We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively(被动地)．We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning．

　　We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else．Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive．Conditioned as we are to passive learning, it’s not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers．

　　Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem．It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay and rumor(谣言)．

　　Did you ever play the game Rumor?It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn’t show it to anyone．Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person．That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game．The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it．Then the two written statements are compared．Typically, the original message has changed．

　　That’s what happens in daily life．The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story．Then, too, most people listen imperfectly．And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping(打上标记)it with their own personal style．Yet those who hear it think they know．

　　This process is also found among scholars and authors：A statement of opinion by one writer may be re-stated as fact by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another;and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts．

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　　Six people are sitting around a big table．They are very important people．They are trying to make a very important decision．That are trying to make a very important decision．That is why they are all wearing coloured hats．But only in their minds．

　　When making a decision people have to struggle with different choices．They have to be creative enough to use their imaginations．But they also have to know enough of the facts to stop their imaginations using them．

　　All these factors sometimes make it hard for people to decide what to do when they are given a difficult question．And what will happen if we cannot afford to get the answer wrong?

　　Enter Edward de Bono, Professor De Bono comes up with ideas, which help people work out how to think．And the“six-hat technique”is one of the best known．

　　The idea is to separate out the different parts of the decision making process so that each can help people come to the right decision．Each of the six very important people is given a different hat．The white hat deals with information and sticks to the facts．The red hat talks about how he or she feels about what is going on．The yellow hat looks at all the benefits that cold come from a decision．The black hat warns about everything that could go wrong．The green hat wonders whether there are any other good ways．And the blue hat runs the whole meeting．

　　This technique has proved itself in many businesses．Managers find that it is an effective way of making sure that meetings are useful and constructive．Individuals can be given a particular hat for a whole meeting．Or the whole team can wear the same hat for part of the time and then move on to the next．And best of all, it keeps meetings short．

　　Though it was intended for the world of business, sometimes the“six-hat technique”can also be used outside work．Some parents use it to teach children the difference between what they want to do right now and what is really good for them．Individuals can use it as a way of cutting through the confusion and making the right decision．

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　　JAMES Brown, the legendary US singer known as the"Godfather of Soul", died Christmas morning, 2006．He was 73．

　　Brown was one of the major musical influences of the last 50 years．He provided the basis for much of black music and most of pop music with his early hits like"Please, Please, Please"．He essentially created funk(“疯客”音乐)with mid-1960s songs such as"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"．It won him a Grammy Award as best rhythm-and-blues song, and it was only the beginning of Mr．Brown’s rhythmic breakthroughs．His rapid-footed dancing inspired Michael Jackson and Prince．Rap stars of recent years, such as Fat Boys and Public Enemy, have all borrowed his lyrics and rhythms．

　　Brown's songs in the late 1960s and early 1970s, such as"Hot Pants"and"Make It Funky", mixed the sophistication(复杂)of jazz-style arrangements with raw funk．With these songs, Brown established himself as the godfather not just of soul, but of all subsequent styles of dance music：funk, disco, hip hop．

　　"He made soul music a world music,"said Al Sharpton, who toured with Brown in the 1970s and imitates his hairstyle to this day．"What Brown was to music in terms of soul and hip hop, rap, all of that, is what Bach(巴赫, 德国作曲家)was to classical music．He put everybody on a different beat, a different style of music．"

　　Amid the civil rights movement of the 1960s Mr．Brown used his fame and music for social messages．He released"Don’t Be a Dropout"in 1966 and met with Vice President Hubert H．Humphrey to promote a stay-in-school initiative．Two years later"Say It Loud－I’m Black and I’m Proud"insisted,"We won’t quit movin’ until we get what we deserve．”

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　　________, as the English saying goes．Unfortunately, honesty often deserts us when no one is watching, British psychologists reported last week．

