【推荐1】Insects could disappear within a century at current rate of decline, says Global Review.

The world’ s insects are moving quickly down the path to dying out, indicating a disastrous collapse（崩溃）of nature’ s ecosystems is likely to happen, according to the first global scientific review. More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction（灭绝）is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles.

“It should be of huge concern to all of us, for insects are at the heart of every food web—they pollinate（授粉） the large majority of plant species, keep the soil healthy, recycle nutrients, control pests, and much more. Love them or hate them, we humans cannot survive without insects,” said Prof Dave Goulson at the University of Sussex in the UK.

The analysis, published in the journal Biological Conservation, says intensive agriculture is the main driver of the declines, particularly the heavy use of pesticides（杀虫剂）. Urbanisation and climate change are also significant factors.

One of the biggest impacts of insect loss is on the many birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish that eat insects. A small number of adaptable species are increasing in number, but not nearly enough to outweigh the big losses.

Matt Shardlow, at the conservation charity Buglife, said, “It is alarming to see this collation（整理） of evidence that shows the state of the world’ s insect populations. It is increasingly obvious that the planet’ s ecology is breaking and there is a need for an intense and global effort to stop and reverse（反转）these terrible trends.”

【推荐2】Many people say dolphins are intelligent. They seem to be able to think, understand, and learn things quickly. But are they as smart as humans, or are they more like cats and dogs?     1    .But scientists say dolphins and humans are alike in some ways. How?

Like humans, every dolphin has its own ”name.“ The name is a special whistle(哨声).Each dolphin chooses a whistle for itself, usually by its first birthday. Dolphins are like people in other ways, too. They “talk” to each other about a lot of things—such as their age, their feelings, and possible danger.     2    . Understanding dolphin conversation is not easy for humans. No one ”speaks dolphin" yet, but some scientists are trying to learn.

    3    . They often join other dolphins to play games and have fun together, just like people. Sometimes they run after other dolphins carrying objects and throw these objects back and forth. Scientists believe playing together is something only intelligent animals do.

Dolphins and humans are similar in another way:     4    . In the seas of southern Brazil, for example, dolphins use an intelligent method to get food. When there are fish near a boat, dolphins signal to the fishermen to put their nets in the water. With the dolphins’ help, the men can catch a lot of fish. Why do dolphins help the men? There is an advantage for the dolphins:     5    .

【推荐2】Adopting a pet is rapidly becoming the preferred option for many people wanting to add an animal companion. It’s true that many people are happy to part with thousands of dollars for purebred(纯种的)dogs and cats.     1    

Homeless animals can make wonderful pets. People often assume that dogs and cats end up in shelters because they’re unwanted or badly behaved. There are many reasons owners may need to re-home their pet-divorce, hospitalization, or the time and money needed to care for a dog.     2    

Adult animals have benefits. Shelters have a wide range of potential pets and there are many benefits from adopting a more mature dog or cat. Not starting from scratch helps avoid much of the craziness and mess associated with puppies. They will already be vaccinated, so you will have fewer start-up costs.     3     A young animal’s behaviour may still be developing, whereas an older animal’s personality and behaviour should be evident, so no surprises.

    4     You should only adopt a dog or cat from a trusted shelter or rescue group. Ethical establishments will have a behavioral trainer to assess the character of every dog and cat. The staff should ask you lots of questions to recommend the most suitable pet. Ongoing behaviour and training advice should be available, and you should be able to return the pet if things don’t word out.

There’s something else to keep in mind. It’s important for you to only select a pet that will suit your lifestyle, not a pet you feel sorry for.     5     There’s a lot of responsibility associated with managing animals appropriately.

【推荐3】At this time of year, with the nights closing in spring can seem very far away. For hill farmers, the call of the Eurasian curlew(白腰杓鹬) will be a reminder that winter is nearly over for another year. However, there are some parts of the UK and Ireland where farmers are no longer hearing their call.

