Top Music Festivals
Festival season is just kicking off, and there is a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months.
Firefly Music Festival
Many people haven't thought of going to Delaware for a summer vacation, but mid-June is a great time to plan this trip if you love music. Headliners for this year's show are The Weekend, Muse, Twenty-One Pilots, Chance the Rapper, and Bob Dylan.
Date: June 15—18，2017
Location: Dover, Delaware, USA
Music Type: Rock
Price: $79—$2,499
Roskilde Festival
This Denmark music festival has been a local tradition since 1971. There will be nine stages for this year's events to host groups like the Foo Fighters, Blink 182, and The Lumineers. What's interesting about this festival is that in addition to the big headliners, you can also get to know up-and-coming regional artists from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
Date: June 24—July 1, 2017
Location: Roskilde, Denmark
Music Type: Rock, emerging regional artists
Price: DKK 995—DKK 1,995 (around $144—$289)
Secret Solstice
With long, dark, and cold winters, nobody celebrates summer quite like Icelanders. To see for yourself, plan a trip to Iceland this June to check out the Secret Solstice festival. Not only will you enjoy seeing bands like Radiohead and Afrika Bambaataa, but you can also experience the other-worldly landscapes and geothermal(地热的) springs nearby as well.
Date: June 15—18, 2017
Location: Reykjavik Iceland
Music Type: Eclectic, Indie
Price: €149— €1,599 (around $160—$1, 725)
Montreal Jazz Festival
All jazz lovers owe it to themselves to check out the Montreal Jazz Festival at least once in a lifetime. This event brings together some of the best names in jazz music, as well as diverse R&B, funk(骤停打击乐), and soul artists.
Date: June 28—July 8, 2017
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Music Type: Jazz, R&B, Soul, Funk
Price: $27.25—$210.25
If Confucius (孔子) were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. We'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out. While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy (哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well. Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West. As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
With more and more people swimming at beaches every year, the problem of sharks (鲨鱼) takes on new importance. There are people who still insist that sharks never attack human beings unless they are bleeding or wounded, but this belief has not been clearly proved. In the past few years, on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, there have been cases of shark attacks which resulted in death. And just how many of the swimmers who have disappeared were victims of shark attacks will never be known. Clearly, these violent fish can be dangerous. Several species are known to attack human beings, and it is believed by some experts that certain sharks, once having tasted human blood, develop a taste for it.
The chances that one will come across a shark are small, but certain precautions should be taken by everyone. (A precaution is something you do in order to prevent something dangerous or unpleasant from happening.) Putting hands or legs over the side of a boat in warm waters is to be avoided. Swimming far out from beaches is inviting trouble. No swimmer should go great distances from shore alone, or go into the water when nobody else is about. Skin divers, particularly those who go deep down in the water or among rocks and ledges (暗礁) that serve as hiding places for sharks, are taking unnecessary risks.
If one is in a boat that is rubbed against by a shark, he should remember the creature is not trying to upset his boat; it is probably trying to rub off sea lice (海虱). A blow, especially on the nose, will drive it off. If a swimmer comes across a shark, he should swim away as quietly as possible, trying to avoid making it angry. He should also head for shore (岸) as quickly as possible.
In my class in high school, there was a girl who was considered the most unpopular. No one actually knows how this exclusion (排挤) came from, but we all followed it for no reason at all. One day after lunch, we girls sat on the track field, talking about things that happened in our lives. Someone brought her up, and soon the topic transformed to laughing at the funny hairstyle of her, the stupid way she walked and.... I felt extremely uncomfortable but kept silent, because I didn't want to be the one "supporting" the common enemy. After all, it's just a short gossip time among a trusted group of friends; why should I bring unnecessary tension?
Suddenly, one of my friends pointed her finger towards somewhere behind me. All of us turned around and saw that exact girl, hand still in the air, with a twisted (扭曲的) look on her face. She lowered her hand in slow movement, then turned around and ran off. For a second, I wanted to stand up and chase her down to tell her that no one meant what they said, and that she is an amazing person being who she is. But my legs felt so heavy, I didn't want to make a fool out of myself—why bother taking care of the class clown (小丑)? People would think that I was crazy as well!
