Article 1: Delicious of chocolate

Health Benefits of Chocolate

Mmm...chocolate. The product of the cacao tree has been winning fans since Aztec leader Montezuma introduced the beverage (chocolate candy as we know it didn't appear until the 1800's) to the Spanish conqueror Cortez, who subsequently took it home to Spain. (While the original drink was rather bitter, the Spanish made a few creative innovations - using sugar instead of chilies, and adding cinnamon and vanilla).

What is it that makes chocolate so irresistible? A large part of chocolate's allure, of course, lies in the taste - a deliciously rich concoction that satisfies the most intense craving. But several chemical reactions are also at work. For one thing, chocolate stimulates the secretion of endorphins, producing a pleasureable sensation similar to the "runner's high" a jogger feels after running several miles.

Chocolate also contains a neurotransmitter, serotonin, that acts as an anti-depressant. Other substances, such as theobromine and phenylethylamine, have a stimulating effect. However, the truth is that scientists are still not positive how the over three-hundred chemicals contained in chocolate make us feel so good.

Harmful Effects?

With so much going for it, it's unfortunate that chocolate has developed a bad reputation on the health front. Confirmed chocoholics often worry that indulging their craving will lead to everything from rotting teeth to acne, not to mention the need to lose a few pounds.

Fortunately, scientists are beginning to disprove some common myths about the dangers of eating too much chocolate. For example, it is not true that eating chocolate can cause acne or make it worse. Nor is chocolate the threat to healthy teeth that it was once thought to be. While both cocoa and chocolate contain sugar, they also have properties that work against sugar's tendency to produce the oral bacteria that eventually leads to dental decay. In fact, researchers at the Eastman Dental Center in Rochester, New York, have concluded that milk chocolate is one of the snack foods that is least likely to contribute to tooth decay, since it contains phosphate and other minerals.

Furthermore, while chocolate may not be the most healthy snack around, it does contain a number of nutrients. High in potassium and magnesium, chocolate also provides us with several vitamins - including B1, B2, D, and E. As for calories, no one is going to claim chocolate is the quintessential diet food. Still, the average chocolate bar contains approximately 250 calories - low enough for a dieter to enjoy one as an occasional treat. Besides, indulging your chocolate craving from time to time can help prevent the bingeing that is a dieter's worst enemy.

Why is Dark Chocolate Healthy?:

Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body.

Heart Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate:
Dark chocolate is good for your heart. A small bar of it everyday can help keep your heart and cardiovascular system running well. Two heart health benefits of dark chocolate are:

· Lower Blood Pressure: Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.
· Lower Cholesterol: Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.

Other Benefits of Dark Chocolate:

Chocolate also holds benefits apart from protecting your heart:
· it tastes good
· it stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure
· it contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant
· it contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants

comment: It is a goods new to people who like eat chocolate very much because chocolate have bring benefit to our health. Although like that, we also must control the quantity because it can make us become fat in the future.

Article 2: Panda Bear

A Bear of a Job

Can the National Zoo's new pandas help their endangered Chinese cousins to survive?
They earn a million bucks a year. They live in a posh new home. They make headlines across America. Yet they don't seem to care about being rich and famous."They" are giant pandas named Mei Xiang (may SHONG) and Tian Tian (tea YEN tea YEN).

Mei Xiang, a female, is three. Her name means "beautiful fragrance." Tian Tian is a four-year-old male. His name means "more and more."Mei Xiang and Tian Tian were born in China, the only country where wild pandas live. China has lent the pair to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., for ten years.

In exchange, the zoo will contribute a million dollars each year to help protect wild places, plants, and animals in China.Two million people have lined up to watch the furry celebrities since they went public last January. Zoogoers see incredibly cute animals who play and wrestle. But is that all? Scientists and conservationists hope that panda fans will also see the face of an animal that needs our help.

