All across the nation, in Americans' backyards and garages and living rooms, wild animals kept as pets live side by side with their human owners. It's believed that more exotic animals live in American homes than are cared for in American zoos. The exotic-pet business has drawn criticism from animal welfare advocates and wildlife conservationists alike, who say it's not only dangerous to bring wildlife into households but it's cruel and criminal. Yet the issue is far from black or white.

    The term exotic pet has no firm definition. It can refer to any wildlife kept in human households or simply to a pet that's more unusual than the common dog or cat. Privately owning exotic animals is currently permitted in a handful of states with no restrictions in America. Adam Roberts of Born Free USA keeps a running database of deaths and injuries caused by exotic-pet ownership：In Connecticut a 55-year-old woman's face was permanently disfigured by her friend's lifelong pet monkey；in Ohio an 80-year-old man was attacked by a 200-pound kangaroo；in Nebraska a 34-year-old man was strangled(勒)to death by his pet snake. And that list does not include the number of people who become sick from coming into contact with zoonotic(动物传染的) diseases.

    Some people see wild animals as pets as a way to connect with the natural world. Other exotic-pet owners say they are motivated by a desire to preserve threatened species. They believe climate change and human population growth could wipe out a species in record time, so having a backup population is a good idea.   

    But some groups like Born Free USA and the World Wildlife Fund gay that captive breeding(圈养)of endangered species by private owners—whether for commercial, conservation, or educational reasons—serves only to continue a booming market for exotic animals. That, in turn, results in a greater risk to animals still living in their natural habitat.

    Birdbrain has long been a term when laughing at somebody. The common opinion is that birds' brains are simple. But that opinion has increasingly been called into question because crows and parrots, among other birds, have shown behaviors as smart as that of chimpanzees.

    The conflict of simple brain and complex behavior has led some neuroscientists (神经学家) to create a new map of the birdbrain.

    Today, in the journal Nature Neuroscience Reviews, an international group of bird experts is showing their opinion. Nearly everything written in anatomy (解剖学) textbooks about the brains of birds is wrong, they say. The bird brain is as complex, and creative as any mammal brain, they argue, and it's time to use a more exact term that shows a new understanding of the anatomies of bird and mammal brains.

    "Names have a powerful influence on the experiments we do and the way we think," said Dr. Erich, a neuroscientist at Duke University and a leader of the Bird Brain Terms Association. "Old term has prevented scientific progress."

    The association of 29 scientists from six countries met for seven years to develop new, more exact names for structures in both bird and mammal brains. For example, the bird's seat of intelligence or its higher brain is now named the pallium (大脑皮层).

    "The change of terms is a great advance," said Dr. Jon Kaas, a leading expert in neuroanatomy at Vanderbih University. "It's hard to get scientists to agree about anything."

    Scientists have come to agree that birds are indeed smart, but those who study bird intelligence differ on how birds got that way. Experts are split into two warring camps. One holds that birds' brains make the same kinds of internal (内在的) connections as do mammal brains and that intelligence in both groups arises from these connections. The other holds that bird intelligence developed through increasing an old part of the mammal brain and using it in new ways and it questions how developed that intelligence is.

Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki has become the first female artist in the Arab world to be nominated (提名)for an Academy Award, or Oscar.

Labaki directed the film Capernaum, a film about a Syrian refugee (难民) boy and a Kenyan baby who live without parents on the streets of Beirut. It was nominated for best foreign language film.

Labaki wil1 be one of the few female directors to compete for an Oscar this year. She told the Associated press "I wish there were a lot more women filmmakers this year represented, nominated in the Oscars. But I am sure in a few years we won't be having this problem anymore."

Unlike in the West, women filmmakers are industry leaders in Lebanon.

Capernaum received a 15-minute standing ovation (热烈欢迎) at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It won the Jury Prize—the third-highest award given at Cannes.

The United Nations has publicly praised the film. Lebanon's Foreign Minister said.

Capernaum put a Lebanese touch on the international film industry.

The Oscar nomination of Capernaum is the second for Lebanon in two years in the film group. It demonstrates the country's rising star power.

Labaki called making the movie a life-changing experience. She said Capernaum helps humanize the real struggles of refugees only briefly talked about in the news.