A few weeks later, the teacher told us that a classmate dropped out of school—it was that girl. Her parents told the school that it was the peer pressure that made her want to leave. The teacher wanted to know who the bully (霸凌) was. Again, no one spoke a word. Perhaps it was exactly this cold, hard silence that drove her away. I certainly did not raise my hand. I had never even said anything bad about her; it was my friends who loved to make fun of her every day. Surely, I didn't bully her physically or with my language, but I kept silent when others did. By failing to stand up for her and offering her support, I was giving agreement, which made others think that it was okay to mistreat her. Perhaps if I had realized I was wrong earlier—instead of convincing myself that I had nothing to do with her leaving, I wouldn't have to bear the burden of heavy shame on my shoulders.
Earthquakes usually happen on the edges of large sections of the Earth's plates. These plates slowly move over a long period of time. Sometimes the edges, which are called fault lines, can get stuck, but the plates keep moving. Pressure slowly starts to build up where the edges are stuck and, once the pressure gets strong enough, the plates will suddenly move causing an earthquake.
Generally before and after a large earthquake there will be smaller earthquakes. The ones that happen before are called foreshocks. The ones that happen after are called aftershocks. Scientists don't really know if an earthquake is a foreshock until the bigger earthquake occurs.
Shock waves from an earthquake that travel through the ground are called seismic waves (地震波). They are most powerful at the center of the earthquake, but they travel through much of the earth and back to the surface. They move quickly at 20 times the speed of sound.
Scientists use seismic waves to measure how big an earthquake is. They use a device called a seismograph (地震仪) to measure the size of the waves. The size of the waves is called the magnitude.
To tell the strength of an earthquake scientists use a scale called the Moment Magnitude Scale or MMS (it used to be called the Richter scale). The larger the number on the MMS scale, the larger the earthquake. You usually won't even notice an earthquake unless it measures at least a 3 on the MMS scale. Here are some examples of what may happen depending on the scale:
4.0-Could shake your house as if a large truck were passing close by. Some people may not notice.
5.0-If you are in a car, it may shake. Glasses and dishes may rattle. Windows may break.
6.0- Items will fall off shelves. Walls in some houses may crack and windows break. Pretty much everyone near the center will feel this one.
7.0- Weaker buildings will collapse and cracks will occur in bridges and on the street.
8.0- Many buildings and bridges fall down. Large cracks in the earth.
9.0 and up- Whole cities flattened and large-scale damage.
It is pretty much a one-way street. While it may be common for university researchers to try their luck in the commercial world, there is very little traffic in the opposite direction. Pay has always been the biggest deterrent, as people with families often feel they cannot afford the drop in salary when moving to a university job. For some industrial scientists, however, the attractions of academia (学术界) outweigh any financial considerations.
Helen Lee took a 70% cut in salary when she moved from a senior post in Abbott Laboratories to a medical department at the University of Cambridge. Her main reason for returning to academia mid-career was to take advantage of the greater freedom to choose research objects. Some areas of inquiry have few prospects (可能性) of a commercial return, and Lee's is one of them.
The impact of a salary cut is probably less severe for a scientist in the early stages of a career. Guy Grant, now a research associate at the Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics at the University of Cambridge, spent two years working for a pharmaceutical (制药的) company before returning to university as a post-doctoral researcher. He took a 30% salary cut but felt it worthwhile for the greater intellectual opportunities.
Higher up the ladder, where a pay cut is usually more significant, the demand for scientists with a wealth of experience in industry is forcing universities to make the transition (转换) to academia more attractive, according to Lee. Industrial scientists tend to receive training that academics do not, such as how to build a multidisciplinary team, manage budgets and negotiate contracts. They are also well placed to bring something extra to the teaching side of an academic role that will help students get a job when they graduate, says Lee, perhaps experience in manufacturing practice or product development. "Only a small number of undergraduates will continue in an academic career. So someone leaving university who already has the skills needed to work in an industrial lab has far more potential in the job market than someone who has spent all their time on a narrow research project."
Selena Gomez and I were scheduled to meet at a low-key coffee shop in Encino. Not wanting to keep the superstar waiting, I arrived at nine, 20 minutes early. As I was catching up on e-mails, Selena quietly scooted into the seat next to me. No bodyguard. Not even a drop of makeup. She was ten minutes early and so inconspicuous that no one else in the restaurant looked up so much. Selena was wearing Bebe shorts. She had a baby face and ordered a hot chocolate.
