How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments, mostly for entertainment purposes, is fair and respectful?

    Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. However, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats. Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural homes.

    Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals' natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species' name, diet, and natural range. The animals' normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don't usually take care of the animals' natural needs.

    The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusually and self-destructive behavior called zoo-chosis(圈禁性精神病). A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.

    Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered. Captive breeding(圈养繁殖) of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. Haven't we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?

    Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals' natural habitats.

    Anki has introduced Cozmo, a little robot powered by an advanced artificial intelligence. Cozmo promises to be far more interactive（互动的）than any toy robot.

    Cozmo, which can lie in your hand, has a “brain”—technically its CPU—that can process data amazingly fast. In addition Cozmo has a playful personality. He's designed to react to emotions and even ask users to play with him.

    Cozmo is not the first interactive toy to reach the market nor is it the first robot toy. What sets Cozmo apart from the other “smart toys” is that it has greater play value than those toys, which can become repetitious all too quickly.

    “Every interaction with Cozmo is different, so you do not put up with repetitive patterns and responses typically found with other preprogrammed robots,” explained Anki spokesperson Peter Nguyen. Because it has functionality that is similar to that of video games, Cozmo also can receive regular updates, which could extend its playability. Still, Anki has designed this toy to be just that: a toy. It's not an advanced computerized robot. Its software is app-based.

    Cozmo lacks the “traditional” human-like robot form factor of legs, arms and a head. But Cozmo does have an OLED screen / face with blue eyes, which in fact were designed to help it connect with its user.

    “I'm glad my kids are already raised,” said Roger L. Kay, analyst an Endpoint Technologies Associates. “Otherwise, they might become more antisocial if their relationship with Cozmo is more satisfying than those with real people,” said Kay. “Cozmo might encourage kids to learn more about technology or even inspire them to try programming and similar studies,” said Charles King, analyst at Pund-IT.

    Yet this technology does promise to be more than a toy. “It's a pretty cool invention and might have further applications, for example in elder care,” suggested Kay.

    March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are some wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring.

    SongKran--Thailand

    Dates: 13th-15th, April

    In Thailand, it's time to celebrate the coming monsoon season, which will bring the rain many people have been looking forward to. They celebrate it with a festival called Songkran，when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray(喷，洒）everyone who walks past. If you walk on the streets where the festival is celebrated, prepare to get soaked!

    Naghol--Vanuatu

    Dates: Every Saturday from April to May

Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, an important part in the people's diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land diving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines(藤条) attached to their ankles(脚踝). The divers' heads have to lightly touch the ground when they jump—something very dangerous if the vines are not measured properly.

Cherry Blossom Viewing —Japan

    Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.

    The cherry blossom season has huge importance to the people of Japan, who celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals(花瓣）fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. This is one of the most beautiful things to see. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.

    A day in the life of 18­year­old David Lanster is full of typical teenage stuff: school, baseball practice and homework. And then he starts cooking. "Some nights I'm up until 1: 00 a. m. making pies, or even later if we're cooking beef," said the student at Ransom Everglades High School in Florida, US.

    For the past year, Lanster and Kelly Moran, his classmate, have been hosting fancy dinner parties at Lanster's parents' home. Their meals have 17 courses and are all made by themselves. Their guests used to give them gifts to thank them until the pair decided to do something nice for charity. "We got some really great Miami Heat tickets, a nice watch, and many kitchen gadgets (小器具)," Lanster said. "But we wanted to make this something positive for people other than us."

    Lanster and Moran focus on Common Threads, a charity that aims to teach kids in poor communities to cook and make healthy eating choices. The young cooks ask their guests to give however much they want as payment for their meals. It all goes to Common Threads because Lanster's parents cover their food costs. After their last 12­person event, Lanster and Moran gave $1,600 to the charity.

    Now, they're taking their show out of the kitchen and on the road. They have started to organize private dinner parties with a similar model: the host pays for the ingredients, and the guests make a donation to a charity of their choice.

    Without formal training, Lanster said he had been interested in cooking since he helped his mom in the kitchen when he was very young. He learned how to cook by reading cookbooks and watching TV programs. Outside the kitchen, the two are busy preparing their college applications. Neither of them is sure what they will do in the future, but they've promised their parents that they will leave professional cooking alone until they finish school.

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