【推荐2】Over the last two days, much of Spain has been coated with dust (灰尘) , and the skies have turned bright orange. A huge cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert is causing the strange weather. The dust cloud is expected to spread to other parts of Europe.

Across much of Spain on Tuesday morning, a thin layer (层) of red dust coated everything outside. From streets to sidewalks to balconies, everything was covered with a layer of dust. As the sun rose, the dust in the air turned the skies in some cities a strange orange. The cause of the dust and unusual sky colour wasn’t a forest fire, but dust from the Sahara Desert.

Every year, a large cloud of dust rises from the Sahara Desert. It’s called the Saharan Air Layer. Usually, it crosses the Atlantic Ocean as part of a natural cycle that helps develop farmland and beaches in Central and South America.

But sometimes, depending on the weather, the layer of dust gets forced to the north. Large sandstorms in northern Africa lift sand and dust into the air, where it gets blown towards Spain. Though the particles (微粒) in the air come from sand, they’re much more like dust than sand at a beach.

These kinds of storms aren’t unknown in Spain. In fact, it has a special name. It’s called a “calima”. This calima is so large that it can be seen from space. A NASA scientist who studies weather in the atmosphere says it’s like a river of dust in the air. That river of dust has met with a river of wet air driven by strong winds.

Spain’s weather service described the dust storm as being “very intense (强烈) ”. At one point on Tuesday, the air quality in Madrid was the worst in the world. Government health experts warned people not to go outside without a mask, and to keep their windows and doors closed at home.

【推荐3】Dr. Faisal Zawawi, an Otolaryngologist and member of the McGill Auditory Sciences Laboratory, notes that when a person is exposed to loud noises, it can cause short­term hearing loss but that under normal circumstances the body typically is able to repair the loss of hearing within 72 hours. However, Zawawi warns that if symptoms are not reversed (倒转) in the first 72 hours the damage could become permanent. Due to findings in previous studies about it, Zawawi says that the team of researchers has suspected that something may stop this repair process. Therefore, the team set out to determine if caffeine could be a contributing cause to hearing loss. According to the Medical Daily, the researchers tested what they suspected on female guinea pigs (FGP)(豚鼠).

To perform the test, 24 female guinea pigs were split into three equal groups with each group exposed in different levels to caffeine, and loud noise. The researchers found that the guinea pigs subjected to only sound had their full hearing recovered by day eight. However, the guinea pigs that were subjected to both caffeine and loud noise never fully regained their hearing. Therefore, the researchers concluded that caffeine is a likely contributing cause to permanent hearing loss.

“This research confirms that while a cup of coffee may seem appealing after a long night at a loud concert, drinking caffeine produces more of a risk than benefit when it comes to a person’s hearing. Although further research is required to understand the effects on humans, the results are promising,” says Zawawi. If the research proves successful, the removal of caffeine from your diet following noise exposure could prevent permanent hearing loss as the body will be more able to repair itself naturally.

【推荐1】What will man be like in 5,000 or even 50,000 year from now on? We can only make a guess, of course. However, we can be sure that he will greatly differ from what he is today.    1    

Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today.    2     Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we can imagine that man will continue to grow taller. Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over a very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.

On the other hand, we make less use of out* arms and legs.    3     We can’t walk farther. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life. What about our brain? As time goes on, we shall have to use our brains more and more and eventually we shall need larger ones!    4     Our head, in particular the forehead, will larger.

Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may be true.    5     He will still be a human being with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.

【推荐2】Everyone has probably seen a movie or two about robots going against man. As a kid it was interesting, but not a reality. But today. when we look at how far scientists have come, it's not just a funny thought but a real possibility.

Honda has already created a robot with eyes, legs, arms and hands and it can act just like a person. There is no end to what a robot could do in the future. Just think what we can do in twenty to thirty years. We're dealing with almost an entire new species of human-like robots that could be cleverer than us. Can we continue to use these robots in a way that they serve us, or will they become so wise that they will want independence?

I am really not sure just how far scientists are going to perfect robots. But once this type of robot is made，they will be able to think, make decisions, sense the movement of others and decide what it wants to do.

A new invention has led to the introduction of a female robot, which was introduced at an entertainment show in Vegas. The robot called Roxy sells for between seven and ten thousand dollars. It is built to accompany females. This female robot companion is called true companion md you can find such robots on the Internet. Robots used to have limited uses, but now they are almost in every field, This has opened the door many dangerous possibilities in the future.

For generations, people have dreamed of traveling to Mars to explore Earth’s closest planetary neighbor. The American Space Agency, NASA, and other space agencies have announced plans to send people to the Red Planet.    1    .

In the United States, some volunteers are learning how people will react to months of separation from other humans on a Mars base.    2     But actually, they are living in Hawaii. The project is called HI-SEAS. NASA has provided financial support for the work.

Six people are living on a make-believe Mars Base. They are isolated high on top of Mauna Loa, a volcanic mountain on the Big Island of Hawaii, whose environment is as close to Mars as we can find on Earth.     3     When measured from its base, deep in the ocean, Mauna Loa is the second largest mountain in our solar system. Because it is so high, the land is not warm or rich with plants, like the rest of Hawaii. Visually, it is very similar to what you see on Mars. They can walk across red lava rock from the volcano and see the wonderful volcanic material. There is really no visible plant life or animal life.

The six member HI-SEAS crew is mostly self-sufficient. They take care of themselves.    4    

But the individuals bringing those supplies cannot communicate with volunteers inside the base. The current crew has been living in the base since October, and will stay until June. Crew members communicate with the outside world through e-mail and blogs. They also produce videos on the YouTube website.    5    

Food and supplies are brought to them.