4 . Imagine driving down a country road past a huge, open field where goats are eating grass. Suddenly a truck breaks down and makes a loud noise. Just as suddenly, the goats fall to the ground.

A few moments pass. The goats are back on their feet. What just happened? Well, the goats were very frightened and dropped to the ground, but not all goats act like this. There is only one kind of goat that behaves this way when it is surprised. It is called a Tennessee Fainting Goat.

In the 1800s, a farmer arrived in Marshall County, Tennessee, with a few goats and a cow. People say he   came from Nova Scotia, Canada. Since the man did not talk much, no one knew where he got these goats. When he left, he took the cow, but he sold the goats.

The behavior of one of the goats was different from most others. Being frightened caused the goat’s body to go stiff and sometimes fall over. No one had seen goats do this before. They began to call this new goat a Tennessee Fainting Goat.

This special kind of goat does not actually faint. They just look like they do. The fainting goats stay awake. The baby goats, however, usually do fall over, but the good thing is that they do not have far to fall. Some older ones learn to stand near something like a fence or a tree, just in case they are frightened.

Now there are about three thousand fainting goats in the United States. People enjoy raising them, because goats of this kind are gentle, smart, and playful. They just get scared stiff now and then. The moment of stiffness only lasts about ten or fifteen seconds. Then the goats walk and act like any other goat.

6 . What should I eat for breakfast? Who should I go out with on weekends? What should I do if I miss the bus to school? What colleges should I apply for? Again and again Chinese kids ask these questions to their teachers and parents. They can't make their own choices.

Kids in America would be very surprised to hear how much Chinese children depend on adults.When they are ten years old, kids decide what clothes they want to wear and buy.By twelve they know what classes to take for middle school.Thirteen years old is the beginning of being what Americans call a “teenager”.Now the child makes almost all his/her decisions — what to do after school;who are his/her friends, sometimes even when to come home at night. Finally at sixteen the kid usually gets a car from his/her parents. Now he or she can come and go when he/she likes.The only rule is when they come home at night.

Why should kids be independent? Think about it. After high school most of us will be by ourselves. Will our parents be able to tell us what to eat for breakfast in college? Can our teachers decide what we should do at work?

Making our own choices can be quite hard and scary. But we can start with making small choices,and then slowly make bigger and more important choices. Before we know it we will become independent, confident and able to make our own decisions! And we will have a lot more fun!

7 . Warm weather gets thousands of people to gather outdoors and celebrate for various events. Here are a few fun festivals that you should travel to see this summer.

Naadam (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia)

Naadam,also known as “the three games of men”,is the biggest traditional festival held in Ulaanbaatar,the Mongolian capital.Each July,men compete in Mongolian wrestling,horse racing and archery (射箭).Today,women also take art in the archery and girls in the horse racing.

Elvis Week (Memphis)

If moving your body to Blue Suede Shoes this summer sounds good to you,then head to Memphis for Elvis Week,usually held in August.Movies,special performances and the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest are just a few activities to keep fans busy. The week of events is held to mark the anniversary (周年纪念日) of the death of Elvis Presley,the “King of Rock and Roll”.

Glastonbury Festival (Somerset, England)

Around 175,000 people gather on a dairy farm in Somerset,England every year for the Glastonbury Festival.Famous bands and singers appear at the 5-day music celebration.The ticket for the festival was £1 when the festival started in 1970,but today,full-weekend general tickets go for about £248.

World Bodypainting Festival (Klagenfurt, Austria)

During the annual World Bodypainting Festival in Austria, artists from as many as 50 countries compete using a variety of techniques, including brushes, sponges and airbrushes. Alex Barendregt organized the first festival in 1998, when he was tasked with organizing a new summer event.

8 . The structure of DNA plays an important role in medicine and biology. But you may not know that its founder is a female scientist and goes through a lot on her way to make scientific research. Rosalind Franklin was born in London, England on July 25, 1920. On April 16, 1958, at age 38, she died from cancer. Franklin was responsible for much of the research and discovery work that led to the understanding of the structure of DNA.

Franklin was interested in science and attended one of the few girls' schools in London that taught physics and chemistry. When she was 15, she decided to become a scientist. Her father was decidedly against higher education for women and wanted her to be a social worker. Franklin's aunt decided to support her and she agreed to pay for her full schooling. Within weeks, Franklin's aunt got her mother to support her going to college also. Months later, Franklin's aunt and mother got her father to agree with it. Franklin was very excited that she was going to college and did a good job in her study.

After her graduation from college, Franklin started her research on DNA. However, there were so many quarrels in her life because Franklin and her research partner did not get along. Franklin and her partner's arguments set them back on the study of DNA quite a bit. At the time they were working against another pair to find the story of DNA. Because of Franklin and her partner's fights, another pair found the structure of DNA first and won the Nobel Prize for it four years after Franklin died. Many scientists felt sorry for her early death and thought that the winners had stolen her research about DNA.

9 . At Aizo Chuo Hospital in Japan, employees greet newcomers, guide patients to and from the surgery area, and print out maps of the hospital for confused visitors. They don’t take lunch breaks or even get paid. Why? They’re robots!

Robots have long worked in factories, helping to build cars and electronic appliances. But today’s robots don’t just do the jobs of people－they actually look and act a lot like people.

Kansei, a robot from Japan, has a plastic face covering 19 movable parts. The robot can make 36 facial expressions in response to different words. Kansei shakes in fear at the word “war” and smiles when it hears the word “dinner”.

Researchers in Europe are going even further with iCub, a “baby” robot. They are teaching it to speak and hold conversations.

The ability to interact is crucial for robots that will one day work closely with humans, says robotics professor ChrisAtkeson. “This will require robots to understand what you say and how you are feeling and respond with appropriate emotions,” he told WR News.

Japanese scientist Minoru Asada agrees. He is building a robot called CB2 that acts like a real baby. “Right now, it only goes,   ̒Ah, ah. ̓ But as we develop its learning function, it will start saying more complex sentences and moving on its own,” Asada says. “Next-generation robots need to be able to learn and develop by themselves.”

Intelligent robot will become more important in the future, as populations age and the number of human workers declines in many countries. “We’re going to have many more old people and not enough young people to care for them,” says robot researcher Matthew Mason. “Technology can help the old people live at home longer, instead of going to nursing homes.”