Tomato Festival

    Started in 2005, the Tomato Festival has grown into a local tradition in Malta． In recent years, the festival has added amusement park-style rides and a yearly Creature Feature, which screens old horrible movies．There are also dance competitions, parades and pancake breakfast．Third weekend in August．

    Address: 833 Tinkham Rd, Fountain Park, Wilbra-ham, Massachusetts 01095

Phone: （413）599-0010

                                                                                                           Brat Days

Don't mistake this festival for a day filled with poorly behaved children． Begun in 1953, the gathering is the biggest festival in the city each year and features more than 50 stands selling the sausage, as well as a contest to see who can quickly eat the most bratwurst in ten minutes．Early August．

    Address: 17th and New Jersey sts, Kiwanis Park, She boygan, Wisconsin 53081

Phone: （920）457-9491

                                                                                               Hope Watermelon Festival

    The festival dates back to the 1920s, when many trains went through this small town and local watermelon growers would sell their watermelon to parched travelers．These days, the festival sees a Watermelon Queen crowned（加冠的） and sometimes a world-record watermelon grown．There are also more than 300 stands selling arts and crafts from a six-state area, as well as a car show and the Watermelon Olympics．Early August．

    Address: 108 W 3rd St, Hope, Arkansas 71801

Phone: （870） 777-3640

                                                                                                     Oyster Festival （牡蛎节）

Featuring appearances from tall ships and oyster boats, this festival has regularly drawn 60,000 visitors a year since it began in 1978．More than 3,000 volunteers make the festival possible each year．Norwalk is less than a two-hour drive from many of New England's larger cities, making it easy to attend the festival during a trip to New York or Hartford．Weekend after Labor Day．

    Address: Sea view Ave, Veteran's Park, East Nor-walk, Connecticut 06855

Phone: （800） 866-7925

    “We leave at dawn and head out overland by jeep towards Base One. We will get as far as we can before proceeding on foot,” Mark explained. The others sat and listened. Sarah, particularly, as a “casualty of events”, wouldn't have known what to say or suggest even if she'd been asked. But Harry had a lot to say.

    “We'll never make it,” he protested(抗议). “We'll still be crossing the desert when they catch up with us. They'll know where we're heading for and they seem to know every move we make or are going to make.”

    Mark said nothing, but spread his hands out as if to say “Well, what do we do then?” “We wouldn't be in this mess now,” Harry went on, almost ignoring Mark's gesture, “if we hadn't stopped to rescue Sarah.”( He glanced at her briefly.) “But since we did, we must get on—but not across the desert. There is the sand, and deep ravines (沟壑) which are almost invisible until you're right on them and then the heat. You have to be used to going out there, and none of us is. This is no ‘morning at leisure' on some pleasant holiday, you know! If we went north instead and made for the river,…"

    He broke off and looked around at the others, feeling somehow that his argument was pointless. No one said anything.

    “Good,” said Mark, look around with authority, and returned to checking their stores.

    A beautiful sunrise was about to burst over the horizon as the jeep headed out towards Base One.

    Many of us remember being in awe(敬畏) when we saw cloned dinosaurs running wild in the film Jurassic Park. And the idea of using technology to revive(恢复) extinct species has long fascinated not only writers and directors, but scientists as well.

    According to The Telegraph, woolly mammoths(长毛猛犸象), which featured in the popular Ice Age animated movie series, “may walk the earth once more” now that scientists have taken another step toward realizing a long-held dream—recreating their DNA.

    Mammoths became extinct around 10,000 years ago. However, since the discovery of near-perfect preserved remains in Arctic permafrost(北极冻土带) in May 2013, a variety of research studies have been carried out since.

    Geneticists from Harvard University analyzed DNA from the remains, looking for genes which separated mammoths from elephants, such as hairiness and ear size. They then used the results to reproduce exact copies of 14 mammoth genes. “It is the first time that mammoth genes have been alive—although so far it has only been done in the lab,” George Church, lead researcher of the project, told the Sunday Times.

    Church then used a new technique which allows scientists to edit DNA carefully, replacing sections of elephant DNA with the mammoth genes. So “we now have functioning elephant cells with mammoth DNA in them,” he said.

    However, Church ruled out the possibility of bringing the mammoths back to life via cloning from frozen remains. He said he “preferred to focus on rebuilding the full mammoth genome(基因组) by analyzing DNA from preserved remains and putting it into the cells of its closest living relative – the Asian elephant,” reported The Telegraph.

    Church argued that the return of the woolly mammoth—or rather, the return of something very similar—could help bring back fragile(脆弱的) ecosystems. However, some scientists believe that bringing back the mammoth would be unethical.

    Professor Alex Greenwood, an expert on ancient DNA, said: “We may face the extinction of African and Asian elephants. Why bring back another elephant from extinction when we cannot even keep the ones that are not extinct around?” he told the Sunday Times. “What is the message? We can be as irresponsible with the environment as we want. Then we'll just clone things back?”