We can't help but acknowledge that there is a fear of refugees in general around the world and there are these walls we are building, and this fear that keeps growing," Labaki said.

Capernaum will compete against four other films for the Oscar, including awards season favorite Roma. Directed by Mexico's Alfonso Cuaron, it earned 10 Oscar nominations, including for best picture.

By now you've probably heard about the "you're not special" speech, when English teacher David McCullough told graduating seniors at Wellesley High School: "Do not get the idea you're anything special, because you're not." Mothers and fathers present at the ceremony — and a whole lot of other parents across the Internet — took issue with McCullough's ego-puncturing words. But lost in the uproar was something we really should be taking to heart: our young people actually have no idea whether they're particularly talented or accomplished or not. In our eagerness to elevate their self-esteem, we forgot to teach them how to realistically assess their own abilities, a crucial requirement for getting better at anything from math to music to sports. In fact, it's not just privileged high-school students: we all tend to view ourselves as above average.

Such inflated self-judgments have been found in study after study, and it's often exactly when we're least competent at a given task that we rate our performance most generously. In a 2006 study published in the journal Medical Education, for example, medical students who scored the lowest on an essay test were the most charitable in their self-evaluations, while high-scoring students judged themselves much more strictly. Poor students, the authors note, "lack insight" into their own inadequacy. Why should this be? Another study, led by Cornell University psychologist David Dunning, offers an enlightening explanation. People who are incompetent, he writes with coauthor Justin Kruger, suffer from a "dual burden": they're not good at what they do, and their very incapability prevents them from recognizing how bad they are.

In Dunning and Kruger's study, subjects scoring at the bottom of the heap on tests of logic, grammar and humor "extremely overestimated" their talents. What these individuals lacked (in addition to clear logic, proper grammar and a sense of humor) was "metacognitive skill": the capacity to monitor how well they're performing. In the absence of that capacity, the subjects arrived at an overly hopeful view of their own abilities. There's a paradox here, the authors note: "The skills that lead to competence in a particular domain are often the very same skills necessary to evaluate competence in that domain." In other words, to get better at judging how well we're doing at an activity, we have to get better at the activity itself.

There are a couple of ways out of this double bind. First, we can learn to make honest comparisons with others. Train yourself to recognize excellence, even when you yourself don't possess it, and compare what you can do against what truly excellent individuals are able to accomplish. Second, seek out feedback that is frequent, accurate and specific. Find a critic who will tell you not only how poorly you're doing, but just what it is that you're doing wrong. As Dunning and Kruger note, success indicates to us that everything went right, but failure is more ambiguous: any number of things could have gone wrong. Use this external feedback to figure out exactly where and when you screwed up.

If we adopt these strategies — and most importantly, teach them to our children — they won't need parents, or a commencement (毕业典礼) speaker, to tell them that they're special. They'll already know that they are, or have a plan to get that way.

According to research, about 21.5 million American children between the ages of six and seventeen are involved (参与的) in a team sport. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But regardless of the reasons for getting involved, children can gain a lot from sports.

A 2006 report shows that taking up sports can increase both emotional and behavioral well-being in teenagers. And increased well-being can lead to higher confidence, which results in better overall performance. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In addition, they usually get along well with people around them and are less likely to have bad or risky behavior.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Through this process, children develop social and leadership skills and learn the value of teamwork. Children involved in sports usually have stronger and better relationships with their schoolmates and a better understanding of people from different backgrounds.

Actually, sports give children an opportunity to communicate with adults in valuable and positive ways, which can help them develop closer relationships with adults. This effect is especially great when children don't get along well with their family members. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Although most effects of sports on children are good, there can be disadvantages. If the pressure to win is overemphasized (过分强调) or the expectations of parents or coaches become too great, kids may experience lots of stress. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} To avoid these bad effects, children should not overemphasize winning but focus on developing certain skills.

A. Being physically fit is linked to having a higher IQ.

B. They may take part in sports for fun or to develop some skills.

C. However, children hardly play sports when they become older.

D. It can cause worries, headaches, stomach aches, and muscle pain.

E. For example, children involved in sports are likely to do well in their studies.

F. Organized sports require children to work together to achieve a common goal.

G. Many children say sports have helped increase their conversations with parents.