20. The way to tell a risk to children

Children absorb parental worries, often without our even knowing it. It's worth becoming aware of how often we make statements beginning with the words "I'm afraid..." or "Maybe it won't..." or "I'm worried that". If children are routinely exposed to fearful comments, they are likely to develop an apprehensive attitude. Expectations are molded through repetition. And negative thinking can quickly become circular. We all know people who had become caught in this kind of negative situation. "I expect the worst, and the worst always seems to happen to me". Unfortunately, today's parents have more serious fears for their children then ever before. We faced the problem of figuring out how to protect and warn our children against danger without causing unnecessary anxiety in them. For example, we want our children to be cautious with strangers, but not to assume that every person they don't know is hostile or out to do them harm. We want them to stay in our eyesight, but not to feel at risk if we aren't by their side. It's a challenge to raise self-confident kids and at the same time to our best to keep them out of harm's way.

19. The cat traits

Although cats appear to perform most actions instinctively, they also seem to react to human behaviour and adapt themselves to it. For instance, some cats behave as if they understood their owners' feelings. One cat owner told of the time, when she lay crying and exhausted on her bed. And her cat put its front legs around her head and comforted her. Cats also sometimes appear to be able to understand the function of many of the things human beings use. For example, some cats when they bring a captured bird or mouse into the house put it on a plate or  in a dish.  There are also cats who know how open a door by turning the handle. Furthermore, a lot of cats seem to understand what their owners say. A writer tells a story of her cat who used to sleep on top of her word processor. At first when the cat's tail got in the way of the screen, the owner would push its tail away and say "Move your tail please". Eventually she didn't have to push the tail but only had to tell the cat to move it.

18. Individualists and Cooperators

Have you ever noticed that different approaches people used to deal with problems. Some people "individualists" generally try to work through problems on their own. Other people "cooperators" tend to approach problem solving as a group matter. Each approach has positive and negative points. Individualists may often be the quickest to find an answer to a problem. And they tend to be willing to take responsibility. However, this approach does not perfect. They may be too committed to particular position to be able to change their opinions. In this way the individualists approach may results in difficulties later. Cooperators are valued as team members, in sports or school or work. They tend to be flexible enough to recognise to importance of other points of view when problems arise. This approach however, can take a long time which may to lead delays in solving problems. Such difficulties sometimes cannot be avoided with cooperators approach. We should to recognise the different approaches to dealing with problems. This knowledge can help us built smoother relations between people with different approaches for problem solving.  

17. The Digital Animal Park

A zoo in Nagano prefecture, will start 24 hour web service, showing zoo animals. The service called the Digital Animal Park will allow people to watch the animals' night activities. It is the first time in Japan for zoo too start such a web service. Fifteen cameras will be installed in the zoo. And 12 kind of animals, including A Bengal tiger, a black bear and a kangaroo will be shown on the web. They were selected by the zoo keepers. Because of their interesting behaviour and popularity among visitors. Zoo officials said they hoped that viewers would soon be able to see Humboldt penguins laying eggs an activity that usually occurs at night. Pictures of each of the animals are also available on the web site and zoo officials hope that images of the animals will be used as science classes at school. " I hope interest in the animals will grow and more people will visit the zoo. We also wanted discuss new roles for zoos like education and environmental protection " a zoo official said. 

16. The effect of background music

Everyday millions of people in offices, supermarkets and factories worldwide hear background music. For most background music the soundtracks have been carefully selected to change human behaviour. According to research, fast music will not change human behaviour as much as slow music. Slow music, for instance, will make costumers shop more slowly. The longer they shop in a store, the more they will buy. Background music has also been used with great success in many factories. Fast music does not make employees work faster as some had expected. Nor does slow music, made them work slower. The main effect of the background music, is that it reduces work related stress and helps employees stay interested in their work. These necessarily reduces on-the-job accidents and saves companies money. Next time you hear background music, listen carefully and try to guess which of your behaviours it is trying to change. Chances are that you too are somehow bean influenced by background music. 

15. The benefits of reading books aloud to young children

There are many benefits of reading books aloud to young children. First, reading aloud is a wonderful opportunity for parents to spend time in close contact with their children. After a busy day reading a book can be a relaxing way for family to slow down and communicate. Another important feature of reading aloud is that many books have thoughtful ideas or moral messages. Parents and children can explore these concepts together. An addition, listening to stories helps a child learn vocabulary and sentence structure. Moreover, some researchers believe that reading aloud to a child actually stimulates learning and benefits brain development. Studies have shown that children do better in school when their parents have read to them frequently. Psychologists, doctors, teachers and librarians encourage parents read aloud on a regular basis to assist the development of the child and build strong family relationships. 

14. Genes and behavior

Genes, the basic parts of cells which are passed down from parents to children, may have something to do with human behaviour. In an experiment, scientists putt flies into a class tube and placed a light at the end of it. Some of the flies began flying toward the light, some began walking and some did not move at all. On the basis of the flies actions, they were separated into different groups. Flies that love light, flies that light like and flies that like the dark. The researchers found that these three groups of flies had variations in particular set of genes. These suggested to the researchers, that the variations in these genes might explain the differences in the flies' behaviours. If genes influence behaviours of flies, why not in humans too.

13. The role of skin

Have you ever thought about what skin does for us. Most of us are aware that skin protects us from liquid, heat, cold, dirt and bacteria. But that is not its only job. For instance, the skin is where our bodies make the vitamin D that we need. Another function has to do function with the sense of touch. Without that sense, we could not feel any difference between rough and smooth surfaces. Skin can even help us determine, if someone is sick. The wrong color----slightly grey or very pale -----maybe sign of decease. Skin may reflect a person's mental state, too. Unusual swelling, for example, maybe a sign that person is nervous or under stress.