　　Researchers at UK's Newcastle University set up an experiment in their psychology department's coffee room．They set a kettle, with tea, coffee and milk on the counter and hung up a sign listing the price for drinks．People helping themselves to a cup of tea were supposed to put a few cents in the box nearby．The scientists hung a poster above the money box, and changed each week between images of gazing eyes and pictures of flowers．

　　The researchers found that staff paid 2.76 times more for their drinks when the image of the eyes was hung．"Frankly we were shocked by the size of the effect,"said Gilbert Roberts, one of the researchers．

　　Eyes are known to be a powerful perceptual(知觉的)signal for humans, scientists say．"Even though the eyes were not real, they still seemed to make people behave more honestly,"said Melissa Bateson, a behavioural biologist and leader of the study．

　　Researchers believe the effect sheds light on our evolutionary past．It may arise from behavioural features that developed when early humans formed social groups to strengthen their chances of survival．For social groups to work, individuals had to co-operate, rather than act selfishly．

　　"There's an argument that if nobody is watching us, it is in our interests to behave selfishly．But when we're being watched we should behave better．So people see us as co-operative and behave the same way towards us,"Bateson said．

　　The new finding indicates that people have a striking response to eyes．That might be because eyes and faces send a strong biological signal we have developed to respond to, Bateson said．

　　The finding could be put to practical use．For example, images of eyes could promote ticket sales on public transport and improve surveillance(监视)systems to prevent anti-social behaviour．

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　　Autumn means different things to different people．It all depends on your personality, said British naturalist Richard Mabey．"Personality shapes your view of the season,"he said．"You may see it as a fading away, a packing up(结束), or as a time of packing in another sense – the excited gathering of resources before a long journey．"

　　If this is true, perhaps it tells us a little about, for instance, Thomas Hood, the 19th Century English poet．About November, he wrote：

　　On the other hand, another English poet John Keats, already sensing he was seriously ill, was inspired by a late September day to pen one of the most famous poems in the English language, To Autumn．He wrote to a friend afterwards that there was something comforting and healing about it．

　　According to Richard Mabey, Keats has the biological evidence on his side．Autumn is not a time of slowing down, but a time of new beginnings and great movements of creatures．For example, just at the moment that Keats's"gathering swallows"(in To Autumn)are departing for Africa, millions of creatures are fleeing from the frozen north like Iceland, Greenland and Russia to winter along the east and south coasts of Britain．According to scientists, before falling, the leaves transfer their chlorophyll(叶绿素)and carbohydrates into the woody parts of the tree for safe-keeping over winter．What remains are the natural antioxidants(防老剂)in the leaves：the yellow and orange carotenoids(类胡萝卜素), and another protective chemical specially produced for autumn, the bright-red anthocyanin(花青素)．High color is not a signal of deterioration(退化)and decline, but of detox(排毒的)ability and good health．

　　A century after Keats, the American poet Loren Eiseley wrote in his journal："Suppose we saw ourselves burning like maples in a golden autumn．[And that we could] disintegrate(瓦解)like autumn leaves…dropping their substance like chlorophyll．Would not our attitude towards death be different?"

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Dear ePals Community Member,

　　ePals will hold its first conference for tech directors and teachers on Tuesday, July 15, in Boston．Our one-day event is a pre-conference of Alan November's Building Learning Communities 2008 Conference．

　　Come see how ePals, the Internet's largest social learning network, can transform your classroom, school and district with our award-winning, safe and protected SchoolM@il? and SchoolBlog? offered at no cost．

　　ePals team members, expert teachers and instructional technology directors will share their experiences using the ePals Global Community to build 21^st Century skills in the classroom．

　　Among the speakers are：

　　Tim DiScipio, co-founder of ePals, sharing the vision for global collaboration and corporate partnerships with National Geographic, the classmate PC powered by Intel, and the XO from One Laptop Per Child

