What is the nature of the scientific attitude, the attitude of the man or woman who studies and applies physics, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering, medicine or any other science?

    We all know that science plays an important role in our societies. However, many people believe that our progress depends on two different aspects of science. The first aspect is the application of the machines, products and systems of knowledge that scientists and technologists develop. The second is the application of the special methods of thought and action that scientists use in their work.

    What are these special methods of thinking and acting? First of all, it seems that a successful scientist is curious - he wants to find out how and why the universe works. He usually pays attention to problems which he notices have no satisfying explanation, and looks for relationships even if the data available seem to be unconnected. Moreover, he thinks he can improve the existing conditions and enjoys trying to solve the problems which this involves.

    He is a good observer, accurate, patient and objective and uses the facts he observes to the fullest. For example, trained observers obtain a very large amount of information about a star mainly from the accurate analysis of the simple lines that appear in a spectrum(光谱).

    He does not accept statements which are not based on the most complete evidence available. He rejects authority as the only basis for truth. Scientists always check statements and make experiments carefully and objectively.

    Furthermore, he does not readily accept his own idea, since he knows that man is the least reliable of scientific instruments and that a number of factors tend to disturb objective investigation.

    Lastly, he is full of imagination since he often has to look for relationships in data which are not only complex but also frequently incomplete. Furthermore, he needs imagination if he wants to guess how processes work and how events take place.

    These seem to be some of the ways in which a successful scientist or technologist thinks and acts.

    When the population of the port town began to suffer from poisoning, the police came to find the cause of the poison. They thought someone was poisoning the people on purpose but no one knew how it was possible. Soon people took the position that the pork was poisoned. It was a popular food everyone ate and it could have possibly made everyone sick. Anyone who had possession of pork would throw it out. Even the poorest of the poor wouldn't eat pork. Signs were posted on poles and letters were sent to everyone to warn people of the pork. Shortly afterwards, even policemen in high positions were also getting sick.

    Soon it became political and popular. Politicians rushed to the town to talk about politics and promised how they would find the solution if they were elected. Everyone was so sick that they didn't care about politics. Everyone was in a position where he or she didn't know what to do anymore. They went to the post office to mail posts out asking for help. The poor town didn't know how to deal with the situation.

    One day, a well-known scientist from New York came to the town with a huge box containing many instruments and his possessions. He went to pools and the port and made measurements. He was quiet and polite. Then one day he made a speech at a newspaper meeting-room to announce his findings.

    “I'm sorry to say your water supply is so heavily polluted; it is poisoned. I know who has been poisoning you all for such a long time. It is you who have been poisoning yourselves with pollution. A great deal of rubbish has been thrown into the water day after day. No one here has taken good care of the environment. It is no wonder all of you have been sick.” Shocked at the news, the people present were lost in thought.

Car Hire

    Hiring a self-drive car really adds to the enjoyment of your holiday.There are so many places of interest to visit, and if you enjoy seeing more than just the city center there's no better way to explore than by car.

Hire Charges:

    What's included

    a) Unlimited mileage（英里数）.

    b) Expenses on oil,maintenance and repairs,which will be repaid on production of invoices.

    c) Full insurance except personal accident (see below).

What's not included

    a) Personal accident insurance.

    b) Garaging, petrol, parking and traffic fines.

    Conditions of Hire:

    The shortest rental period at these special low prices is three days.For prices for periods of one or two days you only see our representative at the hotel.

    Car hire must be booked six weeks or more before arrival in London to guarantee a car.But if you have been unable to make a booking in advance please see our representative at the hotel who may still be able to help you.

    The car types on the sheet are examples of the types of cars in each price range,but particular car cannot be guaranteed.

    Upon delivery the driver (s) will be asked to sigh the car hire company's Condition of Hire.

    If you decide to hire a car,just fill in the Booking Form and return it to us.A booking fee of £ 12 as part of the car hire cost is required.

    Should you be forced to cancel your car hire booking after payment in full (two weeks before date of hire),a cancellation charge of £ 12 will be made.

    Both honeybees and ants are social insects that live in groups called colonies. They survive by means of their collective intelligence. Their decision-making power is distributed throughout the group; that is, no one ant or bee makes decisions for the group. Instead, they work together. As Deborah M. Gordon, a biologist at Stanford University, says," Ants aren't smart. Ant colonies are."

    The same is true for bee colonies. Although bees and ants are quite different physically, they have a lot in common in terms of their social behavior. Specifically, honeybees and ants have similar roles within the colony, both have communication systems, and both have the capacity for learning.

