【推荐1】Flies won’t transmit COVID-19

With the arrival of summer, many people are worried about contracting COVID-19 through mosquitoes or flies.

In response to the concern, Wang Liping, a researcher from the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said there is not yet evidence of people getting infected with the novel coronavirus through a mosquito or fly. She made her remarks at a news conference on Saturday. She said the virus is mainly spread through respiratory droplets and physical contact.

Djokovic gets COVID-19

Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organized. His wife also tested positive.

Djokovic has been criticized for organizing the tournament and bringing in players from other countries during the coronavirus pandemic (全国或全球性流行病). Viktor Troicki said Tuesday he and his pregnant wife have both been diagnosed with the virus, while Grigor Dimitrov, another tennis player, said Sunday he tested positive.

Kids are more prepared against virus

Children may be protected from coronavirus because they catch so many colds, scientists have suggested. Figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest children are just as likely to pick up the virus, but few ever develop serious disease, or even show symptoms.

While adults pick up a cold around two to four times a year, school age children catch an average of 12 colds annually, studies have shown. It may allow youngsters to build up some ongoing resistance that adults do not have.

Special bonds are to be issued

China will issue 100 billion yuan in special government bonds for COVID-19 control measures to balance epidemic control with economic and social development, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Monday. The MOF will issue two kinds of bonds, including 50 billion yuan in five-year bonds and 50 billion yuan in seven-year bonds, the MOF said in a statement. Both will be traded on June 23, 2020. China will pursue a more proactive and impactful policy this year to release more funds for companies and individuals.

【推荐3】What do you usually do when a flying insect lands on your arm? Most likely you blow it away. But what if that bug is a ladybug(瓢虫)? Then chances are that you would let it stay. What is it about ladybugs that we like?

Farmers once thought ladybugs were a good luck sign. A ladybug in the field meant that the crops(庄稼) would be successful and the weather would be good. The farmers may have been exaggerating(夸大) about what a very small bug can do, but in fact ladybugs do help out with the crops. They eat harmful insects.

Actually, it is not the adult ladybug that eats the other insects. It’s the ladybug larvae(幼虫). Ladybugs lay their eggs on leaves that are covered with aphids or other insects. When the larvae come out of the eggs, they are very hungry and will eat mites, aphids, mealybugs, green flies, and other crop-destroyers.

A single ladybug larva can eat over 1,000 aphids in one day. In the 1800s, ladybugs were brought all the way from Australia to California and set free among orange trees that were dying from being eaten by insects. The little red and black “eating machines” completely saved all the trees.

Ladybugs go about their daily business without worrying much about anything. Very few birds or insects will eat a ladybug because it gives off something that is dangerous to eat. Ladybugs also protect themselves by playing dead. They fall off leaves and remain very still until their enemy goes away.

So next time you see a ladybug, think about what it may be up to. Maybe it is off to save an orange tree. Maybe its next move will be to fall off a leaf and play dead or stand up to a bird about 100 times its size. Maybe it’s letting you know that the weather will be good tomorrow. Who knows? Ladybugs are special.

【推荐1】The mirror self-recognition test was dreamed up in the 1960's by Gordon Gallup, Jr., _a scientist now with the State University of New York. Back then, he was a graduate student taking a course in psychology, and the students were asked to come up with an idea for an experiment.

“I was washing my face in front of a mirror one day, says Grallup. It occurred to me wouldn't il be interesting to see if other animals could recognize themselves in mirrors?"

Still looking at the mirror, he realized he could test an animal by secretly marking its face with some kind of red dye （染料）,to see if it could use the mirror to access these strange red marks.

No such test had been done before, even though people had long observed animals looking into mirrors. Most species tend to treat a mirror image as a stranger to be courted （献殷勤）or attacked. Some scientists thought that primates （灵长类）might do better. Charles Darwin once watched with interest as an orangutan （红毛猩猩）named Jenny made faces at a mirror.

When Gallup started doing experiments with chimps （黑猩猩）.a few years after he came up with his test, he found that at first the chimps acted as if the mirror image were another animal. But then, after a couple of days they began using the mirror to examine parts of their bodies like their teeth.

When Gallup put red dye on their faces, the chimps later woke up and reacted to the unexpected mirror image as if they understood that the marks were on their own faces.

In Gallup s view, only three species have mirror self-recognition： chimps, orangutans, and humans. Others, though, think the list is longer. Diana Reiss, a scientist at Hunter College, has tested both dolphins and elephants and believes that both show signs of recognizing themselves in mirrors.

【推荐1】Welcome to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. Traditionally, the festival opens from Dec. 24th and lasts to the middle of February. But its official opening ceremony is usually held on January 5th each year. Here is a three-day-trip for you.

