History has witnessed the endless productions of Shakespearean plays in every major language of the world. It is never rare to find that Mozart packs Japanese concert halls, as Japanese painter Hiroshige does Paris galleries, Unique works of this kind are different from today's popular art, even if they began as works of popular art. They have set themselves apart in their timeless appeal and will probably be enjoyed for centuries into the future.

               In a 1757 essay, the philosopher David Hume argued that because“the general principles of taste are uniform(不变的) in human nature,”the value of some works of art might be essentially permanent. He observed that Homer was still admired after two thousand years. Works of this type, he believed, spoke to deep and unvarying features of human nature and could continue to exist over centuries.

               Now researchers are applying scientific methods to the study of the universality of art. For example, evolutionary psychology is being used by literary scholars to explain the long-lasting themes and plot devices in fiction. The structures of musical pieces are now open to experimental analysis as never before. Research findings seem to indicate that the creation by a great artist is as permanent an achievement as the discovery by a great scientist.

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        A scientist working at her lab bench and a six-old baby playing with his food might seem to have little in common.After all,the scientist is engaged in serious research to uncover the very nature of the physical world,and the baby is,well, just playing…right? Perhaps,but some developmental psychologistshave argued that this“play”is  more like a scientific investigation than one might think.

Take a closerlookat the baby playing at the table.Each time the bowl of rice is pushed over the table edge,it falls in the ground—and, in the process, it belongs out important evidence about how physical objects interact ; bowls of rice do not flood in mid-sit, but require support to remain stable. It is likely that babies are not born knowing the basic fact of the universe; nor are they ever clearly taught it. Instead, babies may form an understanding of object support through repeated experiments and then build on this knowledge to learn even more about how objects interact. Though their ranges and tools differ, the baby's investigation and the scientist's experiment appear to share the same aim(to learn about the natural world ), overall approach (gathering direct evidence from the world), and logic (are my observations what I expected?).

Some psychologists suggest that young children learn about more than just the physical world in this way—that they investigate human psychology and the rules of language using similar means. For example, it may only be through repeated experiments, evidence gathering, and finally overturning a theory, that a baby will come to accept the idea that other people can have different views and desires from what he or she has. for example, unlike the child , Mommy actually doesn't like Dove chocolate.

Viewingchildhood development as a scientific investigation throws on how children learn ,but it also offers an inspiring look at science and scientists. Why do young children and scientists seem to be so much alike? Psychologists have suggested that science as an effort —the desire to explore, explain, and understand our world—is simply something that comes from our babyhood. Perhaps evolution provided human babies with curiosity and a natural drive to explain their worlds, and adult scientists simply make use of the same drive that served them as children. The same cognitive systems that make young children feel good about feel good about figuring something out may have been adopted by adult scientists. As some psychologists put it, ”It is not that children are little scientists but that scientists are big children.”

    Animals have been used, and sometimes abused(虐待), in movie-making since the early days of the industry. However, the American Humane Association has worked for many years to protect animals in films. And, the digital age might make animal actors unnecessary.

    The new film “Dolphin Tale” tells about a dolphin that loses her tail because of an injury from a crab-trap. A doctor provides her with an artificial tail that saves her life. The film is based on a real event. And the star of the film, Winter, is a real dolphin that lost her tail. The American Humane Society worked with the movie's makers to make sure Winter stayed safe and healthy during filming. The animal protection group does this for all animal actors in America.

    A thick book of rules and guidelines tells Hollywood moviemakers how to treat animals. Karen Rosa leads the American Humane Society's film and television group. He said, “Everything from the smallest insect to the largest mammal shall be protected. We believe that for the sake of entertainment, everybody should go home alive.

    This was not always the policy in the early days of film. In 1939, a horse was forced off a mountain, falling to his death, in the movie “Jesse James.” The next year, guidelines were established to guarantee safe and healthy conditions for animals in movies.

    A new film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” tells about the creation of super intelligent apes through science. However, no real animals were among the performers. Computer generated imagery provided the chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans that movie goers see. Clare Richardson is the president of the Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund. She says computer generated imagery should decrease the use of animals in the film industry. She praises movie makers for the use of computer-made animals.

    Why is pink or purple a color for girls and blue or brown for boys?

