In today’s lecture we will center on the people who lived five thousand years ago in the Sahara Desert. Most of these desert people moved across the countryside throughout the year. But if the journey was long, extra food and tools were sometimes stored in caves. One of these caves is now an exciting historic site. Even though the cave is very large, it was certainly too dark and dusty for people to live in, but it was a great place to hide things. And huge amounts of food supplies and daily tools have been found there. The food includes dried fish and nuts. Some decorations were also found in the caves. There are necklaces, earrings, and so on. Most of them are made of bone. From the above talk, we can see that there are really a lot of differences between ancient people’s lives and our lives today.

Welcomes all school groups to explore technology and the natural environment on a field trip designed to meet the learning needs of the students.

You can visit the museum from Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Groups must have at least one teacher for every ten students. Students must be supervised at all times, and teachers are responsible for their behavior inside the museum. Unsafe behavior is not permitted and will result in the entire group being asked to leave.

No backpacks, headphones, candy, gum, or lunches are allowed inside the museum. Lunches may be eaten outside in the park. We regret that the museum is unable to provide a place to have lunch indoors. In the event of bad weather, please plan to eat in your vehicle.

【推荐2】The modern pizza was originally invented in Naples, Italy, but the word pizza is Greek in origin, derived from the Greek word pēktos meaning solid or clotted.The ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs and cheese. The first major innovation that led to flatbread pizza was the use of tomato as a topping. It was common for the poor of the area around Naples to add tomatoes to their yeast­based flatbread, and so the pizza began.

While it is difficult to say for sure who invented the pizza, it is however believed that modern pizza was first made by baker Raffaele Esposito of Naples. In fact, a popular urban legend holds that the archetypal(原型的) pizza, Pizza Margherita, was invented in 1890, when the Royal Palace of Capodimonte asked the Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito to create a pizza in honor of the visiting Queen Margherita. Of the three different pizzas he created, the Queen strongly preferred a pie wrapped in the colors of the Italian flag: red(tomato), green(basil), and white(mozzarella). Supposedly, this kind of pizza was then named after the Queen as Pizza Margherita.

Later，the dish has become popular in many parts of the world:

●The first pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba, was opened in 1830 in Naples.

●In North America, the first pizzeria was opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi at 53 Spring Street in New York City.

●The first Pizza Hut, the chain of pizza restaurants appeared in the United States in 1958.

Nowadays, many varieties of pizza exist worldwide, along with several dish variants based upon pizza.

【推荐3】Many of the sports in ancient Egypt are still practiced today. In fact, many of the basic elements of sports, like rules and uniforms, were first used by Egyptians. The sports had important functions in society. Some were played for fun and fitness. Others were played to make stronger warriors(武士) and leaders.

The first group of sports, mostly for fun was those like rowing, hunting, and the high jump. Hunting and fishing could be enjoyed by the kings and regular people. The same was for rowing. Rowing needed strength. Teams of people got into boats and followed the commands of a leader. He would give regular, sharp calls to tell them when to row. This technique is still used for rowing teams today. Another popular game was tug-of-war. This was a game where two teams had to pull each other over a line. If team fell forward, they lost. This game is still played today in the country.

The second group of sports prepared people for the army and the temple. These included boxing, horse riding, running, and archery(箭术). They were ways to work on skills for fighting. They were also ways to work on mental and spiritual power. Running a marathon was a good example of this. The king would run to show he had the mental strength to guide his country. Hockey was another Egyptian game. Players held tree branches with a bent end, just like modern hockey sticks. They had to hit a ball made of leather that was brightly colored.

These sports were a part of Egyptian culture. They kept the people happy and fit. The basic rules were created thousands of years ago. They are still seen in some forms today.

【推荐1】Robots come in many shapes and sizes. But perhaps the most interesting and acceptable are the ones that look the most like humans. These human-like Robots—or humanoids—are used for a variety of purposes. They are programmed to handle tasks that are normally carried out by humans. Employers prefer these mechanical devices for many reasons: they are capable of working in an environment that is dangerous for humans; they don’t get distracted or need to take breaks; they don’t request vacation time or ask to leave an hour early.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas in the United States say that the mobile robots they have created are ideal for the job of hospital attendants. These mobile robots, known as HelpMates, store a detailed map of the hospital in their memory. They are mobile and are programmed to avoid things and people in their way. The robots’ sensors (传感器) can detect a human’s approach and quickly get out of the way. Unlike humans, these robots cannot climb staircases. But, yes, they know how to press a button for the lift. They travel up the floors in style!