Around early March, the curlew moves inland to breed, remaining obviously faithful to the sites where they have bred before. Their preferred nesting sites are rough grassland and moorland , which provide a mix of both open areas to feed and low bushes in which to hide their nests.

So why should we be concerned? The curlew is in serious trouble. The number of breeding curlews across the UK has dropped by 48% since the mid-90s. There are less than 150 pairs remaining in Ireland, down from 3, 750—4, 000 pairs in the late '80s, which is a disastrous decline of 96%. In southern and eastern England, recent surveys have shown there are fewer than 300 pairs remaining. Consequently, the curlews in Ireland and southern and eastern England are thought to be at the risk of upcoming extinction, while declines in the UK are also of serious concern. This is a potential disaster, not only for the UK and Ireland, but also the world as we are home to up to 27% of the global breeding population。.

What is driving the decline? What seems to be the problem? Firstly, the curlew is long-lived and should be able to keep stable numbers if each pair raises one baby bird every couple of months. Unfortunately, in many areas their breeding success rate is much lower. The main cause of this lack of production is loss of suitable living places due to land use change, such as agricultural practices and forestry. Secondly, their enemies, including foxes and crows, have multiplied rapidly over the last few decades

The challenge of responding to the problem is huge particularly as the curlews widely spread all over the lands. We cannot lose the curlew so how can we make a difference?

【推荐2】I passed my driving test at the fourth attempt. You might think that means I’m not as safe as someone who passed for the first time. But would you feel safer with no driver at all? Maybe not, and it’s for this reason that automotive firms have included driver-assist functions in their prototype (原型) driverless cars. This allows the human driver to take over if there is a problem.

Google is one manufacturer that has prototype driverless cars. These have been equipped with steering wheels and conventional controls to allow normal driving. But this is just a stage — the vision is to have fully automated cars very soon. The director of Google’s self-drive project, Chris Urmson, hopes his 11-year-old son will never have to take a driving test. To achieve that, the cars need to be on the roads in five years. He says driverless cars will greatly reduce accidents and traffic jams.

According to Chris, “about 1.2 million people are killed on the roads around the world each year. That number is equivalent to a jet falling out of the sky every day.” He thinks gradual changes to existing car designs are not enough to deal with the problem. “If we are really going to make changes to our cities and get rid of parking lots, we need self-drive cars,” he says.

Google’s prototypes have covered over a million kilometers on the road. They have also had to deal with unexpected situations, such as a child driving a toy car in the road, and a woman in an electric wheelchair chasing a duck. In each case, they reacted safely.

Some are not convinced. Seven Beiker of Stanford University thinks driverless cars will still need human input in extreme circumstances. He also worries that people may forget how to operate their vehicles if they do not do it regularly. “I guess I shouldn’t throw away my driver’s license just yet,” he says.

【推荐3】If you are planning on travelling, there are few simple rules about how to make life easier both before and after your journey.

First of all, always check and doublecheck departure(出发) time. It is surprising how few people really do this carefully. Once I arrived at the airport a few minutes after ten. My secretary had got the ticket for me and I thought she had said that the plane left at 10:50. When I arrived at the airport, the person at the departure desk told me that my flight was closed. Therefore, I had to wait three hours for the next one and missed an important meeting.

The second rule is to remember that even in this age of credit cards(信用卡), it is still important to have some local money in cash(现金). Once I arrived at a place at midnight and the bank at the airport was closed. The only way to get to my hotel was by taxi but because I had no dollars, I offered to pay in pounds instead. “Listen! I only take real money!” the driver said angrily. You can image how terrible I felt at that moment.

The third and the last rule is to find out as much as you can about the weather at your destination before you leave. I feel sorry for some of my workmates who travel in heavy suits and raincoats in May, when it is still fairly cool in London or Manchester, to places like Athens, Rome or Madrid, where it is already beginning to get quite warm during the day.