1 . Dragons, a famous imaginary beast born from fantasy, are often present in stories in the west and east. In both cultures, dragons are generally recognized as massive creatures capable of flight. They have great power and are often associated with magical abilities. However, due to their different cultural roots and images, there exist significant differences in the way dragons are regarded in the west and east, particularly in China.

Chinese dragons most resemble snakes, and have four claws and no wings. They often have features of other animals, including carp, tigers, and eagles. In the contrast, Western dragons look like huge lizards with big claws and large bat-like wings, and are often shown with spines or rough scales.

In traditional Chinese culture, a dragon is a symbol of luck, power and high status. They can cause weather changes and bring rainfall to the fields to ensure rich harvests. They are considered divine (神圣的) creatures, which hold an important position as the head of the four spirits. Therefore, to symbolize their power, ancient Chinese emperors decorated their clothes with dragon patterns. These clothes are known as dragon robes. Many Chinese view the dragon as a national symbol, proudly referring to themselves as “descendants of the dragon”. In the west, however, a dragon symbolizes an evil creature that spreads violence and terror throughout the land. They are believed to be transformed by the devil, with the ability to breathe fire or spit poison. Many western tales show dragons being defeated and killed to protect people from danger.

Today, dragons continue to evolve, exceeding traditional boundaries and finding new significance in global culture. They are no longer associated with evil or good, but rather as complex characters with their own unique personalities and motivations. For example, Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon begins as a dangerous dragon but evolves into a misunderstood being with love and compassion. This challenges the idea of dragons as naturally evil, presenting them as complex beings with emotions and motivations.

2 . This Week’s Events & More to Come

Enjoy dinner, delicious wine, dancing and music by Lonesome Found, all while supporting a great cause. This night of fun and fund raising will benefit the Pocono YMCA’s scholarship programs, which assist children and seniors.

Spring is here, and it’s the perfect time to address your houseplants’ needs before the growing season. Each participant can bring a houseplant in need of a little rehab(修复) and will choose a 6-inch houseplant to take home. Come for a night of fun and learning! Cocktail/mocktail and snacks provided. Reservations required.

Thirty years after Travis Tritt launched his music career, the Southern rock-influenced artist continues to sell out shows and stay true and relevant to country music fans across the globe. Tickets can be purchased at the Penn’s Peak Box Office (walk-up only) or through Ticketmaster.

Gentle Flow will take yoga beginners to the next level with a slower paced flow. This class will also allow for more time with each pose, softening and going deeper into the pose increasing strength and flexibility. Reservations required. An eight-hour cancellation policy is required. Class cards must be used within 90 days.

8 . Entering competitions can be fun, and it’s a good way to hone（磨炼）your skills. While you can’t expect to win every time, you can increase your chances of winning with the right strategy and preparation. These are general tips that can be applied to your competition of choice.

Research and choose the right competition.     1     Choose a competition at which you’ll excel, and make sure it’s far enough in the future that you have plenty of time to train effectively. Do some research into the judges and organizers as well to see what they look for in a winning competitor.

Don’t psych yourself out. Plenty of people get scared off by a competition’s requirements and don’t enter in the first place.     2     Since you’ve done your research, you can be confident in your choice to compete and your potential to win. So, stand strong even when you have your doubts and when others may be dropping out.

Learn your competition. Remember that you’re not competing with everyone in the competition. There may be many applicants and candidates, but there will only be a few contenders（竞争者）and finalists.     3    

Make a checklist. Everyone has different productivity styles. If it helps, consider making a training checklist.     4     A checklist is what weightlifters do, for example, to keep track of the exercises they’ve done, the number of reps, and the weight. With a written checklist, you also have one less thing to think and worry about.

    5     Leave sticky notes on your mirror or car steering wheel. Write down anything motivational to keep you inspired. It doesn’t have to be specific. It can simply be, “You OWN the track today!” or “35.5 IS my time!”

9 . Power often boosts an employee’s creativity because being powerful liberates the individual from restrictions. However, new research shows that employees who are not in positions of power can become more creative when given time to “warm up” to a task by engaging in the creative task more than once.

“This is important because when people with more power are able to express their creative ideas more than those with less power, which leads to a rich-get-richer dynamic that strengthens these power imbalances,” said Brian Lucas, assistant professor in the Cornell University. “Understanding ways to boost the creativity of lower power workers can help them find the right way to deal with this low-power disadvantage,” Lucas said.

Lucas and his colleagues conducted two studies to reach their conclusion．In the first study, they divided the creative idea generation session into two rounds consisting of a one-minute “warm up” followed by a second round in which the participants could take as long as they wanted．Participants were randomly assigned to a high-power condition or a low-power condition, and feelings of power were generated with a role manipulation (操纵) where participants were given a leadership role and control over resources (high power) or an employee role with no control over resources (low power). The study found that high-power individuals were more creative than low-power individuals in the warm-up round．There was no difference, though, in creativity in the second round.

In the second study, the researchers gave them a different creative task and increased the number of rounds from two sessions to five, taking as long as they like to complete the task. Similar to the first study, the study found that high-power individuals were more creative than low-power individuals in the first round．But the creativity of low-power individuals caught up to the creativity of the high-power individuals after the first round.

“The low-power warm-up effect suggests a simple intervention that empowers all employees to tap their creative potential and overcomes power imbalances in the workplace: when pursuing creative work, let employees warm up first,” Lucas said.