【推荐1】Have you noticed how evenings cool off more in rural areas than they do in cities? Urban areas also tend to get hotter during the day than any nearby areas with lots of greenery.    1    

It’s mainly caused by the difference in materials that cover the ground in urban areas and the countryside. In the country, evaporation(蒸发)of water from soil and the leaves of plants helps to cool the air.    2    Having fewer plants, cities have less evaporation and are unable to cool down the temperature.

Dark colours are another problem. Dark objects absorb all wavelengths of light, making the temperature increase more noticeably. In contrast, white objects reflect all wavelengths of light energy.    3    Sadly, most parts of cities are covered by asphalt(沥青), steel, roofs and bricks which are often dark in colour.

    4    As people drive cars, heat buildings, and run air conditioners, cities are generating waste heat and pouring it into the atmosphere directly. The waste heat adds to the solar energy trapped by the tall buildings.

But cities don’t have to be so hot. Some cities have lightened their streets. This is done by covering black asphalt streets, parking lots, and dark roofs with a more reflective gray coating.     5    

Having more green spaces also helps. Plants serve as a natural air conditioner. They catch heat, release vapour(蒸汽)into the air, and take away heat, contributing to cooler, fresher cities.

【推荐2】After a decade of negotiations, nearly 200 countries have agreed to a new United Nations treaty(条约)to protect the world’s oceans, the first of its kind in 40 years. The High Seas Treaty aims to protect 30% of the open oceans by 2030, setting a plan in motion to preserve this vast area.

Oceans cover about 71% of the Earth’s surface and are home to countless species of animals and plants. They play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy planet. However, overfishing and pollution from ships and other sources have severely impinged on many marine (海洋的)species and ecosystems.

The last major UN sea treaty in 1982 described the “high seas” — the parts of the oceans that aren’t controlled by any country — but it did not protect them. The high seas, which account for two-thirds of the ocean, currently have only 1.2% of their massive area protected. A marine protected area(MPA)is an area in the sea with strict rules about fishing and other activities. While more and more countries have established MPAs in their waters, most are not connected, limiting their effectiveness for migratory(迁徙的)species.

Last December, over 110 countries committed to protecting 30% of their land and ocean areas by 2030．The High Seas Treaty now enables the extension of this goal to the entire ocean. It aims to make 30% of the high seas become protected areas by 2030 and requires that proposed activities on the high seas undergo assessment for their potential impact on the ocean environment.

Reaching the agreement was challenging due to differing views on ocean protection among countries, such as limits on fishing or pollution. Disagreements also arose over sharing resources between rich and poor nations, with the latter seeking an assurance that resources benefit everyone, not just those in wealthy countries.

The treaty is not yet final and must be officially accepted at a UN meeting. Then it must be approved and signed by enough countries before it takes effect.

【推荐1】Our supposedly shrinking attention spans are a hot topic these days—as you may have seen on TV or heard on a podcast or read on Twitter or glimpsed on your watch. A 2018 Microsoft report claimed the average human attention span had shrunk from 12 seconds in 2008 to eight seconds in 2018 (even shorter than the nine seconds of focus maintained by the easily distracted goldfish), most likely on its way to zero.

Yes, this sort of warning is as old as the hills. An 1897 article in The American Electrician worried that a growing dependence on the telephone would turn us all into “transparent heaps of jelly”. But while the idea of addiction to smartphones is controversial, numerous studies have found that compulsive phone use can lead to separation anxiety, chronic fear of missing out and a painful thumb condition.

Yet blaming smart phones for our distraction feels too easy—human attention has always been fleeting. A study conducted several years before the first iPhone was released found that workers spent an average of just two minutes using a particular tool or document before switching to another. Moreover, interruptions may have an advantage. Many workers who prevented themselves from distraction by website-blocking software became more aware of time’s passage and were able to work for longer stretches—but also reported higher stress levels as a result of their sustained focus.

For those seeking to exercise greater control over their attention span, science has some suggestions. A 2016 study found that mindfulness meditation (正念冥想) led to short-term improvements in attention, and that the long-term benefits of frequent mindfulness were significantly large among heavy multimedia multitaskers.

