The world seems gloomy(阴沉的)and gray when you're feeling blue. In fact, being down might even affect how you perceive(感知)the color blue. A recent study about color was published in the journal Psychological Science. It shows a direct connection between a person's ability to perceive color and their emotions.

    Psychologists have long known that emotions can affect the way people perceive things. That's in part because chemicals from your brain might affect how you process what you see. “Color is such an important part of our experience,” says lead author Christopher Thorstenson, a psychologist at the university of Rochester, in New York. There's reason, he says, that sad people commonly describe the world as “colorless” and “gray”, and happy people use words like “bright” and “colorful”.

    In the experiment, the researchers randomly assigned people to one of two groups. People in the “sadness” group watched a sad scene from The Lion King. Those in the “amusement' group watched a comedy.

    Everyone was then asked to look at red, yellow, green, and blue patches(斑点)that had been changed to a grayish color. “Some of the patches are pretty difficulty to make out,” Thorstenson admits he says it takes some time to figure out their shade. People were scored on how accurate their color perception was. Then they completed an emotional evaluation.

    The result? Sad people had a hard time seeing the difference between shades along the blue-yellow color axis(色轴). But they did no have problems seeing colors in the red-green spectrum(光谱). Thorstenson says this could be the result of an evolutionary need to see red as a response to anger.

    Thorstenson says these results highlight the possible important of dopamine in sight. Dopamine is a chemical that sends signals to the brain. Researchers are hoping to focus more on dopamine in the future. “We know dopamine affects how we see colors, too,” Thorstenson says “How we feel can really influence how we see the world around us” he says.

    Living and dealing with kids can be a tough job these days, but living and dealing with parents can be even tougher.

    If I have learned anything in my 16 years, it is that communication is very important, both when you disagree and when you get along. With any relationship, you need to let other person know how you are feeling. If you are not able to communicate, you drift apart. When you are mad at your parents, or anyone else, not talking to them doesn't solve anything.

    Communication begins with the concerns of another. It means that you can't just come home from school, go up to your room and ignore everyone. Even if you just say “Hi”, and see how their day was for five minutes, it is better than nothing.

    If you looked up the word “communication” in a dictionary, it would say “the exchange of ideas, the conveyance （表达）of information, correspondence （通信）, means of communication: a letter or a message”. To maintain (保持) a good relationship, you must keep communication strong. Let people know how you feel, even if it's just by writing a note.

    When dealing with parents, you always have to make them feel good about how they are doing as a parent. If you are trying to make them see something as you see it, tell them that you'll listen to what they have to say, but ask them politely to listen to you. Yelling or walking away only makes the situation worse.

    This is an example: one night, Sophie went to a street party with her friends. She knew she had to be home by midnight after the fireworks, but she didn't feel she could just ask to go home. That would be rude. After all, they had been nice enough to take her along with them. Needless to say, she was late getting home. Her parents were mad at first, not when Sophie explained why she was late, they weren't as mad and let the incident go. Communication is the key factor here. If Sophie's parents had not been willing to listen, Sophie would have been in a lot of trouble.

    Communication isn't a one-way deal: it goes both ways. Just remember: if you get into a situation like Sophie's, telling the other person how you feel-listening is the key factor to communication.

    If a trip to Rome or Paris is in your future, be prepared: The European Union Parliament is calling for an end to visa-free travel Americans. EU lawmakers passed a resolution urging the EU Commission to impose visas on U. S. citizens traveling into the 28-nation bloc.

    The dispute(争论)centers on reciprocal treatment of travelers from EU nations and the United States. While Americans have been able to travel throughout EU member nations without a visa, the U. S. still requires citizens of five EU countries-Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania-to apply for entry visas when visiting the U. S, Reuters reports. Citizens of the other 23 EU member nations can use the U. S. visa waiver program to enter America. The EU lawmakers are calling for mutual treatment for all EU citizens, says Reuters. They've given the EU Commission two months to respond.

