Food festivals around the world

    Stilton Cheese Rolling

    May Day is a traditional day for celebrations,but the 2,000 English villagers of Stilton must be the only people in the world who include cheese rolling in their annual plans.Teams of four,dressed in a variety of strange and funny clothes,roll a complete cheese along a 50-metre course.On the way,they must not lack or throw their cheese,or go into their competitors' lane.Competition is fierce and the chief prize is a complete Stilton cheese weighing about four kilos (disappointingly,but understandably the cheeses used in the race are wooden ones).All the competitors are served with beer or port wine,the traditional accompaniment for Stilton cheese.

    Fiery Foods Festival—The Hottest Festival on Earth

    Every year more than 10,000 people head for the city of Albuquerque,New Mexico.They come from as far away as Australia,the Caribbean and China,but they all share a common addiction—food that is not just spicy,but hot enough to make your mouth bum,your head spin and your eyes water.Their destination is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival which is held over a period of three days every March.You might like to try a chocolate-covered habanero pepper—officially the hottest pepper in the world—or any one of the thousands of products that are on show.But one thing's for sure—if you don't like the feeling of a burning tongue,this festival isn't for you!

    La Tomatina—The World's Biggest Food Fight

    On the last Wednesday of every August,the Spanish town of Bunol hosts La Tomatina—the world's largest food fight.A week-long celebration leads up to an exciting tomato battle as the highlight of the week's events.The early morning sees the arrival of large trucks with tomatoes—official fight-starters get things going by casting tomatoes at the crowd.

    The battle lasts little more than half an hour,in which time around 50,000 kilograms of tomatoes have been thrown at anyone or anything that moves,runs,or fights back.Then everyone heads down to the river to make friends again—and fora much-needed wash!

    Spend any time in London, England's capital, and you'll quickly gather that it's a multicultural (多元文化的) community. Look around at your fellow passengers on the Tube（地铁）or the bus. They're of every skin color and dress differently to one another. Listen, and you'll hear many other languages besides English spoken. Some of these people, no doubt, will be tourists who are in London to see the sights. But others – in fact probably most – will be living their lives there, along with millions of others.

    Along with white British people, there are Britons from, or with parents and grandparents from, the Caribbean, India, China and most other places. This makes London a fascinating place in which to live. The reason is that when people settle in a place, they don't just buy a house and live there, but bring aspects of the culture of their “old country” with them.

    The most visible sign of this is the number of restaurants offering dishes from different parts of the world. In a city in which it's estimated 250 different languages are spoken, you can expect a similarly wide range of foods to be available. You would expect in one of the world's leading cities to encounter(遇到) French, Italian, Chinese and Indian eateries. But in London you'll also find Polish, Patagonian and Palestinian restaurants.

    However, London's multiculturalism isn't just about food. Many types of people are gathered in one space, but the way they live differently shows in that space. They worship(崇拜)differently, for one thing. Alongside the famous old English churches by Nicholas Hawksmoor and Christopher Wren – responsible for one of the capital's most famous landmark, St Paul's Cathedral—you'll find mosques(清真寺), temples and synagogues (犹太教堂).

      London even speaks its own special kind of English. Language experts created the term “Multicultural London English” to identify the dialect of English that appeared at the end of the last century.

    All of this makes London a very surprising and varied place to call your home. But, in a way, this has long been true. In the 18^th century, the compiler(编纂者) of the first English dictionary, Samuel Johnson, once said: “ He who is tired of London is tired of life.”

    Scientists in Britain have managed to teach bumblebees(大黄蜂) to pull strings to get to food and then pass on what they have learned to others in their colony(群体)—showing a high level of intelligence despite their tiny brains.

    Researchers at Queen Mary University of London said the experiments, often used to test the intelligence of apes (猿) and birds, showed for the first time that some insects are up to the task, and can also pass skills on through several generations.

    The findings add to the evidence suggesting the ability for “culture spread” — the ability to learn and pass on knowledge and skills — may not be exclusive to humans.

    In the research, published in the journal PLOS Biology on Tuesday, the scientists were able to train 23 out of a group of 40 bees to pull strings with their legs and feet.

    The strings were attached to discs — or artificial “flowers” — containing food at their center but placed under a transparent screen. The bees, spotting the food beneath the screen, learned to pull the “flowers” out by pulling the string with their legs and feet to be able to get to it.