　　Dr．Kari Stubbs on"ePals 101：Where and How to Start Using Global Collaborative Tools in Project-based Learning．"Dr．Stubbs led the Enhancing Education Through Technology(EETT)initiative in Kansas before joining ePals as director of professional development．

　　Dr．Rita Oates on"Accomplishing the New NETS Standards for Students with ePals Tools and Activities．"Dr．Oates formerly was in charge of ed tech in Miami-Dade County Public Schools．

　　Dr．Laurie Henry, University of Kentucky, talking about literacy(读写能力)issues in the online world

　　Dr．Shelia Gersh, City Colleges of New York, sharing her ePals project as an example of a successful 21^st century online educational experience

　　Carol Bar, teacher at Blue Valley High School(KS),"Blogging for Language Acquisition"

　　Adina Popa, teacher at Potowmack Elementary(VA), will speak about schoolwide use of ePals and video conferencing to other classrooms

　　Several district tech directors talking about best practices in implementation(安装)and use in their districts for safe and protected student email and blogs

　　Other classroom teachers sharing their experiences for instructional success in the online community and using free, safe and protected online tools from ePals

　　Register and get more information at www．epals．com/conference

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　　Researchers in the field of psychology have found that one of the best ways to make an important decision,such as choosing a university to attend or a business to invest in,involves the use of a decision worksheet．Psychologists who study optimization(最佳化)compare the actual decisions made by people to theoretical ideal decisions to see how similar they are．Advocates of the worksheet procedure believe that it will yield optimal,that is,the best decisions．Although there are several variations on the exact format(格式)that worksheets can take,they are ail similar in their essential aspects．Worksheets require defining the problem in a clear way and then listing all possible solutions t0 the problem．Next,the related considerations that will be affected by each decision are listed．and the relative importance of each consideration or consequence is determineD．ach consideration is assigned a numerical value to reflect its relative importance．A decision is mathematically calculated by adding these values together．The alternative with the highest number of points emerges as the best decision．

　　Since most important problems are multifaceted(多方面的),there are several alternatives to choose from,each with unique advantages and disadvantages．One of the benefits of a pencil and paper decision-making procedure is that it permits people to deal with more variables than their minds can generally comprehend and remember．On the average,people can keep about seven ideas in their minds at once A worksheet can be especially useful when the decision involves a large number of variables with complex relationships．A realistic example for many college students is the question“What will I do after graduation?”A graduate might seek a position that offers specialized training,pursue an advanced degree,or travel abroad for a year．A decision-making worksheet begins with a clear statement of the problem that will also help to narrow it．It is important to be clear about the distinction between long-range and immediate goals because long-range goals often involve a different decision than short-range ones．Focusing on long-range goals,a graduating student might revise the question above to“What will I do after graduation that wilI lead tosuccessful career?”

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　　Wugging,or web use giving,describes the act of giving to charity at no cost to the user．By using Everyclick．com,which is being added to a number of university computers across the UK this week,students can raise money every time they search,but it won't Cost them a penny．

　　Research shows that students are enthusiastic about supporting charity．88%of full time students have used the Internet to give to charity．This figure is high,considering this age group is often the least likely to have disposable(可支配的)income．19%of 22 to 24 years old have short－term debts of more than￡5,000．With rising personal debt levels in this age group,due to university tuition fees or personal loans and a lack of long－term savings,traditional methods of donating to charity are often not appealing or possible．

　　Beth Truman,a 2i-year－old recent university graduate has used Everyclick．com to donate to her chosen charity,the RSPCA,for two years and has seen the‘wugging'movement grow popular with students．“When you're at university you become more socially aware．but it's sometimes hard to give to others when you have little money yourself．”says Beth．“Wagging is great for people in this age group as it allows them to use the technology on a daily basis[o give it to charity,without costing them a single penny''

　　Wugging is perfect for people who want to be more socially aware and supportive but don't feel they have the means to do so．Students using the web can generate money for causes they care about without it costing them anything in terms of time or money,and charities get a valuable source of funding．

