Do you know how it is when you see someone yawn and you start yawning too? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it's because we have mirror neurons (神经元）in our brains.

    Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate (模仿)it，whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further： mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions _y they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people.

    Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to ( for example ："The hand took hold of the ball" ) , the same mirror neurons were triggered as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball).

    Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much researeh suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders.

    Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with ever more information concerning how humans behave and interact(互动）.Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent (相等物）for ncurosciencc of what Einstein's theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does--well，perhaps you'll understand why.

    Book: No Looking Back

    Author: Shivani Gupta

    Shivani had thrown a party one evening and awoke the next morning in hospital because of a car crash. It took Shivani years of pain, struggle and determination to regain control of her life and her body. Then tragedy struck again. As the newly-married Shivani drove to Manali with her family, a truck crashed into her car. Shivani refused to give in-she wouldn't let her injury keep her from achieving her ambitions.

    Book：Courage Beyond Compare

    Author: Sanjay Sharma

    The 10 sportspersons in the book are champions in diverse fields like athletics, swimming and badminton, who have brought glory to the country. They overcame their physical limitations to reach the top of their chosen fields.

     Book: Face to Face

    Author: Ved Mehta

    Blind since the age of four，the author led a lonely childhood in India until he was accepted to the Arkansas School for the Blind, to which he flew alone at 15. America and the school changed his life, leading him to degrees at Oxford and Harvard and a fruitful writing career.

Book: This Star Won't Go Out

Author: Lori and Wayne Earl

    Diagnosed with cancer at 12, Esther Earl was a bright and talented, but very normal teenager. She lived a hope-filled and generous life. A cheerful, positive and encouraging daughter, sister and friend, Esther died in 2010, shortly after turning 16, but not before inspiring thousands through her growing online presence.

    The STAR Eco Station is an environmental science museum, a wildlife rescue center, and a shelter for endangered and illegally-traded foreign animals confiscated (没收) by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It carries out the mission "Preservation through Education "by educating visitors about the preservation of the environment and the inter-dependence of all living things.

    Field trips

    STAR Eco Station hosts field trips for schools and camps throughout Southern California. Each field trip lasts two hours, consisting of a one-hour gathering and a one-hour tour of the facility, with lessons associated with California State Science Standards.

    Throughout the field trip, students learn about the latest developments in environmental protection and the ways in which wildlife interacts with various ecosystems. The students also receive an up-close and hands-on experience with our rescued foreign wildlife. The tour includes different environmental exhibits that showcase the ways students can help protect animals in the wild.

    Field trips are offered on weekdays only, from 10 a. m.-12 p. m. or 12 p. m.-2 p. m. The rate is $6 per visitor, both child and adult, with a $120 minimum. We offer one free adult per 10 children for groups of 40 or more. Maximum capacity is 120 people per field trip.

    Public tours

    Guided tours of the STAR Eco Station introduce visitors to over two hundred rescued foreign wildlife. Each tour is led by an Eco Station staff member, and features fun animal facts, hands-on animal encounters, surprising rescue stories, environmental exhibits, and original approaches to going green. Visitors may only see the animals on a guided tour, for both your safety and the safety of our animals.

    The guided tour lasts approximately 45-60 minutes. Visitors are served on a first-come, first-served basis. No reservations are required. However, tours may sell out. We suggest larger groups schedule a private tour.

Note:

    Our regular public tours times are subject to change without notice・ Please call in advance for the most up-to-date information

    It was the final climb on his search to reach the highest top on all seven continents. When Christopher Kulish finally reached Mount Everest's 29,035-foot peak, he joined an elite group known as the "Seven Summits Club"(七峰俱乐部). But the 62-year-old Colorado attorney died suddenly Monday after returning to the first camp below the mountain's summit. He's the second American to die in the past week after reaching Everest's highest point. His family believes the cause was a heart attack, according to theDenver Post. "He saw his last sunrise from the highest peak on Earth," his brother, Mark Kulish, said in a statement to the Denver Post. "We are heartbroken at this news."

    Last week, 55-year-old Donald Lynn Cash of Utah collapsed and died just after reaching the Everest peak. He too had reached the highest point on all seven continents. Including Christopher and Cash, at least 11 people have died on Mount Everest this year.

