Have you ever considered why you begin yawning too when you see someone yawn? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it's because we have mirror neurons (神经元）in our brains.

    Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate it whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how, we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further: mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions, they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people.

    Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to ( for example: “The hand took hold of the ball” ) , the same mirror neurons were triggered as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball).

    Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much research suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders.

    Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with even more information regarding how humans behave and interact. Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent (相等物）for neuroscience of what Einstein's theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does — well, perhaps you'll understand why.

    My wife and I spent two weeks in London last year. We went there in the autumn. We think it is the best season to visit England. The weather is usually good and there aren't too many tourists in October.

    We stayed in a small hotel in the West End. It was convenient as we did most of our sightseeing on foot. Taxis were too expensive, we couldn't understand the bus routes, and my wife didn't like traveling under the ground. She said it made her feel sick.

     We went to look at the places which all tourists visit. We saw Buckingham Palace and the National Gallery. We went shopping in Oxford Street and spent too much money. What we liked most, though, was going to the theatre. We didn't have the chance to see such wonderful plays at home. A lot of people say English food is bad. We didn't think so. It is true that most of the restaurants are French or Italian or Chinese, but we had some very good meals.

    In fact, we enjoyed our holiday so much that we have already booked again for this year. We are going to take our umbrellas, though. I'm sure we'll need them sometimes.

    Hobbs was an orphan(孤儿). He worked in a factory and every day he got a little money. Hard work changed him thin and weak. He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn to paint pictures, but he did not think he could pay off the debts.

   One day the lawyer said to him, "One thousand dollars, and here is the money." As Hobbs took the package of notes, he was very dumbfounded (惊呆的). He didn't know where the money came from and how to spend it. He said to himself, "I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days; or I give up my work in the factory and do what I'd like to do: painting pictures I could do that for a few weeks, but what would I do after that? I should have lost my place of the factory and have no money to live on. If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or a radio, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it's too much for one and too little for the other."

    "Here is the reading of your uncle's will," said the lawyer, "telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it."

    "Yes, I see. I'll do that." said the young man.

    Each year there are at least five million people around the world who develop serious flu (流感), and almost half a million deaths. When someone we know gets the flu virus, we expect them to be very careful not to pass it on to others. Doctors and nurses working with flu patients also need to protect themselves from the virus. But what is the best way to do this? This is the question that flu expert Professor Jonathan

    Van-Tam at Nottingham University is trying to answer. He wants to find out how flu is transmitted, so that he can stop doctors and nurses getting sick.

    Van-Tam explains their method, "There are 41 volunteers in my experiment. Some healthy volunteers are made to get flu first. When they show symptoms (症状), other volunteers, usually called recipients(接受者), enter the house. Everyone lives together in the small space for four days. Some of the recipients wear face masks, and wash their hands every 15 minutes, but some have no protection. In this way we can study who catches the flu and which ways of transmitting flu are important. During the four days when they are in contact with the virus, and for the ten days after that, the flu recipients are checked regularly."

    The experiment is not simple and it is very expensive. It is difficult to design correctly, and it is also difficult to plan and carry out. Just one study like this takes about 18 months to organize and needs hundreds of people working on it. But Van-Tam believes it is worth because the results will help to decide what type of protection is needed for people working in hospitals with large numbers of flu patients around the world. And perhaps it could reduce the number of deaths from flu each year.

This winter, the U. S. state of California received unusually large amounts of rain and snow. Now, people worry that some areas will flood as the snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains melts (融化).

Ron Caetano lives about half-way between the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. He is preparing to leave in case his community, called the Island District, floods.

More than 100 years ago, the Island District area was under a large lake named Tulare Lake. At one time, Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. But reservoirs (水库) and watering systems for agriculture caused it to disappear. However, in very rainy years, farmland can still get covered with water.

Experts say reservoirs near the area will likely receive three times more water than they can hold this year. That means officials must increase the amount of water they release (释放) from the reservoirs. If too much water is released, the area might flood.

The Island District has organized a community network to help prepare for floods. People are placing sandbags close to elderly neighbors' houses to block possible flooding. And they are looking at reports from water officials, county officials, and from each other.

California has had very dry weather in recent years. Both cities and farm communities acclaimed this year's winter rains. If the weather gets warmer slowly, the snow will not melt quickly and there may be little or no flooding. But if the weather gets hot quickly, that will bring trouble from too much melting snow.

Officials announced plans to close parts of Yosemite National Park because of threats of flooding. The park is about 270 kilometers east of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Nicholas Pinter is with the University of California, Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. He said the lake's size has always changed because of California's weather. He described the surrounding area this way. "It has been an engineering problem all along," he said. "This is a bathtub (浴缸) with no way out."

Darrion Cockrell,who wasn't much of a student,has been named Missouri's Teacher of the Year—the state's highest honor for educators,becoming the first male since 2015 to capture the state's top award.

Cockrell—the child of "a drug-addicted mother" and a father who was killed when he was four years old—was in and out of the childcare centers and eventually became a gang (帮派) member.In his speech,he shouted out the special people who helped to guide him down the right path when he was going off track.

He thanked his teacher Ken who provided him with life advice while he lived in a boys' group home."He taught me it's OK to be tough,but at the same time,it's OK to be compassionate (富有同情心的),"Cockrell said."He was like a father figure to me."

The teacher—affectionately known as "DC"—also expressed his gratitude to the football coach that adopted him when he was in the 7th grade and helped to change his whole perspective (视角) on life."When I changed the way I looked at things,the things around me started to change,"he said."I had a lot of struggles and a lot of hurdles,and if not for those educators,I would not be here today."

Now,Cockrell hopes to make an impact on the students at Lindbergh Schools' Crestwood Elementary in St.Louis,where he's been teaching physical education since 2015.Among his many accomplishments at the school is his development of the"Crest-Fit"training program for teachers,students and parents.

"Missouri is fortunate to have so many high-quality educators,and Darrion will be a wonderful representative as our state's Teacher of the Year,"Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven said in a statement."He guides his students towards long-term physical and mental wellness,and the connections he has established will impact Crestwood children for years to come."