【推荐1】Exoplanets: The Hunt Is On

Today scientists believe that planets could outnumber the stars. For centuries, scientists and natural philosophers have indicated that stars in the night sky have planetary systems similar to our own solar system.    1    However, we have developed the technology to prove their existence only in the last few decades.

In 2015 NASA’s Kepler space telescope found its first Earth-sized planet in a “habitable” zone. This is the distance from a star where surface temperatures of a planet wouldn’t be too hot or too cold for liquid water. So far, only a small part of our galaxy, the Milky Way, has been explored.    2    

Because exoplanets are so far away and very close to stars, it is very difficult to see them directly.    3     For example, as a planet circles a star, it pulls on it and causes it to shake. As the star moves unsteadily, it changes the wavelength of the light we see. Measuring these slight changes is another method of discovering planets.    4     When an exoplanet moves between its star and us, it causes a small drop in the star’s brightness. By measuring this drop, NASA’S Kepler space telescope has discovered many exoplanets.

    5     As time progresses and technology improves, who knows what else we may find!

【推荐3】Scientists are confused about two newly discovered stars. The two stars, one of which was announced this month in the journal Nature, send out long pulses (脉冲) of radio waves about every 20 minutes. This means they move much more slowly, and they have other characteristics that astronomers can’t explain. “We are all still quite amazed,” says astronomer Natasha Hurley-Walker, who led the discovery of both of these surprising sources.

The mystery began in 2021, when Hurley-Walker and her colleagues discovered a slowly repeating radio pulse. It shone for three months. But by the time they discovered it in the records, its activity had died down, and it had become invisible in the skies. In a January 2022 paper, the scientists suggested the object could be a kind of star called a magnetar (磁陀星). But the object, with the name GLEAM-X J162759.5-523504.3, sent out a pulse every 18 minutes instead of every few seconds like known magnetars.

It also had no X-ray signal associated with the radio emission (发射), which doesn’t fit with magnetar theories. And strangely, the object’s magnetic field was likely much stronger than previously seen. So the scientists began looking for other similar objects. In June 2022. Hurley-Walker and her colleagues began observing the entire visible sky every three nights. Almost immediately, they found something that sent out a radio flash every 21 minutes.

At first glance, it looked similar to the previously discovered object. But once the team began to dig through data for additional pulses from this source, named GPM J1839-10, the object only seemed more perplexing. Unlike the first star, the signal of J1839-10 was detected over decades.

For now, researchers assume both objects are the same. But why would one flash for three months and the other for 33 years and counting? “I don’t know,” says Hurley-Walker. “That’s the problem.”

【推荐2】The practice of students endlessly copying letters and sentences from a blackboard is a thing of the past. With the coming of new technologies like computers and smart phones, writing by hand has become something of a nostalgic(怀旧的) skill. However, while today's educators are using more and more technology in their teaching, many believe basic handwriting skills are still necessary for students to be successful-both in school and in life.

Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says it's important to continue teaching handwriting and help children acquire the skill of writing by hand. Berninger and her colleagues conducted a study that looked at the ability of students to complete various writing tasks-both on a computer and by hand. The study found that when writing with a pen and paper, participants wrote longer essays and more complete sentences and had a faster word production rate.

In a more recent study, Berninger looked at what role spelling plays in a student's writing skills and found that how well children spell is tied to how well they can write, “Spelling makes some of the thinking parts of the brain active, which helps us access our vocabulary, word meaning and concepts. It is allowing our written language to connect with ideas.” Berninger said.

Spelling helps students translate ideas into words in their mind first and then to transcribe(转换) “those words in the mind into written symbols on paper or keyboard and screen”, the study said. Seeing the words in the “mind’s eye” helps children not only to turn their ideas into words, but also to spot spelling mistakes when they write the words down and to correct them over time.

“In our computer age, some people believe that we don't have to teach spelling because we have spell checks.” she said. “But until a child has a functional spelling ability of about a fifth-grade level, they won't have the knowledge to choose the correct spelling among the options given by the computer.”

【推荐3】Do you ever talk to yourself? Although it’s not always a conscious habit, most of us practice self-talk on a daily basis, as away of guiding, motivating or supporting ourselves.

Over the years, research has shown that self-talk can increase productivity, motivation and confidence, and even help manage feelings. “There is solid evidence that self-talk strategies improve learning and performance,” according to sport psychologist Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis, who studies the phenomenon of self-talk.

He explains that there are generally three reasons why we practice self-talk: to instruct, to motivate or to evaluate. Instructional self-talk happens when we need to guide ourselves through a specific task, such as learning a new skill. Motivational self-talk usually is used when we want to prepare ourselves for something challenging; it can help to increase confidence. Evaluative self-talk mostly is related to past events or actions.

Hatzigeorgiadis stresses that if we want to use such self-talk to good advantage, it needs to be short, precise and, most of all, consistent. Of course, self-talk also can be ineffective and even detrimental if it’s not done right.

“It is a matter of personal preference or what works for each person; but generally, it is advised that self-talk be positively rather than negatively phrased and focus on what you should do rather than on what you should avoid,” Hatzigeorgiadis says. So, for example, it would be better to say “stay cool” instead of “don’t get upset”. Although both instructions convey the same meaning, you should use positive words rather than negative ones. In this way you can avoid ill results.

Another thing that can make a difference when practicing self-talk is the way you address yourself. According to research published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, using “you” rather than “I” when talking to yourself tends to be more effective. The researchers explain that when you think of yourself as another person, it allows you to give more objective and useful feedback.

【推荐1】

The Leshan Giant Buddha is a statue of Maitreya in sitting posture. The Buddha lies to the east of Leshan City, Si-chuan Province, facing Min River, Qingyi River, and Dadu River. In December, 1996, the Buddha was included by the UNESCO on the list of the World Heritage Sites.

The construction of the statue began in the year 713 in the Tang Dynasty, and finished in the year 803. The Buddha is 71 meters high. The 9-meter-long instep is big enough for one hundred people to sit on and the 24-meter-wide shoulder is large enough to be a basketball playground.

A monk called Hai Tong is connected with the Buddha forever. At that time, wild waters brought out many boat accidents and people just put the disaster down to the presence of a water spirit. So Hai Tong decided to make a statue beside the river thinking that the Buddha would bring the water spirit under control. After 20 years’ begging from door to door, he finally collected enough money for the plan. When some local government officials tried to get this amount of money, Hai Tong said that they could get his eyeballs but not the money raised for the Buddha. After Hai Tong dug out his eyeballs, these officials ran away in horror. The project was half done when Hai Tong passed away, and two of his disciples continued the work. After a total of 90 years’ hard work, the project was finally completed.