Salvador Dali(1904-1989)was one of the most popular of modern artists. The Pompidou centre in Paris is showing its respect and admiration for the artist and his powerful personality with an exhibition bringing together over 200 paintings, sculptures, drawing and more. Among the works and masterworks on exhibition the visitor will find the best pieces, most importantly the Persistence of Memory. There is also L' Enigme sans Fin from 1938, works on paper, objects, and projects for stage and screen and selected parts from television programmes reflecting the artist's showman qualities.

The visitor will enter the World of Dali through an egg and is met with the beginning, the world of birth. The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain.

    The exhibition shows how Dali draws the viewer between two infinities (无限). “From the infinity small to the infinity large, contraction and expansion coming in and out of focus: amazing Flemish accuracy and the showy Baroque of old painting that he used in his museum-theatre in Figueras,” explains the Pompidou Centre.

    The fine selection of the major works was done in close collaboration (合作)with the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain, and with contributions from other institutions like the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.

    The Open Hand — a Universal Sign

    When meeting people at the airport,{#blank#}1{#/blank#} We know that a smile is usually a sign that people feel friendly and happy, but what if we don't know who the new person is?{#blank#}2{#/blank#} What if we are meeting a stranger in an unfamiliar place? Sometimes people are dangerous and humans have to find ways to protect themselves. We have to make sure we can trust people we do not know,{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Showing our hands means that we are not armed（武装）. In many cultures today, the Western custom of shaking hands is used. We use our right hand, which is usually stronger than the left one. If we are using our hand this way, it cannot be holding a knife or a gun. It shows that we trust the other person,{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Not all cultures use the handshake,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Japanese people might cover one hand with the other and, depending on whom they are greeting, bow slightly or quite low. In India, Hindu people join their hands in front of their faces and bow their heads. A Muslim will touch his heart, mouth and forehead（前额）to show respect. Even young people in the West now give each other the “high five”, when they slap（拍）each other's hands high in the air. They are all keeping their hands busy. In almost all cultures, to smile and show an open right hand means, “Welcome, you are safe with me.”

A. What if I want to show that I am bored?

B. most people smile and shake hands with people they meet.

C. and that the other person can trust us.

D. What if we are not introduced by a friend?

E. and people in many Asian cultures do not always touch another person.

F. and we have to show that we are not dangerous.

G. nor are they comfortable in the same way with touching or distance between people.

    November 11 is Veterans Day in the United States. A "veteran" is anyone who has served in the armed forces. The term "veteran" is not just for those who have served in wars. It describes anyone who has ever been in the army.

    On November11, people hold ceremonies(仪式) and parades(游行) to mark Veterans Day. Public officials take part in the events. Army bands play. And soldiers fire guns into the air to remember those who died in service to their country.

    The history of Veterans Day relates to World War I. Many people at the time called it "the war to end all wars." The United States entered the fighting in Europe in 1917. Over 13 million men and women were reported for duty in the army. World War I ended at 11 o'clock in the morning on November 11, 1918. The following year, President Woodrow Wilson signed an official statement to celebrate November 11th as Armistice Day in the United States. It would be a day to honor the men and women who had served in the U.S. armed forces during the war. In 1926, Congress made Armistice Day a national holiday.

    But new problems were on the way. Soon, everyone knew that World War I would not be the war to end all wars. In all, more than 4,000,000 Americans served in the armed forces during the first World War. And 16 million would serve during the second one.

    Armistice Day in 1945 was a special day in the United States. Germany had surrendered in May 1945 and Japan in August. Most men and women who had served in the war were home. So, instead of honoring just veterans of World War I, Americans also honored veterans of World War II. In 1954, Congress decided to change the name of Armistice Day. The holiday became Veterans Day.

    Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.

    Sometimes, however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburger. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered. "We came from Hamburger." One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburger ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called "hamburgers". Today "hamburgers" are sold in many countries around the world.

    Whether this story is true or not, it is certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting, too. The reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary.

    When you eat fish, you probably eat it off a plate, using a fork. Well, the dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia, eat their fish from conch（海螺）shells!

    Scientists have found some of these bottlenose dolphins（宽吻海豚）using their large beaks to trap fish in shells underwater. Then, carrying the shells to the surface, they shake out the fish into their mouths and eat them. Clearly, using the conch shells allows the dolphins to catch more fish than they would be able to without such a tool. The technique has been called "conching".

    Researchers noticed dolphins engaging in the behavior a handful of times from 2007 to 2009. This dolphin trend seemed to become popular.

    Simon Allen, a scientist, was surprised to see the conching technique spreading. "In the lasts four months alone, the research team have seen and photographed the behavior no less than six times, possibly even seven," he said in a press release. He thinks the dolphins may be learning conching from one another.

    Dolphins are known to be highly intelligent. The size of their brain is large in proportion（比例）to their body size. Compared with other animals, they have highly developed communication and social skills. This species of dolphin also uses other tools. They will break off pieces of sponges that grow in the ocean, for example, and use them to cover their beaks. This allows them to search for food on the ocean floor without hurting their noses.

    Scientists are going to keep trying to catch the dolphins in the act of conching. They hope to see evidence of the dolphins teaching one another the technique. They also want to know how the dolphins get fish in the conch shell. Do they push the fish into the shell with their beaks? Or do they chase the fish into the shell before carrying them up to eat?

    However they do it, Allen believes these dolphins to be particularly clever. "I wouldn't be too surprised to find such cunning ploys being adopted by Shark Bay's bottlenose dolphins," he said in statement.

    Are you interested in country music? I like it very much! It will take me away for a while after I am tired. The guitars and songs will take me to mountains and fields. Country music usually talks of everyday life and feelings. It's the spirit of America, easy to understand, slow and simple. Country music developed in the Southern United States. It was the folk music of American countryside. Many of songs tell about the lives of farmers. They talk about love, crops or death.

    The life of the countryside can be hard, so the words in country music are often sad. At first, people played the music only at family parties. But it became more popular later. In the 1920s, people played country songs on the radio, and they made them into records. When people in the countryside moved to towns and cities to look for work, they took their music with them. Country music continued to change and became popular across America. John Denver was one of America's most famous country singers in the 1970s. His song "Take Me home, Country Roads" is well-known and people still play it today.