After making small talk about what she wore for the shoot, she dived into the subject of her career. Selena declared 2012 the year of movies. She filmed three: Spring Breakers, a drama; The Getaway, an action flick; and Hotel Transylvania, a comedy. Each is a marked move away from the teen style that made her a household name.
Now that her Disney days are behind her, Selena is at that unstable point in a child star's career where she is trying to grow up-both as a person (she turned 20 in July) and as an artist. "Being part of the Disney Channel was a blessing, and I'm super happy with what my show accomplished, but acting is something I would like to take on more seriously." She continued, "I don't necessarily feel accomplished. I want to create a whole different persona when it comes to acting."
Selena has been working full time since she was seven years old and scored a role on Barney & Friends. In 2007, when she was offered the lead in Wizards of Waverly Place, Selena, her mother, and her stepfather uprooted from Grand Prairie, Texas, to LA, where they are settling now.
Ten years ago I used to be very fit (健康的). I rode a bike to work and I got a lot of exercise at weekends. I used to play tennis a lot and go for long walks. In those days I didn't earn very much. I had a job in an office. It wasn't a very good job but I had a lot of time to do the things I enjoyed doing.
Then, about eight years ago, I got a much better job. The pay was better, but the hours were a lot longer. I bought a car and drove to work every day. I began to take people out to lunch. And I began to put on weight, too. I stopped playing tennis and going for long walks at weekends because I just didn't have any time for things like that any more.
There's a lot of stress (压力) in my job. Perhaps that's why I started drinking more than I used to. For example, I used to have only half a glass of whisky when I got home, but then I started filling my glass to the top, and instead of having one glass, I would have several. I started smoking a lot, too. I never used to smoke at all.
Two months ago I had a heart attack. At first I just couldn't believe it. Luckily it wasn't very serious. The doctor advised me to stop smoking and to eat less. He also advised me to work less and get more exercise. But I just haven't any time! My job takes everything out of me!
Sometimes I wonder if I should get another job. Perhaps I could do something like I used to do. But if I do that, I won't earn as much. I have a family to support. I have to think of them, too. I just don't know what I should do. What do you think?
That little "a" with a circle around it that is found in e-mail addresses is most commonly referred to as the "at" symbol. Surprisingly though, there is no official, universal name for this sign. There are lots of strange terms to describe the @ symbol.
Before it became the fixed symbol for e-mail, the symbol was mostly used to represent the cost or weight of something. For instance, if you bought 6 apples, you might write it as 6 apples @ $1.11 each.
With the introduction of e-mail came the popularity of the @ symbol. The @ symbol separates a person's online user name from his mail server address, for instance joe@uselessknowledge.com. Its widespread use on the Internet made it necessary to put this symbol on keyboards in countries that had never seen or used the symbol before. As a result, there is really no official name for this symbol.
The actual origin of the @ symbol remains unknown. History tells us that the @ symbol came from the tired hands of the monks (僧侣) in the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages when there were no printing presses, every letter of a word had to be copied by hand for each copy of a published book. The monks that performed these long and boring copying duties looked for ways to reduce the number of strokes (笔划) per word for common words.
Although the word "at" is quite short, it was such a common word in texts and documents that monks in the Middle Ages thought it would be good idea to shorten the word "at" even more. As a result, the monks left out the "t" and created a circle — getting rid of two strokes.
Do parents have a constitutional right to homeschool their children? No, according to a California District Court judge, who recently ruled that a child must be schooled "by a person holding a valid state teaching credential for the grade being taught".
What started as a Los Angeles County child welfare case involving one specific family has gone into proceedings that have actually put on trial the very nature of what constitutes a sound education. "For decades we've been happily homeschooling, and then this comes up suddenly," says Mary Griffith, a homeschooling parent. Griffith says California had traditionally given homeschooling parents the freedom to choose the kind of education they want for their child.
This particular family in Los Angeles had enrolled their children in a private school independent study program not in their home. In response to abuse charges against the family, the children were enrolled in public schools. The parents stated they had a constitutional right to homeschool on religious grounds; that's when the court ruling was issued. However, Griffith says if the ruling ends up affecting anyone, it will mainly be those who also enroll their children in off-site homeschooling. "This won't be far-reaching for homeschooling parents."
That's how organizations like the Homeschool Association of California (HSC) would like to keep it, anyway, and they've hired a team of lawyers to limit the impact of the case. Griffith says the legal team for HSC is trying to establish that while this ruling may indeed be necessary for this particular family, it should not set a precedent for all.