The answer depends largely on cultural values as well as personal experiences. To the Egyptians, green was a color that represented the hope and joy of spring, while for Muslims, it means heaven. Red is a symbol of good luck in many cultures. In China, children are given money in a red envelope to bring good fortune in the New Year. For many nations, blue is a symbol of protection and religious beliefs. Greek people often wear a blue necklace hoping to protect themselves against evils (灾祸).

    People's choice of colors is also influenced by their bodies' reactions (反应) toward them. Green is said to be the most restful color. It has the ability to reduce pain and relax people both mentally and physically. People who work in green environment have been found to have fewer stomachaches.

Red can cause a person's blood pressure to rise and increase people's appetites (食欲). Many decorators will include different shades of red in the restaurant. Similarly, many commercial (商业的)websites will have a red “Buy Now” button because red is a color that easily catches a person's eye.

    Blue is another calming color. Unlike red, blue can cause people to lose appetite. So if you want to eat less, some suggest that eating from blue plates can help.

    The next time you are deciding on what to wear or what color to decorate your room, think about the color carefully.

    Some young Cambodians are learning a new sport — skateboarding. The country's first skateboard park is located on the grounds of a local charity group at the edge of Phnom Penh, the capital.

    Sports like Khmer boxing and soccer are wildly popular in Cambodia. But Chea, who has been skating for 6 months, says skating has already become his favorite sport.

    The skaters are learning tricks like launching off a jump or half-pipe and flying through the air on their narrow wooden boards.

    A non-governmental organization called Skateistan Cambodia organizes weekly programs at the park. Skateistan started its work in Afghanistan years ago. Rory Burke is working with the group which expanded to Cambodia last year.

    Rory Burke points out, "Yeah, it's definitely not a typical Cambodian pastime (消遣). And I think the idea of 'why skateboarding is that it's not been done before here. We want to use skateboarding as something saying, 'Hey, this is new, this is something different. And that kind of itself becomes a little bit of hook. People see it and they think and they say, "Wow, 'what is that?', and they want to get involved. "

    Skateistan partners with local groups that work with young people. The park is on the grounds of the group known as PSE, where children attend school and learn a trade. There are almost one hundred twenty participants. They all come from troubled lives.

    Seventeen-year-old Sang Rotha is a student at PSE. "Sometimes I don't do well on subjects like math," he says, "I feel bad when I find it hard to keep up with my lessons. So that is why I skateboard—to improve my bad feelings. "

    He says he began skateboarding more than a year ago. Before he started training, it seemed very easy. But it was very difficult to learn tricks, and he got hurt a lot from falling off.

    Rory Burke says learning to deal with the difficulties is part of the lesson for these young skateboarders.

    What's fiercer than a lion? The honey badger (蜜獾), one of the toughest mammals in Africa and western Asia. Honey badgers stand less than a foot high. They are only a couple feet long. They weigh just over 20 pounds. Yet they have a reputation for toughness that is far greater than their size.

    So what makes the honey badger so tough? They have speed, but so do many animals. They aren't stronger than lions, so how do they stop them? The thing that sets the honey badge apart is their skin. Their skin is thick and tough. Arrows, spears, and bites from other animals can rarely go through it. Not only is their skin thick and tough, it is also loose. This allows them to twist and turn to fight back while another animal is attacking them.

    Honey badgers have long, sharp claws. These claws are good for attacking and even better for digging. Honey badgers are some of nature's most skilled diggers. They can dig a nine-foot tunnel into hard ground in about 10 minutes. They love to catch a meal by digging up the holes of frogs and snakes. They also use their digging skills to create their homes. They live in small holes in the ground and defend them fiercely.

    You don't get a reputation like the honey badger by running from danger. The honey badger is a fearless and tireless fighter. They will attack any creature that threatens them, man included. Because of the honey badger's reputation, most predators (食肉动物) avoid them. Some animals use the honey badger's reputation to their advantage. Adult cheetahs (猎豹) have spotted coats, but their kittens have silver manes (鬃毛) and look like honey badgers. Some scientists believe that their coloring tricks predators into avoiding them.

    You might be wondering: "If honey badgers are so tough, how did they get a name that makes them sound like a piece of candy?" The answer makes sense. Since honey badgers have such thick skin, bees rarely harm them. So honey badgers love to attack beehives(蜂窝). Honey badgers run after honey so aggressively that beekeepers in Africa have to use electric fencing to hold them back. There's nothing sweet about that.