    From another group of bees given the chance to solve the task without any training, only two of 110 were successful.

    Another group of bees was then allowed to observe the trained bees pulling the strings, and 60 percent of them successfully learned the skill. Finally, trained bees were put in colonies, and the scientists found the technique spread successfully to a majority of the colony's worker bees.

    Lars Chittka, a Queen Mary University professor who guided the project, said the team is interested in figuring out the brain processes behind the bees' learning and teaching skills.

Top Music Festivals

    Summer festival season is just kicking off, and there is a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months.

Pitchfork Music Festival

    Anyone who likes indie(独立的)music and up-and-coming artists will have an amazing time at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago's Union Park. This is an indie rock haven that explores more underground and lesser-known bands than the other big Chicago summer festival, Lollapalooza.

    Date: July 14—16, 2018

    Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Music Type :Indie rock

    Price: $126- $2, 700

    Essence Music Festival

    No matter what time of the year it is, New Orleans is an incredible place if you love live music. The Essence Music Festival is a celebration of legendary(大名鼎鼎的)artists like Diana Ross, Chaka Khan and Mary J. Blige.

    Date: June 29—July 2, 2018

    Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Music Type :R& B，soul, rock

    Price :$75- $365

    Sziget Festival

    Budapest knows how to hold a party, and Sziget is one of the biggest celebrations of music and culture in all of Europe. You can expect to find favorite artists like Bad Religion and Mac DeMarco taking the stages here during this three-day festival.

    Date :August 9-11，2018

    Location:Budapest, Hungary

    Music Type: Indie rock

    Price: $70- $296

    Flow Festival

    The Flow Festival is a great excuse to explore the city of Helsinki. Artists including Lana Del Rey and The XX will be playing, among many others. Come to this festival to enjoy a relaxing atmosphere with an earth-friendly belief.

    Date: August 11-13, 2018

    Location :I Helsinki, Finland

    Music Type :Rock, soul, jazz

    Price: $106- $199

    Buying new clothes isn't an easy matter for everyone, here are some tips(建议) for you .When you want to go shopping, decide how much money you can spend on new clothes. Think about the kind of clothes you really need. Then look for those clothes you really need. Then look for those clothes on sale.

    There are labels(标签) inside all new clothes. The labels tell you how to take care of your clothes. The label for a shirt may tell you to wash it in warm water. A sweater label may tell you to wash in cold water. The label on a coat may say "dry clean only", for washing may ruin this coat. If you do as the directions(说明)on the label, you can keep your clothes looking their best for a long time.

    Many clothes today must be dry cleaned. Dry cleaning is expensive. When buying new clothes, check to see if they will need to be dry cleaned. You will save money if you buy clothes that can be washed.

    You can save money if you buy clothes that are well-made. Well-made clothes last longer. They look good even after they have been washed many times. Clothes that cost more money are not necessarily better made. They do not always fit better. Sometimes less expensive clothes look and fit better than more expensive clothes.

    As the old saying goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover." And neither should we judge movie stars by their ages. At just 21, Elle Fanning made history by becoming the youngest jury (评审团) member at the Cannes Film Festival. This year it lasted from May 14th to May 25th. "I was in complete shock when I got that phone call and that question if I wanted to be a member of the Cannes Jury," Fanning said during a press conference.

    As it turned out, it not only shocked the US actress, but also brought criticism from those who believed Fanning was too young compared to other veterans in the industry. But Fanning's acting experience was in fact a good argument for her jury membership. In fact, Fanning has been a Hollywood fixture for longer than you realize.

    The 21­year­old has been in many big productions. She began acting in I Am Sam at age 2. With lead roles in movies like Super 8, We Bought a Zoo and Maleficent under her belt (取得成功), she's appeared in 60 projects and is one of Hollywood's hottest young stars. Fanning's devotion to work numbers her among the few former child stars who continue to act as adults.

    In her latest movie Teen Spirit, which hit US cinemas last month, Fanning plays a pop singer. Since she had no singing experience, Fanning had to work with Grammy­winning music producer Marius de Vries for three months before the filming started. "I would go to his apartment and sing through all the songs every day," she said. "He videoed me and recorded me singing everything and made me watch it back again and again to improve my skills."

    With such rich acting experience and devotion to her art, "Fanning certainly was able to represent a new class in film" at the Cannes Film Festival.