    “Money would be better spent focusing on conserving what we do have than spending it on an animal that has been extinct for thousands of years,” he said.

    You are given many opportunities in life to choose to be a victim or a creator. When you choose to be a victim, the world is a cold and difficult place. “They” did things to you which caused all of your pain and suffering. “They” are wrong and bad, and life is terrible as long as “they” are around. Or you may blame yourself for all your problems, thus internalizing(内化) your victimization. The truth is, your life is likely to stay that way as long as you feel a need to blame yourself or others.

    Those who choose to be creators look at life quite differently. They know there are individuals who might like to control their lives, but they don't let this get in the way. They know they have their weaknesses, yet they don't blame themselves when they fail. Whatever happens, they have choice in the matter. They believe their dance with each sacred(神圣的) moment of life is a gift and that storms are a natural part of life which can bring the rain needed for emotional and spiritual growth.

    Victims and creators live in the same physical world and deal with many of the same physical realities, yet their experience of life is worlds apart. Victims relish (沉溺) in anger, guilt, and other emotions that cause others—and even themselves—to feel like victims, too. Creators consciously choose love, inspiration, and other qualities which inspire not only themselves, but all around them. Both victims and creators always have choice to determine the direction of their lives.

    In reality, all of us play the victim or the creator at various points in our lives. One person, on losing a job or a special relationship, may feel as if it is the end of the world and sink into terrible suffering for months, years, or even a lifetime. Another with the same experience may choose to first experience the grief, then accept the loss and soon move on to be a powerful creative force in his life. In every moment and every circumstance, you can choose to have a fuller, richer life by setting a clear intention to transform the victim within, and by inviting into your life the powerful creator that you are.

    Listed here are four of the thousands of impressive museums around the world.

    The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Bilbao, Spain

    Built in 1997, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is one of the newest in the world. It has transformed the industrial city of Bilbao into a travelers' desired destination. The beautiful architecture of the museum has provided a dramatic background for movies and commercials.

    The Louvre in Paris, France

    Probably the most famous Louvre also holds the most famous painting in the world, the "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci. Crowds can be found any day surrounding the small, but mysterious painting of the smiling woman. But, the Louvre is much more than a home to the "Mona Lisa". The Louvre is visited by more people each year than any other museum in the world.

    The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, America

    Just opened in its new downtown location in 2012, the Barnes Foundation is "unique" in that it is a completely reproduced display from one man's private collection. Dr. Albert C. Barnes started collecting art in the early 20th century and collected, among others, the largest number of original Renoir paintings in the world.

    The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy

    Walking on the marbled floors feels like stepping back in time. The building itself is a beautiful palace—like structure with frescoes(湿壁画) decorating the ceilings and walls. Viewers are bowled over(印象深刻) by the works by Botticelli, such as "The Birth of Venus". Classic artworks from nearly 1, 000 years ago describe religious events of the time.

    Nature calms our stressed-out soul. Nature is the best medicine, but new research is showing how little time we need to set aside to harvest the benefits.

    In one new study, researchers tried to find the most effective "dose" (药剂) of nature within the context of normal daily life. As more doctors prescribe (开药方) nature experiences for stress relief and other health benefits — sometimes referred to as a "nature pill"— the study's authors hoped to make the details of these treatments clear.

    "We know that spending time in nature reduces stress, but until now it is unclear how much is enough, how often to do it, or even what kind of nature experience will benefit us," says lead author MaryCarol Hunter in a statement. "Our study shows that for the greatest payoff, in terms of efficiently lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisone (压力荷尔蒙激素), you should spend 20 to 30 minutes sitting or walking in a place that provides you with a sense of nature."

    A nature pill can be a low-cost, low-risk way to curb the negative effects of urbanization and indoor lifestyle. To find the most efficient dosage, Hunter and her co-authors asked 36 city citizens to have nature experiences of at least 10 minutes three times per week over eight weeks.

    Every two weeks, the researchers collected saliva (唾液) samples to measure levels of the stress hormone cortisone, both before and after the participants took a nature pill. The data showed that just a 20-minute nature experience was enough to significantly reduce cortisone levels. The effect was more efficient between 20 and 30 minutes, after which benefits continued to increase but at a slower rate.

    That fits with the findings of another recent study, which found that spending 20 minutes in an urban park can make you happier, no matter whether you use that time to exercise.

    For this study, 94 adults visited 3 urban parks in Mountain Brook, Alabama, completing a questionnaire about their subjective well-being before and after their visit. An accelerometer (加速计) tracked their physical activity.

    A visit lasting 20 to 25 minutes showed the best results, with a roughly 64% increase in the participants' self-reported well-being, even if they didn't move a great deal in the park. That last point is particularly positive, since it means anyone can benefit from visiting a nearby park, whatever his or her age or physical ability.

    "There is increasing pressure on green space within urban settings," said a UAB professor Gavin Jenkins. "Planners and developers look to replace green space with residential (住宅的) and commercial property. The challenge facing cities is that there is increasing evidence about the value of city parks but we continue to see the disappearance of these spaces."