In the 1962 movie Lawrence of Arabia, one scene shows an American newspaper reporter eagerly snapping photos of men robbing a damaged train. One of the robbers, Chief Auda abu Tayi of the Howeitat clan, suddenly notices the camera and snatches it. “Am I in this?” he asks, before smashing it open. To the dismayed reporter, Lawrence explains, “He thinks these things will steal his virtue. He thinks you're a kind of thief.”

As soon as colonizers and explorers began taking cameras into distant lands, stories began circulating about how native peoples saw them as tools for black magic. The “ignorant natives” may have had a point. When photography first became available, scientists welcomed it as a more objective way of recording faraway societies than early travelers' exaggerated accounts. But in some ways, anthropological(人类学的) photographs reveal more about the culture that holds the camera than the one that stares back. Up into the 1950s and 1960s, many ethnographer(人种学者) sought “pure” pictures of “primitive” cultures, routinely deleting modern articles for daily use such as clocks and Western dress. They paid men and women to re-enact rituals or to pose as members of war or hunting parties, often with little regard for truthfulness. Edward Curtis, the legendary photographer of North American Indians, for example, got one Makah man to pose as a whaler with a spear in 1915 — even though the Makah had not hunted whales in a generation.

    These photographs reinforced widely accepted stereotypes that native cultures were isolated, primitive, and unchanging. For instance, National Geographic magazine's photographs have taught millions of Americans about other cultures. As Catherine Lutz and Jane Collins point out in their 1993 book Reading National Geographic, the magazine since its founding in 1888 has kept a tradition of presenting beautiful photos that don't challenge white, middle-class American conventions. While dark-skinned women can be shown without tops, for example, white women's breasts are taboo. Photos that could unsettle or disturb, such as areas of the world torn apart by war or famine, are discarded in favor of those that reassure, to conform with the society's stated pledge to present only “kindly” visions of foreign societies. The result, Lutz and Collins say, is the display of “an idealized and exotic world relatively free of pain or class conflict.”

    Lutz actually likes National Geographic a lot. She read the magazine as a child, and its lush imagery influenced her eventual choice of anthropology as a career. She just thinks that as people look at the photographs of other cultures, they should be alert to the choice of composition and images.

    The sound of a mosquito can mean trouble in many parts of the world. The bite of the mosquito can be deadly. The insects carry serious diseases like malaria (疟疾). It is estimated that almost 630,000 people died from malaria and malaria­related causes in 2012, and most of these cases were in African countries.

    In the United States, a group of California scientists are working to develop a more effective and less costly substance (物质) to protect people from mosquitoes. The researchers are investigating the sense of smell in mosquitoes. They found the insects use the same receptor for identifying carbon dioxide in human breath as they do for the smell of our skin. Anandasankar Ray, who is leading the investigation, says scientists tested more than a million chemical compounds (化合物) until they found a substance called Ethyl Pyruvate. He says Ethyl Pyruvate makes the mosquitoes' receptors inactive. “When we apply Ethyl Pyruvate to a human arm and offer it to hungry mosquitoes in a cage, very few of the mosquitoes are attracted to the human arm because only a few of them are able to smell it out,” said Ray.

    Genevieve Tauxe, a member of the research team, says it was not easy to find the neurons (神经元) of noble cells that recognize both the smell of human breath and skin. “With the device used to examine the mosquito, we are able to insert a very small electrode (电极) into the part of the mosquito's nose, where its smelling neurons are and where the smell is happening,” said Tauxe.

    Anandasankar Ray says a product based on Ethyl Pyruvate may cost less to produce than DEFT, the most effective chemical treatment now in use. He says DEFT is too costly for most people who live in areas affected by malaria.

    “Perhaps by finding smells that can attack other target receptors, we will be able to improve upon DEFT and finally have the next generation of insect behaviour control products,” said Ray.

    Travelling around the world with children is difficult enough, while attempting it without using motorized transport is even more of challenge．Even so, Dario Schworer a 42-year-old climatologist and mountain guide, and his 33-year-old wife Sabine are on a journey to do just that．

    The Swiss couple want to travel across the world's oceans and climb the highest mountain on every continent to promote Earth-friendly ways of life．

    "We are collecting good examples of dealing with climate change and living in harmony with nature and we want to spread such ideas．" Schworer said．"We want to help people affected by global warming and to inspire children for the future．"

    Recently after having spent three months teaching children in the Everest region, the couple want to show it is possible to travel through the world's climate zones using just human-power and forces of nature．

    In the 47 countries they have visited they have collected 22 tons of trash, taught people in Ecuador how the sun's rays can be used to clean water and inspired a person in Chile to build a house on water with recycled plastic bottles as a foundation．They have also collected trash in the mountains of Nepal with school children．

    So far they have communicated with 45,000 children from South America, Australia and Asia, giving presentations about the importance of recycling and using alternative energy like solar and wind power．