　　Everyclick．com works like ally other search engine,allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can identify which of the UK's 170,000 charities they would 1ike to support through their clicks．Everyclick．com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity．Launched in June 2005 Everyclick．com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK．

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　　My cat Posy．a tortoiseshell tabby,lives with my family in a house in London,England．Like most cats,Posy is never pleased to see another cat on her territory－or anywhere,for that matter．Whenever she encounters a cat-like fellow．her hair stands on end,and she begins to hiss．In extreme cases,she sets up a yowling that warns the whole neighborhood．

　　Though she may be a proud defender of her territory,there is a reason why my dad has always referred to her as“a cat of very little brain”．One day my mum came home with a purchase she was delighted with－a large tea cozy in the shape of a cat,with all the cat features,from ears to tail,drawn in．Naturally,When teatime roiled around the next afternoon,out came the new tea cozy to keep the pot warm．It received a lot of admiration from the rest of the family because it had the Iook of a real cat．This cat looked almost like a king sitting there,guarding the pot,with a half-smile on his cloth face．Suddenly,a slight sound emerged over the clink of teaspoons on china－a slow,Steady hiss I turned around to see Posy behind me in the kitchen doorway,hair standing on end,ears laid back,staring straight at the tea cozy The tea cozy stared back．Posy edged nearer with suspicion,as her eyes narrowed,while she sent Out more hissing sounds as she sized up her rival－a rival who'd not only managed to get INTO her house but was now 0N her table．And here was the family doing nothing about it．

　　Needless to say,we had almost fallen off our chairs laughing by this time we couldn'tbelieve she actually thought the tea cozy was a real cat! Luckily,Posy stopped short of jumping on the unexpected rival．Eventually we took pity on her,lifted the cozy off the pot and finally convinced her that,the presence of this particular cat on her territory was no good reason to cause fur to fly．

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　　Bill Melendez,91,an Emmy Award-winning animator(动画片制作者)who transformed the two-dimensional drawings of the Peanuts comic strip into some of the most beloved cartoon characters on television and film,died Sept 2 at St．John's Health Center in Santa Monica,Calif．

　　The cause of death was not reporteD．

　　Mr．Melendez,who began his career at the Hollywood animation stud ios of Walt Disney and Warner Bros,found his greatest fame as the animator of A Charlie Brown Christmas,The Great Pumpkin and dozens of other Peanuts Presentations．

　　With producer Lee Mendelson,Mr．Melendez formed a 43-year partnership that has generated more than 70 Peanuts productions,including four feature films He also animated more than 370 commercials using Peanuts characters and remains the only animator Charles M．Schulz trusted to bring his famous comic strip figures to life．

　　Success was hardly assured when the first Peanuts special,A Charlie Brown Christmas,was broadcast by CBS in 1965 Network executives feared it would be a colossal flop．with no laugh track,a jazz musical score by pianist Vice Guaraldi and religious message．

　　Much to everyone's surprise,the show was a huge hit and got Emmy and Peabody awards Cartoonist Robert Smigel called it“the greatest half－hour American TV has ever produced” In addition to animating every Peanuts film and TV special,Mr．Melendez provided the wordless voice of Snoopy Before his work oil Peanuts,Mr．Melendez drew many of the famous Disney and Warner Bros．animated figures of the 1930s and 40s,including Mickey Mouse,Donald Duck,Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig．The peanuts characters,with their complicated personalities contained in round,childlike figure,proved unexpectedly challenging．

　　Mr．Melendez won five Emmy Awards for his work oil Peanuts．He also won Emmys for creating the first animated cartoons of Jim Davis'Garfield and for animating CS Lewis'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe．

　　Melendez was born in 1916 in Hermosillo,Mexico and moved to Douglas,Arizona in 1928, and later to Los Angeles．He began drawing as a child．He studied at what is now the California Institute of the Arts and joined the Disney studio in 1938．

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