What makes pandas so popular? For starters, they're rare. Only five other pandas live in the entire United States—two in Atlanta and three in San Diego.Some scientists see deeper reasons for pandas' popularity. Strange as it sounds, the black-and-white critters may remind us a little of ourselves. Like humans, pandas can sit up straight. They have clear personalities, and they seem to share our boundless curiosity.Pandas also have round heads, fat cheeks, and big eyes—as do human babies. And, like kids learning to walk, pandas have their awkward moments. Add lots of fur, and the animals seem, well, cuddly.

There's another reason why pandas fascinate us—their "thumbs." Each front paw has five "fingers" plus a lump of bone that sticks out like a thumb. Panda "thumbs" don't move, but they're very handy. The animals hold things by bending their "fingers" toward their "thumbs.

"Mei Xiang is especially "paw-some." She gets lots of chances to show her skills. To keep the pandas from getting bored, zookeepers hide treats for them to find. One day, each panda got apples and carrots—floating in tubs of water. Tian Tian knocked his tub over and ate the treats off the ground. Mei Xiang calmly sat next to her tub. Again and again, she put her paw into the water, picked up a single treat, and ate it.


Scientists believe that panda "thumbs" are an adaptation, or adjustment, to living in China's bamboo forests. Pandas use their paws to grasp, break, hold, and eat pieces of the wild grass.BAMBOO CAGEFor Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, bamboo is just one tasty item on a menu that zookeepers provide. They also get special biscuits and treats. But for pandas who live in the wild, bamboo is life. Each day, an average adult crunches 25 to 100 pounds of bamboo. Wild pandas eat almost nothing else.Yet bamboo is a weird food for pandas. They can barely digest the hard, tree-like plant.

To get enough nutrients, the animals must spend most of their time eating.Because of this limited diet, pandas must live where they are surrounded by bamboo. The animals cannot survive anywhere else. You might say that pandas live in a "bamboo cage."That bamboo cage is shrinking. Pandas once lived in much of eastern China. But the country's human population grew rapidly. People needed space for farms and towns, so they cut down huge portions of the bamboo forests. In the past 25 years, pandas have lost half their habitat.

PROTECTING PANDAS- As their world disappears, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian's wild relatives have become endangered. Only 1,000 or so of these beloved bears remain in the wild. About 100 pandas live in zoos around the world, but they don't breed well in captivity. Some scientists wonder how long the animal group can survive.China knows that its pandas are a global treasure. Working with conservationists, Chinese officials have developed plans for protecting pandas.The heart of the plan is preserving panda habitat. To create larger reserves, or safe places, for pandas, the Chinese government sometimes pays farmers and loggers to move somewhere else.

China has also enacted strict laws against poaching, or illegally killing, pandas.Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are part of the plan too. These roly-poly clowns have two big jobs while they're in Washington, D.C. First, wildlife experts hope the dynamic duo will promote interest in saving pandas. And then everyone hopes they'll start a family.



Comment : All people must be together to protect endangered animal such a panda bear to make sure the new generation can know how it real face and their true life.

Article 3: Rose Flower Meaning

Rose Flower Meanings

Ever wondered about rose flower meanings before you gift roses to your beloved?
Roses have inspired people over ages to develop a language of roses by ascribing meanings to color, variety and number of roses being gifted. Traditionally, the rose is considered the flower of love. Nothing beats red roses in saying "I Love You" on Valentine's Day.

It is always good to know the symbolic meanings associated with roses when you gift them to your loved ones. When you consciously choose a certain color, variety or number of roses for someone, you bring a whole new depth to the gesture of gifting roses. The Flower Expert compiles a concise list of rose flower meanings below.
Rose Flower Meanings based on Color

Rose Color Meaning
Red Roses: A red rose is an unmistakable expression of love. Red Roses convey deep emotions - be it love, longing or desire. Red Roses can also be used to convey respect, admiration or devotion. A deep red rose can be used to convey heartfelt regret and sorrow. The number of red roses has special romantic meanings associated with them. 12 red roses is the most popular of all which conveys "Be mine" and "I love you"

White Roses: White is the color of purity, chastity and innocence. White flowers are generally associated with new beginnings and make an ideal accompaniment to a first-time bride walking down the isle. White flowers can be used to convey sympathy or humility. They also are indicative of spirituality. Hence, White roses also follow suit.

