HOLIDAY FUN AT THE POWERHOUSE

500 HARRIS STREET ULTIMO·TELEPHONE

( 02 ) 9217 0111

    Join in the holiday fun at the Powerhouse this month linked to our new exhibition, Evolution & Revolution: Chinese dress 1700s to now. DON'T FORGET our other special event, the Club Med Circus School which is part of the Circus(马戏团)！150 years  of circus in Australia exhibition experience!

◆Chinese Folk Dancing: Colourful Chinese dance and musical performances by The Chinese Folk Dancing School of Sydney. Dances include: the Golden stick dance and the Chinese drum dance. A feature will be the Qin Dynasty Emperor's court dance. Also included is a show of face painting for Beijing opera performances.

    Sunday 29 June and Wednesday 2 July in the Turbine Hall, at 11：30 am & 1：30 pm.

◆Australian Chinese Children's Arts Theatre: Well­known children's play experts from Shanghai lead this dynamic youth group. Performances include Chinese fairy tales and plays.

    Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 July in the Turbine Hall, at 11：30 am & 1：30 pm.

◆Chinese Youth League: A traditional performing arts group featuring performance highlights such as Red scarf and Spring flower dances, and a musician playing Er Hu.

    Sunday 6 to Tuesday 8 July in the Turbine Hall, 11：30 am to 1：30 pm.

◆Kids Activity: Make a Paper Horse: Young children make a paper horse cut­out. (The horse is a frequent theme in Chinese painting, indicating a kind of advancement.) Suitable for ages 8～12 years.

    Saturday 28 June to Tuesday 8 July in the Turbine Hall, 12：00 pm to 1：00 pm.

◆Club Med Circus School: Learn circus skills, including the trapeze, trampolining and magic. Note only for children over 5. There are 40 places available in each 1 hour session and these must be booked at the front desk, level 4, on the day.

Tuesday 1 to Saturday 5 July at 11：30 am & 1：00 pm.

    Enjoy unlimited free visits and many other benefits by becoming a family member of the Powerhouse. Our family memberships cover two adults and all children under the age of 16 years at the one address.

    Members receive Powerline, our monthly magazine, discounts in the shops and the restaurants, as well as free admission to the Museum. All this for as little as $50.00 a year! Call (02)9217 0600 for more details.

    Should we allow modern buildings to be built next to older buildings in a historic area of a city? In order to answer this question, we must first examine whether people really want to preserve the historic feel of an area. Not all historical buildings are attractive. However, there may be other reasons—for example, economic (经济的) reasons—why they should be preserved. So, let us assume that historical buildings are both attractive and important to the majority of people. What should we do then if a new building is needed?

    In my view, new architectural styles can exist perfectly well alongside an older style. Indeed, there are many examples in my own home town of Tours where modern designs have been placed very successfully next to old buildings. As long as the building in question is pleasing and does not dominate (影响) its surroundings too much, it often improves the attractiveness of the area.

    It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoilt (破坏) the area they are in, but the same can be said of some old buildings too. Yet people still speak against new buildings in historic areas. I think this is simply because people are naturally conservative(保守的)and do not like change.

    Although we have to respect people's feelings as fellow users of the buildings, I believe that it is the duty of the architect and planner to move things forward. If we always reproduced what was there before, we would all still be living in caves. Thus, I would argue against copying previous architectural styles and choose something fresh and different, even though that might be the more risky choice.

    New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern of Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main lands—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Maui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu, and numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometers east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometers south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. The country's varied topography（地形）and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while the city that has the largest population is Auckland.

    Polynesians settled in the islands that were to become New Zealand somewhere between 1250 and 1300 AD, and developed a unique Maori culture. In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer became the first European to sight New Zealand In 1840, representatives of the British Crown（王室） and Maori Chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, making New Zealand a British colony. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 4.5 million is of European descent(血统), and the indigenous(土著的) Maori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly originated from Maori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Maori and New Zealand Sign Language, with English predominant(主要的).

    New Zealand is a developed country with a market economy that mainly consists of the exports of dairy products, meat and wine, along with tourism. New Zealand is a high-income economy and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life.

