【推荐2】On Wednesday a powerful earthquake hit Amatrice that was at the epicenter, which is the point in the earth's surface directly above where the earthquake happens. The town's clock tower was the only building still standing. Italy's prime minister said the earthquake had killed at least 120 people, and warned that the number might increase. There were several villages that were affected in farther mountainous areas. The earthquake was also felt as far away as Rome, 100 miles from the epicenter.

Earthquakes can't be predicted. There are warning systems that can save some lives, but only under certain conditions. Unlike a tornado warning where radar can see it and issue a warning before it, an earthquake warning happens when the earth is already shaking. We don't have a system that can predict when the earth is going to shake. Our warning system is based on the fact that the earth is already shaking. The warning depends on how far you are from the earthquake epicenter. If you're at an earthquake epicenter, you're going to get no warning. If you're far away from the epicenter, we can give you some time to prepare.

Another condition is how close the sensor is to the epicenter. If the sensor is 10 miles away from the epicenter, it takes five seconds to get to that sensor. So, the more sensors we get, the more time we'll get as well. If you get 10 seconds notice of an earthquake that's happening, especially a big one, you can open up the lifts on the nearest floor. You can also stop all the things that are moving before the shaking gets there. If you're 30 miles away, your warning could be 15 seconds. It is 15 seconds that can save your life.

【推荐3】The remote pocket of Amhem Land, about 160 miles east of Darwin, is home to a host of threatened species, with stunning waterfalls, rock formations, and unspoiled forests. It is also the most fire-prone landscape on the planet, and up to one-third of northern Australia burns every year. However, fire isn’t just the problem — here, it’s also the solution.

During the cool of northern Australia’s early dry season, Indigenous rangers (土著护林员) weren’t fighting fires; they were lighting them. From April to July each year, they walk hundreds of miles armed with drip torches, setting the land alight, and conduct certain burns from the air, dropping incendiary pellets (燃烧弹) from helicopters. Damp vegetation, low winds, and lower temperatures at that time of year mean the fires they light are smaller and less intense, typically burning out overnight. If the land is burned gently, the wildfires that will come later won’t be as destructive. It also gives the rangers a fighting chance at putting them out.

Fighting fire with fire is not a new concept. In Arnhem Land, aboriginal elders say fire brings the land to life again; after a burn, the land is reborn. Fire was used by aboriginal people for hunting, for regeneration and for ceremony. They believed fire was the common thread. It would be a way of not just caring for country but also reconnecting with aspects of their culture. Ancient practice became modern reality through a novel approach. Aboriginal people combined customary knowledge on how, when, and where to burn with modern tools such as satellite mapping and helicopters to conduct aerial burning and drop firefighters into remote areas. Strategic fires in the early dry season, along with firefighting in the late dry season, limit wildfires, protecting forests and reducing the overall amount of smoke.

“It’s hugely innovative and globally significant,” says Shaun Ansell, the former CEO of Warddeken L and Management. “With the ranger program, you’re making that traditional knowledge and connection to country, and the history that surrounds it, valuable,” Ansell adds.

【推荐1】Off southern California seashores, the newcomers are starting to approach and they desire the nice and comfortable waters nearer to shore, which mean many beachgoers who at the moment are enjoying themselves have by no means seen the white sharks earlier. “When the little guys begin to pop up, everybody hurries to determine what is happening,” stated Douglas J. MeCauley, a marine science professor.

A brand-new mission applying artificial intelligence (AI) referred to as SharkEye might help maintain observations of those fearsome fish at the beach and help our community share the ocean more safely with sharks. It was developed by Dr. MeCauley’s lab, using a small drone (无人机)—an unoccupied air vehicle equipped with a video camera. It once worked well in San Diego State College where scientists used it to study shark migrations.

SharkEye has been carrying out examinations over the past two summers at Padaro Beach in Santa Barbara County. It is a well-liked space for surf camps, which additionally turns out to be a nursery for young white sharks, featuring comfortable waters and adequate diet. Young sharks are usually sighted between April and October; however, hotspot locations and numbers can vary year by year. Adult sharks tend to spend more time offshore, but they can be sighed closer to the coast in the late fall through to February.

With SharkEye, a pilot launches a drone that travels along a preprogrammed path in the sky. It stays about 120 feet high, permitting it to rapidly scan a big space of the ocean. Meanwhile, it can be sufficient to keep away from bothering marine life. Researchers in the SharkEye program combine the visual data collected by the drone with relevant information on the temperature of the ocean and migratory patterns in order to create predictions about the likelihood of great whites showing up on a certain day, near a certain section of the beach.

Chris Keet, an area surf retailer, who provides summer season camps and personal classes at Padaro Beach, is now changing his enterprise(企业经营) based mostly on the SharkEye information. After SharkEye recorded 9 sightings of sharks in July, Mr. Keet determined to cancel a two-decade-old summer season custom—campers dive and swim out.

【推荐3】BEIJING, Oct.18 －World and regional leaders also congratulated China yesterday on the landing of Shenzhou VI, its second manned spaceship.

French President Jacques Chirac sent a message of congratulations on the successful return of Shenzhou VI, becoming the first foreign head of state to praise the spaceship’s mission (使命). Foreign media also widely covered the successful landing.

“China affirmed (确认) its place in one of the world’s most advanced clubs with the expected conclusion of a second manned space night,” The Christian Science Monitor, a newspaper based in Boston, reported yesterday.

“More than forty years after the US and Soviet Union had a similar achievement, China can still declare to put humans into orbit (轨道) on its own.

‘‘It was, as far as we know, what I’m sure they’d like to refer to as a picture-perfect mission,’’ Joan Johnson-Freese, an expert on China’s space program at the US Naval War College, said yesterday.

“Successful flights like Shenzhou VI build unity in the whole country. The nation will unite more closely.’’ said Anthony Curtis, a professor at the University of North Carolina, who followed China’s space program yesterday.

Beijing’s next manned mission, including a space-walk, will take off in 2007, followed by the building of an orbiting space station, which Curtis said would be practical within five years.

Leroy Chiao, a US astronaut with Chinese blood, told China Daily yesterday that there is a possibility for the United States and China to co-operate. After all, exploring space is not a piece of cake. It needs many top scientists to complete the high-tech mission.

He said in a telephone interview yesterday: ‘‘I would like to see opportunities for the two countries to set about co-operation personally.’’