While dog keepers realize their dogs can read their moods accurately,scientists have always been a little doubtful.Now thanks to some researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna,Austria,we finally have some convincing evidence.

    For their study,biologist Corson Miller and his team exposed eleven selected dogs to digital images of women that were either angry or happy.Half the dogs were rewarded for touching the screen when shown a happy face,while the other half got their treat for selecting those that appeared angry.

    Interestingly,the dogs were not provided with the entire face.Some dogs were shown only upper halves while the others observed lower halves.That's because the scientists believe humans show their emotions on their entire face.

    After some training like how to recognize small differences like the wrinkles between the eyes or the changes in their shape that accompany the happy or angry expressions,the dogs were mostly able to identify the correct expression not only on a familiar face but on a strange face.The researchers concluded the dogs were smart enough to read human emotions.

    They also found those being trained to read angry expressions took a longer time to learn.They guess it may be because dogs find angry faces disgusting,causing them to withdraw quickly.However,once the smart dogs realized they were getting rewarded,the trepidation seemed to disappear.In fact,the dogs had such a good time playing the computer "game" that scientists had a hard time keeping them away from the touch screens after the study was completed.

    The researchers also noticed only dogs with a male owner had a harder time understanding the expressions correctl. Since the touchscreen models were all females, this confirmed what has been observed in previous studies-dogs are more efficient at reading facial expressions of people that are the same gender as their owner.

    Dust on furniture may be bad news for waistlines (腰围). But it's far too early to add dusting to a weight-loss plan. Dietary fats and other materials that make up indoor dust can send a signal to human fat cells, telling them to grow. That process, in turn, might slow the body's rate of burning energy. Such changes could add to any weight problems a person might have.

    “We don't know what that means to long-term health and certain diseases yet,” says Heather Stapleton, one of the study's authors. But she notes that her team's findings also raise a question of whether pollutants in dust might play some role in the growing, global problem of obesity (肥胖).

    Stapleton and her colleagues collected dust from homes and offices. Studies found that some materials in the dust could turn on a protein (蛋白质) called PPAR-gamma 1. It's found in many human tissues. Turning this protein on can cause fat cells to grow. Researchers think this protein may be involved in obesity. But a second study now finds evidence that certain fats are mostly to blame. Cooking oils may send out some of these fats into the air, where they eventually find their way into house dust. Or, the authors say, the fats might enter house dust as part of the hair or skin cells shed (脱落) by people or pets.

    “While the findings are amazing,” says Mitchell Lazar, another study author, “these findings need to be taken as very limited.” Indeed, he adds several cautions about how the findings should be understood. “For one thing, people eat these fats in foods all of the time. That is likely to be a lot more than would be consumed from indoor dust,” he said.

    Goodreads recommends the following books you want to read for the event to come.

    1).The Lyrics: 1961-2012

    By Bob Dylan

    Simon & Schuster,$60

    What it's about: This heavy,well-timed publication contains lyrics by the songwriter who just won the Nobel Prize in Literature,from his first album,Bob Dylan,through Tempest.

    What's to love: The times may be changing,but Dylan's fans are a constant,traditional devotees who will want this epic collection for their shelves,to sit beside those beloved old large papers.

    2).Taylor Swift: This Is Our Song

    By Tyler Conroy

    Simon & Schuster,$28

    What it's about: An elegant fanzine celebrating all things about Taylor Swift,especially the pop star's countless fans. What's to love: Mom and/or Dad,the fan of Taylor Swift,will think you're pretty cool if he or she discovers this temple to Taylor under the Christmas tree (even if it is a book).

    3).Misty Copeland

    By Gregg Delman

    Rizzoli,$39.95

    What it's about: Star-figure female ballet dancer Misty Copeland strikes a pose(95,to be exact) in photos taken between 2011 and 2014,in the casual setting of dance studios.

    What's to love: Since becoming the first African American woman to be named a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre,Copeland has become a cultural phenomenon,and Delman's arresting pictures capture（捕捉）her muscular power and elegance.

    4).@ NatGeo: The Most Popular Instagram Photos

    By National Geographic

    National Geographic,$19.95

    What it's about: National Geographic's popular Instagram account(nearly 63 million followers) comes to book form in this title filled with eye-popping images from around the world.

    What's to love: Here's proof that NatGeo's talented photographers have conquered social media while maintaining the usual quality of their work.And for fans of more traditional coffee-table-size books,check out National Geographic's Wild,Beautiful Places:Picture-Perfect Journeys Around the Globe ($40).

    To err is human. To blame the other guy is even more human.

    Common sense is not all that common.

    Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?

    These three popular misquotes(误用的引语) are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature. To err or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don't want to accept the responsibility for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do. The original quote about human nature went like this, "To err is human, to forgive is divine(神圣的)."This saying mirrors an ideal: People should be forgiving of others' mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite -- find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a making of great maturity(成熟).

    Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine. Common sense does not seem to be common for large organizations, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company, "the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing."

    And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it's okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary(推论) to that: If a good excuse is "good" even if it isn't honest, then where is the place of the truth?

    When we see a person in trouble, the first idea that comes to our mind is to lend a hand. But what if we see an animal in trouble, does the same rule apply?

    This question was raised after a group of penguins were saved from an icy gully (峡谷) in Antarctica. It was filmed for the BBC wildlife series Dynasties. The film crew were anxious when they saw that a group of penguins had fallen into a gully and been trapped with their young. They built a slope (斜坡) so that a few of the penguins could save themselves.

    The case has taken the international media by storm. Viewers watching this film let out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad. I understand not taking action directly, but a helping hand isn't bothering, right?" viewer Kathryn Shaw said on her Facebook.

    However, others think human interference (干涉) is unnatural. "You can't have sunshine throughout your life. To have done anything else would only make matters worse," said the show's creator David Attenborough, according to The Times.

    In this case, however, Mike Gunton, the executive producer of the series, said that this was a one-off situation. "There were no animals going to suffer by interfering. You weren't touching the animals and it was just felt by doing this... they had the chance not to have to keep slipping down the slope," he told the BBC.

    Such cases are familiar to Paul Nicklen, wildlife photographer for National Geographic. He told Metro, "If it's ever a predator (捕食者) situation, no matter how gut-wrenching, you stay out of the way. Even when you're watching a male polar bear eat a baby bear."

    "There's no rule book in those situations. You can only respond to the facts that are right there in front of you," Will Lawson, the show's director, told Daily Mail.