A culture's values can be mirrored by its humor. Humor has been evaluated by many great minds such as Thomas Hobbes, who, In"On Nature", disliked humor," Laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from sudden thought of feeling far better than others." He thought humor to be a negative quality of human narrow-mindedness.

    However, Mordechai Gordon, PhD of Education, insists," Humor allows us to view the world from an angle that is amusing rather than serious." I agree with Gordon. Learning to look at the world through humor is important.

    In the United States, every four years an election occurs. Without humor as a way to express their feelings, how would Americans be willing to support the election? Television shows like "The Daily Show" have become important parts of American culture. They are mothering the masses by unconsciously inputting politics into our mouths. They make politics fun.

    Of course, politics is only one type of humor. Social humor helps people through the twists and turns of the human condition. American pop culture promotes an unhealthy self image. On the topic of self-image, Hari Kondabolu stands out. He has a joke about the popular musical group "The Pussycat Dolls", describing their hit song "Don't Cha" as a negative representation of women. He points out an obvious offence in American culture.

    A study from Loyola University of Maryland has shown that humor is one determining factor for selecting a mating partner. Amongst other things, mates look for an outstanding funny bone in a potential partner.

    Of course, humor is not always used for good purposes. Humor can be linked to vulgarity（粗俗）and racism, but, like everything else, it has potential to unite human beings by allowing us to laugh at ourselves, our failures and our connection with one another.

    Though life may seem tough and depressing at times, all I have to do is look in the mirror at my increased wrinkles（皱纹）to know that there is a comedy out there that even Chaplin wasn't aware of.

    With that in mind, remember to laugh with humanity and sometimes at humanity.

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    If Confucius（孔子）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.

    While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal.  Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.

    But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.

In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy（哲学）. Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy.  Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese.  So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States.

    Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers. 

    So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.

    Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.

    As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.

You can't always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belyaev doesn't think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet. That's why he created lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain- sensing umbrella.

    The designer says he come up with the idea after watching people get wet on streets in Russia. “once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy (伞蓬) built into a street lamp.” he said.

    The lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy. It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand. Sensors (传感器) then ensure that the umbrella offers pedestrians shelter whenever it starts raining.

In addition to the rain sensor, there's also a 360° motion sensor on the fiberglass street lamp which detects whether anyone is using the lampbrella. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed.

     According to the designer, the lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to the pedestrians. Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lighting strike. Each lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people. Being installed (安装) at 2 meters off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians.

      While there are no plans to take lampbrella into production, Belyaev says he recently introduced his creation to one Moscow Department, and insists his creation could be installed on any street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter.

    Something about the four World Famous Statues

    The Little Mermaid

    The statue The Little Mermaid sits on a rock in the Copenhagen harbor at Langelinie in Denmark. Tourists visiting for the first time are often surprised by the relatively small size of the statue. The Little Mermaid is only 1.25 meters high and weighs around 175kg. designed by Edvard Eriksen, the statue was erected in 1913 to commemorate（纪念）the fairy tale The Little Mermaid. The poor lady has lost her head several times but each time it has been restored. Copenhagen officials announced that the statue may be moved further out in the harbor, as to avoid further vandalism(故意破坏)and to prevent tourists from climbing onto it.

    David Statue

    David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture sculpted by Michelangelo from 1501 to 1504. The 5.17 meter marble statue portray the hero after his victory over Goliath, Michelangelo chose to represent David before the fight contemplating(沉思)the battle yet to come. To protect it from damage, the famous statue was moved in 1873 to the Accademia Gallery in Florence in Italy, where it attracts many visitors. A replica was placed in the Piazza della Signoria, at the original location.

    Great Sphinx

    Located at the Giza Plateau near Cairo in Egypt, the Great Sphinx is one of the largest and oldest statues in the world, but basic facts as who was the model for the face, when it was built, and by whom, are still debated. It is the largest monolithic(独块巨石的)statue in the world although it is considerably smaller than the pyramids around it. Despite conflicting evidence and viewpoints over by the years, the traditional view held by modern Egyptologists at large remains that the Great Sphinx was built in approximately 2500 BC by the Pharaoh Khafre, the supposed builder of the second pyramid at Giza.

    Statue of Liberty

    The Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people France to celebrate the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, stands upon Liberty Island and is one of the most famous symbols in the world. It represents a woman wearing a stole, a radiant crown and sandals, trampling a broken chain, carrying a torch her raised right hand and a tabula ansata tablet in her left hand. The construction of the statue was completed in France 1886 until the jet age, it was often one of the first glimpses of the United States for millions of immigrants.

    Tomato Festival

    Started in 2005, the Tomato Festival has grown into a local tradition in Malta. In recent years, the festival has added amusement park-style rides and a yearly Creature Feature, which screens old horrible movies. There are also dance competitions, parades and pancake breakfast. Third weekend in August.

Address: 833 Tinkham Rd, Fountain Park, Wilbraham, Massachusetts 01095 Phone：(413)599-0010

    Brat Days

Don't mistake this festival for a day filled with poorly behaved children. Begun in 1953, the gathering is the biggest festival in the city each year and features more than 50 stands (摊位) selling the sausage, as well as a contest to see who can quickly eat the most bratwurst (德国式小香肠) in ten minutes. Early August.

    Address: 17th and New Jersey sts, Kiwanis Park, Sheboygan, Wisconsin 53081

Phone: (920)457-9491

    Hope Watermelon Festival

    The festival dates back to the 1920s, when many trains went through this small town and local watermelon growers would sell their watermelon to parched travelers. These days, the festival sees a Watermelon Queen crowned(加冠的) and sometimes a world-record watermelon grown. There are also more than 300 stands selling arts and crafts from a six-state area, as well as a car show and the Watermelon Olympics. Early August.

Address: 108 W 3rd St, Hope, Arkansas 71801 Phone: (870) 777-3640

    Oyster Festival (牡蛎节)

Featuring appearances from tall ships and oyster boats, this festival has regularly drawn 60,000 visitors a year since it began in 1978.More than 3,000 volunteers make the festival possible each year. Norwalk is less than a two-hour drive from many of New England's larger cities, making it easy to attend the festival during a trip to New York or Hartford. Weekend after Labor Day.

Address: Sea view Ave, Veteran's Park, East Nor-walk, Connecticut 06855 Phone: (800) 866-7925

    Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only". I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.

    My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right." I always try to live by the “extra minute" rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only" moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.

    I don't only avoid those “if only" moments when it comes to safety. It's equally important to avoid “if only" in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you" or “I forgive you." When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn't be here. But then I thought about the fact that he's 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn't give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.

    I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only" about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I'm doing the right thing. I'm buying myself peace of mind and that's the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.