Wanted, Someone for a Kiss

    We' re looking for producers to join us on the sound of London Kiss 100 FM. You' ll work on the station's music programmes. Music production experience in radio is necessary, along with rich knowledge of modern dance music. Please apply(申请)in writing to Producer Vacancies, Kiss 100.

Father Christmas

    We're looking for a very special person, preferably over 40, to fill our Father Christmas suit.

    Working days: Every Saturday from November 24 to December 15 and every day from December 17 to December 24 except Sundays, l0:30 —16:00.

Excellent pay.

    Please contact (联系) the Enterprise Shopping Centre, Station Parade, Eastbourne.

Accountants Assistant

    When you join the team in our Revenue Administration Unit, you will be providing assistance within all parts of the Revenue Division, dealing with post and other general duties. If you are educated to GCSE grade C level we would like to talk to you. This position is equally suitable for a school leaver or for somebody who has office experience.

Wealden District Council

Software Trainer

    If you are aged 24 -45 and have experience in teaching and training, you could be the person we are looking for. You should be good at the computer and have some experience in programme writing. You will be allowed to make your own decisions ,and to design courses as well as present them. Pay upwards of ￡15,000 for the right person. Please apply by sending your CV (简历) to Mrs. R.. Oglivie, Palmlaee Limited.

    The best festivals in Europe

    Whether they're in the countryside or a post-industrial landscape, Europe's yearly festival calendar means new events, old favourites, crazy people and great charm.

    OFF Festival, Poland

    A small festival in Katowice in south-west Poland, OFF has, over the past 10 years, built an international audience thanks to a challenging and interesting mix of acts. This year's selection focuses on female artists: singer-songwriters Feist and PJ Harvey headline, while Swedish pop singer Anna von Hausswolff and classical composer turned electronic producer Anna Meredith are also on the bill. Meanwhile, the experimental poetry and performance project by Moor Mother will undoubtedly be an unmissable show.

    ·4~6 August, ￡55, off-festival.pl

    Melt, Germany

    What would Melt be without its “sleepless stage”--a non-stop music marathon that runs from Saturday morning to midday on Monday? The German festival for those who love an all-hours party takes place in Ferropolis, Gra fenhainichen. This year, the festival celebrates its 20th anniversary, bringing 20,000 people together. A party train from Cologne also serves as your weekend accommodation! A worthy summer alternative to a party weekend in Berlin.

    ·￡140,14~16 July, melt festival.de

    Primavera Sound, Portugal and Spain

    A festival that has rapidly grown to attract visitors from across Europe with its electronic music, guitar-led acts and plenty of sunshine, Primavera Sound takes place in Barcelona and, since 2012, also in Porto, under the name NOS Primavera Sound. The Barcelona edition takes place across six days with an abundance of DJs on call to keep people dancing, while the smaller, three-day Porto festival has Bicep, Nicholas Jaar and Richie Hawtin, who will be doing a closing on the Friday night.

    ·Barcelona 31 May~4 June, ￡195; Porto 8~10 June, ￡110, primaverasound.com

    From July to October every year, about a quarter of the world's blue whales feed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. But the whales currently face a major threat in their favorite feeding area. Ships carrying cargo (货物）sail in the same area at the same time. All too often, the whales' paths and the ships' travel lines overlap (重叠), and a ship will hit a whale.

    According to a new study, these ship strikes have become a serious threat to the overall population of the world's blue whales. Only about 10,000 of the creatures still exist worldwide. Blue whales are the largest known animals ever to live on Earth. Even so, if hit by a container ship, a blue whale will likely die from its injuries.

    In 2007 alone, large ships killed five blue whales in the waters off San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says that because there are so few whales already, losing three to five from the California whale population every year is a significant loss. “The estimated population of blue whales in this part of the Pacific is 2,500”, says Sean Hastings, a NOAA analyst. “So every whale counts toward this species moving off the endangered-species list.”

    Now, marine scientists must figure out how to protect the whales from the giant container ships. One very simple program is already under way in the Santa Barbara Channel, a waterway that separates mainland California from the nearby Channel Islands.

    The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary has asked large container ships passing through the area to voluntarily slow down. Sailing slower will allow the ships‟ crew (船员）more time to change course before hitting a whale.

    Several of the world's largest shipping lines are set to participate in the new program. For every ship that passes through the Santa Barbara Channel at or below the reduced speed of 12 knots (海里/小时）, the company that owns the ship will be paid $2,500.

    Can animals be artistic? Painting and music are part of efforts to keep animals happy at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.