Yellow Roses: Yellow roses are an expression of exuberance. Yellow roses evoke sunny feelings of joy, warmth and welcome. They are symbols of friendship and caring. The yellow rose, like the other roses, does not carry an undertone of romance. It indicates purely platonic emotions.

Pink Roses: There are a lot of variations of the pink rose. Over all, pink roses are used to convey gentle emotions such as admiration, joy and gratitude. Light pink rose blooms are indicative of sweetness and innocence. Deep pink rose blooms convey deep gratitude and appreciation. Pink roses also connote elegance and grace.

Orange Roses: While a yellow rose reminds us of the sun, an orange rose reminds us of a fiery blaze. These fiery blooms signify passion and energy. Orange roses can be used to express intense desire, pride and fervor. They also convey a sense of fascination. These flowers rival only the red roses as messengers of passion in romance.

Lavender Roses: A Lavender rose like its color conveys enchantment. It also expresses "love at first sight" . Darker shades of lavender roses (close to purple) convey a sense of regal majesty and splendor. These roses are used to express fascination and adoration.

Blue Roses: A perfectly blue rose is still elusive like the perfectly black rose. Blue roses cannot be achieved naturally so they represent the unattainable or the mysterious. Blue roses therefore embody the desire for the unattainable. They say "I can't have you but I can't stop thinking about you" Green roses: Green is the color of harmony, of opulence, of fertility. It is also a color indicative of peace and tranquility. Green roses (these are off-white roses with shades of green) can symbolize best wishes for a prosperous new life or wishes for recovery of good health

Black Roses: Black is the color of death and farewell. A black rose, like the blue rose remains elusive. What we know as black roses are actually really dark red roses. Black roses convey the death of a feeling or idea. Sending black roses to someone indicates the death of the relationship.

Mixed Roses: By mixing rose blooms of different colors purposefully, you can create a bouquet of emotions. For example, a bouquet of red and white roses would mean “I love you intensely and my intentions are honourable”. A random mix of roses would convey mixed feelings or send a message: "I don't know what my feelings are yet but I sure do like you enough to send you roses."

comment: Flower is a unique one in the world. All people like it especially the girls. For a man, just give the flower to persuade the girl!.

Essay 1: Fun Fair Days

Fun Fair Days

Last year, when a midterm sem holidays, I have go to the fun fair at my place with all my family. We are arrived there at about six-thirty in the evening, the music was playing and the fairground was lit up with fairy light. The places was crowded. Everybody was smiling and talking. The fairground host was using a megaphone to announce the various activities. He was wearing a crown and a rich brocade costume. He looked like a king. There also all kinds of stall selling food and drinks. The one drinks stall seemed to be the most popular.. Dozens of people are lining up at the stall. My family and I were interested to go there and it was selling home made ice-cream and it have many flavor such as strawberry, grapes, vanilla, chocolate and many more and it was so delicious.

At one corner of the fairground, there was a platform with five musicians on it. However, when we were there, they were not performing. Apparently, something was wrong. The fairground host invited members of the public to sing together. We all have fun and enjoys it very much.

Besides that, there was a clown was doing a juggling act while standing on stilts. The amazing thing was, he was not juggling ball but he was juggling a knife, so amazing. While he was doing a particularly difficult trick, he dropped a knife and luckily, nobody was hurt.

Then, there were also all kinds of rides. My younger’s sister was a bit disappointed that day. They had posters advertising pony-rides, but that days there were no ponies. Apparently, it was their day of rest, so they were not pulling the gaily painted cars around the fair. Grey, somber- looking donkeys were doing the job instead.

We left the fairground at about 11 o’clock. We were exhausted but were very-very happy, especially my younger sister. I hope for the next fun fair, we will go there again.