【推荐1】Beijing’s Forbidden City is a place full of wonder. From its thousands of rooms to its many beautiful artifacts (工艺品), there’s no wonder it’s one of China’s most popular tourist destinations.

But even more than 600 years after it was built, it’s still managing to serve up surprises.

Since it was built during the Ming Dynasty, it’s estimated that the Forbidden City has survived more than 200 earthquakes.

And while most structures aren’t made to survive natural disasters, let alone ones built hundreds of years ago, it seems that the Forbidden City was built to withstand anything.

A recent television documentary by UK broadcaster Channel 4 explored the skills of the ancient building’s designers. A group of Chinese carpenters and engineers were shown building a model of one of the Forbidden City’s palaces, at one fifth of the size.

To show how strong ancient Chinese architecture really is, the model was put to the test. It was subjected to an artificial earthquake of 9.5 on the Richter scale equal to the largest ever recorded quake and survived. Instead of falling apart, the model was just moved gently during the test.

According to experts, the answer to the Forbidden City’s strength, as well as other ancient Chinese structures’, lies in dougong-a centuries-old building method invented in China.

This is the name for special holders on buildings. Despite being held together without any nails or glue, the holders are perfect at keeping structures together when the weather gets rough.

“Dougong design is an important earthquake-proof feature of classical Chinese structures because the framework changes in shape when under pressure, much like the shock absorbers (减震器) of a car, ”according to Chinese National Geography.

“Ancient Chinese craftsmen created structures that were both enduring and aesthetically (在美学方面) pleasing［using dougong］, revealing their advanced understanding of mathematics, architecture,   materials, and structural science.”

The Forbidden City draws visitors because of its rich history and cultural significance, but perhaps it should add one more thing to its list of attractions: earthquake shelter.

【推荐2】Sometimes shipwrecks (沉船) contain sunken treasure, loads of gold or jewelry. Other shipwrecks are themselves the treasure— the stories of their ill-fated voyages creating a legend that makes them sparkle far more than any gold or precious stones.

The wreck of HMS Endurance, which has finally been located deep beneath the icy seas of Antarctica after being lost 107 years ago, was arguably the most valuable shipwreck ever sought. That’s because its discovery adds another thrilling new chapter to an already fascinating tale of perseverance and survival that has echoed down the decades and still inspires today.

Incredibly well preserved at a depth of almost two miles, the ship is little changed from the day in November 1914 when it finally sank beneath the ice. Endurance became embedded in ice while crossing Antarctica’s Weddell Sea. The video shot by underwater search vehicles shows painted timbers, an undamaged guardrail (护栏) and the name “Endurance” written above the five-pointed symbol of a polar star.

“I tell you, you would have to be made of stone not to feel a bit soft at the sight of that star and the name above, “Mensun Bound, the mission’s marine archaeologist, told the BBC. “You can see a porthole (舷窗) that is in Shackleton’s cabin. At that moment, you really do feel the breath of the great man upon the back of your neck.” Shackleton’s leadership was crucial to getting his men out alive. The reason why Shackleton is still applauded as a great man becomes obvious when you consider what he achieved in the face of disasters and hardships during his 1914-16 expedition. The practicality and humanity he showed in the face of severe situations was arguably praised.

【推荐3】When a leafy plant is under attack, it doesn't sit quietly. Back in 1983,two scientists,Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin, reported that young maple trees (枫树) getting bitten by insects send out a particular smell that neighboring plants can get. These chemicals come from the injured parts of the plant and seem to be an alarm. What the plants send through the air is a mixture of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds,VOCs for short.

Scientists have found that all kinds of plants give out VOCs when being attacked. It's a plant's way of crying out. But is anyone listening? Obviously. Because we can watch the neighbors react.

Some plants give out smelly chemicals to keep insects away. But others do double duty. They give out smells designed to attract different insects who are natural enemies to the attackers. Once they arrive, the tables are turned. The attacker who was launching now becomes lunch.

In study after study, it appears that these chemical conversations help the neighbors. The damage is usually more serious on the first plant, but the neighbors, relatively speaking,stay safer because they heard the alarm and knew what to do.

Does this mean that plants talk-to-each-other? Scientists don't know. Maybe the first plant just made a cry of pain or was sending a message to its own branches, and so in effect,was talking to itself. Perhaps the neighbors just happened to "overhear” the cry. So information was exchanged,but it wasn’t a true, intentional back and forth.

Charles Darwin, over 150 years ago,imagined a world far busier, noisier and more intimate (亲密的) than the world we can see and hear. Our senses are weak. There's a whole lot going on.