    The trans-Atlantic visa dispute first came to light in April 2014, according to an EU Parliament news release. At that time, five countries-Australia, Brunei, Canada, Japan and the U. S. –required visas for some EU citizens. Since then, Australia, Brunei and Japan have lifted their visa requirements for all EU citizens. Canada, which currently imposes(推行)visa requirements on Bulgarian and Romanian citizens, plans to follow suit in next December, leaving just the United States at odds with the issue of reciprocity of visa-free travel with the EU.

The EU says if a visa requirement for Americans is introduced, it would be temporary, according to a story in Money, which did not give a time frame.

    On Monday, my classmates and I heard that our astronomy teacher's mother had died. We were surprised that he was still teaching in school. My best friend was telling me that the teacher was trying to forget the pain of losing his mother and trying to be strong in the middle of teaching.

    The teacher was such a warm-hearted person and we figured that we should give him a lot of love and good cheer. That night after school, my best friend and I thought about our teacher as well as his beloved mother and then we came up with an idea.

    When we went back to school yesterday, we gave him cheer-up cards which we had taken time to decorate with flowers, hearts and peace signs. As we handed the cards to him, we could both see the light in his eyes. The smiles on his face showed how much he appreciated what we did for him. The whole atmosphere was very warm and loving, and it's hard to express in words.

    This morning, when we both went to see the teacher again, he was so happy, and gave us both a hug. This made us feel that we just might have made his day, and that he was going to be okay.

    With that, I want to remind you to take the time to smile at the ones you love, be extra generous with hugs, kisses, things of that lovely nature! Life is so precious (宝贵的), so let us be happy and enjoy the gift of life.

    Chris Mazdzer won a silver medal in a men's luge (无舵雪橇) singles event at 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, South Korea — equaling the best finish ever for any member of the US Olympic luge team. In the luge, competitors lie flat, feet first, on a small sled (雪橇). They can travel around an icy track at speeds up to 140 kilometers an hour. The riders control the sled's speed by changing the position of their feet or by moving their shoulders.

    So why did the US luge team win a medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics? Most credit must go to Chris Mazdzer himself. The American said his win was a product of 16 years of preparation and intense training. But another reason for Mazdzer's success could have been the 3-D printing technology, which his team used to make its equipment.

    The term 3-D is short for three dimensional, meaning an object with length, width and height. In 3-D printing, 3-D models are first created as files, or documents, on a computer. The printer then uses a substance (物质) like plastic or metal to create physical objects. The process involves making one layer of material at a time until the objects reach full form.

    The US luge team worked with an American company called Stratasys on the designing and manufacturing process for the sleds. First, the company made a scan, or image, of the body of every member of the luge team. Then, 3-D printing technology was used to create tools for making molds (模子) in the shape of Olympians on top of a sled. The process of designing and tooling sled parts is highly complex and can take several weeks. Officials from the US luge team say 3-D printing can greatly simplify the process, speeding up the production of parts.

    Jon Owen, says the use of 3-D printing has made the team more competitive. It helps the team “continuously adjust designs and run the sleds on the track much faster than traditional processes,” he said. He added that the technology also provides a way to perfectly fit each rider to the sled, while cutting production time and costs.

HK, mainland university to open in Guangzhou

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), will start its very first semester in the Guangdong provincial capital in September, undertaking its mission {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (train) new talent for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Ma Shu, deputy director-general of the city government, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (say) HKUST(Guangzhou) is the first cooperative university in Guangzhou and the first university in the city's Nansha district, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} has become a new engine for economic growth.

"HKUST (Guangzhou) {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (expect) to become a role model for higher education collaboration between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, as well as a world-class university to train the right kind of talent for the development of the GBA and the entire country," Ma said at a news conference in Guangzhou {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Monday.

It will serve as a research university for scientific and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (technology) innovation, industrial upgrading and the high-quality development of the GBA, he said.

The university {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (aim) to integrate the high-quality education resources of the mainland and Hong Kong, Ma said, adding that by exploring cutting-edge and crossover {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(discipline) it can build a new internal management system and mechanism to help cultivate innovative talent with {#blank#}9{#/blank#} international perspective.

The deputy director-general said the city government would continue to {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (financial) support the construction of the second phase of the university in the coming months.