaters including humans. Indeed, microplastic can be harmful to the ocean and aquatic life, the food chain, and the environment.

Unfortunately, plastic pollution doesn’t just stop there. There are other kinds and forms of microplastic that can be more directly harmful to the lives on the ground. They are the ones from sewage sludge that contain cosmetics and clothing fibers. These microplastics can be absorbed by humans either from tap water or well water. Also, there are airborne microplastics both outdoor and indoor like the ones from carpets and clothes.

The problem is that some plastics can take hundreds of years to biodegrade, and the effects of such pollution aren’t well studied yet.

Enjoy reading the article and watching the video to learn what potential harm plastics are causing to humans, other creatures, and the environments.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/22/health/microplastics-land-and-air-pollution-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2207-4/27/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Why is Picasso so popular in Asia?

Exhibitions of Picasso’s works in Japan and South Korea attracted 300,000 visitors respectively. Over 200,000 tourists from South Korea, Japan, China and other Asian countries visited Museu Picasso in Barcelona, Spain a year. His artworks have been sold to many Asian buyers recently at staggering prices. It seems that Picasso is perceived the master or art in Asia.

Pablo Picasso was born in Spain 1881, but spent most of his adult life in France and died there in 1973. He is known not only as a painter, sculptor, or printmaker, but also as a poet and playwright, and regarded as one of the 20^th century’s most influential artists. He lead the Cubist movement, a new style of modern art in which an object or person is shown as a set of geometric shapes, and as if seen from many different angles at the same time. It brought European paintings and sculpture forward toward 20^th century modern art. The impact of Cubism was so far reaching that many prominent Asian artists were influenced, including Taro Okamoto of Japan. But Picasso seemed to have been under certain Asian influences at some point as similarities are found between Chinese landscape paintings and Cubism.

Is that the reason why the Spanish artist’s works have been drawing so many Asian visitors to the museums and buyers to premier auction houses?

Enjoy reading and learning why Picasso is so special to Asian people.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180321-why-is-picasso-so-popular-in-asia

Topic Reading-Vol.2206-4/26/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Aging gracefully: Preventing falls

When you become old, one thing you want to avoid is falls. As you age, your muscles decrease, and bones weaken. That means that you are more easily fall, and once you fall, you’re more likely hurt yourself. Since physical recovery is slow at best for elders, you may lose mobility and independence. Sounds depressing, doesn’t it?

The good news is while aging is inevitable, falls can be preventable. Things like home safety, eye health, proper nutrition and medication all play important roles to prevent falls, and they can be done without so much difficulty or hardship. But there is another thing that needs your awareness and effort. Exercises.

Fall prevention exercises are recommended to improve your strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance. For example, you lose 15% of your muscle per decade after the age of 70. Though you may not gain or maintain the entire muscle level, you can at least reduce the loss by strength training or daily activities. They sound like a weight control program, which you may not want to hear any longer when you get older. But they are in fact essential to living a life with integrity and independence.

Enjoy reading and think what you may want or try to do to age gracefully and enjoyably.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/19/health/age-falling-exercise-jampolis/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2205-4/25/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

More than 95% of world's population breathing unhealthy air, says new report

Education or nutrition isn’t the only health divide between the rich and the others. Unfortunately, air pollution is found to be another distinct divide for the health of people in developed and developing countries.  

According to the annual State of Global Air Report, exposure to air pollution is leading to fatal diseases, such as strokes, heart attacks, lung cancer and chronic lung disease. Also, it causes high health risks like high blood pressure, diet, and smoking. Also, nearly one in three of people around the world is found to be exposed to air pollution from solid fuels, such as wood or charcoal that are cheaper and readily available but emit unhealthy, environmentally destructive gasses. As many people in Asia and Africa still use such air-polluting fuels for cooking and heating, they are breathing polluted air both inside and outside their home.

Enjoy reading the article and think of the widening health gap between different environments.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/17/health/world-dangerous-air-report-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2204-4/24/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Where fat goes when you lose weight

Calories are burnt even while you’re asleep or just sitting. That’s because of the chemical processes in your body, called metabolism. The speed of metabolism increases as you move and breathe more air. As you know, you burn more calories if you exercise a lot.

Does that mean the fat in your body burn? It’s a difficult question. Even doctors, dietitians and personal trainers have a misconception of where fat goes, according to a survey. Most of those who answered the survey thought fat is converted to energy.

Surprisingly, fat is converted to carbon dioxide and water. In fact, 84% of fat is exhaled and the rest is urinated or sweated. That’s why an exercise, such as jogging or swimming that makes you breathe harder burns more calories.

Enjoy reading and learn the mechanism of metabolism.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/26/health/lose-weight-where-does-it-go-partner/index.html