【推荐1】Tree planting used to be regarded as an effective means of controlling climate change. Perhaps it’s time for us to rethink this practice.

Trees pull carbon dioxide or CO2 from the air. This effectively removes CO2 from the atmosphere, making trees an important part of the fight against climate change. But trees only hold onto carbon dioxide as long as they’re alive. Once they die, trees will rot and release that CO2 back into the atmosphere.

Recent studies have found that trees around the world are growing faster than ever. Rising CO2, mainly due to burning fossil fuels, is probably driving that rapid growth, said Roel Brienen, a forest ecologist at the University of Leeds, UK. High levels of this gas are increasing temperatures, which in turn speeds tree growth in those areas, he added.

The faster trees grow, the faster they store carbon. It seems like good news. However, it is known that fast-growing tree species, in general, live shorter lives than their slow-growing relatives.

In order to see whether the growth-lifespan trade-off (生长和寿命之间的权衡) is a universal phenomenon, Brienen and his colleagues analyzed over 210,000 individual tree ring records of 110 tree species from more than 70,000 sites worldwide. “By measuring tree rings’ widths one can tell how fast trees grew, while counting rings provides information on tree ages and allows making inferences about trees’ maximum lifespan,” Brienen explained.

The team also created a computer program that modeled a forest and tweaked (轻微调整) the growth of the trees in this model. Early on, it showed that “the forest could hold more carbon as the trees grew faster”, Brienen reported. But after 20 years, these trees started dying and losing this extra carbon again. “We must understand that the only solution to bring down CO2 levels is to stop emitting (排放) it into the atmosphere,” said Brienen.

【推荐2】Take a look at that tree in the local park. What might it be feeling? Could it be thinking? Experiments are exploring the idea of plant cognition, even going so far as to suggest they possess some form of consciousness.

As wild as it sounds, it isn’t a new idea. The field of “plant neurobiology (神经生物学)” began in 2006, aimed at understanding how plants process information from their environment.

It is now clear that plants are capable of complex communication and can sense their surroundings, which were originally dismissed. But advocates of plant consciousness take things further and draw parallels between the electrical signaling that can be found from root to stem and that present in the nervous system of animals. They claim to show that plants are capable of intentionally choosing to perform certain behaviors, of learning and perhaps even having personalities. If plants are experiencing a conscious inner world, they argue, it becomes vital that we find ways to test and understand it.

Extending the concept of cognition to plants would mean a significant shift in our view of the uniqueness of humanity, not to mention how we treat our botanical friends, so the bar of acceptance is high. Researchers rising to the challenge are hoping to explore plants with tools usually reserved for the human brain.

The research can appear persuasive, but it is in its early stage and suffers from repeated failure. Critics say the field is a high guess and that the behaviour can be explained through inborn response.

Whether we decide that plants have cognition may come down to our ability to describe consciousness itself-something we are far from doing. But rather than dismiss the idea, we should welcome the chance to think up new ways to test our understanding of consciousness. It might just improve our grasp of the human mind. At the very least, our trees and plants should benefit from the extra attention—consciously or not.

【推荐3】Plants have been important to humans since the beginning of time. They provide shelter; their beauty inspires joy and many plants can cure illnesses. Now, a new use has been discovered, with a recent study showing a super plant that cleans polluted air.

Realizing that car pollution is a global concern, researchers set out to study how effective plants are at capturing particulates (捕捉微粒) on the roadside. These particulates lead to many health issues. The scientists selected the city of Reading to do their study. Since previous research has shown that trees help remove air pollution, researchers decided to explore the effectiveness of hedges (树篱). This study looked at three species.

Researchers discovered that Cotoneaster (栒子) was the most effective after comparing particulates on leaves of these three plants. The very existence of the plant’s complex leaf structure contributed to this. Researchers also found that thick hedges over six-feet high were best at reducing particulates. In the most heavily trafficked areas, Cotoneaster took in 20 percent more pollution than other plants. Originally from China, Cotoneaster is an evergreen that can live, through the cold winter, even though temperatures drop to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dr. Tijana Blanusa, a co-author of the study, said, “We know that in just seven days, a 1-metre length of well-managed hedge will take in the same amount of pollution that a car sends out over a 500-mile drive.” Blanusa suggests planting Cotoneaster along busy roads.

This is great news for urban planners and Landscapers, as well as gardeners. Although many people are affected by roadside pollution, a survey shows that only six percent of gardeners are active in selecting specific plants that may clean up the air.

Thanks to this recent study, Cotoneaster has proved to be extremely beneficial, enabling gardener and landscapers to make a positive difference to the environment. The hope is that once these super plants are grown in urban gardens and on streets, they will clean the air and provide beauty along the way.