In the late 1950s, a Russian geneticist called Dmitry K. Belyaev attempted to create a tame (驯化的) fox population. Through the work of a breeding programme at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics at Novosibirsk, in Russia, he sought to find the evolutionary pathway of tame animals. His test subjects were silver-black foxes, a melanistic (带黑色的) version of the red fox that had been bred in farms for the color of their fur.

    He selected the animals based on how they responded when their cage was opened. About 10% of the foxes displayed a weak “wild-response”, meaning they were docile around humans. Those that hid in the corner or made aggressive voices were left in the farm. Of those friendly foxes, 100 females and 30 males were chosen as the first generations of parents.

    When the young foxes were born, the researchers hand-fed them. They also attempted to touch or pet the foxes when they were two to two-and-a-half months old, for strictly measured periods at a time. If the young foxes continued to show aggressive response, even after significant human contact, they were thrown away from the population—meaning they were made into fur coats. In each selection, less than 10% of tame individuals were used as parents of the next generation.

    By the fourth generation, the scientists started to see dramatic changes. The young foxes were beginning to behave more like dogs. They wagged their tails and “eagerly” sought contact with humans. By 2005-2006, almost all the foxes were playful, friendly and behaving like domestic dogs. The foxes could “read” human hints and respond correctly to gestures or glances.

    Hi, everybody! Welcome to our newly-opened Richards Cinema Bookstore!

    Now let me introduce to you some of the new film books in our store.

    Are you Chinese film fans? OK, here comes the latest 25 New Takes about Chinese films. It is a collection of 25 fresh readings of different Chinese films from the 1930s to the present. In recent years, Chinese films are very popular in the States, such as Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, Hero, and Flowers of Shanghai.

    Do you like French films? Well, here is The French Cinema Book. It covers French films from the 1890s to the beginning of the 21st century. It is written for all lovers of French cinema: students and teachers, specialists and fans, and so on.

    Maybe you are Indian film fans and star-chasers. Then here is Encyclopedia (百科全书) of Indian Cinema. The book is a complete introduction to all the best Indian films. It also offers a full list of names of the famous and successful film stars in the past ten years. You know, the Indian film industry is the largest in the world after our Hollywood.

    If you like British films, we have The British Cinema Book. It is a good review of British cinema. This book contains a good many nice pictures.

    In our bookstore, you can also find books about Mexican, Japanese, Australian, German and Italian films.

    Well, please help yourselves to some coffee or tea, and have a good time here!

    Have you ever found yourself in his situation: You hear a song you used to sing when you were a child-a bit of nostalgia(怀旧) or “blast from the past,” as we say. But it is not a distant childhood memory. The words come back to you as clearly as when you sang them all those years ago.

    Researchers at the University of Edinburgh studied the relationship between music and remembering a foreign language. They found that remembering words in a song was the best way to remember even one of the most difficult languages.

    Here is what they did. Researchers took 60 adults and randomly divided them into three groups of 20. Then they gave the groups three different types of “listen-and-repeat” learning conditions. Researchers had one group simply speak the words. They had the second group speak the words to a rhythm, or beat. And they asked the third group to sing the words.

    All three groups studied words from the Hungarian language for 15 minutes. Then they took part in a series of language tests to see what they remembered.

    Why Hungarian, you ask? Researchers said they chose Hungarian because not many people know the language. It does not share any roots with Germanic or Romance languages, such as Italian or Spanish. After the tests were over, the singers came out on top. The people who learned these new Hungarian words by singing them showed a higher overall performance. They did the best in four out of five of the tests. They also performed two times better than those who simply learned the words by speaking them.

    Dr. Katie Overy says singing could lead to new ways to learn a foreign language. The brain likes to remember things when they are contained in a catchy 3, or memorable 4, tune 5.

    Dr. Ludke said the findings could help those who struggle to learn foreign languages. On the University of Edinburgh's website Dr. Ludke writes, “This study provides the first experimental evidence that a listen-and-repeat singing method can support foreign language learning, and opens the door for future research in this area.”

Music

    Opera at Music Hall: 1243 Elm Street. The season runs June through August, with additional performances in March and September. The Opera honors Enjoy the Arts membership discounts. Phone: 241-2742. http://www.cityopera.com.

    Chamber Orchestra: The Orchestra plays at Memorial Hall at 1406 Elm Street, which offers several concerts from March through June. Call 723-1182 for more information. http: //www.chamberorch.com.

    Symphony Orchestra: At Music Hall and Riverbend. For ticket sales, call 381-3300. Regular season runs September through May at Music Hall in summer at Riverbend. http://www.symphony.org/home.asp.

    College Conservatory of Music (CCM): Performances are on the main campus(校园) of the university, usually at Patricia Cobbett Theater. CCM organizes a variety of events, including performances by the well-known LaSalle Quartet, CCM's Philharmonic Orchestra, and various groups of musicians presenting Baroque through modern music. Students with I.D. cards can attend the events for free. A free schedule of events for each term is available by calling the box office at 556-4183. http://www.ccm.uc.edu/events/calendar.

    Riverbend Music Theater: 6295 Kellogg Ave. Large outdoor theater with the closest seats under cover (price difference). Big name shows all summer long! Phone: 232-6220. http://www.riverbendmusic.com.

    An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and enjoy his late life.

    The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He did his job carelessly and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

    When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to examine the house and handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

    What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

    So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differently.

    Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or build a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived well. The plaque (匾牌) on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project."

    Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.