Day 1 Activities: Airport to hotel transfer

Driver Service (one-way airport to hotel): Fly into Harbin Taiping International Airport. Be greeted by our Chinese speaking driver who will take your luggage to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to know about the city.

Day 2 Activities: Sun Island Snow Sculpture Art Expo, Harbin Ice and Snow World

Driver & Guide Service: At 09:00 am, we will drive you to the Sun Island, where the International Snow Sculpture Art Expo is held every winter. You can see different wonderful snow sculptures and choose to pay and enjoy some activities, like playing snow tubing, going dog sledding etc. Then visit the most important theme park of the ice festival – Ice and Snow World, which features interesting winter activities, evening shows and ice sculptures.

Day 3 Activities: Heilongjiang Provincial Museum, Central Street, airport transfer

Driver & Guide Service: At 09:00 am, we will pay a visit to Heilongjiang Provincial Museum. Then enjoy a free walk on the historical Central Street. Later, head to the airport for the flight to your next destination.

【推荐2】I’m a happy mother of two wonderful kids. My daughter is Blanca Ramirez. She’s 14 years old right now, but at the age of 11, she began to do long-distance running, she knew she could do more than just run, so she decided to run for a charity.

She ran for Operation Smile. It is a non-profit organization that helps children worldwide suffering from cleft lip or cleft palate (唇腭裂) at no charge. At Operation Smile they believe every such child deserves exceptional surgical (外科的) care.

My daughter believes that no child should be without a smile, so to help even more, she took her running even further. She went on a journey on becoming the youngest female in the world to run 7 marathons on 7 continents in the name of Operation Smile. She did so in order to raise money and awareness to this organization. And she completed her journey by age 12 on February 19, 2015.

But she’s not done. She now continues to help inspire others by running. One person she has inspired so much is her little brother Jordan. He is 7 years old and has run to this day, 105×5k’s, 11×10k’s & 4×half marathons. He will be running all 7 continents too along with Blanca, starting in November 2017 in Australia.

What makes me proud is that they both plan to continue to help others in this way, and maybe one day they’ll get an Olympic medal.

【推荐1】Blue Planet II continues the Blue Planet tradition of filming the rarest animals and behaviors that have never before been caught on camera. Each episode takes us through one of the many oceanic environments of the world, like the vastness of the open ocean, and each one has at least one animal that will make you feel impressed. More than 6,000 hours of underwater footage shot and over 125 expeditions to 39 countries allow the directors to create thrilling, breathtaking stories.

The photography in Blue Planet II is so amazing. It's like sitting in the water and experiencing it in person. To be honest, I can't think of another documentary that features this kind of jaw-dropping photography. And while the photography gets all of the credit, credit should also go to the documentary makers for bringing us so many fascinating stories. The documentary records the damage people have made to our planet in the last two decades, and it reveals different environmental problems in a more direct and thought-provoking way.

Blue Planet II shows the astonishing characters, interesting places and extraordinary new animal behaviors. Warm and impressive stories about the sea will build people's emotional relationship with our oceans and bring a new perspective to this little-known world. If you love or enjoy nature documentaries, you should absolutely not miss this. Blue Planet II is a WINNER.

【推荐2】Walk Through History

It’s no surprise to anyone who’s been to Charleston that it is among the best US cities to visit. “It can feel like you’re in a dream sometimes, like you’ve stepped back 200 years,” says Brian Sim ms, the owner of Charleston Sole Tours. These are Simms’s must-sees.

“People don’t realize how much African culture is here.” says Sim ms. He recommends learning about the African-American heritage that shaped the city, region and country to fully understand Charleston.

Gullah Tours offers a two-hour bus tour for $ 18.www.gullahtours.com

A large public park and garden with walking paths and artifacts —all shaded by beautiful trees.

Free admission. Simms provides two- hour guided tours for $10 to $20. www.charlestonsole.com

Middleton Place is a historic plantation with vivid exhibits and a working table. It provides an all-around view of what was going on with the history of the families that ran the plantation.

$ 28 / adult; $ 15 / student 14 and older; $ 10 / child 6-13; free / under age 6. www.middleton place.org

Marking the site where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, this historic place includes several sites around Charleston Harbor and an education center at Gadsden’s Wharf. The best time of year to visit is spring—when the azaleas are flowering—or fall.

Admission is free. Boat ride is $ 19.5 / adult, $ 12 / child. www.nps.gov/fosu

【推荐3】To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains, But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain. Its first use was as a shade against the sun! Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese in the eleventh century B.C.

We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office.

In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was commonly used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans.

During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later in England.

By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colors.