Are we getting more stupid? According to Gerald Crabtree, a scientist at Stanford University in the US, we are.  You may not want to hear this, but Crabtree believes that human intelligence reached its peak more than 2,000 years ago and ever since then has been going downhill. “If an average Greek from 1,000 BC were transported to modern times, he or she would be one of the brightest among us,” Crabtree told The Guardian.

    At the heart of Crabtree's thinking is a simple idea. In the past, intelligence was critical for survival when our ancestors had to avoid dangerous animals and hunt for food. The difference of being smart or stupid is often life or death. However, after the spread of agriculture, when our ancestors began to live in dense ( 稠密的）farming communities, the need to keep their intelligence in peak condition gradually reduced. This is not hard to understand. Most of the time,pressure is what keeps us going – you need the pressure from your teachers to finish your homework; the pressure of looking pretty prompts(促使) you to lose weight when summer comes. And the same is also true of our intelligence – if we think less, we become less smart.

    These mutations(变) are harmful to our intelligence and they were all developed in the past 3,000 years. The other evidence that Crabtree holds is in our genes. He found that among the 2,000 to 5,000 genes that we have that determine human intelligence , there are two or more mutations in each of us. However, Crabtree's theory has been criticized by some who say that early humans may have better hunting and surviving abilities, but people today have developed a more diverse intelligence. For example, spearing a tiger doesn't necessarily require more brainpower than playing chess or writing a poem. Moreover, the power of modern education means a lot more people have the opportunity to learn nowadays. “You wouldn't get Stephen Hawking 2,000 years ago. He just wouldn't exist,” Thomas Hills of the University of Warwick, UK, told Live Science. “But now we have people of his intellectual capacity doing things and making insights(洞察力) that we would never have achieved in our environment of evolutionary adaptation.”

    Alibaba, Bank of China and Huawei—these are the dream employers for Chinese students, according to a new survey.

    “The survey of more than 55,000 students, conducted by the research firm Universum, has found that roughly a quarter want to work for an international company, while only 9％ want to work for a start-up. Five percent want to start their own business.”

    The students said that work-1ife balance was the most important career goal, followed by job stability. When it comes to desirable companies, Bank of China has been named the top choice by business students for seven consecutive years, and the gigantic state-owned firm shows no signs of giving up its lead.

    William Wu, the China country manager for Universum, said that banking remains an attractive industry for young Chinese. “China's government is now emphasizing the revolution of the finance industry, which leaves the younger generation with the impression that although banking is a traditional industry, there are still a lot of development opportunities.” Wu said.

    E-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA, Tech30) improved six places from 2014, ranking second among business students. Alibaba's rise shouldn't come as much of a surprise—the company held a record-breaking $25 billion IPO in September.

    Among engineering students, Alibaba was once again a bridesmaid. Instead, Huawei—a telecoms infrastructure firm that now makes consumer products-took the top spot.

    “Both of these companies are pioneers in terms of local companies going international.” said Wu. “It shows that… an international development strategy has a positive influence among Chinese young talents.” Tech companies ruled the rankings for humanities students, with Alibaba—which was ninth in 2014 —landing at the top. Last year, Apple was the Number l choice of Chinese students.

    Held in Valencia, La Tomatina is a tomato-throwing activity that causes the number of people to increase to more than 40,000 in a town of just 9,000 persons.

    The festival takes place on the town's main square. At 11 o'clock, the third Wednesday in August every year, a large pole(杆) with a ham tied to the end of it is raised into the air, and there is a mad climb as people struggle against each other to pull it down. Once this is achieved, a rocket goes skywards and more than 100 tons of ripe tomatoes are tipped from trucks to the waiting crowd. For precisely one hour, until a second rocket is fired, everyone joins in a cheerful tomato battle.

    La Tomatina began in 1945, but it is not known why. Locals have many theories, including the popular tale of angry townsfolk attacking city councilmen(议员) during a town celebration. However, it could also have started because of anything from an anti-France protest or simply a fun food fight between friends. Whichever way it started, the townsfolk of Valencia enjoyed it so much that it was repeated year after year, finally becoming an officially recognized celebration in 1952. Despite being cancelled briefly during the 1970s for having no religious significance, it has returned every year since then.

    Most people come for the day, arriving on the morning train from Valencia and heading back in the afternoon. But if you want the full La Tomatina experience, stay for the week-long celebration which involves music, dancing, parades and fireworks. The night before the fight, a cooking competition is held where women traditionally dress in white, and men without shirts altogether.

    Protection for the fight is recommended—wear old clothes and shoes and a pair of glasses to protect your eyes. What you don't bring to La Tomatina is also important. The crazy tomato-throwers attack each other with all their strength: cameras are seen as positive invitations to throw at the owner.

