Danger-junkie orangutans(猩猩) in Borneo climb dead trees and shake then until they begin to fall. They scream with excitement as they cling to the falling tree. Just before the tree hits the ground the orangutans leap to another tree or vine, narrowly escaping death. While no one cab ask orangutans if they enjoy it as a person playing an extreme sport, one animal behaviorist sees this monkey fun as a bit of harmless thrill-seeking.

    A growing number of scientists agree that animals are conscious and capable of experiencing basic emotions(情感), such as happiness, sadness, boredom or depression. A few scientists even see the possibility for higher animal emotions like love, jealousy and spite.

    Five years ago, behaviorist and animal-rights activist Dr. Jonathan Balcombe stood on a Virginia hotel balcony watching two crows intimately groom (清洁) each other in the comfort of an abandoned billboard. He felt that the birds liked what they were doing, even if engaged in a natural, beneficial act, such as picking parasites (寄生虫) off the other's feathers. That moment changed the way he would view animals forever and led to a book, “Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of Feeling Good”, which is filled with hundreds of examples of animals living it up thanks to developed senses of touch, taste, sight, sound and smell.

    Balcombe recounts a favorite example of Kenyan hippos (河马) having high-end spa treatment in a fresh water spring. They splay their toes, open their mouths wide and wait for a school of cleaner fish to remove parasites and slough off dead skin, he recalls. Balcombe knows that the hippos and the fish both benefit from this arrangement. “My interpretation is that it is also enjoyable for them ,” he says.

    Amazing Kids!Wild Jungle Writing Contest

    Amazing Kids!Magazine is proud to announce that we will be hosting a Wild Jungle Writing Contest this fall! Send us your best jungle-themed stories.This contest is open to grades K-12,with three groups of K-3,4-8,and 9-12.

    Three winners from each age group will be chosen to win Amazing Kids!prizes,along with an official certificate verifying their winning entry.All participants will receive a certificate of participation in the contest.

    Submit（提交）all entries by NOVEMBER 30 to be considered!Please look below for rules—if your entry does not comply with（与一致）our rules,it will not be considered in the contest!Email editor@amazing-kids.org or more questions about rules.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Q:What are the age limits?

    A:This contest is limited to grades K-12,with a K-3,4-8,and 9-12 age group.

    Q:How should I format my entry?

    A:Stories should be written in English,with submissions of up to 1,200 words.Stories exceeding（超出）this length will not be considered.Please submit your entry as a Microsoft Word document.Also be sure to include all essential information,including your name,grade,address,phone number(s) and e-mail address in the body of the e-mail.

    Q:How do I submit my entry?

    A:E-mail your submission to editor@amazing-kids.org.Each e-mail submission will receive a return message saying that the essay is received.

    Q:Is there just one prize?

    A:No.Nine separate prizes will be given out,with a cash value of $ 20 for first place,$15 for second place,and $10 for third place in each age group.Certificates of participation will also be awarded to each participant in the contest.

    The Five Best Countries TO Move To For Retirement

    Retiring in a different country is gaming popularity. Below are five of the best countries to seek retirement

    Costa Rica

    Mild climate, breathtaking landscapes and beaches draw retirees(退休人员）to Costa Rica. The country readily welcomes immigrants and offers a simple residency process. With a monthly income of at least $ 1,000 per month from Social Security or a similar source, people enjoy a high standard of living at a much lower cost than the U. S.

Malaysia

    Retirees who choose to make Malaysia home will appreciate its rich culture and attractive scenery. Moreover, the country offers modern facilities at modest prices. Immigrants enjoy convenience and comfort in their daily life. You will find low-cost rental units, delicious street food, and various shopping malls.

Mexico

    Because it's close to the U.S., Mexico draws more than a million American retirees to its borders. Increasing immigrant communities enjoy seaside living and conversations with friendly. English speaking locals. Plus, legal residents over the age of 60 receive airline, grocery, and restaurant discounts.

Panama

    Gentle ocean wind takes the heat out of hot year-round temperatures, which has been the chief attraction to foreign retirees. Beautiful beaches and a booming economy also attract retirees to Panama. An income of $2,000 per month covers modest living costs. Furthermore, the country offers discounts to retirees with a special visa.

