1 . Benefits of Reading to a Dog

Here are five great reasons why your kid should read to a dog.

Dogs create a stress-free environment

It's hard to be really stressed(焦虑) around a cozy, friendly dog. Classrooms can be tense for kids who aren't great readers or presenters.     1    

Your kid won't even know she's building her vocabulary

    2    Without even knowing it, she'll be building her vocabulary, becoming more interested in books and improving her oral skills. Kids may also become more active to read aloud in other settings, as they get better at reading out loud to a dog.

A confidence-booster(增幅器)

Dogs are nonjudgmental. Kids will feel less self-conscious about reading aloud to them rather than, say, a judgmental human being.    3     .Thus they will be less afraid to read aloud in class.

Dogs like what your kid likes

Wanna talk about video games? Woof! Mermaids? Woof! A favourite cartoon? Woof! Dogs are interested in whatever your kid is interested in.

    4     They're not going to roll their eyes when your kid reads the Pokemon Go manual to them for the hundredth time. In fact, they'll just woof for more.

Petting a dog reduces stress and can even improve movement skills

Just grooming(梳毛)can help to improve a child's movement skills.

    5    Petting or hugging a dog also provides valuable breaks in reading, which gives children a chance to process what they've just read.

6 . Though war is something people hate, Director Feng Xiaoning often exposes his audience to it.

“If we don't impress the audience, who are without the painful experience of war but with the cruel injury to life that human nature war causes, how can we bring them a love of peace and objection to war?” asked the director with a glance in his eyes.

After Red River Valley and Lover's Grief over the Yellow River, both of which star Chinese model and actress Ning Jing, Feng drew a satisfactory full stop to his war trilogy(三部曲) last month with Purple Sunset.

The film tells a story which took place in 1945, at the very moment when World War II was drawing to an end. A Chinese peasant and a Soviet woman soldier flee into a forest, where they seize a Japanese girl. They follow the girl in the hope that she will take them out of the forest, but instead they arrive in a Japanese base. Humanisty(人道主义) prevents them from killing the young, innocent(无辜的) victim of Japanese militarism. This humanity, the longing for peace and eagerness to survive, make the three unite.

“If people are touched by justice, tolerance(容忍) and unselfishness, I think I have achieved my goal,” Feng said.

Feng admits that there are violent and bloody scenes in the film, such as tanks fighting and Japanese burning Chinese people alive, to show the cruelty of war. But that's never his personal preference, he says. “Everyone who has watched my films can tell how much I detest war,” he said, “I wrote all the things for my war films by myself. Whenever I finished one, I felt as though I had suffered great pain.”

Feng regards every one of his productions as an opportunity to learn about human nature and humanity. In spite of violent scenes which frighten and sicken the audience, a balance is sought with beautiful scenery. Just like the snowy mountains in Red River Valley and the grand plateau(高原) in Lover's Grief over the Yellow River, a beautiful vast grassland appears in this film. “I used to study art and I appreciate beautiful things,” Feng said, “I believe that films should offer the audience a chance to enjoy beauty.”

7 . Races

Virtual(虚拟的）races-but the running is real! Here are some of the best online races.

RAINBOWS VIRTUAL 5K

This is a fun run designed to be completed in any way that is proper for you-whether you run or walk in the garden,dance and walk fast along with your dog. All the organisers ask is that you complete 5K—in one go or over several days of your choice.

￡20,rainbows.co,uk/events/rainbows-virtual-5k

MILTON KEYNES MARATHON WEEKEND VIRTUAL 5K

Part of the yearly September Milton Keynes running festival, this year you can complete the 5Kvirtually. Complete it in your own time—in the garden or on an exercise machine if need be. You can also complete it in smaller runs.

From ￡18,mkmarathon. com/virtual-race

10K GARDEN CHALLENGE

A virtual race you can complete in your garden or at a local open space or park. Put on your shoes and complete 10K as speedily as you can. The event helps raise money for mental(精神的)health,with 15% of the entry fee being given to Bath Mind.By the way,the medal(奖牌)is environment-friendly.

￡15,womensrunning.co. uk/ neus/ keep-motivated-with-our-womens-runing-virtual-challenges

ROCK 'N' ROLL VIRTUAL

Sign up with the virtual running club and compete in weekly events alongside runners from around the world. Challenges include running an 8K and 15K in one weekend or running a l5Kwithin a 30-hour time window. Running challenges are all free to enter, but you can buy merchandise(商品）and medals if you want to add to your wall.

Free to join,buy your medals from ￡20,runrocknrollvr.com