【推荐2】A day in the life of a sun bear is what you might expect from the name: sunny. In its natural habitat, the sun bear spends over 80 percent of its active waking time in daylight.

But when disturbed by human activity, that changes dramatically. In areas where people are pushing into the sun bear’s habitat, the animals are spending 90 percent of their waking time after dark. Effectively, the threat of human presence is making the sun bear change into “the moon bear”.

Led by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, the study found that human activity is driving scores of mammals to shift their activity from the daytime into the dark hours of the night. As many animals have already been forced out of their local habitats, others are attempting to avoid interaction with humans by separating themselves in time rather than in space.

For the work, the researchers examined the behaviors of 64 mammal species, including deer, tigers, boars, and, of course, sun bears. They observed increased nocturnal (夜间的) behavior in a large majority of them, with species that are naturally active during the day tending to shift their activity to after dark, and those that are naturally nocturnal becoming more so. The mammals affected ranged across body size, habitat type, region of the world, and diet.

Human activity of all sorts affect animals，lives, including activities like hunting, agriculture and land development, harvesting local natural resources, even hiking or walking through wild areas. Sport hunting in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe drove antelopes to spend more of their active waking hours at night, restricting their access to water. Similarly, hikers in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California made coyotes (郊狼) more nocturnal, forcing them to find new preys (猎物) among traditionally nocturnal animals.

The researchers warn that profound shifts in the natural behavior patterns of so many species disturb dynamics that have evolved over generations, leading to a series of unknown effects on the entire ecosystems.

【推荐3】Our first welcome to Britain wasn’t from the staff of Heathrow Airport or the coach driver who took us to our new city and new home for the next three weeks. It was, in fact, the noisy and energetic seagulls full of songs that flew down to us. When leaving from the plane exits, we still could hear their loud and clear songs through the glasses. It was unbelievable that they lifted our spirits and cheered us up after our stupidly long and awful journey.

These seagulls welcomed us into the new home with open wings. If they could speak instead of merely squawking, I’m sure we would have established some bright and harmonious relationship. They liked to hover overhead around with childlike greetings or just simply walk fearlessly close to our feet. Some of us saved bread our host family prepared for these friends and really enjoyed their company.

But my hostess, Julie, doesn’t think so. Strangely enough, she couldn’t give any reasons. The squawk-proof double-glazing that is closed explains. Perhaps she prefers to sleep with her windows open but she always fails to do that, because those birds seem to enjoy staying up till next morning, doing nothing but scream. And they decide to keep doing so every single night. Furthermore, every time she has to wash the marble floor of the gardens, Julie would look up around, curse the seagulls for droppings and say to me with a sad smile, “They are friendly to you.”

But stop thinking that she hates the creatures and never plans to have a change, because there is another side to her evident feelings towards the birds. Every time we go shopping, Julie never forgets to put a big bag of wild birdseed into her carriage which costs quite more than milks or juices for one week. I can see what it goes for since she refills the wild bird feeder before a big hurry to drive to work every morning and when working she knows what is happening back at home — seagulls are enjoying the seed.

I’m leaving soon and not likely, though I hope not, to get back to see my friends here in England in the future. I said I would miss all friends living here including the seagulls. And when Julie was refilling the feeder again, she said, “They’re nice but they are not my friends.”

【推荐2】In January 2017, I left a 30-year career in radio to find a new path. Fear, doubt, and anxiety filled my life at that time. I had no idea where life was going to take me.

Anything new in life can be exciting, but it can also come with anxiety. I was beginning a new career with little experience. The language on the ramp(舷梯)was foreign to me. What is involved with a “turn” (a plane being downloaded and loaded) was foreign to me. All of the excitement I had about this job on the first day was slowly changing to fear and doubt by week three.

After two weeks in the classroom, it was time for training on the ramp. On my first day as a trainee, I was partnered with a man named Fernando. My job was zone assist. A zone assist is usually at the back of the plane, bringing the belt loader(带式行李装载机)to the aircraft, unloading the back bins(箱子), servicing the drinking water, and wing walking at a push(紧急时). I was 48 years old at the time and had been without extreme physical activity since high school, so I was about to hit the ramp for the first time in extremely hot conditions.

Another deep fear I had, other than hurting myself, was damaging an airplane. Granted, things happen and we’re human. But making a mistake and damaging a plane that could lead to a delay or taking it out of service would be a disaster for a ramp agent. With that in mind, I was so nervous driving the belt loader up the airplane.

Fernando and I did eight turns that day. I don’t remember how many bags I downloaded. Eventually, I got through the day, tired and sore afterwards. Looking at the schedule for the next day, I believed I would do it better.

【推荐3】When I was a little boy, my mom, dad, brothers and I lived in my grandma’s old house, surrounded by four huge vegetable gardens. Around the house she planted so many flowers. On the back porch grandma had dozens of potted plants hanging on hooks. She watered them, talked to them and nurtured them. And in winter she would carry them all inside and set them on shelves near the windows of our enclosed front porch. There with a little water and a lot of love she kept them alive and growing even during the darkest months.

As a boy I was puzzled by all the effort she put into them. I comprehended the four huge gardens. They helped to feed the family all winter long. I even recognized the flowers around the house. They were pretty and smelled so sweet in the summer months. The reason she put so much effort into caring for those potted plants, however, troubled me. They didn’t give us any food and they rarely had any flowers on them. They remained a mystery to my child’s mind.

Now as I’ve grown older, I am beginning to understand why my grandma had those potted plants. It is the same reason I have so many pictures of sunrises and forests hanging in my home. They remind me during the dark winter months full of bare trees and yellow grass that light, love and growth still exist. They remind me that spring will come again.

Today I see grandma’s potted plants in a new light. They were worth every bit of the love and care she put into them. But my greatest reminder of light and love was grandma herself. Her love lives on in my heart although she is in Heaven. May we all learn to love as she loved, shine as she shined and live as she lived!