【推荐2】There’s a researcher in Denmark who has spent 25 years surveying insect populations by driving his old Ford Anglia down the same country roads and counting the number of small insects squashed (挤压) up against the glass window of his car. Back when he started, he’d regularly have to clean dead insects off his car. But in recent years, he has experienced a lot of “zero-insect days”. He recalls the joy of catching fireflies on his family farm in Texas as a child. With more streetlights and the switch to LED lights, it’s becoming harder for fireflies to spot potential mates.

Imagine a world without insects! We might breathe a sigh of relief at the thought of mosquito-free summers. However, a world with no insects is unlikely. Insects are being shifted to an unhappy state where there will be far more bedbugs (床虱) and mosquitoes and far fewer bees and monarch butterflies.

Those changes in biodiversity come with some results. Farmers may have to fight off more of the harmful insects that attack crops, for instance, and insect-pollinated fruits and vegetables will become hard to grow on a large scale. Some insect-eating animals will decline with a lack of food, which has already happened to some birds. Water and soil quality could also be in danger.

After knowing some facts, we may find that our attitude towards some insects has shifted from loathing (憎恶) to love, or at the very least, appreciation. We can know how much we benefit from insects, and what we stand to lose without them.

As researcher Martin puts it, “Our reliance on insects is like the Internet: When parts of the network are removed, the less Internet there is, until eventually it doesn’t work anymore.” A world without the Internet would be difficult but livable. The same can’t be said for a world without insects.

【推荐2】Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Trevor was kept mostly indoors for his earliest years, bound by the extreme measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s cruel white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.

Born a Crime is the story of a naughty young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and extremely religious mother, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty and abuse.

The stories here are by turns funny, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether living on caterpillars for dinner during hard times or being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, Trevor describes his world with a keen wit and incredible honesty. His stories form a moving and funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.

Throughout the book, Noah reveals many examples of his mother’s stubborn determination to prevent apartheid from suffocating her free spirit. Humor became a survival mechanism for both her and her son. In an interview, Noah said, “Laughter is an escape. I feel like laughter reminds you of your best self, your freest self.”

【推荐3】Mo Yan, a well-known (著名的) Chinese writer, won the Nobel Prize for literature (文学) in 2012. He was also the first Chinese writer who got this prize in history. When he was interviewed (采访), he said he was only a normal person who could tell stories. He especially thanked his mother. He thought his mother had a strong influence (影响) on him.

Mo Yan was born in a poor family in China’s rural (乡村的) area. When he was young, he was a little bit shy because he thought he wasn’t good-looking. His classmates often played jokes (取笑) on his look. That made him very upset. His mother encouraged him to face the fact bravely. She told him not to look down on (看不起) himself. She said it didn’t matter if a person didn’t have a good look and it was important to work hard and never give up. She hoped that his son would be a useful person in society.

Mo Yan didn’t let her mother down. He worked hard at writing. He wrote many famous novels, such as Hong Gao Liang (《红高粱》) and Wa (《娃》). His success tells us a truth, “Nobody can beat (打败) you unless you beat yourself.” Hold on to your dream and your dream will come true in the end.