4 . Alameda Recreation and Park Department(ARPD)

TEEN TRIP TO THE LELAND HIGH SNOW PLAY

For Teens Currently in 6th to 12th Grades

LELAND HIGH SNOW PLAY -- Class # 8389

Friday, December 9

8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Meet at THE UNDERGROUND (Veteran's Building -- 2203 Central Avenue)

Cost per person: $50 ($60 after January 22)---- Includes:Lunch, Admission and Transportation

With a 4,000 square feet day-use lodge, the Leland High Snow Play has a huge supply of tubes to choose from along with awesome tows (拖车) that will tow you up to the top of the hill. Our varied terrains (地形) have something for everyone while the lodge provides a snack bar, video games, pool tables, five indoor rest rooms, a warm fire and a sun deck with plenty of tables and chairs overlooking the play area outside.

Be sure to bring warm clothing and prepare for the cold, but dress in layers in case it warms up. Wear dry boots, socks, and sunscreen. If possible, bring a mobile phone in case of emergency, as well as money for snacks and a light dinner: or bring your own food and drinks.

Meet at The Underground (Veteran's Building -- 2203 Central Avenue) -- don't be late!

Do not bring electronic or fragile items during the trip. The ARPD is not responsible for your personal belongings or money.

Refunds are issued only if the ARPD cancels this trip due to weather conditions.

Click here to download the registration form and "Leland High Snow Play Liability(责任) Form"

• Register in person, or mail the completed form to Leland High Snow Play, Inc. Send the liability form and payment to the ARPD Office, 2226 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda.

• Fax the registration and liability forms accepted with VISA, (510) 747--7566.

• Online registrations available at www.arpdeplay.com. Make sure you bring your completed liability form.

5 . Have you ever wondered why certain pop songs just make you feel so good? Researchers studying the question found that uncertainty and surprise give listeners the most pleasure. The study included 80,000 chords（和弦）in 745 pop songs between 1958 and 1991.

Each song was stripped of its melody（旋律）and lyrics（歌词）so that only chords were left and the results couldn^’t be misunderstood by other imaginations of the songs that listeners might have had.

They found two things. Listeners got great pleasure from unexpected chords when they knew what would happen. However, they still found it pleasant to hear familiar chords when they did not know what would follow.

Vincent Cheung, the lead researcher, said, "Pleasant songs are likely those which keep a good balance（平衡）between knowing what is going to happen next and surprising us with something we did not expect. Understanding how music starts our pleasure system in the brain could explain why listening to music might help us feel better when we are feeling blue.”

Cheung told CNN that pleasure in music is connected to expectation. The study before had looked into the effects of surprise on pleasure, but his team's study also paid attention to the uncertainty of listeners' expectations.

6 . I’d never been to a Day of the Dead festival before. As my dad and I looked around for seats, I _______ Marco, my best friend, hurrying toward us. “Hi, Mr. O’kane,” he _______ my dad. Then he turned to me. “Nate! Will you help me?"

“Whatever you need,” I said.

Marco threw me parts of a _______ : Mexican sandals（凉鞋）, a straw hat, a cane(手杖), a gray wig, and an“ old man” mask（面具）. “My cousin couldn’t_______ !” Marco’s voice rang with worry.

“It’s part of a traditional dance” he said.

“You expect me to dance? ” I _______ . “I don’t dance!”

Marco smiled. “It’ll be fun. And hurry! We’re _______ late.”

“ We’re going to do a lot of stomping(跺脚). Slow at first. Keep one hand _______ on your back, like an old man with an ache.” added Marco.

The speakers _______ : “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for The Dance of the Little Old Men!”

“Be quick,” Marco _______ to me to follow his lead.

We all began stomping slowly to music. I could only see ________ the small holes of the mask. I continued to stomp, trying to ________ what to do. I leaned on my cane and kept a hand low on my back. After a few minutes of dancing like that, my back ________ started to ache.

The music ________ . And we stomped quickly. Performing with Mexican sandals was ________ . People laughed as we hopped and kicked, but after a moment the laughter turned into cheers.

Marco gave me a thumbs-up. As the audience clapped for our group, I said to him happily, “You were right. That was ________ .”

Over time I have been changed quite a lot. I began as a     1     (calculate) machine in France in 1642. When I was young I could     2     (simple) difficult sums. I developed very slowly and     3     took nearly two hundred years before I was built as an analytical machine by Charles Babbage. After I was programmed by an operator    4     used cards with holes, I could "think"    5     (logic) and produce an answer quicker than any person. At that time it was considered a technological revolution and the start of my "artificial intelligence". In 1936 my real father, Alan Turing,    6     (write) a book about whether I could be made     7     (work) as a "universal machine" to solve any difficult mathematical problem. From then     8    , I grew rapidly both in size and in brainpower. By the 1940s I had grown as large as a room, and I wondered if I would grow any larger. However, this reality also worried my designers. As time went by, I was made     9    (small). First as a PC ,and then as a laptop, I     10     (use) in offices and homes since the 1970s.