【推荐1】What does an outdoor cat do all day? A study of more than 900 house cats shows when they kill small birds and mammals, their influence is concentrated in a small area, having a bigger effect than wild predators (捕食性动物) do.

Roland Kays, a scientist at North Carolina State University and his colleagues collected GPS data from cats in six countries. “These cats are moving around their own backyard and a couple of their neighbors’ backyards, but most of them are not ranging very much further,” Kays said. “So initially I thought, ‘Oh, this is good news. They’re not going out into the nature preserves. ’ ”

Then Kays took how much wildlife cats kill in that small area into consideration. Some cats in the study were bringing home up to 11 dead birds a month, which doesn’t include what they ate or didn’t bring home.

“It actually ends up being a really high rate of predation,” Kays said. He calculates that cats can have 4­to­10 times the influence of a wild predator. Native predators, like jungle cats, also kill a lot of small animals, but their influence is spread out over a larger area. One study indicates that house cats kill billions of birds every year.

“The simplest thing to do is to keep your cat indoors,” Kays said.

For those who refuse to keep their cats inside, there are potential options. St. Lawrence University’s associate professor Susan Willson looked for one. She found a special brightly colored collar online.“The whole idea is that the bird will be able to visually see the cat creeping (爬行) up on it before the cat attacks it,” she said. Willson tested the collar on both her cat and dozens of others. It greatly reduced the number of birds the cats brought home.

“I’m not saying these collars can make a significant difference in the massive bird death that we’re seeing,” she said. “But what matters is that each individual bird that somebody finds in his backyard is not dead.”

【推荐2】In the winters of 2012 and 2013, National Geographic grantee (被批准人) Anders Angerbjorn and his Ph. D. student, Rasmus Erlandsson, studied an extremely threatened species, the Scandinavian arctic fox. The current population numbers are fewer than 150 individuals in mainland Europe so many of the young foxes are having difficulty finding a non-related partner. Other threats to the species include competition from the red fox for the rare small rodents (啮齿目动物) they both depend upon for food. Angerbjorn and Erlandsson monitored the arctic fox population in Vasterbotten and Norrbotten, Sweden, to identify the best areas for further conservation actions. This included tagging (贴标签于) the baby foxes, which proved to be a challenge.

“When catching arctic foxes it is easy to believe that the smaller ones are the easiest to handle. In some aspects it is true. Their teeth are smaller and the jaws less powerful. However, just as human children have a hard time keeping still, the really small cubs (幼兽) do too.”

“We handle the foxes in a bag while tagging, and the trick is to keep the animal still between your legs while kneeling. And here comes the tricky part. How do you keep a small, wild fox still? You cannot apply too much force. You really do not want to hurt it. Just as with small children the best tool is patience, but at the same time you want the handling to be as short as possible.”

“One particular cub had a technique I had never experienced before as it continuously tried to turn onto its back, for no obvious reason. I had to reach the ears, so I quickly turned the cub upright. The cub stayed still for a few seconds, and then began to roll onto its back again. The same thing happened over and over again! Finally, I got the tags in place, and after making measurements and taking some samples, I finally let it go.”

【推荐3】Mr. Lon Lee Alle is from Singapore. He was recently visiting an Indonesian island so he could see the famous Komodo dragons. Mr. Lon did not want to pay for a tour guide, but he really wanted to take some close-up photos of the dragons when they were eating. Like most wild animals, Komodo dragons do not like to be disturbed when food is around. They turned on Mr. Lon and one of them took a large bite out of his leg. He was rushed to hospital by speedboat. Luckily, he survived.

Komodo dragons are the largest and heaviest lizards(蜥蜴) in the world. They can only be found on a few Indonesian islands including Komodo Island. They have lived on earth for a very long time and remain killing and eating machines. They have a very strong sense of smell which they use to help find their next meal. They will eat almost anything they find. Even though Komodo dragons can run up to 20 kilometers per hour，they prefer to wait for their kill.

When the attack does come，the dragon attacks the animal's feet first, knocking it over. Then，its sharp and fearsome teeth pull the animal to pieces. These teeth contain small pieces of meat from meals it has already eaten and are filled with bacteria—sometimes up to 60 different types. One bite will cause an infection in the wounded animal that will lead to a very painful death a few days later. The Komodo dragon will follow the animal, waiting for it to fall down. It has recently been discovered that Komodo dragons also have venom(毒液) in their mouth. The venom causes animals to bleed to death—if the infection does not get it first.

Today, there are about 4,000 Komodo dragons in the wild. Five people have been killed and 30 injured by dragon bites in the past 40 years.

【推荐1】Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son: suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut.” Joanna noted.

Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. ”She used to cuddle up with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is figuring out which time is which.”

Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “ In fact, parents are first on the list.” Said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely changes during the teen years.” Riera explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.”

Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them.

【推荐3】According to a new survey, most children are now working longer hours than their parents for over 46 hours a week. The research shows that parents are creating crazy schedules for their children with after school activities in addition to school tasks. This means children are actually working harder than the average parents who only work for 37.5 hours a week.

The average child already completes 30 hours and 50 minutes a week at school from Monday to Friday, as well as seven hours and 51 minutes of clubs and homework. Actively reading with parents daily takes a further five hours and 49 minutes a week. The Center Parcs study of 2,000 parents also found the average child also helps with housework for up to an hour and 37 minutes each week.

Colin Whaley, marketing director from Center Pares, said, “We made this report to further understand family life and what challenges parents and children are facing and overcoming, so we can always make sure we're offering what they need. What has undoubtedly come out of this is the need for families — parents and children alike — to take time out to relax.”

In response to the findings, Center Parcs let child psychologist (心理学家) Dr. Sam Wass to develop a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for free time which needs three hours and 51 minutes every day. The RDA provides a variety of free-time activities, which will allow children to use their imagination and develop creative thinking. The RDA really creates the best environment to relax and the best short break possible for children.