1 . Painting is an ancient medium and even with the introduction of photography, film and digital technology, it still has remained a persistent mode of expression. So many paintings have come into being over the years but only a small percentage of them could be described as “timeless classics”. The following are some of the most famous paintings of all time.

Painted between 1503 and 1519,Leonardo da Vinci’s attractive portrait has been a subject of controversy since the day it was made, due to two questions: Who’s the subject and why is she smiling? A number of theories for the former have been provided over the years: That she’s the wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco di Bartolomeo del Giocondo and that she’s Leonardo’s mother, Caterina. As for that famous smile, its quality has driven people crazy for hundreds of years.

Whistler’s Mother, or Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1,as it’s actually titled, speaks to the artist’s ambition to pursue art for art’s sake. James Abbott McNeill Whistler painted the work in his London studio in 1871. Whistler’s mother Anna is pictured as one of several elements locked into an arrangement of right angles. Her severe expression fits in with the rigidity of the composition, and it’s somewhat ironic to note that despite Whistler’s formalist intentions, the painting became a symbol of motherhood.

As one of the most significant works produced during the Northern Renaissance, this composition is believed to be one of the first paintings finished in oils. It portrays an Italian merchant and a woman who may or may not be his bride. In 1934.the celebrated art historian Erwin Panofsky proposed that the painting is actually a wedding contract. What can be reliably said is that the piece used orthogonal perspective to create a sense of space. It feels like a painting you could step into.

3 . Cry Me a River

A dear friend of mine spent most of his life near the Severn River where salt water mixes with fresh water.     1     So my friend considered it the most human river. To him, the river was a signature of sorrow accompanying the beauty of nature. Crying, too, is a contradiction. It can be a response to anger and frustration or to poetry too lovely for words.     2    

Happy crying and sad crying are both a response to emotional extremes, which suggests that tears help bring us back to a calm state of mind. Some researchers argue that we need to reset emotionally when things are just too wonderful. Wild joy feels great, but it distracts us from the business of life. Likewise, negative emotion is important and even life-saving in a crisis like being separated from loved ones or being under threat.     3     But staying in this state is not helpful, so we seek to reduce stress and improve our mood, which crying can do quite effectively.

    4     Weeping involuntarily at work, for example, can lead to embarrassment and discomfort.     5     In such a situation, they might still get the emotional release of crying by surrounding themselves with people who won’t think less of them for shedding a few tears.

4 . A robot created to be the world’s most expressive robot cheerfully smiles and introduces herself when meeting humans. Named Ameca, the robot is one of the most lifelike robots to date and can easily interact with people at Dubai’s Museum of the Future. She smiled, blinked and moved her shoulders and could be heard saying, “My name is Ameca,” before spelling out her name. “Have I won the spelling competition?” she joked.

One of the visitors asked her if she was happy to be there. “I’m not happy,” she said. “I do not experience emotions, but I can look happy.” And at one point, she said, “Oh wait! What if I am real and you are not?”

Ameca, designed by UK-based Engineered Arts, is the world’s most advanced human-shaped robot representing the forefront of human-robotics technology. Intended to test artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the robot has a range of facial expressions, including smiling and blinking.

“That was our aim, to make the most expressive robot possible,” said Morgan Roe, director of Engineered Arts. “So what we do is first look at what a human can do and then work backward and think, ‘How can we make that mechanically?’ It’s not just making it look like a human; it’s making it move like a human. So we look at both appearance and dynamics to design the mechanics, and inside Ameca there are 17 motors.” Mr Roe explained that while there is an AI operating system, there is also a person who controls her speech and facial expressions.

Humanity’s relationship with machines has developed in recent years, but AI robots won’t be joining the average family anytime soon. Ameca’s designers said it would likely be at least another twenty years before we would see such robots in homes. However, they may well start turning up in places like airports and hotels before too long.

5 . If I asked you what the most common form of plastic pollution is, what would you say? Plastic bottles? Straws? Bags? All good, but incorrect guesses. Cigarette butts are actually the most abundant form of plastic waste in the world, with about 4.5 trillion individual butts polluting our global environment.

But wait, aren’t cigarette butts made of cotton or paper? In fact, cigarette butts consist mainly of plastic and while they may be small and tend to go unnoticed, actually they exist everywhere. Contrary to what many believe, cigarette butts are not harmless. They are made of cellulose acetate, a man-made plastic material and contain hundreds of poisonous chemicals. When cigarette filters (过滤), the plastic part of butts can take up to 10 years to completely degrade (分解), the chemicals they release can remain in the environment for many more years beyond the life of the cigarette butt itself.

These remaining poisonous substances include arsenic (also used in rat poisoning), lead (a poison that can affect the brain development of children), and nicotine. When these chemicals are improperly thrown on the street corner, out of the car window or down a drain, they slowly pollute our natural water and soil systems, presenting a serious threat to people and the environment.

Cigarette butts are by far the largest single type of litter by count. Since the 1980s, cigarette butts have consistently accounted for 30-40% of all items picked up in annual international coastal and urban cleanups. This further stresses the need for comprehensive approaches to not only managing waste, but also limiting tobacco use and mitigating its broader environmental impacts. Moreover, the new World Health Organization report states that tobacco farming contributes to nearly 5% of global deforestation, with 200,000 hectares of wood biomass (生物数量) lost per year.

For five years, EARTHDAY ORG has been driving cleanups worldwide through The Great Global Cleanup. You can join us on this journey by signing up to either join or create your own cleanup event. You can encourage others to do their part as well by reminding them of the dangers of smoking and by advocating for more comprehensive waste management systems.

6 . Any good recipe needs an ingredient list, a cooking method, and if it’s particularly successful, there will be a personal touch describing how the recipe was developed through repeated tests until it was just right. It is a balance of these elements in recipes that ensures good cookbooks are the most important part of any kitchen.

