Our love of music and appreciation of musical harmony (和声) is learnt and not based on natural ability, a new study by University of Melbourne researchers has found. The researchers said previous theories about how we appreciate music were based on the physical functions of sound, the ear itself and a born ability to hear harmony.

    The study shows that musical harmony can be learnt, and it is a matter of training the brain to hear the sounds. So if you thought that the music of some foreign culture (or Jazz) sounded like the crying of cats, it's simply because you haven't learnt to listen by their rules.

    The researchers used 66 volunteers with a range of (一系列的) musical training and tested their ability to hear combinations (组合) of notes (音符) to determine if they found the combinations familiar or pleasing. They found that people needed to be familiar with combinations of notes. If they couldn't recognize the notes, they found the notes dissonant. This finding put an end to centuries of theories claiming (声称) that physical functions of the ear determine what we find attractive.

    The study found that trained musicians were much more sensitive (敏感的) to unpleasant notes than non-musicians. When they couldn't find the note, the musicians reported that the sounds were unpleasant, while non-musicians were much less sensitive. This shows the importance of training or nurturing (培养) the brain to like particular sound of combinations of notes, like those found in jazz or rock.

    Depending on their training, a strange chord (和弦) sound was pleasant to some musicians, but very unpleasant to others. This showed us that even the ability to hear a musical note is learnt.

    To confirm (证实) this finding, they trained 19 non-musicians to find the notes of a random (随机的) selection of western chords. Not only did the participants' ability to hear notes improve rapidly; the chords they had learnt sounded more pleasant—regardless of (不论) how the chords were played.

    The question of why some combinations of musical notes are heard as pleasant or unpleasant has long been debated. “ We have shown in this study that for music, beauty is in the brain of the beholder(观看者),” a researcher said.

    Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?

    UBC Professor Simard explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined.

    Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their co-operation and support, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.

    Nitrogen (氮) and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi (真菌) networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons (神经元) in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all.

    Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend. She explains how dying trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest.

     “We didn't take any notice of it,” Simard says sadly. “Dying trees move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.

    A new report shows that there are just 7,100 cheetahs now left in the wild. Cheetahs are in trouble now.

    According to the study, more than half of the world's surviving cheetahs live in one zone that covers six countries in southern Africa. Cheetahs in Asia have nearly died out. It's thought that only fewer than 50 cheetahs live in Iran.

    The cheetah runs across lands far outside protected areas. Some 77% of their habitat falls outside these protected areas. As a result, the cheetah struggles because these lands are increasingly being developed by farmers and the cheetah's food is decreasing because of human hunting.

    In Zimbabwe, the cheetah population has fallen from around 1,200 to just 170 in 16 years, with the main cause being major changes in land ownership.

    Researchers say that the threats cheetahs are facing have gone unnoticed for far too long. “Given the nature of the cheetah, it has been difficult to gather information on them,” said Dr Sarah Durant, the report's lead author. “Our findings show that the large space requirements for cheetahs and various threats faced by them in the wild mean that they are likely to be in danger of dying out.”

    Another big concern about cheetahs has been the illegal trafficking (非法交易) of young cheetahs. The young cats can fetch up to $10,000 on the black market. Some 1,200 young cheetahs are known to have been trafficked out of Africa over the past 10 years but around 85% of them died during the journey.

    If the cheetahs are to survive, then immediate efforts must be made.

    A small insect is getting a lot of attention in the United States. The rusty patched bumblebee (大黄蜂) is the first of its species to be declared endangered in the lower 48 states—meaning every state except Alaska and Hawaii. The rusty patched bumblebee is named for a rust-colored line on its back.

    The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced this month it was adding the bee to its endangered species list. The insects are "on the brink of extinction, " according to the service. It said the bees were once found in 28 states. But there now are only small populations remaining in 13 states. The government agency will make a plan to help the dying bees recover. The agency said that such a plan might help other insects,like butterflies.

    U.S. officials think land owners can take small steps to help the rusty patched bumblebee. They say land owners can be friendlier towards bees by using native plants in their gardens. The insects directly fertilize many kinds of fruit and vegetable crops. And they fertilize grain crops used to feed cattle and milk cows. It costs billions of dollars to duplicate the job the bees do for free. Land owners are also being urged to cut back on their use of pesticide products. The officials also suggest that gardeners leave their plants alone at the end of the summer instead of cutting them. That way, the bees will have a place to live over the winter.

