【推荐2】It had been my first Christmas without Clyde. We had celebrated our forty-ninth wedding anniversary while he was ill. There were many beautiful memories. One was Clyde’s cards.

When we were first married, we had much to learn about expressing emotions, as neither of our families spoke about their feelings. Greeting cards were a great way to communicate with each other. Clyde got cards for all the special holidays like Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Mother’s Day. Sometimes, he gave me cards for no reason other than to say, “I love you.” It brightened my day when I awoke in the morning to find a card on my pillow or on the coffeemaker. Oh, how I missed those beautiful or funny cards. He always separated his name between the y and d. It made me sad to know I would never get another card signed Cly de.

One day, I went into a Goodwill Store just before closing time. I had just picked up a book titled Someone Cares when the voice on the loudspeaker blared out, “The store is closing for the day...” Having to rush to the checkout, I made a quick decision to purchase it.

Back home, I picked up my new book. A bunch of cards fell into my lap from inside the book. Surprised, I began to read them. Most of the cards seemed to be for a mother, but there were also some that appeared to be from friends. I enjoyed reading all of them.

The last one said, “To My Wife on Mother’s Day.” The words and pictures on the card were similar to those on cards Clyde had given me in the past. Looking down at the lower part of the card, I was shocked to see the signature. It read Cly de with a space in the middle between the y and d just like my husband always signed his name. At that moment, I knew Clyde’s love would always be with me. There wouldn’t be cards on my pillow or near the coffeemaker, but “Cly de” had found a way to send me one more card when I needed it most.

【推荐1】Do Trees Talk to Each Other?

Did you know that trees can communicate with each other? Suramme Simard, a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia, has conducted research into the cooperative and social behavior of trees.

Growing up in the forests of Canada, Simard observed how logging (伐木) companies would cut down diverse forests and replace them with a single tree species. Loggers believed that by removing competition, the newly planted trees would thrive, as they would receive more space, water, and sunlight. However, Simard noticed these trees were actually more likely to suffer disease and environmental stress. As she investigated this question, Simard realized that tree communication was the answer to this.

Trees communicate through underground networks of helper fungi (真菌). The fungi connect with tree roots, forming links, which can connect trees of different kinds across a forest. The fungi transport water and nutrients to the trees. In return, trees provide fungi carbon-based sugars. The fungi not only allow for tree-fungi cooperation but also for communication. Trees can transport carbon, water, nutrients (营养), chemical warning signs, and hormones. This system allows them to balance resources and warn neighboring trees of danger. Trees are also connected through the “mother” trees, which are the oldest and largest trees. Through this connection, young trees can get the resource and information network.

These findings have many effects, including the way we structure our own societies and ecological practices. Mother trees are key for providing the information, medicinal, and resource capacity to future generations of trees. Also Simard believes that with climate change stressing out plants and threatening the survival of species, humans may need to step in to help — perhaps even by moving some species to cooler climates as the world warms.

While Simard wholeheartedly believes in the cooperative nature of trees, other scientists argue that competition is still the main reason why these trees end up sharing resources. The fungi that transport resources might actually be sending nutrients to resource-poor trees because they can demand more carbon-based sugars in return from plants on the edge of survival.

Regardless of whether cooperation or competition drives tree behavior, stronger evidence of forest communication and networks is an exciting discovery with much to learn!

【推荐2】In 1810, during his first Grand Tour of Europe, Byron carved his name into a column base of the Temple of Poseidon on the Aegean coast. Although Byron himself might not have actually written the name that is left there, the story has become part of the history of the monument, searched for by his admirers among the hundreds of other names carved all over the temple.

Modern graffiti, however, is met with a very different reaction. In 2014 a Russian tourist was fined €20,000 for carving a large “K” on a wall of the Colosseum in Rome, the fifth such incident that year.

What is the thinking behind such acts? Are tourists aiming for ill fame to become part of the monument’s history? Or is it simply part of the experience of visiting the site? And, further, why is historical graffiti, which was equally destructive, considered historic heritages? The motives behind them are, after all, probably the same, however, graffiti comes to tell us about lives and moments that might otherwise have been lost.

The earliest graffiti of a person’s name on a monument has been identified by the historian Lionel Casson in a cave at Wadi Hammamat in Egypt in 2000 BC. The name of Hena is cut into the sandstone alongside a list of his achievements. In ancient Greece, too, stoas (柱廊) were the meeting places of philosophers and the places for school boys’ lessons. We therefore often see alphabets and Homeric poems written on their walls.

And it is not just monuments and buildings: Miltiades, a general from the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, carved his name into the helmet he wore. In the Athens, too, a Spartan shield (盾) was found with words noting that the Athenians captured it during the Battle in 425 BC. Without such graffiti, the objects would still be impressive, but far less useful for historians, as their writing provides an exact original place.

In the 21^st century, however, with the rapid increase in tourism, if everyone decided to leave their mark, these sites would be irretrievable (不可挽回地) destroyed. Perhaps Beijing’s controversial new free graffiti zones on certain sections of the Great Wall of China will satisfy the desire to carve our own piece of history into the limited resource of the monument, though it seems unlikely that it will easily be contained to one area. Regardless, it is important that we protect these monuments — and the graffiti that some of them already contain.

【推荐3】Celebrating Children’s Day in different countries

The International Children’s Day of every year is scheduled for June 1st. It is to ensure children in the world the rights of life, education and protection. At present, many countries in the world will celebrate Children’s Day on June I1st as the festival.

China

In China, it is celebrated on June 1st. It is a time to enjoy, make fun and merry. On this day, the Chinese promise to contribute to providing children with a good family, social and educational environment. Children’s Day is an official holiday in China.

India

The day is celebrated on November 14th in memory of the birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. On the occasion, many schools allow students to attend their classes in coloured dresses. Special programs are held by the children themselves and the principals hand over a rose to every child. Many schools hold activities to allow students to have fun.

Japan

In Japan, Children’s Day is a national holiday called “Kodomo no Hi” and is celebrated every year on May 5th. Japanese Golden Week includes Children’s Day and is held in honour of children and to celebrate their happiness.

Korea

North Korea and South Korea observe this occasion on different days. While North Korea celebrates Children’s Day on June 1st, South Korea marks it on May 5th. It is not a holiday in North Korea. Hence, parents go to their workplace, while children in the kindergarten or nursery schools enjoy the day in sports or small performances. In South Korea, the occasion is marked throughout the country through parades and special events like pageants and martial arts demonstrations.