Many festivals take place in the Caribbean area, and Martinique, an island belonging to France, is no exception. One of the best things about living here is the great number of events and festivals, which take place throughout the year, all over the island. While it's hard to go to every festival, there is one event that you definitely can't miss. As soon as the Christmas festivities draw to a close and decorations are finally taken down, preparations begin for Carnival, the biggest and most exciting event of the year.
Having never experienced Carnival in the Caribbean before, I was excited to see Martinique come alive in Carnival spirit. True to my expectations, the celebrations were loud and had a lot of energy. For five days, the streets of Fort de France were filled with huge crowds, beautiful costumes and exciting music. Daily routines were completely abandoned while everyone took to the streets with crazy dance moves. In Martinique, Carnival is a celebration that brings people together, regardless of their age, race or religion. Everybody is united in this great celebration of life. An interesting aspect of Carnival for me was to see how many different cultural influences there were. The performances of people dancing in the street strongly reflected African dance, while the costumes were European. The music was also a unique mix of West African, Caribbean and European influences.
So, what are the roots of Martinique's culture? Most of the population of Martinique are of African descent (后裔). The history dates back to Africans who were brought to the Caribbean as slaves. After the end of slavery, many Caribbean societies welcomed forms of African culture and identity. Once controlled by France, Martinique is also deeply influenced by French culture. This is what makes the island, along with Guadeloupe, different from other Caribbean islands.
Scientists have found that the connections between humans and their dogs have the Same biochemical basis as the mother-child bond, and it's strengthened by the same thing: a gaze (注视).
A new study in Science, led by Takefumi Kikusui of Azabu University in Japan, carried out a series of experiments that examined the impact of the gaze in the dogs and their owners. "Our data suggest that owner-dog bonding is similar to human parent-child bonding," Kikusui said. "And this is surprising to us because there is not a mother-baby relationship between humans and dogs, but both of them have acquired similar skills. "
The researchers found that when owners and their dogs gazed into one another's eyes during a 30-minute period, levels of oxytocin (催产素）increased in both the humans and the dogs. Oxytocin is a chemical associated with trust and maternal (母性的）bonding — it increases when you're close to someone you love and gives you that warm feeling. Kikusui aid he believed the gaze was learned by dogs as part of their efforts to communicate and form social bonds with humans.
The latest studies have shown that dogs probably evolved from wolves about 15, 000 years ago, in Europe. Interestingly, Kikusui didn't find the same oxytocin response in wolves and their owners. "These results suggest that wolves do not use gazes as a form of social communication with humans, which might be expected because wolves tend to use eye contact as a threat," the researchers wrote.
Duke university's Evan MacLean and Brian Hare said, "This is particularly true when it comes to how dogs understand the social world. Even as young dogs, they naturally respond to human gestures, such as pointing cues, to find hidden food or toy rewards. "
MacLean said he felt the Japanese study strengthens the idea that the human-dog relationship is like a parent-child relationship and could help explain the biological basis that are involved in the use of dogs in medicine to treat some diseases or various forms of stress.
"If it turns out there are benefits of using oxytocin for some of these disabilities, using assistance dogs will actually be a fairly natural way to cause the system to start working," he said. "There may be some sort of medicinal value of our communication with dogs that we could use."
Matt Doogue, 34-year-old nature photographer, had been suffering from depression when he first found his passion for taking pictures of insects - and his work is now featured in National Geographic. He says that he tried to take his own life nine years ago after hitting "rock bottom." "In the beginning, I was so paranoid (妄想的）and angry that I couldn't leave the house, " says Doogue. "When I attempted to end my life, I knew I needed to see someone. I went to the doctors and got treatment, but I knew that I needed something more - and that's when I started photography. "
Now a clad of two, Doogue found that looking at insects through a camera helped him in ways he could never have imagined - and it proved to be the lifeline he needed. It had a "calming effect" that helped him to "disconnect" from stress; and his astonishing images, showing insects and spiders in amazing detail against brightly colored backgrounds, caught the eye of publishers at National Geographic. "I ended up as one of their featured photographers, " recalled Doogue. "It was the peak of my career. It was incredible. "
Originally from Salford, Greater Manchester, he now lives in Armadale, West Lothian, Scotland. Though he fears that Scotland is in the middle of an "epidemic" of male suicide, he believes that sharing his love of nature photography can help others to cope with their mental health issues as well. "I think the problem is this 'man-up' approach; the idea that men need to be strong puts so much pressure on young males to be fine all the time, " says Doogue. "This is why I try and be so open about my own experience. Whenever I am out with my camera, I don't think about my other worries. It is just me and the environment around me. You can lose yourself in a spider making its web. "
Is being different around different people like putting on a mask? When I am around different people I act differently. I switch my attitude around so it is similar to that of my friends.
The honest truth is that every person has many different parts of his or her personality that make up the whole person. For example, there are times when I am excited and noisy. At other times I like to be more quiet and reserved. During neither of these times am I being dishonest; just another aspect of my personality is coming out. And sometimes I behave differently depending on the social situation that I am in. For example, I am a pretty casual guy, so I really do prefer wearing jeans and T-shirts whenever possible.
