【推荐2】For emperor penguins, sea ice is essential to survival. The iconic birds, found only in Antaretica, breed, lay their eggs and raise their chicks on fast sea ice. They arrive at their breeding sites in late March. In May and June, they lay their eggs, which hatch after 65 days during the Antarctic winter. The chicks then remain on the ice until their luff (绒毛) down is replaced by waterproof feathers, finally fledging (长出羽毛) in the summer months of December and January.

Last year, sea ice levels in Antaretiaa were at an all-time low—breaking the record first set in 2021. The Bellingshausen Sea region, to the west of the Antaretic Peninsula, saw the most extreme reduction of sea ice, with some areas experiencing a 100% loss. Of the five known emperor penguins’ habitats in the Bellingshausen Sea region, all but one experienced what was most likely a total breeding failure due to the loss of sea ice, according to a paper published today in Nature Communications Earth & Environment. Satellite imagery clearly showed the sea ice had broken up before the chicks would have developed enough to survive on their own.

“We have never seen emperor penguins fail to breed at this scale in a single season,” the study’s lead author, Peter Fretwell of the British Antarctic Survey, said in a statement. “The loss of sea ice in this region during the Antaretic summer made it very unlikely that displaced chicks would survive.”

The study team also believe their findings support a projection that if present warming rates continue, more than 80%of emperor penguins’ habitats will disappear, meaning they have too few individuals to support a population, by 2100.

【推荐1】Our church has a way of assisting those who have financial difficulties without making the receiver feel shame or guilt. Money is dropped into an offering box with only the name of the receiver on the envelope. The envelopes are then distributed to those members without them knowing the name of the giver.

There came a time when my husband and I were among those in need. We did not talk about our financial difficulty with anyone. The only reason our children knew was because we had to cut back on many things. Still, we hoped they were not aware of the extent of our need, nor of how much their father and I were suffering because of it. We did not want to burden them with a problem they could do nothing to solve.

Just as we reached the point of despair, our church gave us a gift envelope left in the offering box. We were overjoyed to receive the money, enough to bring us through that desperate time. We couldn’t help but wonder who had given such a generous gift.

A year later, our seventeen-year-old son was applying for a student loan so he could attend university. It was then that we discovered that his savings account was almost empty. From the time he was nine years old he had been a paper carrier and he had worked very hard for his small earnings. I asked him repeatedly where the money had gone. At first, he would not tell me, which made me even angrier. I determined to find out where the money had gone.

Finally, in tears, and with great reluctance(不情愿), my son admitted that the year before he had put his savings in the offering box for his father and me. I stood there speechless, tears filling my eyes. It had taken my son years to save that money. He had given it to us willingly—without telling us what he had done.

【推荐2】The Forbidden City, widely regarded as one of the most popular destinations at home and abroad, houses amazing Chinese cultural and historical relics, for which the Forbidden City is always well-known. But Masters in the Forbidden City does not just focus on the stories of the past.

Instead, the documentary movie, which came out in Chinese cinemas on Dec. 16, focuses on ordinary people—the restorers of relics and antiquities.

The stories are told at a slow and relaxed pace, reflecting the restorers’ work. Restoration of cultural relics and antiques can be time-consuming, and sometimes boring. Yet these restorers’ patience and peace of mind are especially precious in a society where everything is changing so fast.

“If you choose this job, you have to put up with hours of work sitting on a chair. You need to be quiet and get used to being quiet,” says Wang Jin, an ancient clock repair expert.

A touching part of the documentary is the spirit of craftsmanship (工艺)in the restorers. “Years of humdrum work requires not only skill, but also faith and spirit,” China Daily commented, “Looking for preciseness and perfection, devoting yourself to work, patience, endurance, loneliness... All these qualities come from the craftsman spirit.”

But unlike the popular idea of serious experts who sit around being serious, the documentary shows off the enthusiasm of the restorers. They play their guitars and make jokes about each other after a long day of restoration work.

One scene that has been very popular with Internet users features a young female restorer riding a bicycle through the empty Forbidden City on a Monday. While she is doing this, a narrator says, “The last person to do this was Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty.”

Masters in the Forbidden City has proved wrong many people’s ideas about antique restorers, allowing them to realize that they are not old, dull professors, but people in their 40s, 30s and even 20s who can be quite pleasing to the eye.