English seems 1 the passport(护照) to our modern society. About half the world's newspapers and 75 2 of the world's mail is 3 English. Many countries have special shortwave radio broadcasts in English and some have 4 English-language newspapers. Most scientific books and magazines5 first in English. Many jobs 6 a reading or speaking knowledge of the 7.

    English has a large 8 of speakers. Even 9 there are more 10 speakers of Chinese 11 English, the use of English is 12 widespread. It is spoken 13 a native language in 14 seven countries, and there are more than 35 countries 15 have English as one of their official languages. That 16 that the government publishes laws and information in 17, and sometimes classes at schools 18 in English. In countries that 19 speakers of many languages, English is sometimes the unofficial language. In these countries English is used 20 in business, education, and government.

    Amazon is breaking into physical retail(零售) in a new way. The online retail giant revealed a new kind of physical store concept in a video published on Monday.

    The store, called Amazon Go, doesn't work like a typical Walmart or supermarket. Instead, it's designed so that shoppers will use an app, also called Amazon Go, to automatically add the products that they plan to buy to a digital shopping cart by scanning a QR code. They can then walk out of the building without waiting in a checkout line because Amazon will charge their Amazon account and send them a receipt(收据).

    The first Amazon Go store is located in Seattle, where Amazon is headquartered. For years, there have been rumors the e­commerce company would expand its dominance(主导地位) from digital to physical shopping. Amazon began experimenting with physical bookstores a year ago, but Amazon Go may mark its boldest(大胆的) bet on physical ones yet. By removing much of the staff needed to operate a store, Amazon keeps costs lower than traditional competitors. It's also in a strong position to bring together data on its customers' shopping habits online and offline to make better suggestions in all situations.

    However, the company could be thought of as being a threat to some of the 3.4 million Americans who work as cashiers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And Donald Trump repeatedly criticized Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos, “He's using the Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed.”

    “Four years ago we asked ourselves: what if we could create a shopping experience with no lines and no checkout? Could we push the boundaries of computer vision and machine learning to create a store where customers could simply take what they want and go?” The company says on an informational page about Amazon Go. For now, Amazon is starting slow. The Amazon Go is only open to Amazon employees in our Beta program, and is scheduled to open to the public in 2017.

    The world seems gloomy(阴沉的)and gray when you're feeling blue. In fact, being down might even affect how you perceive(感知)the color blue. A recent study about color was published in the journal Psychological Science. It shows a direct connection between a person's ability to perceive color and their emotions.

    Psychologists have long known that emotions can affect the way people perceive things. That's in part because chemicals from your brain might affect how you process what you see. “Color is such an important part of our experience,” says lead author Christopher Thorstenson, a psychologist at the university of Rochester, in New York. There's reason, he says, that sad people commonly describe the world as “colorless” and “gray”, and happy people use words like “bright” and “colorful”.

    In the experiment, the researchers randomly assigned people to one of two groups. People in the “sadness” group watched a sad scene from The Lion King. Those in the “amusement' group watched a comedy.

    Everyone was then asked to look at red, yellow, green, and blue patches(斑点)that had been changed to a grayish color. “Some of the patches are pretty difficulty to make out,” Thorstenson admits he says it takes some time to figure out their shade. People were scored on how accurate their color perception was. Then they completed an emotional evaluation.

    The result? Sad people had a hard time seeing the difference between shades along the blue-yellow color axis(色轴). But they did no have problems seeing colors in the red-green spectrum(光谱). Thorstenson says this could be the result of an evolutionary need to see red as a response to anger.

    Thorstenson says these results highlight the possible important of dopamine in sight. Dopamine is a chemical that sends signals to the brain. Researchers are hoping to focus more on dopamine in the future. “We know dopamine affects how we see colors, too,” Thorstenson says “How we feel can really influence how we see the world around us” he says.

    Griffith Observatory (天文台) is a national leader in public astronomy，and one of the most popular attractions in Los Angeles. It is located on the southern slope (山坡) of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park at 1,134 feet above sea level.

    Visitors may drive to the observatory and park in its parking lot or on nearby roads. No reservation (预订) is required to visit. Parking is limited，and the busiest time is weekends. Buses，taxis，and car pools are welcome. LADOT provides weekend public bus service from the Sunset/Vermont Metro Red Line Station.

