【推荐1】Imagine wearing high-tech body armor (盔甲) that makes you super strong and tireless. Such technology, more specifically called an exoskeleton, sounds like the preserve of the Iron Man series of superhero movies. Yet the equipment is increasingly being worn in real life around the world. And one manufacturer — California’s SuitX — expects it to go mainstream. “There is no doubt in my mind that these devices will eventually be sold at hardware stores,” says SuitX’s founder Homayoon Kazerooni.

In simple terms, an exoskeleton is an external device that supports, covers and protects its user, giving greater levels of strength and endurance. Sometimes also referred to as “wearable robots”, they can be battery-powered and computer-operated, incorporating motors and hydraulics. Or they can be more simple, passive designs that use springs and dampeners.

“Integrating humans and machines into one system opens up a new realm of opportunity,” says Adrian Spragg, an expert on the technology at management consultancy Accenture. “Many of the early applications have been focused on military and medical applications, but in the last several years there’s been an explosion of use in a range of cases.” This expansion, which has come together with rapid advances in the technology, has seen exoskeletons increasingly used by manufacturing workers. Versions for consumers are also now being developed to help people more easily do everything from DIY, to walking, climbing stairs, and other daily activities. One report says sales are now due to rocket as a result. Global exoskeleton revenues (收入) are expected to explode from $392 million in 2020 to $6.8 billion in 2030, according to a study by ABI Research.

SuitX’s “suits” are now being tested by car manufacturers General Motors and Fiat. Prof Kazerooni, who is also the director of the University of California’s Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory, says that the primary benefit of the firm’s exoskeletons is to prevent muscle fatigue (疲劳).

“In general I see this development as very positive for occupational health and safety,” Prof Sandra Wachter says. “Machines are supposed to help us with dull, dangerous and dirty jobs. Problems, however, arise if robotics also double as workplace monitors. Are these suits tracking your movements, how fast you move, and how often you take breaks? Does a system compare this data with those of other workers to score or rank them? What happens if you move slower than others, or take breaks more often?”

【推荐3】Those who are concerned that robots are taking over the world can rest easy—for now. Though the androids have proved useful at performing ordinary tasks, they are not ready for the greatest time. At least that appears to be the case at Japan’s Henn-na Hotel chain where over half of the robot staff are being replaced by humans.

The first location of the unique hotel opened in July 2015 was at Nagasaki’s Huis Ten Bosch Theme Park. The hotel’s owner, Hideo Sawada, promised the hotel to be managed mainly by robots. Guests were greeted and checked-in by a dinosaur robot, while a cute android called Churi, placed inside each room, provided information about attractions. Not surprisingly, the lodging, recognized in 2016 as the world’s first robot-staffed hotel by Guinness World Records, drew in curious visitors from all around the world.

But as the years have passed, the hotel’s main draw is becoming less novel and more unsatisfactory. Also as the robots are “aging”, they are costing more to repair. Among the 283 androids being replaced are the chain’s two dinosaur receptionists. In addition to scaring young guests, they are also unable to photocopy guests’ passports, forcing human employees to step in each time. Also out are the cute Churi robots, which annoyed guests by interrupting their conversations. For example, one guest told The Wall Street Journal that Churi mistook his snoring for a command and kept asking him to repeat his request all night.

Sawada told The Wall Street Journal, “When you actually use robots you realize there are places where they aren’t needed—or just annoy people.” While Sawada may be cutting back on his use of androids, the recently-opened Smart LYZ Hotel and the Fly Zoo Hotel in China, are run entirely by robots, with not a human in sight. Whether the employees have more competence (能力) than those “hired” by the Henn-na Hotel chain remains to be seen.

【推荐1】Regnante and her husband, Tingley, knew they were in trouble when they found that they had to stay at the airport on the night before Thanksgiving with a grounded plane and 30 turtles （海龟）. The two rescuers were part of a volunteer effort to save hundreds of sea turtles that were washed up close to death on the beaches of Massachusetts.

The couple urgently needed to find temperature-controlled accommodation for the endangered sea turtles. They were in the rescuer race to save the smallest sea turtles in the world? at a little over 2 feet long, and they had been found with very low temperatures. Every year, hundreds of the turtles follow warm ocean currents north from their hatching sites in the Gulf of Mexico, become trapped in the cold Atlantic and are then rescued from Cape Cod by volunteers. who take them to wildlife centres along warmer coastlines.

Regnante is a volunteer with Turtles Fly Too, a charity that provides air transport for the stricken turtles. On Wednesday, she took off with the turtles from near Boston in a plane piloted by her husband. They were bound for New Orleans but storms forced them to change course and refuel twice. Then, at Chattanooga. Tennessee, a stone damaged the propeller （螺 旋桨）.“It was just one thing after another,”   Regnante told The New York Times. just kind of wanted to say, 'Guys, it's going to be OK'."