12. The mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie (2)

He rang the police, and her husband rushed to see her. To his surprise, however, Agatha acted like a completely different person and didn't seem to recognise her husband. He thought she had suffered a memory loss due to stress. In fact, it was a distressful incident for Agatha, and was followed by their divorce. But ironically, the incident made her best selling novelist. Her next novel, "The big 4" sold 9000 copies, more than twice as many as any of her previous books. 

11. The mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie (1)

When she was 26 years old, Agatha Christie left home one foggy night and disappeared. The next morning her car was found halfway down grassy bank with its hood stuck in the bushes. The police found her fur coat in the car, but there was no sign of her. What they suspected was attempted suicide, because her marriage was seriously troubled at the time. Despite the extensive police search of whole area, there were no clues to her whereabouts. But then, 11 days after her disappearance, the head waiter at a hotel in North Yorkshire noticed that one of the female guests look similar to the newspaper photos of the missing novelist. 

10. The discovery of oxygen

In august of 1771, Joseph Priestley put a small brunch of min into a transparent closed space with a candle that burned out the air until it soon went out. After 27 days, he lit the extinguished candle again and it burned perfectly well in the air that previously would not support it. So Priestley proved that plants somehow change the composition of the air. In another celebrated experiment from 1772, Priestley kept a mouse in a jar of air until it collapsed. He found that a mouse kept with a plant would survive. These kinds of observations led Priestley to offer interesting theory that plants restore to the air whatever breathing animals and burning candles remove --- what was letter coin by Lavoisier oxygen.

9. The origin of purple dye

The color purple has often been regarded as a symbol of wealth and power. But the dye used to produce it. Did not have a elegant beginning. An ancient people, living a long coast of the Mediterranean Sea first discovered how to make the dye from Murex snails, small sea animals with hard shells. Unlike other snails. Murex snails give off a strong-smelling liquid, that changes color when it comes into contact with air and light. From this liquid, the people produced the purple dye. If we visit the places, where the dye was produced, we might still be able to see the shells of Murex snails. Let us hope, we cannot smell them. 

8. Why the button is different in women's clothing and men's clothing

Western clothes have buttons on the right for men. This is convenient  the majority of men are right handed. It is easier for them to use the right hand when buttoning up. Why, then, do women's clothes have buttons on the left, even though most women are also right handed? Is this a kind of discrimination? In fact, there is a reason why women's buttons are on that side. In the past, buttons were quite expensive and only rich people could effort them. Women in such wealthy families had servants who dressed them. Therefore, to make it easier for the servants buttons were put on the left.  

7. Hot or spicy?

When english speaking people talk about hot food, are they saying the food is spicy like curry, or are they talking about its temperature as an hot coffee. These two difference of "hot", may seem confusing to Japanese students. But as a matter of fact, the word is the right one for describing the way the body response to spice and heat. As simple explanation would go something like this: when we eat or drink, the same nerves in the mouth react both spicy chemicals in the food and to a rise in temperature. The english expression, therefore, reflects this fact about the human body.

6. The true and false smiles

The smile may no longer be an effective way, to mask one's true feelings. Some psychologists have claimed that true smiles and false smiles use different muscles. For example, in the true smile, the muscles surrounding eyes tighten, while the cheek muscles pull the corners of the lips upward. On the other hand, in the false smile, the muscles between the eyebrows moves slightly, while the muscles around the mount pull the corners of the lips downward. If the psychologists' claim is proven to be true, perhaps people worry less about what they say, and more about which muscles to use when the smile.  

5. Differences in gesture

Physical gestures may have different meanings in different cultures, and misunderstanding in these signals can sometimes be embarrassing. I once had an experience, which i have never forgotten. Some years ago, i took a small group of foreign students to Kyoto. I counted them with index finger, which is common in Japan. But one of them, became quiet and looked puzzled. When i asked him, what was the matter, he replied, "in my country, we count people with our eyes. We use our fingers to count pigs."

4. The child rearing of wolf

Wolves has an interesting way of raising their young. When a female wolf is ready to give birth, she digs a hole. Within this hole, she has her babies. While she is taking care of these babies, other wolves bring her food. After they get a little older, the mother can leave them while she goes off to hunt with other members of the group. Then, instead of the mother, another female will stay behind to guard the young wolves. 

3. Green Tea

Green tea has a long story in Japan and strong ties with Japanese culture. Because of this, one might think that green tea comes from plant unique to Japan. However, all tea no matter what its color or taste comes from same plant. Then what causes the differences in taste and color. They are, in fact, the result of different ways of growing the tea and treating it after it is picked. 

2. The definition of "drug"

The word "drug" means anything that, even in small amounts, produces changes in the body, the mind or both. This definition, however, does not clearly separate drugs from what we usually think of as food. The difference between a drug and a poison is also unclear. All drugs become poisons in large amounts, and many poisons are useful drugs in carefully controlled amounts. Is alcohol, for instance, a food, a drug or a poison. It can be any of the three, depending on how we use it. 

1. Vitamin C

Vitamin C plays an important role in keeping us healthy. Most mammals produce it in their livers, so they never suffer from a lack of it. Curiously, however, some mammals, such as humans and apes, cannot do so. What happens when you lack this important vitamin? You might see blue-and-black marks on your skin.Your teeth could suffer too: the pink area around them become soft and bleed easily. There are just a couple of good reasons to eat plenty of fresh fruit.