    Griffith Observatory is open six days a week. Admission and parking are free.

    Hours of Operation

    Tuesday—Friday    12 noon—10 p．m.

    Saturday—Sunday      10 a．m.—10 p．m.

    Monday  Closed

    Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day Closed

    Samuel Oschin Planetarium

    The Samuel Oschin Planetarium theater offers 8 to 10 live，half-hour presentations each day. There are usually four different shows from which to choose.

    Shows are presented every 60 to 90 minutes. Check the website，information desks，or the box office for each day's show time. Being seated late is not permitted.

    Samuel Oschin Planetarium tickets must be purchased at the observatory and are only available on the day of the show. The ticket prices for shows are：

    Adults (13—59 years old)      $7.00

    Children (5—12 years old)         $3.00

    Seniors (60 years and older)        $5.00

    Students                        $5.00

    Children under 5 years old will be admitted only to the first show each day.

    Hearing assist devices are available on request.

    Public Telescopes

    Free public telescopes are available each evening the observatory is open and skies are clear.The Zeiss telescope on the roof is generally open by 7 p．m.All observing must be completed by 9：45 p．m.

    Dyeing eggs has long been an Easter tradition, but it's the dyeing of baby chicks that is upsetting in some states.

    The dye, which is often ordinary food coloring, is either injected into eggs being hatched or sprayed onto newly hatched chicks. Although hatchery owners say the practice is harmless, critics argue that spraying the birds with color is stressful and that dyeing the animals transforms them into something attractive that can be thrown away when their colorful feathers disappear.

    “These are living creature and dyeing them sends out a message saying that they are more of a new and unusual object than a living animal,” said Dr. Marc Copper, senior scientific manager for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Dyed chicks — and sometimes rabbits — have been a traditional part of the Easter holiday in some parts of the world, but the practice has gone largely underground in the U.S. because many people view it as cruel.

    Today, about half of U.S. states ban the dyeing of animals, but last month the Florida Legislature passed a bill to remove the state's 45-year-old ban. The drive to end the law wasn't related to Easter chicks; it was done at the request of a dog groomer(美容师) who wanted to enter pet beauty contests.

    Florida governor Rick Scott must agree to remove the ban, which would be lifted July 1, but the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida(ARFF) has asked him not to remove the ban. In addition to allowing animals dyeing, the law would also lift a ban on selling baby animals as pets, and the organization fears that next year the state could see hundreds of dyed baby chicks on the market.

As long as the dye is not poisonous, experts say the birds' health isn't affected, and there are scientific reasons to dye animals. Wildlife researchers often inject eggs with dye to track birds in the wild, and teachers have dyed chicks for educational purposes. However, animal advocates are quick to point out that dyeing baby chicks for Easter isn't educational — it's done simply to earn profits.

    Many people find that music lifts their spirits. Now a new research shows that music therapy (疗法) can be a useful treatment for depression.

    The finding that music therapy offers a real medical benefit to depression sufferers comes from a review by the Cochrane Collaboration, a non-profit group that reviews health care issues. Some studies looked at the effects of providing music therapy to patients who were receiving drug treatment for depression. Others compared music therapy to traditional talk therapy. In four out of five of the trials, music therapy worked better at easing depression symptoms than therapies that did not employ music, the researchers found.

    “While the evidence came from a few small studies, it suggests that this is an area that is well worth further investigation.” said lead author Anna Maratos. Ms. Maratos notes that music therapy might be particularly useful for adolescents who may reject a traditional form of counseling. Some older patients also may not be comfortable talking about their feelings but do tend to express themselves through songs.

    There are two main types of music therapy. Sometimes, a therapist will listen to music with a patient and talk about the feelings or memories that it arouses. In another form, the therapist is a skilled musician and will improvise (即兴创作) music with the patient. If the patient doesn't play an instrument, he or she might be given a simple percussion (击打) instrument and the therapist will play along.

    Other studies have shown a benefit from music therapy in the treatment for dementia, learning disabilities, strokes and pain management during labor and birth. The problem is that there isn't very much high-quality research. "It doesn't easily attract serious research funding. It's difficult to do high-quality, large-scale trials." said Ms. Maratos.