Silence is unnatural to man.He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness.In between he does all he can to make a noise in the world,and he fears silence more than anything else.Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence.If he is introduced to another person,and a number of pauses occur in the conversation,he regards himself as a failure,a worthless person,and is full of envy of the emptiest-headed chatterbox（喋喋不休的人）. He knows that ninety nine percent of human conversation means no more than the buzzing of a fly,but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure（蜡塑人像）.

    The aim of conversation is not,for the most part,to communicate ideas;it is to keep up the buzzing sound.There are,it must be admitted,different qualities of buzz;there is even a buzz that is as annoying as the continuous noise made by a mosquito.But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito than a quiet person.Most buzzing, fortunately,is pleasant to the ear,and some of it is pleasant even to the mind.He would be a foolish man if he waited until he had a wise thought to take part in the buzzing with his neighbors.

    Those who hate to pick up the weather as a conversational opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish to talk.Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new.Some of them are content if they are merely allowed to go on making a noise into other people's ears,though they have nothing to tell them except that they have seen two or three new plays or that they had food in a Swiss hotel.At the end of an evening,during which they have said nothing meaningful for a long time.They just prove themselves to be successful conservationists.

    There's a curious thing about people.All of us are driven in some way or another to achieve—we want to run faster,be more creative,win more awards,and earn more money.But here's the thing: if you want to offer warm words of wisdom,constructive criticism or "360-degree feedback",then think again.Most of us would rather not hear it.

    Our easily-broken egos（自尊心）are partly to blame.We all want to meet our own expectations of ourselves,and so being critised can present a huge threat to our egos.Yet as decades of psychological theory and research have indicated,people have endless tricky strategies of remaining positive in the face of criticism.For this reason,rather than us welcoming feedback with open arms,our first response is often an automatic defense.These reactions serve to make us feel better about ourselves.

    Psychological research exposes this unhealthy appetite for ignorance.In one study,students watched a false educational film about a serious disease called "TAA Deficiency".In fact,TAA Deficiency is completely fictional,but the students were not told this information;instead,they were asked whether they wished to provide a cheek test for assessing（评估）their risk of developing the disease.Half of the students were told that if they ever developed TAA Deficiency,then the treatment would involve them taking a two-week course of pills.Of this group,52% agreed to provide the cheek test.The other half of students learned the treatment would involve taking the pills for the rest of their lives.Of this group,only 21% agreed to the test.

    These findings show a common pattern seen in other studies within and beyond the context of healthcare.That is,people are especially resistant to hearing feedback when they believe it could force them to do something difficult or unpleasant.

    In the rush to get to school, you drop a piece of toast on the floor. Do you throw it away or decide it's still OK to eat? If you're like most people, you eat it. Maybe you follow the “5-second rule”, which says foods are safe to eat if you pick them up within 5 seconds after dropping them. But you might want to think again. Scientists now say that 5 seconds is all it takes for foods to become polluted with enough bacteria to make you sick.

    Bacteria can cause many kinds of illnesses. Some kinds of bacteria can grow on food. If you eat foods on which these bacteria are growing, you can become sick.

    One of these food-borne bacteria is Salmonella. It makes 1.4 million people sick every year. Salmonella is often found in raw eggs and chicken. Cooking kills these bacteria, which is why it is so important to cook eggs, chicken, and other foods thoroughly.

    But how long does it take these bacteria to pollute food? A team of scientists in South Carolina did an experiment. First, they placed an amount of Salmonella on three surfaces: wood, tile, and carpet. They placed a piece of bread and a piece of sausage on each surface for 5, 30, or 60 seconds. After just 5 seconds, both the bread and the sausage picked up enough bacteria to make you sick.

    So, forget the 5-second rule. If your toast drops on the floor, throw it away and get another piece of clean toast. And next time, be careful not to drop it!

    Events at London Canal Museum

    There is plenty going on at London Canal Museum. We have regular monthly illustrated talks in the evening. We have summer boat trips through the long Islington Tunnel on certain dates. We have occasional special days of activities for families or adults. We also occasionally offer roses and castles painting courses, and other events.

    28^th May

Summer Tunnel Trips from the museum through Islington Tunnel and back. Booking is online—click this link. A guide will travel on the boat and will explain the history as you cruise through the lengthy Tunnel.

    31^st May

    Watery Wednesday an activity day for children, put on by our education team. Take a short boat trip! Suitable for ages 6-12 approximately. The theme is birds and butterflies, nature and the canal.

    1^st June

    Illustrated talk: Saving the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals by David Dixon. An epic story of the major tasks involved. ￡8.90 adult, ￡6.50 child including museum admission.

    Until 24^th September

Exhibition:Brindley 300 A large exhibition produced by the National Waterways Museum now showing in London for the first time. James Brindley was born 301 years ago, he was a pioneer of canals and, together with the “ Canal Duke”, of Bridgwater, he started the development of modern transport. His contribution to making this country a great industrial nation was great, and this exhibition celebrates his life and achievements.

    The events arrangement can easily be included into any other website and will automatically be updated. See Other Webmasters page for details.

    All Jalen Bailey wants is for his mom to be happy. So, the 8-year-old boy is using a hobby that brings him much joy to make enough money to buy her a house.

    Right now, they live in a small apartment in Fresno, California, because it's all they can afford, but Jalen is hoping to change that with his bakery. “I know Jalen wants me to have a bigger place, but I want the same for him,” Sharhonda Mahan, Jalen's mom, told TODAY. “He deserves a big kitchen to cook in and a backyard to run around in.”

    Jalen, who started baking at 5, opened Jalen's Bakery out of his kitchen on July 1 and has already raised $200. “I love baking because it's kind of like science,” Jalen said. “You get to put different baking materials into a bowl and make something new, which is what science is all about.”

    For now, he's delivering the baked goods locally around Fresno with the help from his mom — but he launched a GoFundMe, hoping to eventually ship nationwide. Jalen has always been a little entrepreneur(企业家), taking after his mom, a full-time nanny. In fact, he also has a photography business on the side.

    At 6, he started an annual back-to-school drive at a local homeless shelter and made bracelets to sell at school carnivals. He also took a business class in early June to learn how to start a lemonade stand, but decided to use those same skills to instead open a bakery.

    “Everyone in the family kept telling him how good he is at baking and suggested doing that instead of a lemonade stand,” Mahan said. “He agreed with them and the very next day, he was filling out an application to get his baking license.” Once he had his license, he attended his first business mixer. While networking with local bakers, he met one who offered to donate Jalen an oven, so he could bake even more cookies and banana bread.

    Stephen Hawking was a famous physicist. He was born in 1942. He died at his home on March 14h, 2018 in Cambridge, Britain.
    As one of the well-known physicists on space and time in the world, Hawking devoted his whole life to discovering the secrets of the universe, and he is called the King of the Universe. Since he was 21 years old, Hawking had been badly ill, but he didn't give up his hope of living. He went on to study at Cambridge University after graduating from Oxford University. In 1965, he got a doctor's degree. Then he worked as a professor at Cambridge University.

    Hawking was known for his work with black holes. He also wrote several popular science books. Although he didn't live as freely as others, he still felt he was happy and he was thankful to life. When Hawking was invited to China, he made speeches in some famous universities.

    From Stephen Hawking's whole life, we learn that no matter how bad life is, we should not lose hope. As he once said," Life is not fair, you just have to do the best you can in your own situation."