    A sloth bear (长毛熊) called Francois is one of the National Zoo's artists. He began his artistic career two years ago. Francois has a very unusual way to paint. He uses his breathing to paint. His zookeeper, Stacey Tabellario, says that although the technique may look strange, it is actually a very natural behavior for sloth bears. The zookeepers fill one of those tubes full of paint and ask them to breathe through it. And they blow all of the paints onto the canvases (画布), making these really cool paintings.

    Animal artists come in all shapes and sizes at the Zoo. They use many kinds of techniques to create their works of art. Apes use paintbrushes. Many use their paws or claws—much like a human painter who would use his or her hands.

    Stacey Tabellario says Francois seems to enjoy expressing himself through his art. “When I set up the materials for painting activity, he comes and sits next to them and waits until they are ready for painting. He does that every time. I also see where his eyes go. He does see the paints come out of the tube and land on the canvas.”

    But not every animal wants to paint. Music is another part of the arts enrichment program. Physically and mentally stimulating activities are an important part of the daily care of the animals. Trainers have a lot of tools, from tablet computer to small toys.

    Kenton Kerns says the program helps the animals and the zookeepers in many ways. Every interaction between keepers and their animals creates some sort of connections. The one-of-a-kind works of art created by the animals are popular with zoo visitors. Many are sold at the zoo's fund-raising events.

    If you cannot afford to travel in any class above economy, flying generally sucks, either a little or a lot, depending on your tolerance level. But it especially sucks if you are too wide for the airline's design.

    Just getting to your seat can be a challenge, as your hips (臀部，髋) bounce from seat to seat on each side of the aisle (过道). If someone is standing up to put things in the overhead locker, there is a decision to be made about whether it's worth trying to squeeze past. Everything is just slightly too small: the seats, the overhead lockers, even the bathrooms—and those, it seems, are getting even smaller.

    The Washington Post recently reported that, on some newer planes flown by American, Delta and United airlines, the bathrooms in economy class are just 61cm wide: about 25cm narrower than the average portable toilet, and roughly the width of the average dishwasher. Your face might be the only thing you can poke in there comfortably—which makes it a poor design, considering what a passenger is likely to need the bathroom for.

    According to the manufacturer, these "Advanced Spacewell" bathrooms make space for six additional passengers, which is great for the airlines' financial bottom line. But what about the other bottom line? Concerning, well, bottoms that can't fit into their planes' bathrooms?

    As bodies get bigger and aeroplane spaces get smaller, the wide among us have come up with solutions. Armrests that turn us into sausages (香肠) can be pulled up, or slowly encased (围住，包起) into the soft flesh of our sides until we go numb (麻木). We can ask the flight attendant to get us a seat-belt extender, if security has confiscated the one we brought with us, as can sometimes happen. But squeezing into a tiny toilet and closing the door behind us? Not workable.

    Unlike the impossible task of squeezing down the aisle to your seat, or the side-to-side dance necessary to get big hips past the armrests, fitting into a space just 61cm wide is not just a challenge—it is almost impossible. It is not like missing out on an option for the in-flight meal—a bathroom is as essential as a safety-compliant seat belt, or the air that is pumped in to the cabin (飞机舱). If airlines are not willing to make space for us, bigger passengers may have no option but to reconsider booking a flight at all.

A researching team analyzed data from long-running studies conducted in Brazil and South Africa to assess whether children exposed to early adversities (逆境), such as extreme poverty, low birth weight, and pre-term birth, could reach their full learning potential by experiencing responsive caregiving and opportunities to learn in their home. They found that early life adversities matter throughout life. Teenagers who had been exposed to multiple adversities early in life had lower IQ scores, were more likely to have difficulties adjusting socially and psychologically, and achieved a lower physical height compared to teenagers exposed to fewer adversities. They also found that being raised in a nurturing (培育) environment could significantly counteract the negative effect of early adversities on IQ and help children achieve their full potential of intelligence.

Globally, more than 250 million children younger than 5 years are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential because of adversities that co-occur early in life and worsen with age. In the US, almost one in five children are raised in poverty and 15 percent do not complete high school. Exposing these children to a nurturing environment, whether at home or in daycare or pre-school settings, can lead to cognitive (认知的) benefits that last into teenage and beyond.

Parents should provide nurturing environments, which include interacting with young children in a positive way such as reading children's books from the library, singing songs together, and playing games with numbers and letters. Children who join in age-matched housework like picking up toys and clearing the table gain skills and feel good about helping. Get children involved in friendly activities as much as possible rather than park them in front of a screen. Children love to learn and in a nurturing environment, they can grow into teenagers and adults with the abilities to care for themselves, their families, and their communities.