World's Favorite Research Articles

The World's Favorite Beverage–Coffee–and Health

ABSTRACT Coffee, with its aromatic appeal and distinctive flavor, is the world's favorite beverage. Throughout history, coffee has been known to delight and stimulate the senses, comfort the spirit, and encourage conversation and camaraderie. This review explores the legend, history, economics, and health of this drink from its origin in Ethiopia to its worldwide consumption today and summarizes current knowledge on its beneficial effects and possible risks. Caffeine, the major constituent of coffee, is also found in other popular beverages (cola-containing soft drinks, tea) and nonprescription pharmaceutical preparations; Innumerable studies have been conducted on the major ingredient of coffee-caffeine-and much experimental, clinical, and epidemiological data has been accumulated. This chapter summarizes current knowledge on the health effects of coffee/caffeine on the central nervous and cardiovascular systems and the effect of caffeine on reproduction, bone loss-and cellular division.

Clear Speech, Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in American English

Clear Speech, the world's favorite pronunciation series, helps students master the most important features of spoken English. The Clear Speech, Fourth Edition, Student's Book provides easy-to-follow presentations, helpful rules, and extensive practice in pronunciation. This revised edition offers new and updated content, additional visual support, and is now in full color. The full Student's Book audio program is available for download at www.cambridge.org/clearspeech

Current Theatre Notes, 1957-1958

S reflected in this eighth annual survey, Shakespearian productions throughout the world continue to include a wide diversity of plays, rather than a concentration on a few of the best known works. And Shakespeare is certainly the most popular playwright when it comes to world representation: of the over three hundred productions listed here, sixteen countries where English is not the native tongue account for a third. There is a Shakespearian repertory theatre in Japan; an Italian company toured a Shakespeare play in South America; and in Germany, Shakespeare led the native playwrights in total number of performances. Hamlet continues to be the world's favorite Shakespeare play. It was performed during the past season in lavish Victorian costumes by the Old Vic Company in England and on the continent; and in ballet shirts and jeans by a troupe of Australian actors on tour. Such outstanding actors essayed the role as Michael Redgrave at Stratford-upon-Avon, a thoughtful, modern hero, and John Neville at the Old Vic, a romantic Hamlet. Cyril Cusack played the part in Ireland, Oskar Werner toured Germany as Hamlet, and Fritz Weaver was seen in the role at Stratford, Connecticut. American colleges invited guest actors to play Hamlet with a local cast: Ellis Rabb was seen at Ohio Wesleyan University, and William Hutt at Hofstra College. There were eighteen productions in Germany and eleven in Russia. Touring Shakespeare meant that audiences and school children in smaller towns here and abroad had an opportunity to see the plays. The Australian company mentioned above visited sixty schools with abridged versions of Hamlet and Henry IV, Part i, and played to 20,000 children. The Canadian Players, whose home is Stratford, toured Othello extensively throughout the United States and Canada, and a group of young graduate students from Catholic University, Players, Inc., provided for many school children in remote towns in the United States their first acquaintance with Shakespeare, presenting The Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet. During the summer, under the auspices of the American Educational Theatre Association and the Department of Defense, the Players offered The Taming of the Shrew to American servicemen stationed at bases abroad, some of whom were seeing both live theatre and Shakespeare for the first time in their lives. The response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. France's excellent Government-subsidized regional touring companies like the Comedie de l'Est and the Comedie de Provence continued to include Shakespeare in their repertoire. And state universities, like the University of Minnesota, sent their drama departments on tour throughout their home and neighbor states with a Shakespearian production.