There are two main types of non­verbal communication. Body language is the first. Body language is body movements that depend on a person's attitude or feelings. Body language includes the way people walk，how they stand，and their facial features. In other words，any kind of meaning is shown by a person's attitude or body movements. For example，when a boy is sad he may drop his head and walk slowly. Or，if a girl is happy，she might run and jump or stand up straight and put her hands in the air. People don't have to say anything to show how they feel about things. The colour of people's skin may even show how they feel. For example，if people with light coloured skin get embarrassed，their skin may turn red，or if they are worried，they might get pale. Body language can be voluntary(主动的) or involuntary(无意识的)．An interesting fact is that blind children will smile when happy even though they have never seen a smile.

    The next main type of non­verbal communication is gestures. Gestures are communications like facial expressions，hand signals，eye gazing，and body postures. Examples include smiles，handshakes，waving，and raising certain fingers to say something. For instance，if you saw a friend at a noisy carnival，you might smile and wave at your friend. You might also point at the Ferris wheel if you wanted to meet your friend there. You could do all of these things without saying a word. Another great example is in baseball when the catcher signals to the pitcher the kind of pitch to use for the batter that is up.

    Crown shyness (树冠羞避) is a mysterious natural phenomenon in which the crowns of some tree species do not touch each other, but get separated by a gap clearly seen from ground level. The effect usually occurs between trees of the same species, but has also been observed between trees of different species.

    There are many theories going around, most of which make sense, but no one has been able to prove without the shadow of a doubt why some trees avoid touching each other.

    In his 1955 book Growth Habits of the Eucalypts, Australian forester M. R. Jacobs writes that the growing tips of the trees are sensitive to abrasion (擦伤), which results in crown shyness phenomenon. This theory was also supported by Dr. Miguel Franco. Some experiments have shown that if trees displaying crown shyness are artificially prevented from swaying (摇摆)in the wind and touching each other, they gradually fill up the gaps between them.

    But while the above theory is arguably the most widespread, it's certainly not the only one. Some scientists have suggested that crown shyness is a mechanism to stop the spreading of leaf-eating insects. The gaps mean pests wouldn't be able to reach other trees, so they are the tree's natural defense method.

    One Malaysian scholar studied many trees, but found no traces of abrasions, despite their clear crown shyness. Instead, he suggests that the growing tips of the trees were sensitive to light levels and stopped growing when they got too close to other trees. Plants are able to sense how close they are to other plants and in order to get more light, they give off some chemical to stop other trees from growing too close.

    Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure, plants are more intelligent than people.

Flying High

    Barrington Irving made his historic flight and founded an educational non-profit-making organization. His message for kids: "The only thing that separates you from scientists is determination, hard work and a strong liking for what you want to achieve." The secret, he believes, is having a dream in the first place, and that starts with learning experiences that inspire kids to build careers.

    The moment of inspiration for Irving came at the age of 15 in his parents' bookstore. One customer, a professional pilot, asked Irving if he'd thought about becoming a pilot. "I told him I didn't think I was smart enough; but the next day he took me to the cockpit (驾驶舱) of the commercial airplane he flew, and just like that I was hooked."

    To follow his dream, Irving turned down a football scholarship to the University of Florida. He washed airplanes to earn money for a flight school and increased his flying skills by practising at home on a $40 flight simulator (模拟) video game. Then another dream took hold: flying alone around the world. He faced more than 50 rejections for sponsorship before convincing some companies to donate aircraft components. He took off with no weather radar, no de-icing system, and just $30 in his pocket. "I like to do things people say I can't do."

    After 97 days, 26 stops and dozens of thunderstorms, he touched down to a cheering crowd in Miami. "It was seeing so many young people watching and listening that pushed me into giving back with my knowledge and experience." Irving has been doing it ever since. He set up his non-profit-making organization, Experience Aviation (航空), aiming to increase the numbers of youth in aviation and science-related careers. Kids attend programmes dealing with hands-on robotics projects and flight simulator challenges.

    "We want to create chances for students to accomplish something amazing," he notes. Perhaps Irving's most powerful educational tool is the example his own life provides. After landing his record-breaking flight at age 23, he said, "Everyone told me I was too young, that I didn't have enough experience, strength, or knowledge. They told me it would take forever and I'd never come home. Well… guess what?"

Cobb Theatres are showing kids' movies this summer at 10 am every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Doors open at 9: 30 am, and many of the theaters fill quickly with summer campers, so arrive early if you want a seat.

The films will be at three MiamiDade theaters:

◆ Dolphin 19, 11471NW 12th St., Miami;

Tel: 3055910785.

Ticket Pricing: $12.00 (adult); $9.00 (child under the age of 12)

◆ Cobb Grand 18, 17355 NW 59th Ave., Miami Lakes;

Tel: 30523135252.

Ticket Pricing: $13.00 (adult); $10.00 (child under the age of 12)

◆ Miami Lakes 17, 6711 Main St., Miami Lakes;

Tel: 3055583810.

Ticket Pricing: $11.00 (adult), $8.00 (child under the age of 12)

The schedule is as follows:

★June 14, 15 and 16: Norm of the North (all three theaters) and Shaun the Sheep (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★June 21, 22 and 23: Minions (all three theaters) and The Spongebob Movie; Sponge out of Water (Dolphin and Miami Lakes);

★June 28, 29 and 30: Penguins of Madagascar (all three theaters) and Dr.Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★July 5, 6 and 7: Alvin & The Chipmunks; The Road Chip (all three theaters) and Shark Tale (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★July 12, 13 and 14: Home (all three theaters) and The Peanuts Movie (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★July 19, 20 and 21: The Peanuts Movie (Cobb Grand); Hotel Transylvania and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★July 26, 27 and 28: Dr.Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (Cobb Grand); Goosebumps and Smurfs 2 (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

★Aug.2, 3 and 4: HotelTransylvania (Cobb Grand); Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007) and Happy Feet (Dolphin and Miami Lakes)

Is forgiveness against our human nature? To answer our question, we need to ask a further question: What is the essence of our humanity? For the sake of simplicity, people consider two distinctly different views of humanity. The first view involves dominance and power. In an early paper on the psychology of forgiveness, Droll （1984） made the interesting claim that humans' essential nature is more aggressive than forgiving allows. Those who forgive are against their basic nature, much to their harm. In his opinion, forgivers are compromising their well-being as they offer mercy to others, who might then take advantage of them. 

The second view involves the theme of cooperation, mutual respect, and even love as the basis of who we are as humans. Researchers find that to fully grow as human beings, we need both to receive love from and offer love to others. Without love, our connections with a wide range of individuals in our lives can fall apart. Even common sense strongly suggests that the will to power over others does not make for harmonious interactions. For example, how well has slavery （奴隶制） worked as a mode of social harmony?

From this second viewpoint of who we are as humans, forgiveness plays a key role in the biological and psychological integrity of both individuals and communities because one of the outcomes of forgiveness, shown through scientific studies, is the decreasing of hatred and the restoration of harmony. Forgiveness can break the cycle of anger. At least to the extent the people from whom you are estranged （不和的） 'accept your love and forgiveness and are prepared to make the required adjustments. Forgiveness can heal relationships and reconnect people. 

As an important note, when we take a Classical philosophical perspective, that of Aristotle, we see the distinction between potentiality and actuality. We are not necessarily born with the capacity to forgive, but instead with the potential to learn about it and to grow in our ability to forgive. The actuality of forgiving, its actual appropriation in conflict situations, develops with practice.