What does this case really mean for homeschooling families nationwide? According to Darren A. Jones, this decision is certain to affect homeschooling on a national scale. Jones claims that it is common for state courts to look to other states' rulings for assistance in deciding issues where no precedent exists. "A poor legal decision in California could become part of a trend across the nation.''
As we all know, science is blooming more strongly than ever. Recently, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly showed a photo of the orange zinnia (百日菊)on Twitter. It is the first flower to ever bloom in space and has attracted much attention all over the world. This may be the most exciting news in the field of science. The zinnia in the picture is so beautiful and looks similar to that on earth. Kelly cared for it for more than a month.
The Veggie plant growth facility chose the zinnia flower species because it has a longer growth cycle. As a result, it can help scientists understand how plants flower and develop in microgravity(微重力).
"While the plants haven't grown perfectly," said Gioia Massa, NASA science team leader for Veggie," I think we have gained a lot from this, and we are learning both more about plants and fluids and also how better to operate between ground and the station."
This was not the first time that scientists had attempted to grow zinnia in space. Other astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) began growing the colorful flowers last year. However, due to high humidity (湿度)and low air movement in space, the zinnia leaked (渗透)water out of the tips of the leaves. What was worse, the spread of harmful bacteria was destroying its growth badly. Kelly then took over the operation and began taking care of the zinnia as he would in his own garden.
The ISS also successfully grew red romaine lettuce in July 2015. Kelly even took a bite of the harvested plants and posted the photo on his Twitter. NASA's new experiment using the Veggie plant growth system will be started later. Astronauts will attempt to grow Chinese cabbages. The space agency will then attempt to grow dwarf tomatoes in 2018.
Maybe you are familiar with scenes in movies where a pilot has got into an emergency mid-flight and you hear him shout "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!". But what does "Mayday" mean? Mayday is an internationally recognized distress call (求救信号), mostly used by pilots and boat captains. The signal can be sent out on any channel by radio communication.
This emergency call originated in the 1920s. At that time, the standard distress call was "SOS" and was typically used by navy captains. The message was sent in Morse code by telegraph. In Morse code, "SOS" is three dots, three dashes and three dots. The signal was unmistakable. However, aircraft pilots use radio calls, so sending out "SOS" could be misheard as other letters, such as "F".
Frederick Stanley Mockford, a radio officer at Croydon Airport in London, was asked to think of a word that would indicate distress. Because of the number of flights that flew between Croydon and Paris, he chose Mayday, as it sounds similar to the French word aider", which means "help me".
Facing a threatening situation, pilots are required to repeat the signal three times in case of radio interference (干扰)or loud background noise. If the pilots don't get a reply within two minutes, they should repeat it. Once they receive a reply, more information including the code of the flight, their current situation and the number of people on board should be reported. Sometimes pilots are directed to a nearby airport or location where they can make an emergency landing. While Mayday signals indicate a life-threatening situation, they do not always end in deaths.
Despite dangers, air travel is still the safest means of transport.
Want to know what we can do to help make our city a better place to live in? Why not take part in "Clean & Green weekend"? Join us, and you can make new friends and help protect the environment at the same time.
Park Life
Do you like playing and relaxing in the park with your friends? If so, why not take the chance to come with us and tidy up the park when you go? To add some fun, there is a gift for the person who collects the most rubbish! Meet us at the south entrance to Taohe Park at 9 a. m. next Saturday if you want to join in.
The Air You Breathe
A great way to make the air we breathe cleaner is by planting lots of trees! It is a fact that trees slowly filter (过滤) a lot of pollutants (污染物) from the air. So come and help us plant some new ones in Fenhe Park at 2 p. m. next Sunday.
War on Graffiti(涂鸦)
Some people think graffiti is cool. Well, it is not! The best way to stop buildings from becoming totally covered in ugly graffiti is to fix it as soon as possible. And that is exactly what we are going to do. We are repainting the school walls from 1 p. m. on Saturday. You don't have to bring any tools, just remember to wear some old clothes!
On the day the tornado hit, there was no indication severe weather was on its way—the sky was blue and the sun had been out. The first alert my husband, Jimmy, 67, and I, 65, got came around 9 p. m. , from some scrolling text on the TV Jimmy was watching. He ran upstairs to find me in our third-floor bedroom, and we changed the channel from the presidential primary debate I had been watching to our local Pensacola, Florida, station.
