【推荐1】The jigsaw puzzle (拼图玩具) is a delightful challenge where a picture made of cardboard or wood has been cut into differently shaped pieces that must be put together. It is widely thought of as an entertaining recreation.     1    The birth of the jigsaw puzzle was rooted in education.

Officially, the jigsaw puzzle originated in England and its inventor was John Spilsbury, a London engraver (雕刻师) and mapmaker.     2    The first jigsaw puzzle was a map of the world. Spilsbury attached a map to a piece of wood and then cut out each country. Teachers used Spilsbury’s puzzles to teach geography. Students learned their geography lessons by putting the world maps back together.

With the invention of the first fret treadle saw in 1865, the ability to create machine-aided curved lines was at hand. This tool, which operated with foot pedals like a sewing machine, was perfect for the creation of puzzles.

By 1880, jigsaw puzzles were being machine crafted, and cardboard puzzles entered the market.     3    

In the 1930s, puzzles were distributed as low-cost marketing tools in the U. S.     4    

The jigsaw puzzle remained a steady pastime—reusable and a great activity for groups or for an individual—for decades. With the invention of digital applications, the virtual (虚拟的) jigsaw puzzle arrived in the 21st century.     5    

【推荐3】With their beautiful feathers, roosters might be forgiven for secretly taking quick looks in the mirror—especially as research now suggests the birds may be able to recognise themselves.

The ability to recognise oneself in the mirror has so far been found in a handful of animals, including elephants, dolphins, and certain fish and birds. Sonja Hillemacher, one of the authors of the study at the University of Bonn, said animals that can recognise themselves in a mirror often seemed to have more advanced cognitive abilities, and that there was a link to social and emotional wisdom, as well as self-awareness. “This ability is a basic aspect of cognition. It is also important for us,” she said.

Writing in the journal Plos One, Hillemacher and her colleagues note that roosters tend to call out to their fellow chickens if they see a threat. If a rooster is alone, however, it does not usually raise the alarm as it could draw the enemy’s attention.

In the experiment, the team placed a rooster in an indoor space and then placed a mirror, or another rooster, or nothing. The team then showed the image of a flying hawk (鹰) onto the ceiling in the space.

The results from 58 roosters found that the birds made far more alarm calls when they could see another rooster nearby, with 1.33 alarm calls per bird on average over three tests, than when alone (0.29 calls on average) or faced with the mirror (0.43 calls on average). In the follow-up experiment, the team found a similar reduction in calls when they placed a second rooster out of sight behind the mirror. The team said the findings suggest the birds did not regard their reflection as another rooster, even when there was also the presence of smell and sound of a second bird, which proves that roosters may recognise themselves in a mirror.

【推荐1】In today’s society, every day we may face some kinds of stress and difficulties from work, schools or families. They can influence both our bodies and minds. So learning how to deal with stress is very important for keeping healthy. Well, how do we reduce stress? In my opinion, the best ways are exercising and getting close to nature.

As for exercising, you don’t have to go to a gym or spend much money on exercise. In fact, walking or riding to work, chasing (追逐) your kids and doing housework are all suitable for exercise .The second way of dealing with stress is to get close to nature. You can take many ways, including walking in the forests, climbing up mountains or working in the garden. Nature is very great and if you can get close to it, you can enjoy the smell and the sight of green plants, and then let your heart be delighted (快乐的).

Some of these activities may offer two advantages. For example, by working in your garden, not only can you get exercise, but also you can enjoy the beauty of your garden every day. So, take my advice and start now, if you are suffering (遭受) from some kinds of pressure in your work or study. Good luck!

【推荐2】Could an app tell if a first date is just not that into you? Engineers at the University of Cincinnati say the technology might not be far off. They trained a computer—using data from reparable technology that measures respiration, heart rates and perspiration to identify the type of conversation two people were having based on their physiological responses alone.

Researchers studied a phenomenon in which people’s heart rates, respiration and other autonomic nervous system responses become synchronized (同步的) when they talk or collaborate. Known as physiological synchrony, this effect is stronger when two people engage deeply in a conversation or cooperate closely on a task. “Physiological synchrony shows up even when people are talking over Zoom, an online chat platform,” said study co-author Vesna Novak.

In experiments with human participants, the computer was able to differentiate four different conversations with as much as 75% accuracy. The study is one of the first of its kind to train artificial intelligence how to recognize aspects of a conversation based on the participants’ physiology alone.

“The computer could tell if you’re a bore,” lead author Chatterjee said. “A modified version of our system could measure the level of interest a person is taking in the conversation, how harmonious the two of you are and how engaged the other person is in the conversation.”

Studies have shown that physiological synchrony can predict how well two people will work together to accomplish a task. The degree of synchrony also correlates with how much empathy a patient perceives in a therapist or the level of engagement students feel with their teachers.

“You could probably use our system to determine which people in an organization work better together in a group and which are naturally opposed,” Chatterjee said.

This aspect of affective computing holds huge potential for providing real-time feedback for educators, therapists or even autistic people, Novak said, “There are a lot of potential applications in this space.”

【推荐3】About 70 kilometers offshore from the southern coast of lceland, there is a volcanic island called Westman Islands. Every summer, locals can often be seen standing on the edge of the cliffs(悬崖) throwing birds down. The birds they throw are called puffins(海鹦), a type of seabird. Puffins are the most common bird in Iceland, and the Westman Islands are the largest puffin habitat in the world. Every year in late spring, the puffin producing season arrives and the islands are filled with busy puffins.

However, in the past 20 years, these puffins have been slowly disappearing for various reasons, one of which has something to do with their nature. Each year, the babies are born and grow in the caves on the high sea cliffs. About two months later, they will leave the cave to seek food on the ocean by following the moonlight. But they always mistake humans lights on the ground for the moon, and eventually lose their way and crash into the town. They are too young to fly back to the ocean again. Unable to find food, they are left to wait for death.

Over time, the locals realized that freeing the young puffins at the cliffs could set them on the correct path. So a puffin patrol(巡逻队) made up of mainly local children was formed.

Their mission is to search for lost baby puffins in the streets with boxes, flashlights and food on the nights of September and October every year. Once found, baby puffins will be taken to the cliff and set free to the ocean. Over the years, the puffin patrol has gradually become a tradition, working quietly for the protection of puffins.

Despite the love and care of the children, the number of puffins has declined dramatically in recent years due to climate change, environmental pollution and rising sea temperatures. There’s still a lot of worry about what their future will be like.