Dogs can tell the difference between different languages, researchers in Hungary have found. The study was led by Laura V. Cuaya at Eotvos Lorand University. She moved to Hungary from Spain a few years ago and brought her dog Kun-kun with her. “I wondered whether Kun-kun noticed that people in Hungary speak a different language: Hungarian.” she said.

During the experiment, Kun-kun and other dogs were trained to lie down in a brain scanner for several minutes. Every dog in the study had heard only one of the two languages spoken by their owners: either Hungarian or Spanish. Then researchers compared how their brains reacted to a highly familiar language and to a completely unfamiliar one.

The dogs listened to parts of The Little Prince in Spanish and Hungarian. Researchers also played scrambled versions of the story to test if they could hear the difference between speech and non-speech.

When comparing brain reactions, researchers found clear activity in the dogs’ primary auditory, or hearing area of the brain. That suggests they can distinguish between speech and non-speech. The dogs’ secondary auditory area is for understanding complex sounds. This part of the dogs’ brains produced different activity patterns when they heard a familiar language compared to an unfamiliar language. Cuaya said that dogs could understand the differences in how the languages are spoken. “Spanish is soft and musical,” she said, “while Hungarian is more monotone. We believe dogs detect that.”

The researchers also found that the older the dogs were, the better they were able to distinguish between the two languages.

Stephanie Terrell bought a used Nissan Leaf this fall and was excited to join the wave of drivers adopting electric vehicles to save on gas money and reduce her carbon footprint.

But quickly Ms. Terrell had something tricky to handle in the road on her journey to clean driving: As a renter, she doesn’t have a private parking space where she can power up overnight, and the public charging stations near her are often in use, with long wait times. The great change to electric vehicles is underway for homeowners who can charge their cars at home, but for millions of renters like Ms. Terrell, access to charging remains a significant barrier.

Now, cities from Portland to New York are trying to come up with charging solutions. For example, drivers string power lines across sidewalks, stand up their own private charging stations and line up at public facilities. The government last month approved plans from all 50 states to roll out a network of high-speed chargers along interstate highways.

“We have a really large challenge right now with making it easy for people to charge who live in apartments,” said Jeff Allen, executive director of Forth, a nonprofit organization that advocates for equality in electric vehicle ownership and charging access. “Cities have to make a mental shift that promoting electric cars is part of their green transportation strategy. Once they make that mental shift, there’s a lot of things they can — and should — be doing.”

Nationwide, there are about 120,000 public charging ports featuring Level 2 charging, slower chargers which take several hours, and a fast charger known as DC Fast. And nearly 1.5 million electric vehicles are registered in the U.S.. This means about one charger per 12 cars nationally, according to the latest Department of Transportation data. But those chargers are not spread out evenly: In California, for example, which has about 39% of the nation’s electric vehicles, there are 16 vehicles for every charging port. In Arizona, the ratio of electric vehicles to charging ports is 18 to 1.

Online learning affords you access to programs across the world that might otherwise be highly inconvenient.     16     But if you develop skills for effective online learning, you’ll find the courses can be an excellent alternative to a traditional classroom setting.

Treat an online course like a “real” course.

When it comes to online classes, you need to have the discipline to sit down and say, “I am going to work on this.”     17     One of the easiest ways to ensure following through is to remember you are paying to take this online course, just as you would for a traditional, in-person class. You must “show up” if you’re going to get real value out of your class.

Hold yourself responsible.

Set goals at the beginning of the semester, and check in with yourself weekly. In a traditional classroom setting, you’ll often be reminded face to face of an assignment’s upcoming due date. But without a professor actively reminding you, it’s up to you to make sure that you complete the work in time.     18     If you’re having trouble holding yourself responsible, pair up with a fellow classmate.

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Set up an environment suitable for studying. By completing your work there repeatedly, you’ll begin to establish a routine. Whether your workspace is your kitchen table or a corner in the library, it’s important to determine what type of environment will work best for you. Wherever you choose, make sure you have a high-speed internet connection and the required books, materials, and software for the course.

Actively participate.

Participate in the course’s online discussion to help you better understand course materials and engage with fellow classmates. This might involve commenting on a classmate’s paper on a discussion board or posting a question about a project you’re working on.    20     Don’t wait until an assignment is almost due to ask questions or report issues. Email your professor and be active in asking for help.