【推荐2】The human body can't handle overheating. The processes that keep us alive work best within a certain temperature between about 36° C and 37° C, depending on the person.

If someone's body temperature goes higher, the body's primary response to heat is to try and get rid of it. To get rid of the overheat, blood vessels(血管) expand. At the same time, the heart begins beating faster. That pushes blood flow to the skin. There, the blood can release heat to cool down. Meanwhile, sweating kicks in to cool the skin.

But there is a limit to how much the body can adjust. That limit depends on an individual's health, as well as the temperature and humidity(湿度) outside. If the outside temps are hotter than the body, blood at the skin won't release heat. And where humidity is high, sweating won't cool the skin. That's because the sweat can't evaporate(蒸发). In 2008, two scientists suggested that humans can't cool off if they spend extended time at a temperature over 35° C.

No one is resistant to heat. But it hits some groups harder than others. The elderly are considered the weakest. One reason: They have fewer sweat glands(汗腺). But their bodies also respond more slowly to rising temperatures. Children, too, are at risk because they haven't fully developed the ability to regulate heat. People with certain diseases such as diabetes and heart disease also can have trouble cooling their bodies. And people living in poverty often lack air conditioning and other resources to help them beat the heat.

Many people see heat as more of an annoyance than a threat. But climate change, extreme heat and human health are all connected. As Earth's temperatures climb, extreme heat waves will probably become more common, endangering more people.

【推荐3】Humans are not the only ones adapting to (适应) the effects of global climate change. Animals are also adapting to the environmental changes—some warm-blooded animals are beginning to “shapeshift (变身)” in response to shifts in climate, according to a recent study carried out by a team of researchers. The leader of the team is Sara Ryding, a researcher at Deakin University in Australia.

In the study, researchers have found new evidence that supports the theory that some warm-blooded animals are experiencing changes to their bodies due to the rising temperatures, resulting in larger legs, ears and beaks (喙) in some cases. The researchers have noted that warm-blooded animals living in colder climates have smaller legs, ears and beaks than animals of the same species living in warmer climates.

“When climate change is discussed in mainstream media, people are asking ‘Can humans overcome this?’ or ‘What technology can solve this?’” Ryding says.

She says that just like humans, animals also have to adapt to climate change, as shapeshifting for some of the warm-blooded animals is occurring over a far shorter time period.

“The climate change that we have created is putting much pressure on them, and while some species will adapt, others will not,” Ryding says.

Researchers have found body change in birds in Australia and North America. Certain species of Australian parrots have shown about 4%~10% increase in the size of their beaks since 1871, the reason for which is rising temperatures. In North America, the dark-eyed junco (灯芯草雀) also has seen an increase in beak size.

“Larger beaks help birds dissipate (驱散) extra body heat more effectively, which is useful as global temperatures rise. However, shapeshifting does not mean that animals are able to deal with climate change easily and that all is ‘fine’,” Ryding says. “It just means that they are struggling to adjust themselves to surviving it.”

【推荐1】Way back in Victorian times, around 1872,Christina Rossetti wrote a collection of nursery rhymes entitled Sing-Song: A Nursery Rhyme Book, and in it she composed (创作) all sorts of neat little poems that were favorably received. British author Lewis Carroll, a friend of the Rossetti family, lauded the poems, and the public was particularly pleased by the illustrations.

Some of the poems improve children’s mind and character;some are memory aids for learning about numbers, time and colors; others deal with nature, including wind, rain, growth, and death. Rossetti’s delightful poems have a kind of simplicity and effortlessness that audiences today still appreciate. They refresh our memories of being a kid.

Why is the sky blue? Will my head explode if I think too much? You used to ask such fun questions when you were a little one, right? Hey, we all did. And that’s kind of what makes being a kid so cool. In fact, kids often try their hardest to come up with the silliest questions that will inspire a little laughter from others. It’s kind of their duty as kids.

“Who has seen the wind?” It is a silly question, isn’t it? But Rossetti can break nature down for us in a way that not only makes sense but sounds nice, too. The poem reopens our days of innocent imagination.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you.

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I.

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

The poem opens with the title that asks, “Who has seen the wind?” The speaker informs us that neither she nor anyone else has ever seen it. But we do see the leaves “trembling,” which informs us that the wind is passing through. The speaker then repeats the same question. The answer remains the same, but when the trees “bow down their heads,” we again realize that the wind is passing by.

【推荐3】Two managers in the same organization were coming into conflict when having disagreements in their work. After thinking about a particularly troubling issue throughout the night, the first manager wrote a letter to the other one, outlining his thoughts as reasonably as possible. He gave it to the other person and asked him to read it later and suggested that after working through their anger, they discuss it again.

The following day the first manager stopped by the office of the other and asked how it would go. The second one admitted that he was very upset at first, but after thinking it over he realized that most of their disagreements were for a lack of understanding. He stated that he felt if they could discuss it without losing their tempers, they could work things out. That is exactly what they did later and got the issue settled with flying colors (成功地).

American president Abraham Lincoln was known for writing two letters when he needed to communicate with someone else who had made him angry. He first wrote a letter that severely conveyed just what he thought. Then he tore up that letter and wrote a second one that was appropriate and reasonable, and sent the letter out.

Effective communication is the key to any relationship. When we allow ourselves to become emotional and react immediately to what we feel without thinking, emotions overwhelm (压倒) the situation and prevent true communication. Step back, think evaluate what happened or what was said, and ask to clarify questions if it is needed. Then, you can respond appropriately.

Don’t let overwhelming emotion control your life. Instead, choose to think and process internally whatever comes your way before externally responding. That is when you can communicate with others effectively and you will be able to keep good relationships with them.