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　　To many Americans, Labor Day marks the end of the summer, a day off from work and school, and one last chance to relax．But Labor Day is much more than just a day off．It represents a very important victory for laborers everywhere．The holiday is a celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers．

　　More than a century ago, workers were forced to deal with harsh conditions．They were paid very little, and they often worked 10-to 12-hour days．Men, women and even small children were forced to work even when they were sick．Tired of long hours and dangerous conditions, workers began organizing themselves into labor unions．On top of fighting for higher pay and shorter workdays, they also fought for the rights of children．The workers wanted employers to place limits on the age of their workers so that small children were not overworked or hurt in factories．

　　A New York City carpenter named Peter McGuire is credited for coming up with the idea for Labor Day．In 1872, after working many hours under poor conditions, McGuire rallied 100,000 workers to go on strike．The workers marched through the streets of New York City, demanding a better work environment．McGuire spent a decade fighting for workers' rights．In 1882, he proposed the idea to create a special holiday for workers．On Tuesday, September 5, 1882．more than 10,000 workers hit the streets of New York City for the first ever Labor Day parade．Two years later the celebration was moved to the first Monday in September．And in 1894, Congress passed a law making Labor Day a national holiday．

　　Americans celebrated the first Labor Day holiday with a parade, picnics and fireworks．Today, many people hit the road to enjoy the last of their summer vacation．Others enjoy the long weekend with picnics, backyard barbecues or just rest and relaxation．However you spend Labor Day, remember that the holiday is a time to pay tribute(致敬)to the workers who have made America what it is today．

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　　The Ocean Institute welcomes people to the City of Dana Point's Festival of Whales celebration on both weekends．The event celebrates the migration(迁徙)of the whales off our coast．Respected ocean scientists of the ocean Institute introduce visitors to the world of whales．The speakers are arranged as the following．

Saturday, March 5, 12∶30 pm

　　Dr Gwen Goodmanlowe from Califomia State University is a full-time lecturer in the Department of Biology, and advises students working on degrees in marine(海洋的)biology．She received her doctorate in zoology from the University of Hawaii-Honolulu．

Sunday, March 6, 12∶30 pm

　　Matt Leslie, from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, has studied whales off the coast of Australia．Some of his current research projects include population structure analysis of whales using performance testing．He will lecture on guides for treatment of marine animals．

Saturday, March 12, 12∶30 pm

　　Dr Merkens, from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, will present her latest research on how sound or music can be used as a means to identify characteristics of whales and to find out how whales communicate with one another in the environment．

Sunday, March 13, 2 pm

　　Robert L．Pitman is a marine ecologist working for the National Marine Fishing Service．He began his career 35 years ago, studying seabirds and whales, and spends much of his time at sea on vessels at locations all over the world．His main interest is the ecology of the Antarctic killer whale．

　　The Festival will allow visitors to know about new discoveries in marine animal research and to explore a variety of information on whales．Visitors will have the opportunity to listen to underwater whale sounds, and enjoy hands-on activities．Guests will tour the tall ship Pilgrim．

　　Cost：＄6.50 adults, ＄4.50 children(ages 4－12)．For more information, please visit www．ocean-institute．org or call(949)496－2274．

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　　Most schools forbid chewing gum, but in a few years they might consider changing that rule．Why? Scientists are finding evidence that gum chewing may be good for your health．It may even help improve your test scores．

　　This exciting research is just beginning．And in the meantime, companies are also experimenting with adding vitamins, minerals, medicines, and other substances that could give gum the power to cure headaches and fight everything from serious diseases to bad breath．

　　Other researchers are finding that gum might work better than a pill to deliver medicines and other substances into the bloodstream．That's because the lining(膜)of our cheeks can absorb certain substances more quickly than our stomachs and intestines(肠)can．

　　That discovery could help other researchers develop medicine-containing gums that fight colds, ease headaches, battle nervousness, and more．Scientists might even create antimicrobial(抗菌的)gums that cure bad breath．

　　Those projects may take years, but gum scientists have already had at least one recent success：They've created a gum that could help us stay awake．

　　Researchers have produced a gum called Stay Alert．Each stick has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee．It can take an hour for the caffeine in coffee to have its full effect, but the caffeine in Stay Alert hits in just a few minutes．

　　The gum is easy to transport and it's stable in cold and hot climates．Unlike a pill, it doesn't require water to swallow．Those qualities make it easy for soldiers to use．

　　For now, Stay Alert is available only to the military(军队)．The manufacturer may one day offer it for sale to the public．People who work at night, such as truck drivers and medical personnel who ride in ambulances, might benefit from a product like Stay Alert．

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　　The ＄11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like “I never do anything right” into positive ones like “I can succeed．” But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?

