The endangered pandas in the Qinling Mountains might face a new threat: the loss of their food, bamboo, which makes up 99% of their meals.

Adult pandas spend most part of the day eating bamboo and have to take in at least 40 pounds a day to stay healthy. However, a new study published in Nature Climate Change warned that they may soon find their food gone because most of the bamboo in the Qinling Mountains might disappear by the end of the century as a result of rising temperature worldwide.

A team made up of researchers from Michigan State University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has studied the effects of climate change on the bamboo in the Qinling Mountains. They have found that bamboo is very sensitive to climate changes. “80% to 100% of the bamboo would be gone if the average temperature rises 3.5 degrees worldwide by the end of the century,” said Liu Jianguo, one of the report’s authors.

He added, “This is how much the temperature would rise by 2100 even if all countries will keep their promises in the Paris Agreement. But you know what is happening all around the world.”

In recent years, China has been trying its best to protect the endangered pandas by setting up more and bigger natural reserves.

“But it is far from enough and the endangered pandas need cooperation from the rest of the world, because their future is not just in the hands of the Chinese,” said Shirley Martin from the World Wildlife Fund but not a member of the team.

The Qinling Mountains, in the southwest of China, are home to about 260 pandas. That is about 13% of China’s wild panda population. In addition, about 375 are living in research centers and zoos in China.

If you think that running marathons (马拉松) will help you live a long and healthy life, new research may come as a shock. According to a recent scientific study, people who do a very strenuous workout are as likely to die as people who do no exercise at all.

Scientists in Denmark have been studying 1,000 joggers(慢跑者)and non-joggers for 12 years. The death rates from the sample group indicate that people who jog at a proper pace two or three times a week for less than two and a half hours in total are least likely to die.The best speed to jog at was found to be about 5 miles per hour. The research suggests that people who jog more than three times a week or at higher speeds of over 7 mph die at the same rate as non-joggers. The scientists think that this is because strenuous exercise causes the heart and arteries(动脉)structural changes. Over time, this can cause serious injuries.

Peter Schnohr, a researcher in Copenhagen, said, “If your goal is to decrease the risk of death and improve life expectancy(预期寿命), jogging a few times a week at a proper pace is a good strategy. Anything more is just unnecessary, and it may be harmful.”

The implications(暗示)of this are that moderate forms of exercise such as tai chi, yoga and walking may be better for us than triathlons and long-distance running and cycling. According to Jacob Louis Marott, another researcher involved in the study, you don’t actually have to do that much to have a good impact on your health. And perhaps you shouldn’t actually do too much.

Why people collect art

Many people throughout history have gone to great lengths to collect art. But what attracts these collectors?

One popular explanation for collecting is that they can have financial(财务的) gain. Some resell works, earning enormous profit.    12     Some “collectors" even buy art as a form of money laundering, since it is far easier to move art than cash between countries without examination.

    13     For them, art is important for other reasons. The best way to understand the underlying drive of art collecting is as a way to create and strengthen social bonds, and as a way for collectors to communicate within these new networks.

Collectors are not only interested in creating social links; they are also motivated by the messages they can send once these social networks are created. We all know art is a powerful way for the artist to express thoughts and feelings.    14     Displaying art can send a message about who the collector really is — at least who he or she sees himself or herself as.

    15     Through the collections, collectors convey messages not just about themselves, but about the world as a whole. For example, the kid with the shoebox of bird feathers might show others his or her collection not just to make friends, but also to convince them of the importance of protecting endangered species.

People collect art for various reasons.    16    

When my sister Diane began playing the violin, she was seven. How did she sound? Terrible. But she didn’t _________. At twelve, she asked our parents if she could _________ a full-time music school. They said no. Actually, everyone agreed that my sister didn’t have talent.

I was better at my _________. My teacher had told my parents that I had great potential. So my parents found the best piano teacher in the area to _________ me. But the only time when he was available was Saturday at 3 pm. Back then, I was _________ by the British TV show The Avengers, which was _________ every Saturday at 3 pm. I let nothing take up my The Avengers hour. So I _________ this amazing opportunity. Today, I don’t even have a _________ in my house.

My sister became an engineer, but she _________ stopped making music. When she was in her 40s, she changed her career. She went back to college, got a __________ in music education, and became a music teacher. She starts kids off on their first instrument and gives them all the encouragement and support she never __________

Recently, she and a pianist pal put on a recital (音乐演奏会). A big crowd of friends and family __________ for her. As she played, I looked around at the __________ . Everyone was obviously enjoying the music. It occurred to me that I was the only person who remembered that 7-year-old kid making those __________ sounds and knew how far she had come, despite everything.

Talent is __________. But enthusiasm is even more important.

Have you ever dreamed of being famous     32     a musician? At first many singers may form a band to practice their music. And then they may get the chance to give     33    (perform) in pubs or clubs. Later they may gradually become popular. However, the Monkees started in     34     different way. They began as a TV show. The TV organizers had put an advertisement in a newspaper,     35     (look) for rock musicians who could act as well as sing.     36     (honest) speaking, only one of them was good enough and the other three members pretended     37     (sing). So it couldn’t     38     (call) a real band in the beginning. Anyhow,     39    they showed to the audience was really creative and they became popular. After a year or so, they worked harder, produced     40     (they) own records and started touring. In about 1970, the Monkees broke up but they reunited in the mid-1980s and in 1996 produced a new record, with     41     they became more successful.