Ecuador

    Lazy coastal towns, sun-shining hot spots, and nature-filled views wait for immigrants seeking a carefree lifestyle. Public transportation costs in Ecuador make owning a vehicle unnecessary. A bus ride only costs 25 cents and taxi rides will run about $3.

    When thinking about quitting(停止) smoking…

    List all the reasons why you want to quit. Every night before going to bed, repeat one of the reasons 10 times.

Decide positively that you want to quit. Try to avoid（避免 ）negative（负面的） thoughts about how difficult it might be. Develop strong personal reasons as well as your health and responsibility （责任）to others. For example, think of all the time you waste taking cigarette breaks, rushing out to buy a pack, hunting a light, etc. Set a date for quitting — perhaps a special day like your birthday, a holiday. If you smoke heavily at work, quit during your vacation. Make the date holy seriously, and don't let anything change it. Begin to condition yourself physically; start a modest (适当的) exercise; drink more water; get plenty of rest.

    Immediately after quitting...

    The first few days after you quit, spend as much free time as possible in places where smoking is prohibited, e.g. libraries, museums, theatres, department stores, etc.

    Drink large quantities of water and fruit juice. Try to avoid wine, coffee, and other drinks which remind（提醒 ）you of cigarette smoking. Start a conversation with someone instead of a match for a cigarette.

    If you miss the feeling of having a cigarette in your hand, play with something else - a pencil, a pen, a ruler. If you miss having something in your mouth, try a fake (仿制的) cigarette.

Fishy Weather Conditions

    Laj amanu, Australia, is a dry little town, sitting right on the edge of the Tanami desert. Can you imagines how surprised were people when live fish rained down on them from a dark gray cloudy. It happens that there are similar cases in England and Honduras.

    How do clouds make fishy. The simple answer is that they don't. There is a particular weather phenomenon(现象)called a waterspout. A waterspout is just like a tornado, only it forms above oceans, lakes, or rivers. Like a tornado, a waterspout moves in a circle at high speeds. When it moves above the water, it tends to carry the fish with it, as well as frogs or other small plants or animals.

    Scientists couldn't work it out at first. To make matters stranger still, the fish in Honduras were very much alive when they rained down to the ground, but they were all blind. In England and Australia, it rained fish and snakes, and none were blind. It was difficult to puzzle out, but the blind fish gave them a place to start.

    Scientists knew that some fish that lived in deep, underground caves with no light sources often lost their eyesight. So when blind fish rained down on Honduras, scientists began to connect some dots. Clearly, these particular fish were pulled from an underground water source by force.

    It has rained fish on every continent, and each time, people have tried in various ways to explain this strange phenomenon. Historically, villagers thought the “fishes from the heavens” might be answers to prayers for food.  Others suggested that floods overran river banks and oceans, leaving the fish on the city streets. No scientist had actually seen the rain as it occurred, only the fish left on the ground. But in 1990, a National Geographic team happened to be in Honduras when the Rain of Fishes began. They recorded what was happening and made history by finally proving that the fish really did fall from the sky.

    This huge breakthrough wasn't just a spot of good luck. It changed thousands of years of myths and legends into true stories and provided scientific explanations for how fish came to live in deep caves. It explained ancient cave paintings and shed new light on how species have spread over time. It turned out to be a lot more than just a little fishy weather.

    What happens inside the head of a soccer player who repeatedly heads a soccer ball. That question motivated a study of the brains of experienced players.

    Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York selected 34 adults, men and women. All of the volunteers had played soccer since childhood and  now competed year﹣round in adult soccer leagues. Each filled out a detailed questionnaire developed especially for this study to determine how many times they had headed a soccer ball in the previous year, as well as whether they had experienced any known concussions in the past.

    Then the players completed computerized tests of their memory and other learning skills and had their brains scanned. using a complex new M.R.I. technique which can find structural changes in the brain that can't be seen during most scans.

    According to the data they presented, the researchers found that the  players who had headed the ball more than about 1, 100 times in the previous 12 months showed significant loss of white matter in parts of their brains involved with memory, attention and the processing of visual information, compared with players who had headed the ball less.

    This pattern of white matter loss is "similar to those seen in traumatic brain injury", like that after a serious concussion, the researchers reported, even though only one of these players was reported to have ever experienced a concussion.

    The players who had headed the ball about 1, 100 times or more in the past year were also generally worse at remembering lists of words read to them, forgetting the words far more often than players who had headed the ball less.