Good communication is just like making a good dish. This is where The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence steps in. Written by journalist Ros Atkins, it is a recipe book for storytelling, made to be roughly looked through. The “ingredient list” is information required to communicate effectively. The methodology is given according to the different settings.

In this book, Atkins presents a seven-step method for giving a great explanation, from getting the main information to giving information in an easy-to-understand way. Reviewing a book of this nature is a test of how well I have understood the information in this guide. The most important parts of the method include: gathering information effectively; communicating it clearly; and achieving the delivery. But, for me, it is not this method that makes this book interesting but the “personal touch” stories, which draw on Atkins’ life, that give this book its edge.

I was most drawn to the practical examples in The Art of Explanation, because it offered a chance to know more about Atkins’ career, from starting out as a graduate to taking a new approach to explanation on a BBC’s program, Outside Source. As Atkins puts it himself, “Tell a good story, so people will pay attention to your every word.” Stories, and how they are told, are at the heart of journalism. It is no surprise that the stories told in the book are particularly attractive, such as how Atkins began his journalism career as a junior reporter in South Africa. These stories make The Art of Explanation worth reading, moving it from a textbook to something that works like a well-written cookbook.

8 . Have you ever changed jobs or moved to an unfamiliar city, only to find yourself wondering how to connect with new people?    1    However, a connection is a part of what it means to be human. When we do it well, our lives are far more fulfilling. Here are a few tips to help you build and strengthen connections with people.

Be your real self

You can’t go wrong with being yourself. Pretending to be someone you aren’t can lead your relationships to be built on lies and cause confusion in the future.     2     They forget that being themselves is how they make genuine connections.

Respect people’s boundaries

It’s likely that when you get to know someone new, you’ll discover their limits quickly. In order to build a meaningful relationship with that person, you must respect the boundaries.    3    Otherwise,the connection will be killed.

Move past the surface level

Meaningful connections move past the basics of small talk.Yes, the first time you meet someone, you can cover surface-level facts.    4    What are their values? What types of goals do they have for the future? What are their biggest hopes and dreams? These are all questions that give more insight into who they are and how we can connect with them.

    5    

One of the best ways to learn how to connect with other people is learning to be present. And don’t just be present mentally. Use your body language to show that they have your full attention. If you aren’t facing the person who’s speaking, they won’t feel like you care about connecting with them.

9 . Educational optimists predict that AI will soon provide amazing efficiencies and progress in teaching and learning. But are efficiency and machine logic what our students need most?

It’s certainly true that AI is a wonderful new tool dramatically transforming human life. AI is improving in speed and scope to recognize patterns in extremely complex data sets of all types, allowing it to make predictions about what might come next, be it a purchase of a customer, a word in a sentence , a sound in spoken language, or countless other processes.AI can answer specific complex questions or perform complex calculations at a rate impossible for the human mind to comprehend, let alone compete with. It can also create images and speeches which not only imitate reality but surpass it to meet programmed standards of excellence.

However, although these may be helpful to adults seeking to improve productivity, it is necessary to follow G.K. Chesterton’s advice that children should not be subjected to educational projects and ideas younger than they are. Allowing students to avoid traditional learning methods with AI will have uncertain and potentially harmful results. The same could be true of educators’dependence on AI for student assessment and lesson planning. In education at least, it is quite possible that AI will work against natural human development and provide not a shortcut to human formation but a short circuit.

Despite AI’s influence, traditional learning and writing assignments are crucial for promoting learning and cognitive development. Homework, similar to music practice, teaches discipline and skills essential for personal growth and future success. Deceptive(欺诈的)practices harm genuine learning, spoiling students’ competitiveness in an AI-dominated job market. Reliance on AI-generated content weakens critical thinking and creativity, damaging students’ intellectual growth. Moreover, it devalues the role of teachers in guiding students’development. In contrast, real engagement with homework cultivates invaluable human qualities essential in an AI-driven world, ensuring students’ competitive advantage and overall development.

10 . For people living with dementia (痴呆), a new program offers a supportive path to building social connections and reducing loneliness through music. Led by the Institute for Therapy through the Arts, Musical Bridges to Memory (MBM) is a12-week program designed to bridge relationships between people with dementia, their families, and the greater community that serve them through live musical interactions, training, and research in music-based approaches.

MBM gags participants in weekly sessions, which include interactive performances and training in communication skills to improve caregivers’ relationships with loved ones living with dementia. According to a 2022 study that examined MBM’s impacts, this music-based therapy (疗法) can increase social engagement between caregivers and their loved ones despite ongoing declines in cognitive (认知的) health.

Research shows people with dementia benefit from interventions that control their preserved cognitive and functional abilities. Music taps into our implicit memory (内隐记忆) , linking us to past experiences and emotions without the need for conscious awareness. This is especially true for music that is personally meaningful to us, such as a favorite song, which can promote brain plasticity and cognition.

Neurologist Dr. Ronald Devere notes, “Musical understanding, musical emotion, and musical memory can survive long after other forms of memory and cognitive function have disappeared." Even as cognition declines, music can help to promote connection and shared communication — making it an efficient tool to support people with dementia.

In addition to improving communication, MBM positively impacts mood and alleviates the caregiver’s burden. Caregivers who participated in this program reported significant reductions in   distress (痛苦) as a result of improved communication through music. In short, the program’s positive health impacts extend beyond individuals with dementia to their families and loved ones because it facilitates communication and social connection, particularly in cases where verbal   language is no longer possible.

These findings add to decades of research that demonstrates music can positively impact our health, and they provide further insights into the benefits of the MBM program to people with dementia and their caregivers. They also correspond with other community-based interventions to use music to promote healing.