This is not wearing a mask. It is just being respectful and appropriate to the situation. And there are even groups of people that bring out certain parts of my personality. For example, when I am hanging out with ray male friends, I can be loud and wild. But when I am at home with my wife and kids after a long day at work, I am much more reserved and quiet. Rather, I am just being socially appropriate, and sensitive to the people that I am with or the situation that I am in. At other times I feel comfortable being loud around my family and reserved with my friends. They wouldn't be good friends if they didn't value all the different aspects of my personality.
By contrast, what if I were with a group of people who support abortion?Just to avoid conflict. If you have a friend or friends who don't like the silly part of you, then they may not be good friends.
A. Is this considered putting on a mask?
B. Only you can decide if you are wearing a mask.
C. I don't feel that I must act in a certain way to be accepted.
D. However, at a funeral or wedding, I always wear a suit and tie.
E. So I do not believe I am wearing a mask in any of these situations.
F. If they asked me my opinion, it would totally be a mask for me to agree with them.
G. So if we are not being the same person in the presence of any group, we are wearing a mask.
Mary uses a walking stick. Benjamin recently learned how to walk. Mary is 99.
Benjamin is 2. The neighbors may seem like1friends, but during the pandemic (疫情), they formed a unique2at the fence between their houses in Minneapolis.
"Benjamin just turned 2 years old. We've been 3with Mary long before he was born," Benjamin's mom, Sarah Olson said. They didn't see Mary much,4 last year when the COV1D-19 pandemic 5and the family had to stay home, Mary was someone they could 6一 outside.
During the pandemic, the Olsons7played in their yard, and Mary would be in hers. Benjamin would 8Mary when he saw her in the yard and they would play games. There's a 97-year9gap, but Benjamin doesn't see it.
"She's just Mary，or 'Mimi'," Sarah said. "We're inside and he'll go, 'Mimi? Mimi?' and we'll go outside and 10Mary. Then Mary will call out, 'Hey Benjamin!' How 11a scene it is!"
For Mary，who was completely 12during the pandemic, a friend was just what she needed. It seems Mary has 13a childlike spirit with Benjamin, playing with bubbles and even water guns.
More than a year after they first started 14together, Benjamin and Mary still 15each other's company. Benjamin and Mary's friendship has 16so many because people like to see relationships form so 17for young people and elderly people. "We didn't have to work on it at all; it just 18," Sarah said.
"Friendship can be 19in so many different ways. I'm really happy they've developed this friendship," she said. "It is such a rewarding 20for both of them."
We hear about climate change pretty much every day now. Scientists have just announced that July was the hottest month ever (record). The scientists are from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the USA. A spokesperson from NOAA said, "July is (typical) the world's warmest month of the year, but July 2021 beat (it) as the hottest July and hottest month ever." NOAA said Earth's land and ocean surface temperature in July increased 0.93 degree Celsius, compared to the 20th-century average of 15. 8 degrees Celsius. The Northern Hemisphere was 1.54 degrees Celsius hotter than average.
The NOAA spokesperson said this new record was (worry). He said, "In this case, first place is the worst place to be." The announcement from NOAA comes a week after a 4, 000-page report on climate change from the United Nations. It clearly (state) that humans had affected the climate. It wrote, "It is clear human influence has warned the atmosphere, ocean and land." total of 234 scientists from 66 countries worked on the report. It warns that extreme weather(continue) to get worse. It says every region will experience multiple(change) in weather, like sweltering heat and flooding.
My name is Franklin G. Takata, but everyone around here calls me "Find-It Frankie."
Let me tell you something: you don't get a nickname like that overnight. I've been finding things since before I can remember. Mom said it all began when I started teething as a baby.
And when I turned five, I got a partner, my dog Munchy. For my fifth birthday, my parents let me pick him out at the animal shelter. When we opened his cage, the first thing he did was dig into my pocket and find the candy I had been saving for later. I guess you could say I saw a bit of my younger self in him.
Anyway, Munchy and I were playing in the yard one Thursday afternoon when Mom approached us with the case in question. Her diamond ring was missing, and she wanted us to find it. If I had known how tricky the case would be, I might have hesitated. But I said then, "There's nothing we can't find, guaranteed!"
I asked Mom the first question I always ask when something goes missing: "Where do you last remember seeing it?"
"I was m the kitchen baking cookies," Mom answered. "I took off my ring and placed on the small shelf above the counter. But then your aunt called, and when I came back from talking to her, the ring was gone!"
"Hmm. Well, it couldn't have disappeared all by itself I said. "Munchy, let's go take a closer look." Munchy led the way to the kitchen. There was no sign of the ring on the shelf or the counter, but tiny paw prints in the spilled flour told me who might have seen it last.
"The cat! I exclaimed. "See those prints? Mr. Jingles must have been playing with the ring and knocked it onto the floor!" On my hands and knees, I searched all over the floor for the ring. No luck.
"Munchy, you're up! Go find Mr. Jingles." Munchy's ears popped up. He never passed up an opportunity to annoy the cat.
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Munchy immediately located the cat asleep on the sofa.
Unhappily, I took a bite of the cookie but stopped when I felt something hard.
