【推荐1】Before you head out to a fun event where there will be many people, you should be aware of the dangers of a crowd crush (拥挤的人群), whose possibility adds up during the festivals or on some celebrating occasions.

Though the risk of crowd crush is rare, it can be deadly when it happens. Crowd crush occurs when many people are packed together and begin to fall over one another. In the past, such instances have caused horrible injury and even death.     1    

Before attending a crowded event, look up a map of the venue.     2     Once you arrive, choosing the right spot can be crucial. Avoid the middle or front; instead, pick the back or edges of a crowd. It s also important to trust your feelings. Stay aware to see if you feel packed in at any point. The more crowded the event becomes, the sooner you may need to move to a safe place.

    3     The most important thing you can do is stay on your feet. To do this, spread your feet apart and bend your knees a little. Also make sure to move with the flow of the crowd. Trying to move against a crowd of people will only end in disaster.

Helping others is another great way to keep everyone safe. Once one person falls down, more people tend to fall over them.     4    

A common cause of death in a crowd crush isn’t being crushed but rather losing air. It’s best to hold out your arms in front of your chest.     5     It also protects your chest and lungs from being crushed on the ground should you fall.

There is usually fun where the crowds are, so enjoy yourself. But meanwhile, it is also important to remember to stay alert and take care of your family members when you sense the smell of danger.

【推荐2】When your pet is sick, you know it needs medication. But pets, like babies, don’t know the pill you want them to take will help them.     1     Here are some tips to help get your pet to take liquid medicine.

    2     If the answer is yes, then your easiest path is to mix it with canned food. First give your hungry pet a small amount of canned food without the medication. It’s important that the pet nibbles (啃) at the food and sees that there's nothing wrong.

Next, while the pet is still hungry, mix the medication in a small amount of food and present it. Repeat as necessary to get the entire dose (剂量) down.       3     If the pet decides not to finish the meal, the dose will be wasted.

If the chemist says the medication cannot be taken with food, you need a syringe (注射器) or a dropper to get the liquid down your pet’s throat.

    4     Keep a cheerful tone in your voice so the pet doesn’t sense your stress or hesitation. Position your pet where it cannot run away, perhaps having a dog sit with his back against a wall or chair – or a cat on your lap.

    5     Use your other hand to insert the syringe or dropper between the cheek and back teeth. Slowly squeeze the medication so the pet won’t choke. Try to keep your pet’s mouth closed for about 30 seconds until you see it has swallowed. If your pet is being obstinate (倔强的) , stroke its throat gently or blow on the face.

Be sure you end the process with praise and perhaps a treat so your pet will not associate medication with a bad experience.

【推荐1】Over 40 years ago, a country music DJ convention was held every year in Nashville, Tennessee. Many country performers used to attend the convention to give their performances. Fans would go to Nashville hoping to see their favorite performers. In the end, so many fans began showing up in Nashville that a festival named Fan Fair was born.

The first Fan Fair was held in April 1972 in Nashville for four days. Some of the biggest country music stars attended. There were about fifty thousand fans. The first Fan Fair was so successful that the second one in 1973 was planned almost immediately. The date was changed to June, when the weather would be better. Over one hundred thousand fans, attended the second Fan Fair.

Every year brought so many performers and fans to Fan Fair that, in 1982, it was moved to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. Fan Fair stayed at the Fairgrounds for another nineteen years.

There was always the unexpected during the festival. In 1974, former Beatles Paul McCartney attended. In 1992, more than six hundred reporters from Europe, Asia, and South America went to cover the appearance of a popular star, Billy Ray Cyrus, who had introduced a new country line dance. In 1996, Garth Brooks, who made a surprise appearance, signed autographs for 23 hours.

In 2001, Fan Fair returned to downtown Nashville as the world’s biggest country music festival. Nowadays, over one hundred and twenty-five thousand country music fans go to Nashville every June. As you can imagine, those who want to attend Fan Fair must plan ahead. For example, they need to buy a ticket several months ahead of time. Of course, there’s much more to prepare.

【推荐2】Mickey Mouse and Shrek are just a couple of the American animated (动画的) characters loved by people all over the world. And they are examples of the evolution of animation, which has brought unique new life to the film industry.

Among the first American animated films was By the Light of the Moon, a silent movie produced in 1911 using silhouette (剪影) animation, where the characters are represented only as black silhouettes.

The real breakthrough for American animation came with Steamboat Willie, created by Walt Disney and released in 1928. It was the first animated film to be accompanied by sound, and its main star, Mickey Mouse, became one of the most loveable and enduring animated characters ever created. Disney also created the first American full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Released in 1937, it enjoyed worldwide box-office success.

Disney’s extremely careful attention to high-quality details in the thousands of hand-painted drawings required at that time to make an animated film elevated this film technique to the level of a serious art form.

Clay animation is a type of stop-motion animation using forms made of clay. Clay animation films have been produced in the United States since 1908. But this form of animation only won wide popular appeal in 1955 with a short film called Gumbasia, created by Art Clokey.

Computer-generated imagery, or CGI, brought animation to a new level of artistry and realism. CGI animation had been used in films since the 1960s. It began to develop rapidly in the mid-1990s. Toy Story, released in 1995 and created by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures, was the first completely computer-generated animated feature film.

In 2001, DreamWorks and Pacific Data Images released Shrek, the first computer-animated feature film to win an Oscar. Shrek returned in 2004 with his talking donkey, his princess bride Fiona and an army of fairy-tale characters in Shrek 2. Hugely popular, that film became the highest-grossing(票房最高的) animated film of all time.

In addition to strictly animated movies, animation has been mixed into films showing live actors as well. Who can forget the terrifyingly real dinosaurs thundering through Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park movies and the actors they chase? Thanks to the powerful capabilities of today’s computers and the unlimited imagination of American filmmakers, animation will be entertaining audiences worldwide for a long time to come.

【推荐1】Just what is a tiger mother? Amy Chua is a law professor at America’s Yale University and her recent book on the subject is making waves. She’s been called “dangerous”, “outrageous”, even a “monster” for her descriptions of how she brought up her two daughters.

Her book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother describes fighting with a daughter for hours at the piano to ensure the child gets a piece of music right. She rejected birthday cards made for her by her girls because she didn’t think they had made enough effort. She compared one child negatively with the other, threatening to burn their toys. Her rules include: schoolwork always comes first; an A ­ minus is a bad grade; children must be two years ahead of their classmates in math, and playing the violin or the piano is a must.

Ms. Chua considers the Chinese hard work ethic(道德) as a way of creating happy, successful children—at least in her case. Although she’s had a large amount of flak(批评) for her theories, one thing can’t be ignored—the success of Chinese children in the education system.

In Britain, shocking research shows that Chinese girls, for example, are outperforming all other foreign groups at GCSE—79 percent getting 5 A ­ C Grades, compared with 58 percent of white British girls. So what is it about Chinese parenting that's leading to high achievers? And how do Amy Chua’s theories play into that success?

She told me that if her daughter came back from school with 96/100 in a test, Chua would ask her what happened to the other 4 points. It’s about always knowing “you can do better”, she told me.

Interestingly, in China, the birthplace of the tiger mother, people are moving away from traditional Chinese parenting. They are following more western parenting styles.