It's a popular belief that a fish's memory lasts for only seven seconds. It may seem sad to think that they don't remember what they've eaten or where they've been, and they don't recognize you or any of their friends—every moment in their life would be like seeing the world for the first time.

    But don't be so quick to feel sorry for them. A new study has found that fish have a much better memory than we used to think. In fact, certain species of fish can even remember events from as long as 12 days ago.

    In the study, researchers from MacEwan University in Canada trained a kind of fish called African cichlids to go to a certain area of their tank to get food. They then waited for 12 days before putting them back in the tank again.

Researchers used computer software to monitor the fish's movements. They found that after such a long break the fish still went to the same place where they first got food. This suggested that they could remember their past experiences.

    In fact, scientists had been thinking for a long time that African cichlids might have a good memory. An earlier study showed that they behaved aggressively in front of certain fish, perhaps because they remembered their past “fights”. But until the latest findings, there was no clear evidence.

    Just as a good memory can make our lives easier, it also plays an important part when a fish is trying to survive in the wild.

    “If fish are able to remember that a certain area contains safe food, they will be able to go back to that area without putting their lives at risks,” lead researcher Trevor Hamilton told Live Science.

    For a long time, fish were placed far below chimpanzees, dolphins and mice on the list of smart animals. But this study has given scientists a new understanding of their intelligence.

    English Classes for Free

    Adults of all nationalities (国籍) are welcome to take our English classes. Our classes meet every day, Monday to Friday from 1 pm to 3 pm. Our classes are free because we are running a teacher training center and our teachers need students for teaching practice. Classes will cover grammar, vocabulary, conversations, reading and writing skills. Classes will begin on July 24th and will end on October 13th. All students must be 18 and over.

    Table Tennis Lessons

    If you love to play ping-pong and like to improve your game, welcome to Chicago Table Tennis Club all year around. We are the biggest club in Chicago with more than 100 members and students at all levels and ages. We can improve your ping-pong skills and within one class you will see the result. If you or your kids are interested, please feel free to call 317-287-9852.

    Dance Classes Start Soon

    Don't worry if you have no dance experience. 90% of our students don't. Our summer dance classes start you off at ground zero and build you up. The classes are for adults and are full of people in their 20's and 30's hoping to learn some moves, stay in shape, and meet cool people!

    We have been in business for 5 years now, and have taught almost 2,000 students!

    Summer Theatre Camp

    Our Summer Theatre Camp educates young people aged 7〜14 in the theatre arts. The camp offers classes in speech, character-building, dance, reading and so on. Camp hours will be 8 am to 4 pm. The camp will provide theatre experience for only 45 campers. The campers will have to join in a contest and be chosen for the camp.

    A famous study was done in a school by a professor from a university. At the start of the school year, the teachers were given the names of five children. They were told that these five were the most excellent students in the class. But the fact was that these students were only average, and they were not the best students at all. Well, guess what? At the end of the year, all the five average students scored among the highest in the class.

    What made these average students change so much to become top students? The only difference was the change in their teachers' attitude. Because the teachers believed that these five kids were the top students, they expected (期望) more from them. And so these five average students began to believe and expect more from themselves. So they worked harder to do as well as they could.

    Do you know why? If you expect the best from people, they'll usually want to give you their best. A great leader said, “Treat (对待) a person just how he appears to be on the outside, and you'll make him even worse. But treat a person like he's already a success, and you'll help make him the best he can be.”

    Like the true story of 7-year-old Johnny, his teacher got so angry with him that one day she said, “Johnny, you're the naughtiest (最顽皮的) boy in this class. I'm sure you'll never change.” The next year Johnny had a new teacher. And on the first day of class, she met with Johnny after school and said, “Johnny, I've heard a lot about you! But do you know that I don't believe a word of it.” And every day after that, this new teacher treated Johnny as if he was one of the smartest students even when Johnny did naughty things. Later on, Johnny became a school leader. Because that's the power of our belief and attitude toward children.