    The deaths come among reports of overcrowding on the popular mountain. The Nepali government granted a total of 381 permits to climb Everest this year, a number that doesn't include guides who are on the mountain as well. For some climbers, that traffic has meant longer wait times — some told the Himalayan Times the wait has been over two hours between the last camp and the peak. Mountaineer Vanessa O'Brien, who has also climbed the seven summits, said when there's a crowd, being a more experienced climber won't help you. "It doesn't matter if you're the best racecar driver in the world. If you're stuck in traffic, you're stuck in traffic," she said in an interview.

    And when a climber is stuck in that traffic, "their body is starting to deteriorate(恶化)." O'Brien, who set a record as the fastest woman to reach the highest peak on every continent, also said the descent(下降) is often harder than the climb.

    Climbing expert Alan Arnette said there's no simple explanation for the string of deaths. He said weather that has led to a shorter climbing season is one factor causing overcrowding. He also said the cost to climb Mount Everest has decreased, which means more people are making the journey. He urged the governments in charge of granting(同意)permits to limit how many people can be on the mountain at once.

    Still, Christopher was no beginner. His family said he'd been mountain climbing for five decades. He arrived at the base camp nearly two months before his climb so he could give himself time to adapt to the conditions. When he made his journey, his family said he was climbing with a small group in almost ideal conditions after some of the overcrowding had cleared.

    His brother described being a lawyer as a "day job" for Christopher. Climbing was his love. "He was an inveterate climber of peaks in Colorado, the West and the world over," Mark Kulish said. "He passed away doing what he loved."

When your boss calls and tells you to send $100,000 to a supplier, be on your toes. It could be a fake call. As if fake emails weren't enough, on the rise now is the deep fake audio (虚假音频) that can be cloned to sound almost real and perfect and is easy to create. "It's on the rise, and something to watch out for," says Vijay Balasubramaniyan, the CEO of a company called Pindrop.

Balasubramaniyan stated during a safety meeting how easy it is to use machine to create sentences that a person probably never said from recorded words. "All you need is five minutes of audio, and you can create fake audio," says Balasubramaniyan. Then, he showed a database (数据库) of voices, typed a sentence, and connected it to a famous people's name on the list. A few seconds later, he clicked "play", and it sounded quite real.

More costly are fake phone calls, where cheaters are able to fake the phone number of real contacts and make calls that result in workers sending off lots of money. He mentioned the example of a United Kingdom energy company in 2019 that got attacked by deep fake audio in a call that asked a worker to send $243,000 to a supplier. Reported by the Wall Street Journal, the worker was directed to pay it within an hour.

Balasubramaniyan says if you were to get that kind of call from a "boss" be doubtful and ask to call back right away to prove authenticity (真实性). Besides this, in his opinion, companies need to use more safety measures for keeping up with deep fake artificial intelligence (AI) that produces phone calls and software to check authenticity versus fake calls. "This is a threat that's waiting to happen," he says. "It's a very small number now, but it's very real."

More than 400 athletes across a variety of sports, ages and levels of experience were questioned for the study by sports psychology experts from Staffordshire University and Manchester Metropolitan University. The findings reveal that athletes' belief systems—specifically irrational（非理性） beliefs—are related to poorer self-confidence, and in turn, greater competitive anxiety and depressive symptoms.

"Phrases that reflect self-depreciating（贬低） beliefs such as 'If I lose, I'm a failure' or 'If I face setbacks, it shows how stupid I am' are warning signs," said the authors. Paul Mansell, Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University, said, "Despite the psychological benefits of physical activity, studies frequently report poor mental health in athletes, which may be exacerbated by adversities, such as injury, de-selection, and performance pressure. We investigated athletes' beliefs, how they view stress, their levels of self-confidence and put all this data together to work out what might predict psychological well-being. We found irrational beliefs to be a core reason for symptoms of poor mental health in athletes."

This is the first known study that has examined irrational beliefs, self-confidence, and the psychological well-being of athletes all together. Irrational beliefs are extreme, rigid, and illogical ideas that people hold. For example, a person might believe that they "must" get what they want, or that just because they have failed, they are a "complete failure".

"We can all work to help athletes develop mindsets that help them deal with the challenges of sport and life. By encouraging rational and logical beliefs about performance, we can help athletes to stay healthy amidst the high demands of competitive sport," said Paul Mansell.

The author s propose Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy(REBT) as an effective tool for protecting self-confidence. REBT helps athletes to challenge these self-depreciating beliefs and develop beliefs that are more helpful and healthy. For example, rather than believe "I am a failure if I fail", this might be countered with "Failing is not ideal, but it does not mean that I am a failure".