　　Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect：it can simply highlight how unhappy they are．

　　The study's authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is very positive, they actually feel worse, not better．If you tell your stupid friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, you're just underlining his faults．In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled．When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written．

　　In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students' self-esteem．The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes．Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell．When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, “I am lovable．”

　　Those with low self-esteem didn't feel better after the forced self-affirmation．In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren't urged to think positive thoughts．

　　The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy(心理治疗)that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them．In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse．Meditation techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective．Call it the power of negative thinking．

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　　Are morning people born or made? In my case it was definitely made．In my early 20s, I rarely went to bed before midnight, and I would almost always get up late the next morning．

　　But after a while I couldn't ignore the high relationship between success and rising early．On those rare occasions where I did get up early, I noticed that my productivity was almost always higher．So I set out to become a habitual early riser．But whenever my alarm went off, my first thought was always to stop that noise and go back to sleep．Eventually some sleep research showed me that I was using the wrong strategy．

　　The most common wrong strategy is this：You assume that if you're going to get up earlier, you'd better go to bed earlier．It sounds very reasonable, but will usually fail．

　　There are two main schools(流派)of thought on sleep patterns．The first is that you should go to bed and get up at the same time every day．The second school says you should go to bed when you're tired and get up when you naturally wake up．However, I have found both of them are wrong if you care about productivity．If you sleep at set hours, you'll sometimes go to bed when you aren't sleepy enough．You're wasting time lying in bed awake and not being asleep．

　　If your sleep is based on what your body tells you, you'll probably be sleeping more than you need．Also, your mornings may be less predictable if you're getting up at different times．

　　The solution for me has been to combine both methods．I go to bed when I'm sleepy and get up with an alarm clock at a fixed time．So I always get up at the same time(in my case 5 am), but I go to bed at different times every night－sometimes at 9∶30 pm, and other times at midnight．Most of the time I go to bed between 10-11 pm．

　　However, going to bed only when I'm sleepy, and getting up at a fixed time every morning is my way．If you want to become an early riser, you can try your own．

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　　When you go to St．Petersburg, the number of attractions can seem large．If you are short of time, or just want to make sure to hit the highlights, these are the top must-see sights in St．Petersburg．

　　1．The Hermitage Museum

　　The Hermitage Museum is one of the most important sights to see for any visitor to St．Petersburg．There are lots of different paintings by the old masters in the Hermitage．Prepare to come face-to-face with classic Western artists．

　　2．Kizhi Island

　　Kizhi Island is an open-air museum of wooden architecture from the Karelia Region of Russia．These impressive structures are made entirely without nails－the wood fits together with joints and grooves(沟槽)．

　　3．Peterhof

　　Peterhof is as beautiful as it is fun．You'll be charged for admission, but go to Petethof when the fountains are working－during the day in the summer．They are shut off in winter evenings．

　　4．The Church of Our Savior on the Spilt Blood

　　Love it or hate it, the Church of Our Savior on the Spilt Blood in St．Petersburg is an wonderful must-see sight．The beautiful look may make your eyes brighten, and the painting inside the church will make you say “Wow!”

　　5．The Bronze Horseman Statue

　　The so-called Bronze Horseman is a part of Russian culture and a symbol of St．Petersburg．Made famous by Alexander Pushkin, this statue of Peter the Great sitting on his horse can truly show Peter the Great's influence on the Russian idea of greatness．

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　　A new research has uncovered that culture is a determining factor when interpreting facial emotions(情感)．The study reveals that in cultures where emotional control is the standard, such as Japan, focus is placed on the eyes to interpret emotions．Whereas in cultures where emotion is openly expressed, such as the United States, the focus is on the mouth to interpret emotion．

　　“These findings go against the popular theory that the facial expressions of basic emotions can be universally recognized,” said University of Alberta researcher Dr．Takahiko Masuda．“A person's culture plays a very strong role in determining how they will read emotions and needs to be considered when interpreting facial expression．”

　　These cultural differences are even noticeable in computer emoticons(情感符号), which are used to convey a writer's emotions over email and text messaging．The Japanese emoticons for happiness and sadness vary in terms of how the eyes are drawn, while American emoticons vary with the direction of the mouth．In the United States the emoticons：)and：-)show a happy face, whereas the emoticons：(or：-(show a sad face．However, Japanese tend to use the symbol(‘ ‘)to indicate a happy face, and(;_;)to indicate a sad face．

　　“We think it is quite interesting and appropriate that a culture tends to mask its emotions．The Japanese would focus on a person's eyes when determining emotion, as eyes tend to be quite subtle(微妙的),” said Masuda．“In the United States, where open emotion is quite common, it makes sense to focus on the mouth, which is the most expressive feature on a person's face．”