    September is an exciting month in every college freshman's life. For many, it's the first time that they've left home to live in a new environment. But after the hustle and bustle（喧嚣）of a few weeks, excitement gives way to a less enjoyable emotion— homesickness.

    Homesickness manifests（显露）itself in many ways. You may miss mum's cooking, your pets, or even your old bed. All this becomes a fond memory of the past. Homesickness can be a bitter feeling for many students, especially when faced with the challenges of settling into an unfamiliar environment.

    But remember, you're not alone. According to a recent BBC article, 70 percent of British college students experience homesickness. In this increasingly globalized world in which people migrate to faraway places for a relationship, education or work, homesickness is a feeling shared by many adults.

    Homesickness can have similar symptoms to depression and in extreme cases it can develop into a panic attack. As for the term, homesickness or nostalgia wasn't invented until the 17th century. It was considered a disorder by a Swiss physician, who attributed soldiers' mental and physical discomfort to their longing to return home, “nostos” from Greek, and the accompanying pain, “algos”.

    Studies in recent years, however, have shown that nostalgia may have some benefits to our mental health. After a decade of surveys and researches, Constantine Sedikides, a US social psychologist, found that nostalgia is what makes us human. He explains that nostalgia can resist loneliness, boredom and anxiety. Therefore, it's necessary for college students to learn some ways to overcome the uncomfortable feeling.

    US people are overweight, eat lots of fast food and fill their homes with pets. At least that's what 21 European teenagers think.

    The students, 18 from Germany and 3 from France, are exchange students. They are studying in the US for a year. After a few days in the US, they said what they thought about the country.

    Most talked about the amount of fast food US people eat. It's not that the students don't eat fast food. They just don't eat as much.

    Laetitia Villeneuve from France said she eats fast food, usually McDonald's, only once or twice a year.

    "I like it," said Nora Koeberle from Germany. "But I couldn't eat it every day. I'd get fat. "

    Students are surprised at how big US people seem.

    "There are fat people in Germany," said Antonia Greimel from Germany. "But not as many as there are here."

    They also spoke about the animals. Silvana Wolfram from Germany said she had heard about how people had lots of pets in the US.

    Other ways of US high schools interested the students.

    For example, Koeberle said she wouldn't be able to play an instrument or sports as part of her classes in Germany. She can in the US.

    But the best thing about US high schools is something the European kids can't get back home. "I do wish we had parties," Koeberle said.

    Recently, a 1935 letter in which Ernest Hemingway detailed his catch of a 500lb blue marlin(青枪鱼), an adventure that is believed to have partly inspired his novel The Old Man and the Sea, has been sold for$28, 000 (£22，000).

    The handwritten letter was sent by Hemingway on 8 May to the fishing editor of the Miami Herald，telling in great detail how the author and his friend Henry Strater battled to keep sharks away from the marlin after catching it off the Bahamian island of Bimini.

    Nate D Sanders, the auction(拍卖)company which sold the letter, said it documented for the first time in Hemingway's own words not only the size of the marlin, but also the attack by sharks，reflecting the plot of the novel.

    The company added that Hemingway's account of the marlin catch differed from other anecdotes(轶事)of it, one of which described Hemingway using a machine gun on the sharks, which is said to have attracted more sharks rather than frightened them away.

    The Old Man and the Sea was also inspired by an anecdote told by Hemingway's Cuban friend Carlos Gutierrez. In 1936, Hemingway wrote in a magazine that Carlos had told him about an old fisherman who caught a great marlin alone.

    Three years later, Hemingway told his editor Max Perkins that he was planning a short story about the old commercial fisherman who fought the swordfish all alone in his sailing boat. Instead, he ended up writing For Whom the Bell Tolls, not returning to the story about the old fisherman until January 1951. It won him the Pulitzer in 1953, and was specifically mentioned when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954.