Mickey Mouse's ears are well known all over the world, and this year will be an especially fun one for Disney. The company is celebrating 60 years since its first theme park, Disneyland, opened in California, US in 1955.

Disney has opened many more parks all over the world since it made history in California, Shanghai Disneyland is expected to open in 2016, bringing Disney's popular parks here to the Chinese mainland for the first time.

So why has Disneyland been so popular for 60 years? Well, it's described as "the Happiest Place on Earth" and "a place for the young and young at heart”. Many Americans have grown up with the parks, as ex—Disneyland president Paul Pressler said in 1995: " There is an emotional relationship that people have with this park.”

Disneyland was one of the first theme parks anywhere in the world that had “lands” and rides with themes. Disney's storytelling in rides like roller coasters is a big reason for their parks' success. “We tell a story in everything we do,”Pressler said. Disney rides such as The seven Dwarves Mine Train and Peter Pan's Flight come from its movies. One ride from its 2013 hit movie Frozen will surely be coming soon, perhaps at the new Shanghai Disneyland.
Disney's parks haven't always been popular everywhere, however. When Disneyland Paris opened in 1992, some French people felt that American culture was invading(入侵)France. But still, the park stayed open and today it is a popular place for European visitors.

Whatever you may think of them, you can't say that on their 60 th birthday, Disney's parks aren't still going strong. How many Disney theme parks will you have visited by the time their 70 th birthday comes around?

    This is a song， and millions of Americans will hear it on New Year's Eve. It is called "Auld Lang Syne" (《友谊地久天长》). It is the traditional music played during New Year's celebration. "Auld Lang Syne" is an old Scottish(苏格兰)poem. It tells about the need to remember old friends.

    The words "auld lang syne" mean "old long since". No one knows who wrote the poem first.

    However， a version(版本)by Scottish poet Robert Burns was published(出版)in 1796. The words and music we know today first appeared(出现)in a song book three years later.

    The song is played in the United States mainly on New Year's Eve. The version you are hearing today is by the Washington Saxophone Quartet. One of the 4 musicians in the group is VOA's Rich Kainfaite. As we end our programme with "Auld Lang Syne"，I would like to wish all of our radio friends a very happy New Year! This is Buddy Thomas.

Do you have trouble trying to create the next big idea?

Sometimes the answer isn't to just force an idea out of your mind.

Instead, you might want to try sitting back, relaxing and letting your mind wander（走神）. Yes, you heard that correctly. If you are in need of a new idea, try daydreaming.

Daydreams allow your mind to run freely and even increase productivity in some cases. Daydreaming develops creativity which is why you have an ah-ha moment and sudden insight（领悟） about a situation. Daydreaming allows you to uncover thoughts and ideas you did not realize you even had and get the thoughts hidden under the surface.

Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, found a connection between daydreaming and creative problem-solving. Their study includes making participants first do an "unusual-use task". They had to try to come up with as many different ways to use an object as they could.

Then, the participants choose to do one of the following four things before doing the "unusual-use task" again; complete a difficult task, complete an easy task, take a 12-minute break, or skip a 12-minute break and move right on to the task exercise again.

Surprisingly, the group that performed best was the one that completed the easy task. Many participants reported that they were daydreaming while performing the easy task. So the researchers believed that this daydreaming might have helped unlock their creativity.

But how could daydreaming help the brain come up with creative ways? The answer is something known as "unconscious thought". Even when you are not actively working to solve a problem, it is still in the back of your mind. Your brain is still thinking about the problem, but in a way that you are unaware of.

When you daydream, your mind is allowed to think in ways it normally would not. Because it is free of control, it can create completely new and out-of-the-box ideas.

Great ideas never come easily, but that does not mean you always have to work hard to get them. Feel free to do what you want and let your mind wander.

Have you ever heard of the facechanging, or "bian lian" in Chinese? Facechanging started 300 years ago. Now it's popular in the southern part of China. It's an important part of Sichuan Opera. While the actors are performing, you can see different feelings and characters through their face masks(面具). It's said that ancient people painted their faces to drive away wild animals. Later, Sichuan Opera makes this ancient skill become its own part and turns it into an art.

In modern Sichuan Opera, many skills are used to change masks, and they have been passed down only within theatre families. In the beginning, opera actors changed the colors of their faces during shows by blowing into a bowl of red, black or gold powder(粉末). The powder would stick to their oiled skin quickly. In this way, actors could change their faces in just a few seconds.

In modern Sichuan Opera, actors wave their arms and turn their heads, and their painted masks are changed again and again. Full­face painted silk masks are often used by modern actors. They are so thin that actors can change about 10 masks in 20 seconds. Actors change their masks with a hand or by turning their heads.

No matter how many times the face­changing is shown in Sichuan Opera, you can find people lost in wonder every time. And don't be surprised when you see the facechanging of Sichuan Opera on the street of a foreign country. The traditional Chinese art is getting popular around the world.

It was the final part of an international race. With just 700 metres to go, Mike was in third place and his younger brother, John, was in the lead. Mike pushed himself towards the finish line in the burning heat, but as he came around the comer, he saw his brother about to fall onto the ground. Mike had to choose—brotherly love, or a chance to win the race?

For Mike, the choice was clear. His brother was in trouble. He had to help. Mike ran towards John, caught him and started pulling him towards the finish line. Mike then pushed his brother over the line. The move put John in second place and Mike himself in third. It was an unexpected end to the race, so reporters quickly crowded around Mike, asking him all kinds of questions. But Mike did not want to discuss it. His younger brother was rushed to the medical area, and he, just wanted to check on his dear younger brother.

The brothers have been practising running since they were children. "Naturally, when your elder brother is doing it, you think it's a cool thing to do," says John. Mike says that they encourage each other as much as they can when they train. Although they have disagreements about "stupid things" now and then, Mike agrees that having a brother is an advantage. "Throughout my whole life, Fve had my brother trying to beat me at everything I do. It has been a great power to push me fbrward."

Watched by millions, the ending to the race has different opinions: should the brothers be highly praised for their actions, or shouldn't they get the prizes? But for Mike, his decision was easy to explain: "Mum wouldn't be happy if I left John behind." At that moment, he was no longer a sportsman trying to win a prize—he was just a brother.