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　　A man sits on a chair, with rubber pads(垫)tied to his head．Someone is going to fire an electric current through his brain．

　　Sounds like a horror movie?Actually, the man is Telegraph journalist．Nick Collins．He is getting ready to test the newly－invented“electric thinking cap”．

　　Professor Johansen Berg, a neurologist at Oxford University, has discovered that firing a tiny electrical current to part of the brain can help people learn faster．

　　“It'S completely safe．The electric current is one thousand times lower than anvthing that could cause damage,”Kadosh,a researcher at Oxford University, told the Daily凇反Z eadier this year．

　　In a test, 15 volunteers were taught to press a set of buttons in three different, orders．Just like playing the piano．Electricity was fired into the area of their brains that eontrols movement．It ran from the front part of the head to a point above the ear．The electricitv was kept on for 10 minutes while the volunteers completed a task．

　　When the electric current ran in one diieetion, researchers found that volunteers leamed things 10 times more quickly．But if the current was sent the other way, their brain cells slowed down．

　　The cⅡrf每ijIf畜药}：ects the movement area of the brain．This means the method can onlv improve people'S learning skills that have some．thing to d．o with that muscle, such as rowing a boat or playing the piano．But scientists say it could be used in other areas of learning, or even(中风)．help people who have suffered a stroke(中风)．

　　The effects can last for about half an hour after the current is stopped．However, the researchers say that daily treatment could have a good, long-lasting effect．Electric caps could be produced SO that people could receive the treatment in clinics or even at home．

　　“I'm sure there are lots of people who would like to raise their normal abilities,”

　　Kadosh says．‘‘But should people be allowed to do this?It is all up for debate．''

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　　On 21 st-century campuses, is there room still for traditional literature such as Shake-speare?

　　A declining number of students think SO in the US－a trend that worries leaders at many top universities, where engineers often outnumber humanity(人文学科)students．

　　Seeking to stimulate interest in the liberal arts．Stanford University last month held an activity, which was designed to inspire freshmen dreams beyond cool jobs, such as working at Google．

　　The 1,718 incoming students-nearly half of whom arrive intending to major in the sciences or engineering－listened to a lecture organized by the College of Humanities and Arts．

　　“We're trying to break the idea that college is just something to get through on your way to a career,”said Debra Satz, associate dean for Humanities and Arts．

　　In the mid-60s, more than 1 in 3 Stanford students majored in languages, literature, the arts, history and cultural studies．By 1995, only about lin 10 did-a figure that hash't changed much in a decade．Meanwhile, interest in engineering, math and computer science has climbed．

　　Geoffrey Harpham, director of the National Humanities Center, said the humanities must be reinvigorated(复兴)and aye vital to the US'future．

　　But for students in the Great Recession(经济大萧条), the siren song(诱惑)of science can be tough to resist．Economic anxiety is well-grounded, according to an arialysis showing that the earnings of workers who majored in engineering were up to 50．percent higher than the earnings of those who majored in the humanities．

　　“Shakespeare wasn't in the humanities for the money．If you're all about the money．you wouldn't go there,”Satz said．But she added“humanities students who lahd jobs in tech－intensive fields do．just fine．”

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　　The US has slipped further down a global ranking of the world's most competitive economies, landing at fifth place because of its huge debts and declining public faith in gov-ernment, a global economic group said Wednesday．

　　The announcement by the World Economic Forum(论坛)was the latest bad news for the Obama administration, which has been struggling to boost(振兴)the sinking US economy and lower an unemployment rate of more than 9 percent．

　　Switzerland held onto the top spot for the third year in the annual ranking by the Gene-va-based forum．

　　Singapore moved up to second place, bumping Sweden down to third．Finland moved up to fourth place, from seventh last year．The US was in fourth place last year, after falling from No．1 in 2008．

　　The rankings, which the forum has issued for more than three decades, are based on e-conomic data and a survey of 15,000 business executives(主管)．

　　The forum praised the US for its productivity, excellent universities and flexible labor market．But it also cited“a number of increasing weaknesses”such as rising government debt and declining public faith in political leaders．

　　The results of a survey of 142 nations comes a day before Obama is preparing to deal with jobs issues in a speech to the US Congress, and just as US polls(民意调查)show a clear majority of those surveyed shy they disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy．

　　Switzerland held onto its top ranking, the forum said, because of“continuing strong per-formance overall”with innovation, technological readiness, fair regulation and having one of the world'S most stable econoinic environments．

　　Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse, was sixth, followed by the Netherlands and Denmark．Japan came in ninth, and Britain was l0th．

　　The report looked at broader trends：While the US slipped,emerging markets gained improvement．China took 26th place, highest among major emerging markets; Brazil was 53rd; India was 56th; and Russia was 66th．