No sooner had we found coverage of the tornado than it was on top of us. It was the loudest thing I have ever heard. The bones of the house shook, and the power went out. Pink insulation flew into the room from a trapdoor to the attic, and the wind began to roar through the house.
I didn't know how or if we would make it down the steps. It felt as if there were no floor underneath me as the wind lifted me off my feet. I gripped the banister (栏杆) and tried to move forward, but this intense pressure held me in place.
By the time I reached the closet, the tornado had been over us for about a minute. Jimmy pushed me down to the closet floor, but he couldn't get inside himself because of the wind. I gripped Jimmy's arm. My knees and scalp were full of glass, but in that moment, I felt no pain.
All of a sudden, Jimmy lifted off his feet like people in tornadoes do in the movies. I thought he was gone. And then everything stopped. He landed on his feet. In those first quiet moments, I couldn't believe it was over. Jimmy said he'd go outside to check. "No," I said. "Don't leave me. "
Our neighbor says the storm lasted four minutes. In that time, four of the twelve town houses in our unit were completely destroyed. Of the houses left standing, ours suffered the most damage. Amazingly, none of us were severely injured.
For underwater photographer Brian Skerry, there are good days. The sun shines;the water's clear. But most days aren't like that. The whales don't show up, or there are particles (颗粒) in the water, or wind brings the waves, or the sun dips behind a cloud at the worst moment.
A national geographic photography fellow and the 2017 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year, Skerry free dives—which means no scuba tanks, no equipment except his fins, mask, and camera. Over the past two years he's spent nine weeks off the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica in a 30-foot boat running after sperm whales around their warm-water habitat.
Sperm whales are intelligent, and mad, escaping to ocean depths when pursued. Still, their ranks have been thinned by whaling, overfishing, and other contact with humans, to the point that the world's conservationists assess them as either vulnerable or endangered. Skerry wants his photos to inform the scientific research and education efforts that will bring whales more attention and potentially some relief. "I feel a sense of responsibility and urgency to make people care about the marine giants, " he says. "I want to give them, for lack of a better word, some humanity. "
Scientists know sperm whales as the ocean's largest toothed animals that kill other animals. They have the biggest brains of any known animal, can weigh up to 45 tons, and have been observed displaying humanlike qualities, such as curiosity and playfulness. But despite their size and their expressiveness, sperm whales remain one of the ocean's biggest mysteries. Do they share complex ideas?
Going to the movie theater is fun. However, in a time when technology has afforded us home video streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, many people choose to stay at home to have fun. And they believe movie theaters are going to have problems. Though those services might affect the theaters negatively, I don't believe they are going away anytime soon.
I don't doubt that staying at home to watch films can save you money. After all, the tickets for theaters aren't cheap. Besides, you can lie comfortably on a big sofa to watch films. And generally there's no limit on the time when you can watch films. And you don't need to be worried about others' anger when you laugh aloud at a fun shot.
But the movie theater has the low lighting, the big screen, the surround sound, etc. War movies especially benefit from being watched in theaters. A good war movie combined with the theater setting can better show the reality of war. Viewers can more closely experience the war. In addition to war movies, action movies and superhero movies are also much better when viewed on the big screen.
And nothing beats gathering together your friends and family and going to see a good movie. However, nowadays many people like to lock themselves at home when they're free. That's why many people end up being lonely, having few friends and suffering from health problems. Therefore, instead of just watching a movie at home and then going to bed, you can hang out with your friends and share your latest news face to face based on going to see a movie.
Anyway, we are lucky enough to live in a time that benefits people who love to go out and those who love to stay at home. Netflix and other services will always be there for those who prefer to stay at home. But going to the theater offers better experience, and it helps theaters create more jobs. It's a win-win. So why not see a cool movie at your local theater?
Girls can easily get sad. If your friend is feeling blue and calls you, what will you do? Here are some tips on how you can make her smile again.
Listen to her. When people feel sad, they often have the feeling of needing to be heard. So, listen carefully to what she is saying and do nothing else. Your friend will surely thank you for being the shoulder she can cry on.
Once you are done with listening, you can offer some advice or remain silent and let her feel everything and let it all out by crying. As a friend, you might think you should give her some advice. But if you have no idea about what to say, just remain silent and be there for her.
In order to be able to help your friend in need, don't be sad for yourself. How can you help your friend when you are also feeling down?