Ultimately, it’s worth asking: How long do we really want our attention span to be? A little mindfulness can be beneficial, while too much sustained focus can elevate our stress levels. What’s lacking these days, then, may not be attention so much as self-control in the face of countless distractions that are inviting and diverting (有趣的). In the end, it seems like our only hope as a people, as a civilization, really, is to... to, um—sorry. Lost my train of thought.

【推荐2】Over the past few years, the amount and types of data available on the Internet and, in particular, the speed at which we can process the data, have increased to an extent few people could have imagined. As a result, many new business models have appeared.

One such model is a large corporation arranging to have another company, often located in a different country, perform essential tasks. This became possible with the growth of reliable and secure communications and the ability to move massive amounts of data over long distances in an instant. A company in the United States, for instance, first scans all its bills, orders, and wage payments into the computer and sends the documents to an accounting center in, say, Costa Rica. Basic accounting activity is then carried out at that site. Next, the data is returned via the Internet to the original company, where high- level analysis is done.

A second model is one in which work is divided into smaller, more specific tasks performed by individuals in different geographical locations. For example, specialists living at a great distance from each other can work together to produce a new semiconductor (半导体) design. A member of the group living in California does some initial work on the project and uploads the result onto a server. A colleague in Japan makes further additions to the design. Next, someone in Israel accesses it and does his/her part of the job. Finally the group member in California downloads it and gives it a final check. Thus, specialists in different parts of the world team cooperate to complete a single project.

Now, more and more people are taking advantage of the career opportunities that the IT Revolution has opened up. In this way, the best talent in the world can be chosen for each task wherever he or she is.

【推荐3】Everyone has a name and it is said that the name is important for the whole life of the person.     1     There are some factors that should be considered.

Other than the sex difference, the other significant difference of children’s names is between modern and traditional names.     2     It has been used for quite a long time, like George or Elizabeth. A modern name is one that is usually made-up, which seems to be creative or meaningful, like Jayden or Dallas.

    3     Many parents need their kids to have traditional names. Picking a traditional name has always been a protected decision for parents, because it is more normal and acknowledged as “would be expected” names. But one of the disadvantages is that traditional names are too normal and usually used by many people.     4    

Modern names are more popular now than before. Many parents are making progress towards the uniqueness they want to bring to their kids. However, some parents don’t care for the modern names because they are difficult to pronounce and surprisingly harder to spell.     5     It may take a long time to remember the modern name of a person.

Picking a name for a child is parents’ advantage and duty. Do try to pick a good name for your kid, which will influence him or her greatly.

【推荐3】At Sushiro’s Namba Amza restaurant, empty plastic cups and plates move along a belt. To one side, behind a plastic screen, a worker watches computer screens carefully. It’s the development studio of Sushiro, the leading force in Japan’s sushi (寿司) industry. Developers make improvements for the restaurant chains to deliver plates of freshly made sushi to diners’ tables with lightning speed,and stay one step ahead in business.

The studio represents a typical Sushiro restaurant. “Here we can ensure that the delivery system works properly and sends the right order to the right customer quickly,” said Masato. ”It’s not exactly top secret, but our neighbors have no idea what we do here.”

At Namba Amza, each plate is fitted with a tag (标签) that is helpful in the process. The tags are read by sensors below the belt. “In the early days of serving sushi, cooks had no idea what people wanted. We use AI to examine which dishes stand out from the rest at particular restaurants nowadays in customers’ eyes,” said Yutaka. Diners use a touch panel (面板) to choose from 150 items. Their bill is worked out quickly, and payment is made via a machine at the exit.

At the back of the kitchen, a robot makes tiny blocks of rice at the rate of about 3,600 an hour. It’s impossible for a chef to do that as quickly as it. Further down the production line, another machine covers pieces of rice for the cooks to finish plating. The machine is programmed to make the sushi look like it’s been made with human hands. They are not just normal blocks of rice.

But there are certain tasks that still need human labor, such as cutting the fish and placing it on rice. “Clearing the plates and cleaning the tables are also difficult for machines,” Sakaguchi said. “But the labor shortage is making it increasingly hard to find staff, so we need more help from machines.”