    When they began their adventure in 2003 they had no children of their own．But since then two has become five: daughter Sabine is now five years old, Andri was born in Chile and baby Neo was born in Australia．

    Initially the couple thought they would complete their travels in four years, but now, they believe it could take seven more．

    "Since our belief is the need to respect nature, we travel only when conditions are good," Schworer said．

    The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen is offering a free meal to any guest who is able to produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike linked to a generator (发电机). The idea is to get people fit and reduce their carbon footprint. Guests will have to produce at least 10 watt hours of electricity — roughly 15 minutes of cycling for someone of average fitness. Guests staying at Plaza Hotel will be given meal tickets worth $ 36 once they have produced 10 watt hours of electricity. The bicycles will have smart phones attached to the handlebars measuring how much power is being generated for the hotel.

    The plan, a world-first, will start on 19 April and run for a year. Only guests staying at the hotel will be able to take part. Frederikke Toemmergaard，hotel spokeswoman, said, “Many of our visitors are business people who enjoy going to the gym. There might be people who will cycle just to get a free meal, but generally I don't think people will take advantage of our programme.”

    Copenhagen has a long-standing cycling tradition and 36 % of locals cycle to work each day, one of the highest percentages in the world, according to the website visitcopenhagen. dk. US environmental website treehugger. com recently voted Copenhagen the world's best city for cyclists. “Because Copenhagen is strongly connected with cycling, we felt the bicycle would work well as a symbol of the hotel's green profile (形象).”

    If successful，the electric bicycle meal programme will be spread to all Crowne Plaza hotels in the UK, the hotel said in a statement.

    Electric devices can seem like a “third party” in some relationships because some partners spent more time on them than with each other.

    When Amanda Gao, a 26-year-old white collar worker in Beijing, went to a hotpot restaurant with her boyfriend on Friday night several weeks ago, she expected that they would have a good time together. To her disappointment, however, it did not turn out that later. As soon as they were led to their seats and she began to order dishes, he buried himself in his mobile phone.

    “It seemed that his phone was making its way between us. A date that should have belonged to us turned into one where my boyfriend dated a third party and I felt left out.” Gao said. Some people, like her, have found electronics have been sabotaging(破坏) their romantic relationships.

    A study, published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture, in April, 2017, questioned nearly 200 college aged adults who were in committed(真诚的) relationships to report on their and their partner's smartphone dependency. The results showed people who were more dependent on their phones were less sure about their relationships, and people considered their partners excessively(过度地) dependent on their devices were less satisfied in their relationship.

    Lin Yuan, a relationship advisor in Beijing, noted that as more and more electronics come out and spice up people's lives, they are at the same time becoming a third party in relationships, especially for young people.

    Lin said she knew of some people who suggest that electronics should be kept out of bedrooms, which she considered challenging and hard to be put into practice for most couples. She recommended that if people are feeling neglected in their relationship, they need to respectfully let their partners know their feeling. “Communication is always the best and the most efficient way.” she said.

    TEENSGIVING is an exciting yearly event where hundreds of New York City teens gather together annually for a remarkable day of community service. This year, TEENSGIVING in SPRING 2016 participants will once again better New York City and influence thousands of lives!

    When is TEENSGIVING in SPRING 2016?

    Sunday, April 20, 2016

    Where is TEENSGIVING?

    All over New York City. Everyone will meet at the 92nd Street Y ( 92nd and Lexington ) at 9:00 AM for the event kick-off. Then, all TEENSGIVING volunteers will go across the city to work with our partnering agencies where they will make a HUGE difference and have fun!

Who participates in TEENSGIVING?

    Hundreds of teenagers from around the city. Teens come from the 92nd Street Y, various city schools, youth groups, and organizations in the area. In addition, many adult volunteers ( aged 21 and older) will donate their time to TEENSGIVING in SPRING 2016.

    What projects do participants do at the agencies?

    Sample projects include painting park benches, planting gardens, visiting and playing with poor and disabled children, assisting at animal shelters, working at soup kitchens, delivering meals and celebrating with families at homeless shelters.

    Do I get anything for participating in TEENSGIV1NG?

    Yes! Everybody benefits! Teen volunteers will receive “6 hours” of community service credit, good towards honor society, high school graduation and college application requirements. Adult volunteers will be thanked with a light breakfast, a gift certificate for their troubles, and the satisfaction of helping our city's youth contribute to their community. In addition, all teen and adult volunteers will receive a cool TEENSGIVING in SPRING 2016 T- shirt.

    This sounds awesome! How do I register for TEENSGIVING in SPRING 2016? Interested teens and/or adults should e-mail the TEENSGIVING Coordinator Josh Hyman at jhyman@92Y.org < mailto: jhyman@92Y.org > (subject: TEENSGIVING) to receive more information and to register for this fantastic event!

    Teens can also contact their school's Community Service Advisor.

    TEENSGIVING is sponsored by the 92nd Street Y.