【推荐1】Family-Friendly Events in January

ZooLights: Glow Wild Jan.1-19

The Phoenix Zoo’s yearly holiday light show is on until Jan.19, allowing families one or more opportunities to enjoy the city’s zoo, with millions of lights giving an added dimension to the festivities.

Glow Wild, 455N. Galvin Pkwy., Phoenix, phoenixzoo. org, $11. 95 members, $13. 95 general admission.

Downtown Mesa Festival of the Arts Jan.4-18

The Downtown Mesa Festival of the Arts features the work of established and emerging artists, including those who create woodwork, metal crafts, food items, art, photography and gifts.

On Macdonald, off of Main Street in Downtown Mesa, dtmesa fest. com, free admission.

Family Fun Winterfest Jan.4

Ody Sea Aquarium in the Desert is hosting the third annual Family Fun Winter fest in its Desert Courtyard, featuring real snow for the kids to play in. This free event features everything from bounce houses to rides, games, snowflake crafts and face painting to go with various stands set up by local sellers, with food and other offerings for sale at the event.

9500 E. Via de Ventura, Scottsdale, od yseainthedesert. com, free.

Youth Fine Arts Course Jan.18-Mar.7

Mesa Arts Center is hosting an eight-week youth arts course on Saturdays to teach artistic skills and knowledge through fun and challenging art classes in a wide variety of art materials, including painting, drawing, mixed media and sculpture, ensuring mentally stimulating sessions for all.

Mesa Art Center. 1 E. Main St. Mess, mesaartscenter. com. $93.

【推荐3】If you desire to meet new friends, have fun and get into shape, basketball is the best sport for you regardless of whether you are a professional or an amateur.    1    

Here are some of the benefits you can acquire from playing basketball.

• Improve your fitness levels.

Playing basketball will definitely improve your fitness levels. Basketball is an amazing cardiovascular(心血管的) exercise.     2     Moreover, it aids in oxygen circulation and blood distribution throughout the body.

• Encourage teamwork.

Basketball requires team work to achieve a common objective.     3     This sport is great for kids, as it shows them how to work together in harmony to reach the goal.

•     4    

It brings individuals together and helps create friendship and bonds. This provides a great   opportunity for children who are shy, as it helps them interact with new friends, which will help your child function better in life.

    5     Although there are no drawbacks associated to playing basketball, it is necessary that you perform other exercises to improve your speed and power.

The Azores is a region of Portugal that’s made up of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. Compared to many island destinations, the Azores isn’t touristy, noisy, or polluted. Instead, travelers can expect to discover untouched nature, fantastic views, and charming villages with rich cultural traditions. Here are the key details you should know to begin planning your trip to the Azores.

Nature lovers will be thrilled to discover all of the outdoor trips available to them in the Azores, This is a main spot for hiking, diving, fishing, and whale watching. Some of the top outdoor sights to see include the calderas of Lagoa das Sete Cidades and Lagoa das Fumas and Pico Island, where you can climb the tallest mountain in Portugal. Sao Miguel is the biggest and most populated island, and there are lots of historic homes, restaurants, hotels, and shops here.

Try to visit the Pori of Angra in Terceira, which is a World Heritage Site and close to the hundreds of traditional bullfights that are held every summer. Head to the most westerly island of Flores to see the beautiful coast lined with wildflowers and sheep.

• Visit the beach to take a dip in the comfortable 70-degree water

• Take the five-hour trek lo the peak of volcanic Mount Pico

• Go bird-watching to see some of the Azores 300+ species of birds

• Take a walk around the 15th century town of Heroismo to learn about local history

The best way to get around the Azores is by car, and there are some really scenic drives to experience here. Buses operate around the islands, but service can be infrequent and unavailable on Sundays and holidays. Cycling should only be attempted if you are in great shape because the terrain is rugged and steep. It’s especially enjoyable to take boat to get from island to island, since most towns have ports and are along the shoreline.

【推荐1】You’re rushing to school and a man ahead of you suddenly falls down. Do you stop to help? In a study of bystanders, it was found that some people look away or keep on walking rather than stop and get involved.

“People tend to decide that no action is needed,” says Ervin Staub, a psychologist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who studies the role of bystanders. “The first thoughts that come into your mind often stop you from offering help.”

Time and again, good and caring people fail to come to the assistance of others. They know they should act and however, for reasons they themselves don’t understand, people sometimes don’t respond. Why?

One thing we know is that the unclearer a situation is, the less likely people are to help. Let’s say you see something like vapors (水汽) coming out of a building. You ask yourself, “Is it steam (蒸汽) or smoke?” If you are not sure, you look to other people for a clue about how to react. If you see other people doing nothing, you think, “Of course, that’s just steam.” You don’t want it to be smoke, because then you would have to do something about it.

Another one is known as “the bystander effect”. This says that the more people there are observing an emergency, the less responsible each one of them personally feels. For example, if you are the only person in the world who can act to save someone in a dangerous situation, you are more likely to act. However, if you are one of 100,000 people who could save the situation, you would be happier if one of the other 99,999 people did it!

“If you notice trouble, force yourself to stop and judge the situation instead of walking away,” says Ervin Staub. Then try to involve other people; you don’t have to take on all the responsibility of being helpful. According to Staub, it is sometimes just a matter of turning to the person next to you and saying, “It looks like we should do something.” Once you take action, most people will follow you and also help.

【推荐2】If you are a psychology enthusiast, you have probably heard of the famous marshmallow test (棉花糖测试). In this task, kids are given a marshmallow, and are told that they can eat that marshmallow now, or they can wait a little while, and have two marshmallows instead. Some kids eat the marshmallow immediately, while others try their best to wait for the experimenter to come back with two marshmallows.