    China's box office numbers continue to grow rapidly. It is estimated that the revenues(收入) may pass the U. S. market's as soon as this year. However, this cinematic party could be over just as it's getting started. Some companies are working to convince consumers that the ultimate viewing experience is not on the big screen.

    Instead, it's on the small ones that are already in their pockets-thanks to the technology of virtual reality.

    Already, VR experience centers are popping up in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. They give customers the opportunity to watch VR movies or play VR games for about the same price as a discount movie ticket. Online video sites, meanwhile, are also moving into the VR field. Some of them, like Youku, have launched(推出) their own VR apps and channels.

    China has more than 700 million smartphone users. A large percentage of them are already more than willing to download and watch TV shows and even full-length movies on their handsets. This potentially makes them more likely to embrace VR content than Americans and Europeans.

    But in fact, it's not just Chinese companies and video websites that believe VR will pull viewers away from movie theaters. International production companies that, for years, have made block busters (大片) for cinema audiences are also warning that disruptive change is around the corner.

    Maureen Fan, chief executive of the Silicon Valley VR start-up Baobab Studios, after bringing her company's animated VR short Invasion to the Shanghai International Film Festival last year, concluded that the field had been evolving much more rapidly than she expected. "What I thought would take ten years has happened in one or two," she said. However, she also noted that the industry needs more people who can create great stories to move VR beyond a niche product(小众产品 ) and into the mass market. "The technology is already there. What continues to be lacking is good content," Fan said. "There's a certain amount, but we would love to see more."

    As the international demand for narrative films （纪录片）continues to increase with popular streaming services like Netflix and others, the two questions then come： Will the coming generations receive most of their entertainment through visual means rather than through the written word? Will such an increase of narrative film reduce the importance of reading?

    Growing examples of this trend include the dimishment(减少)of fiction lovers, the ever­rising culture of computer games, the wave of streaming services of wide international reach, and movies filled with special effects made for children and teenagers. Nor must we ignore the economic dangers that lie ahead for the written word. The narrative film industry is a moneymaker that surpasses the publishing industry.

    The other underlying question, of course, is "does it really matter if the written word bows to the world of narrative films?" From my point of view, any diminishment of fiction delivered by words is a loss for mankind.

    There is no greater human feature than the imagination. It lies at the very soul of the human species. It is the brain's most powerful engine. It is the essential muscle of life and like all muscles it must be exercised and strengthened.

    Writing and reading are the principal tools that inspire and create our imagination. Anything that diminishes that power is the enemy of mankind.

    It should be known that I am not opposed to new media and technological advances. Instead, I have always felt it necessary to adapt to advancing technology. In fact, a number of my novels are in various stages of development for film, TV and live stage productions. My hope is that the written word will only stand to be complemented(补充) by technology, not pushed to the edge of extinction.

    Of course, there are those who will present arguments for the superiority of the moving image over the written word. Each has its place. My argument is for finding the right balance between it and the moving image.

Parties and social gatherings no longer excite us the same way they once did. This is not due to a lack of desire to socialize, but the smartphone.

At parties, people focus more on their smartphones than on their drinks. According to a recent study from International Data Corporation，over half of all Americans have a smartphone and reach it the moment they wake up, keeping it in hand all day. In addition, too many people are using smartphones while driving and as a result, they get into car crashes. 34 percent of teens admit to text while driving, and they confirm that texting messages are the major interruption while driving. People's attachment (依恋) to their smartphones is unbelievably becoming more important than the lives of themselves and others.

Just as drivers dismiss the importance of focusing while on the road, many people also fail to recognize the significance of human interaction. When with their friends, some people pointlessly (无谓地) check or send messages in the presence of their friends., which means that their friends are less important. In addition, relying on our smartphones to make friends does not give us the same advantages as making new friends in the real world. Face-to-face conversations will give us the chance to improve our communication skills in the long run.

As many people risk their lives and the lives of people around them just to send a text or mindlessly check their messages, smartphones are in many ways more dangerous to people. The technology shows the achievement weaken the value of communication. Not only is the smartphone affecting our desire to interact face to face, but it is also lowering people's ability to communicate.