While music has value all by itself, researchers have long noticed that musicians also tend to be better at learning languages and show other improved reading and math abilities. Now a new study from the University of Washington by Christina Zhao shows that rhythm is an important bridge between music and speech as early as nine months of age.

    Researchers randomly placed babies into two groups of 20 each, and each group played at the lab with their parents for a dozen 15-minute sessions over a month.

    In one group, researchers played recordings of songs with a waltz rhythm and showed the parents how to help their babies tap out that 1-2-3 beat in time with the music on boy drums or with their feet. In the other group, children played with typical toys and no music.

    The babies in the music group were better able to detect random mistakes in that rhythm when they heard it within two weeks of the last session. They also showed a stronger brain response to disruptions in the rhythm. For example, researchers would sometimes alter the timing of syllables(音节) by slightly shortening the middle sound of a word like bibbi to make it bibi—and the babies with music training were more likely to notice it.

    In other words, music training not only improved the babies' ability to notice when a musical rhythm skipped a beat, but also improved their ability to notice when the rhythms of speech changed unexpectedly, an important skill for learning to talk.

    The study reflects Zhao's personal experiences as a pianist who music in college, and as someone who speaks both Mandarin and English. She noticed that a lot of her fellow musicians were also good at learning other languages. “That really got me wondering how these two are related, “Zhao said.

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    Teenagers who spend hours in front of the television may have a poorer diet as young adults.

    A study, which included nearly 1,400 high school students, found those who watched TV for five hours or more per day had less healthy diets than peers(同龄人) five years later. Why does this happen? Should the parents take any measures?

    On the one hand, people who spend a lot of time in front of the TV, especially teenagers, may snack more, and that may affect their long-term diet quality.

    On the other hand, TV ads for fast food, sweets and snacks tempt teenagers to eat more of those foods. And TV time might also replace exercise time for some kids.

    Lead researcher Dr. Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told Reuters Health a clear correlation between TV time during high school and diet quality in young adulthood. While the heaviest TV viewers were eating the most junk food, those who'd watched less than two hours per day had the highest intake(吸收) of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and high-calcium food. In her opinion, parents should limit and monitor TV viewing.

    As far as I am concerned, children should watch no more than two hours of television per day. And parents should set a good example by eating right, being physically active and curbing their own TV time.

                                                                           Exhibitions in the British Museum

    Hokusai: beyond the Great Wave

    Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) is widely regarded as one of Japan's most famous and influential artists. He produced works of astonishing quality right up until his death at the age of 90. This new exhibition will lead you on an artistic journey through the last 30 years of Hokusai's life — a time when he produced some of his most memorable masterpieces.

    25 July — 13 August 2018

    Room 35

    Adults￡12, Members/under-16s free

    Places of the mind: British watercolour landscapes 1850-1950

    Drawn from the British Museum's rich collection, this is the first exhibition devoted to landscape drawings and watercolours by British artists in the Victorian and modern eras — two halves of very different centuries.

    23 July — 27 August 2018

    Room 90

    Free, just drop in

    Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia

    This major exhibition explores the story of the Scythians — nomadic tribes and masters of mounted warfare, who flourished between 900 and 200 BC. Their encounters with the Greeks, Assyrians and Persians were written into history but for centuries all trace of their culture was lost — buried beneath the ice.

    14 September 2018 — 14 November 2018

    Room 30

    Adults￡16.50, Members/under-16s free

    Politics and paradise: Indian popular prints from the Moscatelli Gift

    This display is part of the Museum's contribution to the India-UK Year of Culture 2017. It looks at the popular print culture of India from the 1880s until the 1950s.

    19 July — 3 September 2018

    Room 90a

    Free, just drop in.

    I first began experiencing depression (抑郁) at the age of 14 .At first depression would come and go, but later it became a continual part of my life.

    I was so strongly determined to find the way to overcome my depression that I tried everything from when I was in college, special teas, yoga (瑜伽), and advice given by doctors. However, I still felt I hadn't even come close to managing the problem.

    But one afternoon, I saw an article in a magazine that talked about how dogs were able to help people with depression. The next day, I decided to get a dog—a corgi (柯基犬).

    When I bought my little corgi, Buddy, home, I didn't realize how much he would change my life. One morning, I woke up with those familiar feelings again. I didn't want to get out of bed. I turned to pull the covers back over my head and give up. That's when I saw Buddy. He started jumping all over me, licking (舔) my face, letting me know that it was time to go outside. It was as if he were saying, "There's no time to be sad. The world is amazing!" And for the first time in my life, on a day when my depression were strong, I got out of bed. I put on my winter clothes and went for a walk in the snow with my new friend. I realized at that moment, walking down the street in winter, my life was changing. I really was a new person. This was my new beginning.

    It's been more than a year since that day, and I've never spent another morning unable to get out of bed. I've not cried myself to sleep or spent my days filled with fear and regret. Sure, I still have days when I feel sad or anxious. But with Buddy by my side, I've finally learned how to manage these feelings.

The Master Gardener Foundation

Aim

The Master Gardener Foundation provides free information to the public on environmentally safe gardening practices and water conservation. The information is research-based and encourages limited use of farm chemicals and fertilizers.

Donation Activities

The master gardeners here did much donation work. They donated over 35,000 volunteer hours, serving 40,000 adults and more than 5,200 children. They did this through about 35 plant clinics, 6 demonstration gardens, 4 youth gardens, as well as a classroom program and dozens of workshops. The Master Gardener Foundation provides roughly two-thirds of the financial support for all these valuable activities.

Washington State University currently provides the salary and benefits of the Master Gardener Program. The foundation funds office space and supplies, as well as a part-time program assistant.

The Master Gardener Program

Safe and green gardening and water use practices are vital to preserving our environment. The Master Gardener Program seeks to provide this kind of education and information to the citizens for free. It is a highly successful example of cooperation between a foundation and volunteers.

Waiting for Your Donations

The Master Gardener Foundation is a non-profit organization, and all donations are allowed by law and support the Master Gardener Program and activities.

Please consider a donation to the Master Gardener Foundation and help keep our environment green!

In early February 2019, 51-year-old Rainer Schimpf and his team set out to film South Africa's famous Sardine Run off the coast of Port Elizabeth. The migration of billions of South African sardines, is a big draw for hunters, especially seabirds and dolphins. The two species work together to herd the large group of fish into smaller shoals (浅滩), which are then eaten by not just the birds and the dolphins, but also sharks and Bryde's whales.

In an attempt to find the best scene of the amazing natural phenomenon, which has been the subject of many films, Rainer got into the middle of a swirling ball of fish. Suddenly the sea churned (翻腾), and the experienced diver and his photographer Heinz Toperczer, who was filming from the boat, instantly realized something strange was going on.

Toperczer later said, "As Rainer moved towards the shoals, suddenly the water churned widely up, dolphins shot out of the water and then a whale appeared and caught him!"

Rainer, who was swallowed in darkness inside the whale's mouth, was trying to survive. "I held my breath because I thought he was going to dive down and release me much deeper in the ocean," the diver said.

Fortunately for Rainer, the whale quickly realized he was no sardine! "I felt huge pressure around my waist (腰部) which is when I guess the whale realized his mistake," he said. "As the whale turned sideways, he opened his mouth slightly to release me, and I was washed out, together with tons of water, of his mouth." Though the entire event lasted just 1. 8 seconds, it felt like a century to Rainer.

Still holding his underwater camera, the diver swam to his boat, where he was quickly rescued by the members of the team. The terrifying adventure did not worry Rainer for too long. After checking to ensure he had no injuries, the diver returned to the water. Fortunately, the rest of the adventure went peacefully.