NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS 2019

PHOTO COMPETITION!

Woo-hoo! Get your cameras and smartphones at the ready, because it’s time for this year’s NG KIDS photography competition…

Competition is open only to legal residents (居民) of the UK and Ireland who are between the ages of 7 and 14.

We have THREE categories（类别）in the competition — animals, people and environment (a new category started this year). You can enter as many categories as you like but just ONE photo per category, please!

All photos should be sent through our website. If you’re not already registered（注册）, you or your parent will need to do so at natgeokids. com/uk/photocomp — it will only take a minute to do!

You can submit（提交）ONE photo for each of the three categories. Photos should be in JPEG format, between 1MB and 5MB in size. Enter at natgeokids. com/uk/photocomp.

Before you submit your photo, make sure you rename it with your full name and the category you are entering. For example: Joe_Bloggs_Animals.jpg.

Don’t forget to tell us your full name, date of birth and the title of your photo!

Our Star Prize is a family holiday in Morocco!

And that’s not all! Each category winner will win a number of prizes, too, including an amazing Nikon COOLPIX W150 camera, which is built to go anywhere!

The closing date is 23: 59 (GMT) on 21 October 2019. Winners will be notified（通知）before 18 November 2019.

The Handshake

I don’t remember the exact date I met Marty for the first time. Like a lot of people who want to get through a checkout line, I found my thoughts on speed, nothing more. The line I was standing in wasn’t moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier, who was busy receiving money from customers.

He was an old man in his sixties. I thought, well, it probably took him a little longer to get the jobs done. For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before he began scanning the goods they were purchasing. Sure, his words were the usual, “How’s it going?” But he did something different—he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and talk with them briefly.

I thought it was strange, but I guessed I had grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of a conversation without thinking. Usually, after a while, you don’t give any thought to the question and just say something back quietly.

This old cashier seemed sincere about wanting to know how people were feeling. Meanwhile, the high-tech cash register rang up their purchases and he announced what they owed. When customers handed money to him, he pushed the appropriate keys, the cash drawer popped open, and he counted out their change.

Then magic happened.

He placed the change in his left hand, walked around the counter to the customers, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship. As their hands met, the old cashier looked the customers in the eyes. “I want to thank you for shopping here today,” he told them. “You have a great day. Bye-bye.” The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless.

Now it was my turn. I glanced down at the name tag on his red waistcoat, the kind experienced Wal-Mart cashier wore. It read, “Marty.”

Marty told me how much I owed and I handed him some money. The next thing I knew he was standing beside me, offering his right hand and holding my change in his left hand. His kind eyes locked onto mine. Smiling, and with a firm handshake...

Dr. Faisal Zawawi, an Otolaryngologist and member of the McGill Auditory Sciences Laboratory, notes that when a person is exposed to loud noises it can cause short-term hearing loss but that under normal circumstances the body typically is able to repair the loss of hearing within 72 hours. However, Zawawi warns that if symptoms are not reversed (倒转) in the first 72 hours the damage could become permanent. Due to findings in previous studies about it, Zawawi says that the team of researchers has suspected that something may stop this repair process. Therefore, the team set out to determine if caffeine could be a contributing cause to hearing loss. According to the Medical Daily, the researchers tested what they suspected on female guinea pigs(FGP) (豚鼠).

To perform the test, 24 female guinea pigs were split into three equal groups with each group exposed in different levels to caffeine, and loud noises. The researchers found that the guinea pigs subjected to only sound had their full hearing recovered by day eight. However, the guinea pigs that were subjected to both caffeine and loud noise never fully regained their hearing. Therefore，the researchers concluded that caffeine is a likely contributing cause to permanent hearing loss.

“This research confirms that while a cup of coffee may seem appealing after a long night at a loud concert, drinking caffeine produces more of a risk than benefit when it comes to a person's hearing. Although further research is required to understand the effect on humans, the results are promising," says Zawawi. If the research proves successful, the removal of caffeine from your diet following noise exposure could prevent permanent hearing loss as the body will be more able to repair itself naturally.

You dash through a crowded railway station, tripping over bags, spilling (泼出) your coffee, only to have the doors slide shut in your face, leaving you breathless on the platform as the train pulls away.

But at least, if you’re in France, someone may be playing the piano for you. But it won’t be performed by a paid musician, or even a street entertainer playing for coins. It will just be a random passer-by, jamming for the fun of it on one of the pianos that the national railroad company, S. N. C. F., has fixed in nearly 100 stations across France. They are free for anyone to play, and travelers from all walks of life have taken to doing just that.

Gares & Connexions, the S. N. C. F. division that manages its stations, rents the instruments from the producer, Yamaha: which maintains them and tunes them every month or two. The first one was set up in the Gare Montparnasse in Paris in 2012.

The music, mixed with the sounds of shouting passengers, screaming trains and rolling suitcases, gives French stations a special soundscape. The amateur musicians have included Irish soccer fans and even babies. In 2014, Gares & Connexions and Yamaha organized a nationwide contest called Your Turn to Play, asking participants to submit videos of themselves using one of the pianos. It drew nearly 900 entries.

Isn’t the railroad company taking a big chance? Apparently not: “None of the instruments has been vandalized to this day, or even merely damaged,” said Claire Foumon, a spokeswoman for Gares & Connexions. “They are shared and respected by all.”

So if you miss a train in Paris; Bordeaux or Marseille one day, perhaps someone will be playing a favorite piece that will ease your pain. Or perhaps you’ll sit down and play your annoyance away yourself.

Nowadays, many people love to travel. It is very common for people to go on a trip at any time.    16     Perhaps, the reason for its present popularity is that more people have come to realize the benefits of traveling.

Traveling provides a good many opportunities for fun, adventure and discovery. When we visit other countries, we gain a better understanding of the people living there. We learn their cultures, history and background. We discover the similarities they have with us.     17     It is interesting to learn from people with different backgrounds.

Traveling helps to enrich our lives.     18     When we visit interesting places, we discover and learn many things. We discover new people, surroundings, plants and animals. If we want to make our travel more exciting and challenging, we can plan our own tour and select the specific places we want to visit.

Traveling is refreshing. It is a psychological necessity, especially for people who have stressful jobs.    19     Staying at home during the weekend is not enough to make some people feel relaxed.    20    It helps them to handle the stress they experience at work better. After the break , they feel more energetic in their work. For many working adults, regular getaways help them keep their energy and enthusiasm they require for their work. Without these breaks, they may suffer from work burnout.

When I was a young man I had much ego(自负). I though I ________ everything. I looked forward to fame and success. I can even remember once in college _________ telling one of my friends: “ If only everyone listened to me, then they would all be happy.” I ________ left school, ready to take on the world. Little did I know the world was about to take on me.

In the _________ following college, instead of success, I found struggles. I had _________ in finding work. My jobs were either temporary or were ________ badly. When my wife and I had children, we were ________ to learn that both of our sons had Autism(自闭症) and would need to be ________ for the rest of their lives. I had no ________ why this had happened to us.

In time, however, I began to ________. My ego was decreasing fast. Instead of success, I found my ________ in moments of love. Playing and ________ with my sons brought me so much happiness. My boys ________ me more about peace, patience, joy and love than I could have ever learned on my own. I began to share the ________ I learned through my writings and my life. I finally realized that my ________ in this world had nothing to do with fame or success. _______, it had everything to do with allowing love and light into my life and ________ it with everyone I could.

You may not be happy 100% of the time. ________ can be in this world. Yet, you will find a joy no earthly(世俗的) ________ could ever give. Put all of your moments, days and years to good use then. ________ them with love.