Researchers at a Massachusetts university have gone a step further. They are creating a robot that can constantly change its shape according to the task it has to do. These robots are called polymorphic robots.

How does the robot change its form any number of times? There is a 3D printer placed inside the robot. This printer uses a nozzle(喷嘴) to build up layers of thermoplastic to create the desired shape. Thermoplastic is a kind of plastic that softens upon heating and hardens when cooled. The entire process of changing form in this manner is called the rapid prototyping technology. Once the robot has performed its task, it can be melted (融化) down. Its thermoplastic parts can then be recycled into another useful tool by the 3D printer.

【推荐2】While you might be tempted (诱惑) to gobble up your dinner, researchers say there may be advantages to taking your time over a meal. Eating slowly could help prevent obesity (肥胖), with researchers finding a link to both lower waist line and body mass index (BMI).

The study, published in the journal BMJ Open by researchers in Japan, looked at data collected though health checkups and claims from more than 59,700 individuals as part of health insurance plans, with data from 1998 to mid-2012.

The results reveal that 21.5% of the slow-eating group was obese, compared to almost 30% of the normal-speed group and 45% of the fast-eating group. While the slow eaters had an average BMI of just over 22, the normal eaters had a BMI of 23.5 on average, and the fast eaters had an average BMI of around 25, while waist circumference was also found to increase with faster eating pace.

Further analysis found that slower eating speed, not skipping breakfast regularly and not regularly eating dinner just before bed were all associated with a lower chance of obesity.

With almost a third of participants having had two checkups, the team were also able to look at the impact of changing habits. The results reveal that those who switched to eating more slowly between health checks, not snacking after dinner or eating dinner just before going to bed all showed signs of a reduction in their BMI. Changing breakfast habits, using antidiabetic (抗糖尿病) mediation and stopping regular smoking were not linked to any changes in BMI.

Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: “The speed at which a lot of people wolf down their food is undeniably a contributor to obesity. In particular, workers who gobble up their lunch at the desk are doing their health no favours. They should stop what they’re doing, switch off their phones and emails and preferably take a half hour away from the office altogether.”

【推荐3】The human brain’s perception(感知)of sounds extends beyond its frequency and amplitude(振幅). Sounds can evoke(引起)various meanings and emotions. They can also be perceived as interesting and informative or simply noise.

In a recent study, neuroscientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne(EPFL), Lausanne University Hospital, and the University of Lausanne in Switzerland have uncovered an intriguing bias in how people perceive pleasing voices.

When it comes to whispering sweet-nothings, the researchers found that targeting the left side of a listener’s ear has a peculiar effect on their perception of voices.

Brain scans of 13 adults have revealed that positive human sounds, such as laughter, evoke stronger neural activity in the auditory system when heard from the left side. According to Science Alert, this suggests that the human auditory cortex(听觉皮层)can recognize the direction of sounds that evoke happiness.

The underlying reasons for this preference remain unclear as the experiments only focused on changes in activity in the auditory cortex. Further research would be needed to understand how such changes in neural activity translate into the perception of these sounds.

Previous studies have indicated that the left ear is better at detecting the emotional tone in someone’s voice, suggesting a potential specialization. It was previously believed that the right hemisphere(大脑半球)of the auditory cortex, which receives information from the left ear, was superior in processing emotions. However, the recent findings challenge this assumption.

Both sides of the auditory cortex were activated when participants listened to happy vocalizations from different directions, but neuroscientist Sandra da Costa said recordings heard exclusively on the left side produced a significantly stronger neurological response. This effect was not observed when positive vocalizations came from the front or right side, indicating a specific association with the left side.

The direction of a sound can impact its quality and our perception. The research suggests that heightened sensitivity to certain sounds from specific directions may have had evolutionary advantages, enabling humans to be more alert to potential threats approaching from behind.