Some of the Oldest Cities in the World

The name Argos came from Argus, the son of Zeus and Niobe. According to Greek mythology, he was the city's king. It was known as being the birthplace of many soldiers who fought in the Trojan War. Historical account of the city describes it as being a cultural center in the Greek empire, being one of the first cities along with Sparta and Paros to hold music competitions.

The city of Jericho is in the West Bank in the Middle East. It is believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Jericho started as a camping ground for Natufian hunter-gatherers around 10000 BC. People did not begin to permanently settle in the area until around 9600 BC, with the end of the last Ice Age and along with it the end of cold and drought.

Susa began as a small settlement around 7000 BC and became an urban center around 4200 BC. It became an important town mainly because of its position near business center. Susa, located at the base of the Zagros Mountains and east of the Tigris River, was the Elamite Empire's capital until the Assyrians had control of it.

Gaziantep，also known as Antep, is located in southern Turkey near Syrian. With a long history dating as far back as the Hittites, Gaziantep offers many historical sites to see. Visitors can explore the Gaziantep Fortress and Ravanda Citadel, both of which the Byzantines repaired in the 6th century.

A camera has captured footage of two wild giant pandas in a national park in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The clips, taken in the Xuebaoding section of the Giant Panda National Park, include two pandas wandering in the daytime and moving alone at night. It is particularly rare to see two wild giant pandas walking together, the administration of the park said on Friday.

In the video, a giant panda walked up to a tree and sniffed it carefully. Then a second panda, looking like a quiet “little girl”, approached, looking at the ground, perhaps in search of food. Later, the first panda turned around, rubbing its bottom back and forth as if scratching or dancing, a typical marking behavior in animals. After that, it lay on the ground, waving its hands and feet around, as if to amuse its companion.

According to a staff member at the administration, the camera was set up on Dec. 23, 2019 in a location that was often visited by the furry animals.

Wildlife protection experts said the video was likely taken in April, the breeding(繁殖) season for wild giant pandas. The two adult pandas were very harmonious together, with no fighting, leading to the conclusion that they were probably a male and a female engaged in courting and playing.

In 2017, China announced a plan to build the Giant Panda National Park to help the endangered animals strengthen their relations, bringing together pandas on six mountains in three provinces, Gansu, Shaanxi and Sichuan.

What if we had the power to control time, instead of moving from the past to the present to the future? What if we could jump, loop and travel through time in a machine? What if we could go wherever and whenever we pleased?

This ability would allow us to witness historic wonders, change decisions and   see people from the past. We could right wrongs and stop wars from starting.

The mysterious puzzle of time has kept people debating its nature for hundreds of years. Science fiction writers have turned it into imaginative stories. Some scientists have even attempted to explain it using math. This math tries to make the dream of time travel come true.

The scientist Albert Einstein said that time and space are one thing. He called it “spacetime.” Einstein said that there are three dimensions in space: height, width and depth. A scientist named Hermann Minkowski added time as a fourth dimension.

Einstein introduced two ideas that have led to theories about the possibility of time travel. The first is relativity. The idea of relativity is that the force of gravity causes space to bend, which causes time to twist. The second idea focuses on special relativity. The idea is that a traveler moving super-fast through flat spacetime will enter the future. Einstein considered time “relative” because it is measured based on where we are on Earth or in space.

Stephen Hawking is a famous scientist. He believes that a time machine will never be built. If it were possible, he thinks we would already know. If a time   machine could be built, how come no one from the future has invaded us?

The first science fiction story with this theme is The Clock That Went Backward by Edward P. Mitchell, which was published in 1881. Since then, thousands of books, films and television shows have explored the idea of time travel, in which some tools such as phones, watches, photographs and old books take travelers backward and forward.

Will time travel ever happen? Who knows? Most important is to keep your eyes open and have a sense of wonder.

More than 7,000 runners who raced earlier this month in a half-marathon in London were under the influence of a scientifically designed and powerful stimulant — pop music.

The upbeat music at London's “Run to the Beat” race was chosen based on the research of sport psychologist Costas Karageorghis of Brunel University. He has learned how to design music to be as powerful, if not more so, as some of the illegal stimulant. “Music is a great way to lift spirits both before and during physical activity. A lot of athletes use music as if it's a legal drug,” Costas told LiveScience.

Costas and his team collected data during the “Run to the Beat” half-marathon, allowing them to test on thousands of live runners outside the lab. Despite strong winds and heavy rain during the event, interviews after the race suggested that the runners found the music inspiring and fun.

In the future, Costas expects a fusion of sports and music, where the crowd and the athletes are motivated by music in the race, while motivating one another. “It is beyond the music,” he said. “The music inspires team spirit. One of the key causes of motivation is the feeling of being together with one another. Having suitable music allows you to get this feeling naturally.”

The link between music and athletic performance is just one example of the amazing power that music has over our minds and bodies. Scientists also have confirmed that music improves memories, as we all have experienced, to the point where we don't even have to hear a song. We just think of it and the memories flood in. Music has also been found to relieve pain, make you smarter, and remove bad emotions.

Ask the Expert: Supporting Someone with Anxiety

How did you become an expert in supporting people with anxiety?

As part of my training, I specialized in cognitive behavioral therapy(认知行为治疗)，the evidence-based treatment for anxiety. I used to work at the center for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma at the Maudsley Hospital.    16    

How possible is it to help a loved one who is suffering from anxiety?

    17    But it depends on how much they want to be helped and how much they recognize that they have a problem. You can be merciful and supportive, but it's not your responsibility to make them better.

What can people do practically to help?

You can help them get the right treatment, take them to appointments and make them available for appointments by babysitting, bringing round meals. If you're very close to them, you could read up on the problem and join support groups.    18    Ask how their mood is and what they want from you. They might not want to talk, but they might want to go for a coffee, or watch TV with you. Help them to take a break from their anxiety.

What should they not do?

Don't be pushy. Don't avoid them.    19    If you make excuses for them about why they're not going out or constantly reassure them, you might be propping up(支撑)their anxiety.

    20    

To provide care to someone else, you have to put your own needs first. Make sure you sleep well, eat well, have fun and get out of the house.

On my twelfth birthday, I got my dream gift — a cellphone. I gave my parents a big hug and made a ______ that I would continue doing well at school.

When I got to school the next morning I ______ my phone and asked everyone for their numbers. I wouldn't ______ on the lessons because I was too ______ to my phone. But I was sure that the teacher was ______ that I stopped listening to her because a week later I ______ an important test.

Knowing my test result, my parents started to say that the phone was ______ to me. I would say, “I' m doing nothing wrong. I'm just texting my friends. There's no reason for you to be ______.” My parents asked me, “Do you realize that you ______ pay attention to us? It's like you have your own world and we don't ______ as much with your phone between us.

I started to wonder if my parents were correct. So I tried going a whole day without the cellphone and it didn't go that ______ .I had so much ______ because I was spending time with my family.

Certainly，phones are not so bad that we should ______ using them, but you do have to make some time to spend with your family and not get ______ with your phone. I will keep using my phone, but I have it under ______ now.