【推荐1】Seeking adventure in the Alps this summer? Click here to find the mountain guides to help you make the most of your trip to the Alps.

【推荐3】Exploring Libraries

There are three branches of the New York Public Library in the Riverdale / Kings-bridge area, as well as a Bronx—wide branch. Each has thousands of books for lending, as well as weekly readings and concerts. Call branches for library hours.

●Bronx Library Center

310 E. Kingsbridge Road

(718) 5794244

The largest public library in the Bronx—this 8,000-square-foot center is NYPL’s first green library and features the system’s premier Latino and Puerto Rican Heritage Collection. Hours are Monday through Saturday, from 9 a. m. to 9 p. m. Sundays, noon to 6 p. m.

●Riverdale Library

5540 Mosholo Ave.

(718) 5491212

Across the street from Riverdale Neighborhood House, this branch has cathedral ceilings and is surrounded by trees and grass. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p. m. Friday and Saturday from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m.

●Kingsbridge Library

291 W. 231st St., at Corlear Avenue

(718) 548—5656

The Kingsbridge Library is the largest local library. It includes an outdoor garden, a multipurpose community room, and a teen area. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a. m. to 7 p. m. Friday and Saturday from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m.

●Van Cortlandt Library

3882 Cannon Place

(718) 543—5150

Located right along the B×1, B×2 and B×10 bus lines, this library is near the Jerome Park Reservoir and Van Cortlandt Park. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a. m. to 7 p. m. Friday and Saturday from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m.

All library patrons (用户) in these branches above are required to wear masks inside the building, says branch manager Rebecca Brown—Barbier. And for more information, please contact NYPL. org.

【推荐1】As a shift in the polar vortex (极地涡旋) swept across much of the US, many people in the country were hit with a sudden snap of cold. Heavy ice and snow coupled with fallen trees caused the outages in major cities, with companies unable to tell their customers when power will be restored.

Polar vortices were noticed long ago. But the first known use of the term “polar vortex” was in a magazine in 1853. Polar vortices are present year-round, but we don’t hear about them until they cause problems. They maintain freezing temperatures at the North and South poles by moving in tight counter-clockwise patterns. Polar vortices grow stronger in winter and weaken in summer. They are kept in place at the poles by another atmospheric current called the jet stream. However, when the jet streams weaken, the cold winds of the polar vortex are pushed southwards and it is during this time that people begin to pay attention!

In Texas, roads froze over, causing six traffic deaths, and many schools were shut-down. People are not the only Earthlings to struggle with the cold. Crops and animals are also freezing. This could have major consequences, especially if herds of cattle die. If snow blocks cattle, the animals can’t reach basic necessities like food and fresh water.

On a brighter note, some Texas cities were more prepared than others. For instance, Amarillo, which is located in North Texas, so they are more accustomed to colder temperatures. Amarillo is notable because the city was redesigned to stand up to severe winter storms. Officials have spread out fire stations to increase coverage of first responders, employed modified dump trucks for clearing ice, and upgraded civic centers to provide shelter during storms. Hopefully, other Texas cities will follow the good example set by Amarillo!

【推荐3】A new study has found that animals feign（假装）death for long periods of time in order to escape capture from their predators. How long they are motionless depends on the circumstances, but they can wait out their predators for quite a long time when their lives are in danger.

Animals stay still to avoid capture for different lengths of time. “Most intriguingly, Charles Darwin recorded a beetle that remained motionless for 23 minutes. Antlions, our favorite study creature in this regard, set a record of 61 minutes,” says lead author Nigel R. Franks from the University of Bristol.

Antlions are members of large group of insects. Antlion larvae（幼虫）dig pits in loose soil and then aggressively attack ants and other small insects that fall into the sandy pits. In another study, researchers dug sandpits to understand the physics of how antlion larvae build their pits. As part of their research they needed to weigh the individual larvae. When they put them onto the microbalance scale to weigh them, they noticed that the larvae remained motionless for long periods of time. “This made it ‘piece of cake’ to weigh them but it aroused researchers’ curiosity, ‘What on earth were they playing at?’” Franks says.

The researchers found that the amount of time the antlions remained stationary after being disturbed was unpredictable and was often quite lengthy. In researching other animals, they found that how long they wait to move again can depend on factors such as hunger and temperature, but it always varies.

This unpredictability is absolutely crucial for their survival, Franks says. For example, if a bird visits these antlion pits and the larvae “play dead”. the birds will fly around the antlions to see if they move. “Imagine if antlions always remained immobile for 5 minutes. In such case, the predator could look for alternate prey（猎物）and then return to its original one when the time is up,” he says. “If that happened, it would be a short life for the predictable death-feigner.” But because the time is unpredictable, the birds leave and go find something else to eat. The predators turn their attention from the unmoving prey that no longer catches their eye to something nearby that is a better alternative.