How can we reduce the risk?

    There are four general approaches to dealing with volcanic dangers. We can try to keep the danger from occurring - often an impossible task. We can try to change its path or reduce its impact on existing development. We can take steps to protect future development. We can also do our best to have disaster response plans in place before they are needed.

Removing the Threat

    Clearly, there is no way to stop an eruption. We can, however, attempt to reduce the eruption's effects by strengthening structures, for example, building protective works such as walls to make lava(熔岩) flow away from developed areas. Such efforts can be and have been successful, but are of limited use in a large-scale eruption.

Planning for the Future

    Protecting future development from volcanic dangers is a simple task. Before building houses, we should judge the risk. If the risk seems too great, a safer location should be found. This type of planning is very effective, but all too often, people are drawn to the lush(葱郁的)，rolling land of a quiet volcano.

Disaster Preparedness

    When a volcano comes to life, a few weeks may not be enough time to avoid a tragedy. Planning is the key to saving lives. Well before the warning signs occur, people must be educated about volcanic dangers. Escape plans must be in place. Communication between scientists, officials, the media, and the general public should be practiced. Emergency measures must be thought out and agreed upon.

    If you doubt the importance of these efforts, take another look at past volcanic tragedies, such as the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz. Communication failures left the town of Armero unprepared for escape. When a deadly mudflow came down the slope(斜坡), 21,000 people— 90 percent of the town's people--died.

    Stress is an inevitable part of a busy and modern life. Time and time again, we see people feeling overwhelmed because of stress. But after years of being dosed up by doctors and seeking solutions on the self-help shelves, can most common complaints be cured through your next holiday? The festival doctor will see you now.

    Complaint

    Prescription（处方）

    Dosage(剂量)

    Guilty

    Restart yourself at the Wanderlust Festival

    A weekend at any Wanderlust Festival should restrain some of the shame you are feeling. Empty your mind with meditation (冥想) sessions in the mountains of America or adjust your feelings with a sound bath in Santiago, Chile.

    Sad

    A healthy dose of laughter at Just for Laughs in Montreal, Canada in July.

Have fun at the largest comedy festival, which attracts more than two million ha-ha hunters every summer. Apart from 250 comedy acts, there will be walkabout theater ,circus acts and lots of new comedy films to make you laugh to tears.

    Over- thinking

    Get nourishing food for your thought at the U.K.'s How the Light Gets In in May.

    Spend a week or so in the company of like-minded individuals and you will see you are not the only one over-thinking things. The world's largest philosophy festival, held in Hareous Wye, will have talks, debates and classes on culture, philosophy, politics, art and science.

    Heart-broken

    Find one of your favorite fish in the sea at Ireland's Matchmaking Festival in June.

    A week at Liverpool's Matchmaking Festival could be a choice as Ireland's mythical matchmakers have been pairing lovers together for centuries. Try to find Willie Dally, a fourth-generation matchmaker, for your best chance of everlasting love. Those who touch his lucky book are said to fall in love and marry within six months.

    Feifei, an 11-year-old boy from Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, suffered from a sudden acute eye disease which has almost led to blindness. The disease was caused when he overused his eyes during the winter vacation, during which he played computer games for continuous 10 days and nights.

    Many youngsters in China nowadays are increasingly addicted to computer games and other electronic products. This is followed by a series of health problems, with the most typical case being myopia, or nearsightedness.

    According to the latest research report released by the World Health Organization (WHO),the myopia rate among Chinese teenagers ranks first in the world—70 percent of high school and college students. The rate is nearly 40 percent in primary school students, while it is only 10 percent for their peers in the United States.

    There are at least 10 million people in China with severe myopia, and they are likely to get pathological myopia（病理性的近视） in middle age. Pathological myopia can't be treated with glasses or surgery, and it is one of the biggest factors that lead to blindness, Xu Xun, an expert at Shanghai General Hospital, pointed out.

    Experts explain that two major factors lead to the high rate of myopia among Chinese people. One is high academic pressure, and the other one is excessive use of electronic devices over a long period of time. Genetics, on the other hand, are not the main reason, as only 20 percent of Chinese people had myopia in the 1960s.

    "Teenagers are now faced with severe academic pressure, which means they often study without natural light. This increases their risk of becoming nearsighted," Xu said. Experts suggest that youngsters maintain a proper balance between study and rest so as to protect their eyesight, and parents should play an active role in the process.