    Did you know that badminton is also a fast-paced competitive sport? Badminton has been a Summer Olympic sport since 1992. Para-badminton will be included in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. Here's what you need to know if your child is interested in badminton.

    Badminton is played on a 44-foot-long rectangular (矩形的) court that is 17 feet wide for singles and 20 feet wide for doubles. It is divided in the middle by a net placed 5 feet off the ground, like volleyball, not at ground level like tennis.

    In competition, each match is a set of three games played to 21 points. There is a one-minute break when a player or team reaches 11 points, and a two-minute break in between the first and second games and the second and third games.

    Age kids can start: About 6 years old.

    Best for kids who: Have good skills, are patient and hardworking, and can handle the pressure of one-on-one or two-on-two competition.

    Team or individual: Matches can be singles (one-on-one) or doubles (two-on-two).

    Fun fact: Badminton is the only sport that has mixed doubles event in the Olympic Games.

    Costs: Beginners are expected to pay $30 to $40 for an entry-level racket (球拍). Badminton shoes are similar in price to other athletic shoes. Join a club or team for lessons and court time. A one-hour group lesson for beginners should cost $20 to $25, with costs increasing as your child moves up the ranks. You will also pay entry fees for competitions.

    Time commitment required: Beginners will play for just an hour or two per week.

Potential for injury: Players have a very low risk of injury. Players who wear glasses should use eye protection.

    At first, Michael Surrell didn't see the black smoke or flames shooting from the windows of his neighbors' home. He and his wife had just parked around the corner from their own house in Allentown, Pennsylvania, when they got a call from one of his daughters, "The house next door is on fire!" He went to investigate. That's when he saw two women and a girl hysterical (歇斯底里的)on their porch.

    "The baby's in there!" one of the women cried. Though the fire department had been called, Surrell, then 64, instinctively ran inside. "The baby" was 8-year-old Tiara Roberts, the woman's granddaughter and a playmate of Surrell's three youngest kids, then 8, 10, and 12. The other two on the porch were Tiara's aunt and cousin.

Entering the burning house was like "running into a bucket of black paint," Surrell says. The thick smoke caused him to stumble blindly around, burned his eyes, and made it impossible to breathe. The conditions would have been hazardous for anyone, but for Surrell, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (慢性阻塞性肺疾病), they were life-threatening. He was the last person who should have run into a burning building— he has lung disease. But that didn't stop him.

    After a few minutes in the smoke filled house, he retreated outside to catch his breath. "Where is Tiara?" he asked desperately." The second floor." her aunt shouted back.

    Surrell knew he couldn't hold his breath for long. So he uttered a little prayer, "Well, Lord, this is it. You gotta help me, because I'm not coming out without that little girl." Taking a deep breath, he went in a second time.

    The darkness was overwhelming. Yet because the house had a similar layout to his, he found the stairs and made it to the second floor. He turned to the right and was met by intense heat. He was already out of breath.

    "Baby girl, where are you?" His throat and lungs burned as if he'd inhaled fire instead of the smoke and soot in the air. Every blink stung his eyes. All he could hear was the crackling and popping of burning wood. ①.Still unable to see, Surrell fell to his knees on the hot wood floor. He crawled toward the sound, feeling around for any sign of the girl. An ominous thought crossed his mind: I'm probably gonna die up here.

    Finally he touched something. A shoe, then an ankle. He pulled Tiara toward him. ②Her body was limp and she wasn't breathing. He scooped her into his arms and stood. He felt the heat of the flames on his cheeks. Turning, he fought through the smoke and ran blindly into the blackness. The next thing he knew, he was at the front door, then outside. Surrell put Tiara down on the porch.

    ③. A voice told him, "You have to breathe for her." He started CPR -the first time he'd ever done so. The women stood behind him, praying silently. Soon a soot-filled cough came from Tiara's throat. Surrell gave five more breaths. She coughed again. Her eyes flickered. He gave one final breath. She opened her eyes and took a breath on her own.

    ④.Their eyes met. Surrell hugged her tight and said, "Uncle's got you.^" Soon after, his throat closed off.

    Surrell woke up in the hospital a couple of days later, having suffered severe burns to his windpipe and the upper portion of his lungs. He spent over a week in the hospital. Tiara was released from the hospital after a few days. The fire exacerbated Surrell's pulmonary condition, and he feels the effects even two years later. As a result, he takes extra medication that helps open his airways. "It's a small price to pay," he says. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Wouldn't give it a second thought."

We look forward to welcoming you to The Met! Please review our visitor guidelines outlined below before your visit. The Met reserves the right to ask visitors who do not follow these guidelines to leave the museum.

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