    The Fish and Wildlife Service says the rusty patched bumblebee was added to the endangered species list partly because of habitat loss. Other reasons were disease, pesticides and climate change. Officials are worried that other bees will suffer, too. Another species of bees in Hawaii is also endangered.

    Tourist Guide To The National Gallery

    Opening hours: Daily 10am -6pm Friday 10amn-9pm

    Closed.24-26 December

    Reasons to visit

    With over 2, 300 paintings in the collection, there are hundreds of reasons to visit the Gallery

    Here are some to get you started……

    Get into great art. From Leonardo da Vinci to Vincent van Gogh. See priceless works of art for free……

    Get creative, Brush up your skills, and create your own great works of art……

    Lean about art. Discover more about paintings.

    Be inspired. Life, death, passion, beauty. Every painting tells a story.

    Relax. Escape from the noisy city into a painting

Regulations

    Talk in a low voice when you use your cellphone in the gallery.

    Not touching the paintings or other exhibits. Not taking pets in or crossing the barriers.

    Consuming food and drink in designated areas only, i. e. not in rooms that contain paintings

    Following our'no-smoking' policy in any part of the building.

    Following our'no –photography' policy in exhibitions where a sign is displayed

    Access:

    The National Gallery aims to make access to the paintings enjoyable and welcoming to the widest possible public. There are a range of facilities to help you see the collection, visit exhibitions and come to events

    The Gallery offers British Sign Language -interpreted As on paintings for visitors who are deaf, and special art sessions(展期)for visitors who can't see.

    Address: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N SDN

    Getting here:

    By tube

    The nearest stations are Charing Cross( National Rail, Northern, and Bakerloo lines )and Leicester Square( Northern and Piccadilly lines)

    By bus

    Routes 3, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 24, 87, 91, 139, and 176 stop at Trafalgar Square.

    By bike

    The nearest bike stands are on Orange Street, St Martin's Street, St Martins Place, and Duncannon Street

    Click here to find more information.

    There has, in recent years, been an outpouring of information about the impact of buildings on the natural environment. Information which explains and promotes green and sustainable construction design, strives to convince others of its efficacy (功效) and warns of the dangers of ignoring the issue. Seldom do these documents offer any advice to practitioners, such as those designing mechanical and electrical systems for a building, on how to use this knowledge on a practical level.

    Although there are a good many advocates of "green" construction in the architectural industry, able to list enough reasons why buildings should be designed in a sustainable way, not to mention plenty of architectural firms with experience in green design, this is not enough to make green construction come into being. The driving force behind whether a building is constructed with minimal environmental impact lies with the owner of the building; that is, the person financing the project. If the owner considers green design unimportant, or of secondary importance, then more than likely, it will not be factored into the design.

    The commissioning (委任) process plays a key role in ensuring the owner gets the building he wants, in terms of design, costs and risk. At the predesign stage, the owner's objectives and expectations are discussed and documented. This gives a design team a solid foundation on which they can build their ideas. Owners who skip the commissioning process, or fail to take "green" issues into account when doing so, often come a cropper once their building is up and running. Materials and equipment are installed as planned, and, at first glance, appear to fulfil their purpose adequately. However, in time, the owner realizes that operational and maintenance costs are higher than necessary, and that the occupants are dissatisfied with the results. These factors in turn lead to higher ownership costs as well as increased environmental impact.

    In some cases, an owner may be aware of the latest trends in sustainable building design. However, firms should not take it as read that the client already has an idea of how green he intends the structure to be. Indeed, this initial interaction between owner and firm is the ideal time for a designer to outline and promote the ways that green design can meet the client's objectives, thus turning a project originally not destined for green design into a potential candidate.

    Typically, when considering whether or not to adopt a green approach, an owner will ask about additional costs or return for investment. In a typical project, landscape architects, mechanical and electrical engineers do not become involved until a much later stage. However, in green design, they must be involved from the outset, since green design demands interaction between these disciplines. This increased cooperation clearly requires additional cost. However, there may be financial advantage for the client in choosing a greener design. There are examples of green designs which have demonstrated lower costs for long-term operation, ownership and even construction.