For turtles, being out of the water and in transit for a long period was stressful. Luckily, a happy ending was delivered. Two heated trucks were sent nearby, where the turtles spent the night. On Thanksgiving morning, Regnante and Tingley drove them to a handover point in Alabama from where the turtles were taken to their new home.

“Turtles Fly Too does whatever it takes to make the mission happen." Leslie, president of the charity, said. “When challenges arise, we'll be quick to make adjustments.”

【推荐3】Every year, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22, and people all around the world celebrate this day by taking part in environmental awareness activities and working towards raising awareness about important issues that our planet Earth is currently facing, like global warming and pollution.

Before the 1970s, there were almost no environmental laws and industries were allowed to dump their industrial waste and fumes anywhere in the world. A US Senator by the name of Gaylord Nelson was concerned about the growing levels of pollution. So in the spring of 1970, Senator Nelson created Earth Day as a way to promote awareness about these issues in the US. His plan was successful, as 20 million Americans started a demonstration (示威游行) for Earth Day around the world. As a result, the US government started an agency called the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Over the next few years, the movement spread across the world and Earth Day became internationally recognized.

The theme of Earth Day 2021 is “restore our Earth”. The focus of this year’s theme is restoring Earth’s natural processes and ecosystems. Apart from that, the goal of this year’s Earth Day is to focus on taking green technologies and innovative (创新的) actions to restore the Earth’s natural ecosystem. More than stopping pollution and global warming, this year’s Earth Day focuses on reversing the damage caused to the Earth.

Despite strict environmental laws in many countries across the world, problems such as global warming, air pollution and climate change continue to threaten our planet. Many scientists around the world are warning us about the already irreversible problems that have been created by microplastics, oil spills and depletion (消耗) of the ozone layer. If the human race continues on the same path as before, the extinction of the human race is not too far off in the future. Earth Day seeks to help raise people’s awareness around the world about these issues and bring positive changes, so future generations stand a chance of living a safer life.

【推荐1】Global warming does more than just kill plant species — it also changes the way plants grow. Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle — Wittenberg(MLU) joined forces with the Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry(IPB) to discover the molecular (分子) process of plant growth. In Current Biology, a scientific journal, they presented their findings on high-temperature plant growth. This could lead to developing plants that can survive global warming.

Plants react to even small temperature changes, but they are unable to move to new locations. “When temperatures rise, plants grow taller ... to cool themselves off. Their stems become taller, and their leaves become narrower and grow farther apart. Yet, this makes the plant more unstable overall,” explains Professor Marcel Quint, an agricultural scientist at MLU. Unstable plants bend faster in the rain and produce less food that’s also less nutritious.

There’s still lots to learn about plant reactions to temperatures. “We are just starting to understand how plants feel the changes in temperature ...,” Quint says. Earlier studies have shown that the protein (蛋白质) PIF4 directly controls plant growth and is also dependent on temperature. When it’s cold, PIF4 is less active, meaning the plant doesn’t grow. At higher temperatures, PIF4 activates growth-promoting genes, and the plant grows taller. This is new information, says Quint.

To understand it, they studied the growth of thale cress (拟南芥) seedlings. Normally, its seedlings form short stems at 20℃. These stems become much longer at 28℃. They discovered a hormone (荷尔蒙) that activates the PIF4 at high temperatures, thus producing the protein.

The findings may help to develop plants that remain stable even at high temperatures and produce many crops.

A．Farmers.	B．Teachers.
C．Researchers.	D．Environmentalists.

【推荐2】Maybe it has been the influence of the current scene: the hype (大肆宣传) among urban biking. Apparently, urban biking requires entirely different bikes than suburban biking does and therefore a Bike Design Project started where five design studio across five cities had to come up with a perfect urban bike. The winning bike will be manufactured (制造) for a limited run of 100 bikes and will be in stores next year. Industry, a Portland-based studio, came up with a very interesting bike: one that uses Bluetooth and handlebars that tell you when to stop or turn.

Industry worked together with Ti Cycles to create a bike with 3D printed titanium frame. The bike is called Solid and can connect to a smart phone App: My Bike. This App alarms a user when a light needs replacement and if something gets wrong with one’s brakes. There is also software called Discover My City, which has a series of routes through Portland’s most trendy neighborhoods, with suggestions, about where to eat and shop.

Nevertheless, the idea with cycling is that you need to focus on the road and not on your smart phone. This bike therefore uses integrated (整合的) feedback on handlebars. Those handlebars tell a user when to turn, as they will buzz (嗡嗡叫) when a turn appears. As you are getting closer, they will buzz more frequently. And then there is the possibility to control your light via built-in sensors and change gears (齿轮) by pressing an electronic button.

Although the bicycle looks highly interesting and can be seen as a piece of art for the designing world, we don’t know if we would like our bike to have an automatic buzz when we are approaching a turn. On the other side, it could add some extra safety to traffic in general. Whether you like the bike or not, you have to admit the Portland-based studio brings the concept of urban biking to a whole new level.