The Climb to the Top

    My life as a kid was a sweet life. I lived in a beautiful house with the beautiful surroundings in Puerto Rico. There was one particular thing I loved and it was a huge tree that was in my backyard. As a child, I used to climb the tree every day. Every time I went, I climbed higher and higher, reaching new branches, obstacles, and pathways on my way up. One day, I reached the top and I could see my island. I felt I was on top of the world, and nothing could stop me. Then, there was the day that seemed like the end of my life. This specific day changed my life forever.

It was a nice summer day. After breakfast, my family headed to the park to see my baseball game. In the evening we went to a carnival (嘉年华) in my town. My grandma was selling blankets under a tent. Suddenly, the mood of the day changed when my parents took me to my grandma's tent. Still to this day, I remember the exact words my dad said to me, "Son, how would you like to move to the United States?" I couldn't believe what he said. I then ran away from him as the tears rolled down my cheeks. My perfect life was being taken away from me.

    Two weeks later, we arrived at New York in late July, and my aunt and uncle drove us to Springfield，Massachusetts where we lived for seven years. Once we got there, I met my mom's family for the first time. September came and school started. I was afraid to go to a new school and make new friends. Most kids ignored me and some tried to talk to me, but I couldn't understand them or say anything. My first year in the United States was not fun or easy but I worked hard and got through it.

    Now that I'm grown, I look back on the journey that I've been through: living in a new place with no friends, new language, and new schools. Despite all those problems, I still remembered that special tree. That tree taught me to never give up and reach higher. I have beaten every difficulty that I have met in life and I just kept moving forward. My perfect life was never taken away from me; it has just started.

    One day when I was 5, my mother scolded (责骂) me for not finishing my rice and I got angry. I wanted to play outside and not to be made to finish eating my old rice. When angrily opening the screen door with my foot, I kicked back about a 12-inch part of the lower left hand corner of the new screen door. But I had no remorse, for I was happy to be playing in the backyard with my toys.

    Today, I know if my child had done what I did, I would have scolded my child, and told him about how expensive this new screen door was, and I would have delivered a spanking (打屁股) for it. They never said a word. They left the corner of the screen door pushed out, creating an opening, a breach (裂缝) in the defense against unwanted insects.

    For years, every time I saw that corner of the screen, it would constantly make me think about my mistake. For years, I knew that everyone in my family would see that hole and remember who did it. For years, every time I saw a fly buzzing (嗡嗡) in the kitchen, I would wonder if it came in through the hole that I had created with my angry foot. I would wonder if my family members were thinking the same thing, silently blaming me every time a flying insect entered our home, making life more terrible for us all. My parents taught me a valuable lesson, one that a spanking or stern (严厉的) words perhaps could not deliver. Their silent punishment for what I had done delivered a hundred stern messages to me. Above all, it has helped me become a more patient person and not burst out so easily.

    At a comedy night at Johns Hopkins Univerity in Maryland, members of the school's comedy(喜剧) club bring lots of laughter to their classmates with funny speeches and humorous body movements. These college student comedian's humour entertains busy, young people and eases their stress.

    Yet the club member Arella Shua says comedy is serious work. Every comedy starts as an individual project-- each member writes their own material. Then they try it out in weekly club meetings where all club members read the material, going joke by joke and seeing what works and what doesnt. Nothing unsatisfactory will be compromised(妥协). In this way comes a satisfying comedy.

    Ariella joined the club last year. Now she does not go anywhere without bringing something on which she can take notes. "Whenever I just have a thought in my head or when I see something or overhear someone saying something in the library, I just put it down, "Arielae explained. "when I'm trying to write my own set, I go through that……to see if there is anything in there that I can use."

    Club president Nicholas Scandura finds writng one of the many skills he has developed since joining the club."Writing jokes takes a lot of critical thinking." he said. The club gives its members a sense of community. When they meet, they share funny experiences. tell jokes and laugh.

    Harry Kuperstein discovered the club was a natural fit. Noticing the funny qualities of different situations improved his way of looking at the world. Becoming an active member also helped him work on the future skills he'll need as a medical doctor. "Having jokes ready to go might help smooth these interactions and make you a better public speaker, " he said.