Wait time in the marshmallow test came to be seen as indicators of self-control. But is it really the case? A 2022 study by Yanaoka and his colleagues tested the idea that children may decide how long to wait for rewards based on what they are used to waiting for in their culture. In the United States, there is no widespread custom of waiting until everyone is served to eat your food. However, in Japan, there is a mealtime custom of waiting until everyone has been served before anyone starts to eat.

Because of this difference, the researchers hypothesized that Japanese children would wait longer in the marshmallow test than the American children. This is exactly what they found. This certainly suggests that cultural standards are important. The researchers did a clever follow-up experiment. They found one situation where children in the U. S. are used to waiting longer than Japanese children are: unwrapping presents. In the U. S., when children are given gifts on special occasions such Christmas, they usually have to wait before they can unwrap their presents. In Japan, however, children usually open presents immediately.

Given these cultural differences, Yanaoka and his colleagues expected that if they ran the marshmallow test with Japanese and American kids, but they replaced marshmallows with wrapped gifts, then American kids would wait longer to open them. Once again, their theory was correct. When the potential rewards were wrapped gifts instead of food, American children waited 15 minutes on average, and Japanese children waited about four minutes on average.

【推荐1】On July 17,2017,Olympic diver Greg Louganis and his birth father, Fouvale Lutu, finally wrapped their arms around each other in their first official father-son hug." It was just meant to be, Louganis said of joining his father in Honolulu for an extended Lutu family reunion." It's so wonderful to have him with us," said Lutu. whose three other children were also in attendance." And this is more of a beginning," added Louganis.

But the four-day celebration also marked the conclusion of an emotional lifelong journey for Louganis, 57, who was put up for adoption as a baby and struggled for years with the feeling that his biological parents never loved him. His adoptive parents were always open with him about that. But the adoption organization had lost Louganis' s files in a fire, and unanswered questions led to troubled times for the young athlete. Later, Louganis got to know his biological parents had been young and had no choice in giving him up for adoption." That kind of helped ease the question of whether I was loved," he said.

Feeling more" at peace" about his family, Louganis turned his focus to diving. By the time he was 28, he'd become a four-time Olympic gold medalist. Among his biggest fans was Lutu, who for years had quietly followed his son's life from afar. Then in 1984,Lutu decided to meet him when Louganis was in Honolulu.

Face-to-face with his son for the first time, Lutu was emotional." Like me, he's a man of few words. But he told me he'd wanted to raise me," said Louganis. Despite his skepticism, Louganis continued to meet with Lutu."He never asked for anything," said Louganis." He just wanted to know if I was okay and that I was happy."

The reunion gave Louganis a lot to look forward to." I have family there," he said, almost in disbelief." It's an incredible gift that I've been given."

【推荐2】Australia is a society of people from a rich diversity (多样) of cultural, ethnic, linguistic (语言的) and religious backgrounds. Most Australians are immigrants or the descendants (后裔) of immigrants who arrived over the past two centuries from more than 200 countries.

Cultural and linguistic diversity was a feature of Australian life before European settlement and remains a defining feature of modern society. Immigration began with European settlement in 1788. It continued at a steady pace — reaching 50,000 a year during the Gold Rush Period of the 1850s — until the population reached seven million in the 1940s. Most settlers were from a British background. Since the Second World War, the Australian government’s immigration program has brought more than 6.6 million migrants to Australia.

Today, almost one in four of Australia’s estimated resident population of 24 million was born overseas. The last 50 years have seen a significant change in the source countries of people who choose to come here. In the 1960s, 45% of all new settlers were born in the United Kingdom and Ireland. By 2006 to 2007, this had fallen to 17%, with settlers and long-term visitors increasing from countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Africa and the Middle East.

Australia recognizes, accepts and respects cultural diversity. There are few countries in the world where migrants have achieved the level of economic, political, social and cultural participation that they have in Australia. Foreign languages are taught in most mainstream Australian schools and universities, as well as in community ethnic schools, many of which are funded by the Australian government. The Australian government spends a large amount of money every year supporting the teaching and learning for Asian, European and indigenous (本土的) Australian languages and Australian sign language for the deaf in mainstream schools as well as through community language programs.

Foreign languages are taught in both primary and secondary schools. The most popular languages studied are Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Indonesian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic and Latin. Around 50% of students study a foreign language at some time during their primary and secondary schooling. Almost 150 languages are taught in mainstream and non-mainstream settings.

【推荐3】A mum-of-two, Cherish Reardon, was bullied (欺凌) throughout her teenage years and struggled with anxiety for years. In March 2017, Cherish was struggling to adapt to life as a stay-at-home mum when she started exploring ways she could work for herself. Cherish said, “I am eager to work through the website at home. It is a good way to avoid a job interview!”

Immediately, Cherish tried going into fashion. She first focused on vintage-inspired (复古风的) dresses. In order to get her Popsy Clothing started online, Cherish had to put all savings into the business and turned to family for extra backing — she managed to raise & 10,000.

In the first few months, Cherish would only sell a few in the online marketplace. But soon she realized that mums like herself were the ones buying into the brand and NOT the 16-year-old girls what she had expected. Along with the Etsy shop and website, the mum-of-two set up a web page called Frocks & Friends to share fashion tips. Cherish said, “Now we ask my customers what sort of printed cloth they like best. I feel like it is their idea as well as ours.”

Last year, Popsy Clothing turned over almost £ 1,000,000, appearing on Gok Wan’s Fashion Roadshow. In 2019, the business sold 33,200 dresses and Popsy has now branched out into kids clothing and tights. Describing how her business has helped her anxiety, Cherish said, “Anxiety is always going to be with me to a certain degree, but I think I’ve learnt how to manage it and I’ve got support of many other women. Knowing that I’m not alone and other people struggle with it as well, that has been amazing.