A hug can make a difference in the world. It makes you feel warm and special. A hug makes you feel safe. So give your friend a hug when she needs it the most.
Spend more time with your friend who wants to be happy. Do things together like washing dishes, cleaning, or going out for fun. The more time you spend together, the stronger your friendship will become.
Sometimes, it is much better that you avoid a crying friend in your life. But by doing so, you are also keeping your friend at a distance and will make her wonder if you are her true friend. If you are there when she needs you, your friendship will be much stronger.
Canada is a highly developed capitalist country. It is one of the major tourism players all over the world because of its unique glamour (魅力). Over the years, arts and culture has lived and breathed in every corner of Canada. You can have a really good experience when you go on a trip in Canada. Do you know why it is so obvious that Canada improves and develops in art, culture, sport and so on? Due to a racial and immigrant (移民) population, the variety and richness of art and sports is very evident (明显的).
Since World War I, Canada has produced an impressive amount of writing. From novel to poetry, the selection is wide. Native writers are also becoming better known across Canada in recent years.
Musicians are reaching a higher level of recognition in the world music scene. Everything from country to pop, classical to heavy rock can be found across Canada and across the globe performed by Canadian artists.
Canadian photography as well as painting by Canadians is not well-known outside of Canada but recognition is increasing.
The National Film Board, a film crew in Canada, is the primary producer of movies in Canada. However, many Hollywood studios are turning to Canada as a source for locations and as an alternative (选择) to the more expensive US. Many well-known actors, directors, screen writers and movies come from Canada and often scoop international awards (奖) for their work.
French art was the first to appear in Canada along the St Lawrence in and around Quebec. Since then the amount of art and artists has increased.
Sport is a major part of today's society in Canada. Hockey is the most popular spectator sport (吸引大量观众的体育运动) with more participants taking part in curling. American style football and baseball are also very popular and all of these sports are played across Canada.
Baggy has become the first dog in the UK—and potentially the world—to join the fight against air pollution by recording pollutant levels near the ground.
Baggy wears a pollution monitor on her collar so she can take data measurements close to the ground. Her monitor has shown that air pollution levels are higher closer to ground level, which has helped highlight concerns that babies and young kids may be at higher risk of developing lung problems.
Conventional air pollution monitors are normally fixed on lampposts at about nine feet in the air. However, since Baggy stands at about the same height as a child in a pushchair(婴儿车), she frequently records pollution levels which are much higher than the data gathered by the Environment Agency.
The doggy data research was the idea of Baggy's 13-year-old owner Tom Hunt and his dad Matt. The English youngster noticed that pollution levels are around two-thirds higher close to the ground than they are in the air at the height where they are recorded by the agency. Tom has since reported the shocking findings to the government in an attempt to emphasise that babies are at higher risk of developing asthma(哮喘).
Matt Hunt said he was "very proud" of his son because "when the boy gets an idea, he keeps his head down and gets on with it, and he really does want to do some good and stop young kids from getting asthma. "
"Tom built up a passion for environmental protection at a very early age," Matt added. "He became very interested in gadgets(小装置). A bout one year ago, he got this new piece of tech which is like a test tube. One Sunday afternoon, we went out to do some monitoring, and he said, why don't we put it on Baggy's collar and let her monitor the pollution? So we did it. "
Tom said, "Most of the time, Baggy is just like any other dog. But for the rest of the time she is a super dog, and we are all really proud of her. "
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers are a vital part of our mission of providing high quality environmental educational programming for local youth, Hudson River research, and community events. We are currently seeking volunteers for the following positions:
● Education Assistant—Assist education staff with everyday school work, after-school environmental clubs and community group visits every Wednesday afternoon.
● Marsh Assistant—Help maintain Riverfront marsh on Thursdays and Saturdays. Work on occasional marsh repairs including the removal of foreign species of plants and rubbish clean-ups. (Seasonal)
● Research Assistant—Participate in water quality monitoring, the sea life study, and other projects as they are developed. Eight hours each week on workdays.
● Aquaria Assistant—Provide care for the Center's collection of aquatic wildlife including tank maintenance and animal feedings at the weekend.
Volunteer positions are available throughout the year! Previous experience is not required. Training will be provided upon the start of volunteer service. For more information about our volunteer program as well as single day volunteer events, call 9140-377-1900 or visit www. centerfortheurbanriver. org.