    Ants communicate by using chemicals called pheromones, which can alert others to danger or to a food source. For example, when worker ants find a promising source, they let the rest of the colony know how to find it by leaving a trail of pheromones on the way back to the colony. The other ants pick up the message using their sense of smell. Bees, on the other hand, use movement to communicate with each other. Worker bees send messages to each other by means of a "dance". Different speeds and movements send different messages. For example, when worker bees called scouts go out to find a new home for the colony, they return and do a dance for the other worker bees that indicates the location of the new home and how suitable it is. The faster the scouts dance, the better the new location is.

    Honeybees and ants are both capable of learning. One Chinese study found that bees can be trained to learn and remember a route to a food source. The researchers also found that bees can be taught to recognize hidden objects and use the concepts of "sameness" and" difference" to accomplish certain tasks. Ants take this one step further. Recent American research has shown that ants not only have the ability to learn, but also can teach their foraging skills to other younger ants.

They observed that older ants accompany young ants in search of food and teach them the route and how to avoid obstacles.

    As we can see, the social behavior of honeybees and ants is quite similar. Both coordinate complex actions and accomplish crucial survival tasks by cooperating in groups consisting of many individuals. Unintelligent as they may be as individuals, as groups they often show amazing brilliance as they go about their everyday activities.

May's Midi Festival

    As a rock festival, the Midi Festival 2017 in Beijing presented a musical carnival for fans. It was the 13th year of the outdoor music feast. This year, about 100 rock bands from home and abroad performed on five stages. It was held at a suburban park known for its mountains and grasslands. With beautiful scenery and exciting music, it was a good opportunity to enjoy rock with friends and family.

    2：00—10：30 P. m. , from April 29 to May 1. China Music Valley Grassland Park, Pinggu District. 400-610-3721.

    Fans of Painting

Ancient Chinese calligraphers(书法家)and painters were fond of painting on the folds of fans. Their excellence has left a wealth of outstanding works. A fan painting show exhibited 990 Ming and Qing(1368—1911)dynasty calligraphy and painting works on folding fans. They were selected from the collection of the National Museum of China. The themes of these fan paintings fell into four categories：natural landscapes, flowers and birds, figures and calligraphy.

    10：00 a. m. —2：30 P. m. , from April 29 to May 29. National Museum of China, 16 East Chang'an Avenue. 010-651-6400.

    Poetic Portraits

    Two artists held a joint exhibition with paintings featuring portraits of Chinese women in poetic poses. Wang Xiaojin, who is from Shandong Province, has been exhibiting since 1993. The other artist, Xu Zhigang, is originally from Liaoning Province, but is now in Beijing.

    10：00 a. m. —8：00 P. m. , from April 28 to June 20. Rong Gallery, Sheraton Pudong Hotel, 38 Pujian Road, Pudong New Area. 0137-6408-7294.

    Group Show

    The artist group,“island6”, worked in new media and held a show titled     Body-City-Mechanism. Through interactive video, photography, oil on canvas and sculpture, the artists explore themes of man and cyberspace.

    10：00 a. m. —6：00 P. m. , from April 30 to June 28. Studio Rouge, 50, Moganshan Road, Putuo District. 021-5252-7856.

    Many automobile makers present their newest designs at car shows around the world. Many designers seek to create the car of the future. One device that is popular among car manufacturers(生产商) is an autopilot. Autopilot permits a car to drive itself without human control.

    A recent car show in Geneva, Switzerland also presented other possible designs, including cars manufactured in 3-D printers.

    Rinspeed is a Swiss design company. It showed a vehicle based on the US electric car Tesla Model S, but the Rinspeed car includes a large television and an espresso coffee maker.

    Frank Rinderknecht is the CEO of Rinspeed. He says he does not want to just sit and watch the steering wheel(方向盘) turn as he rides in a car with autopilot.

    "I want to ride; I want to sleep, relax, watch movies, news, anything else. So that's the vision which we have. One day on the boring motorway traffic, you just do anything which makes your life better," said Rinderknecht.

    One of the most interesting ideas presented at the show is a car built on a 3-D printer. The German engineering firm EDAG designed the car. The body of the vehicle called "Genesis" is printed in one piece from a material called thermoplastic(热塑性塑料).

    Christoph Horvath is spokesman for EDAG.

    "To create a car without the use of any tool. This would be a real revolution for the industry," said Horvath.

    EDAG says it based its design on a turtle shell. The company says the design provides the right amount of strength and firmness.

    Other automakers did not look so far into the future. Czech automaker Skoda presented its "Vision C" model vehicle. The car has an environmentally friendly natural gas engine.

    Jo Davidson is a company spokeswoman. She says the car releases very low levels of the pollutant gas CO₂. Ms Davidson says the "Vision C" plans to be launched in two years.