【推荐1】Are you ready to become an international UN Volunteer?

You can contribute your time, skills and knowledge through volunteering with the UN. This is an opportunity to create a positive impact and be a significant force for achieving peace and development. Make a difference to the lives of many!

The first step to volunteer abroad with the UN is to determine whether you meet the minimum requirements. If this is the case, register your profile in our Unified Volunteering Platform. Then, you may apply for assignments that are in high demand or even in highly specialized areas.

The minimum age to serve as an international UN Volunteer is 18 years old. However, there are specific requirements for various categories: UN Youth Volunteers, including University Volunteers, must be aged 18-26, UN Volunteer specialists must be at least 27years old, and UN Expert Volunteers must be 35 years of age and above.

There may also be requirements of relevant professional and academic experience, as well as language proficiency (熟练). Refer to the Description of Assignment for the UN Volunteer assignment for the position you are applying for because different assignments have their specific requirements.

All UN Volunteers must display a commitment to the values and principles of volunteerism and the activities of the United Nations and the UN Charter, and an ability to work in a multicultural environment and with local partners and communities. They should be prepared to adjust to difficult living conditions in sometimes remote locations. UN Volunteers should be professional, with strong interpersonal and organizational skills.

【推荐3】There is a cute animal living in the rainforest of Central and South America. Hanging out in the trees is its regular routine. It eats plenty of leaves every day to maintain its body temperature, keeping its organs working. It has three toes and walks slowest. The giant panda is second slowest, and two-toed sloths (树懒) come in third. People are curious about why they walk slowest.

Three-toed sloths rely on leaves merely. They have evolved finely tuned strategies for coping with this restricted diet. Firstly, they get as much energy from their food as possible. Secondly, they have a multi-chamber stomach that takes up a third of their body. Thirdly, they can spend five to seven days, or even weeks, processing a meal.

The other distinguished feature of three-toed sloth is that they use as little energy as possible. They spend most of their time eating, resting or sleeping. They get down from the treetops once a week for a bathroom break. When sloths do move, it is not very fast. It would take a sloth about five minutes to cross an average neighborhood street.

This unhurried approach to life means that sloths don’t need very much muscle. In fact, they have about 30% less muscle mass than other animals of their size. They also use less energy to keep themselves warm because their body temperature can change by about five degrees Celsius, less than a cold-blooded reptile, but more than most mammals. These physical and behavioral adaptations minimize the sloth’s metabolic rate (新陈代谢率). Three-toed sloths have the slowest metabolism of any mammal.

Moving slowly has allowed sloths to grow in their treetQp habitat. But it also made the sloths themselves a great habitat for other organisms, including algae (藻类), which provides a little extra camouflage (保护色) and maybe even a snack.

【推荐1】Where do teens get junk food (垃圾食品)? In more than a third of the U.S. high schools, the CDC reports.

A study shows that in some states, teens find it much easier to get junk food. In Utah, for example, more than four out of five high schools sell candies and more than three out of four sell high-fat, salty snacks.

“But progress is being made,” says Howell Wechsler, director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health. “We see quite a few states where the number of schools selling junk food in vending machines (自动售货机) is very low.”

In a study of high schools in 25 states and nine cities, the percentage of high schools selling junk food during lunch periods dropped from 53 percent in 2016 to about 37 percent in 2018. Yet there was no change in the percentage of high schools selling junk food before and after the lunch bell rang.

Why do schools sell food that harms kids’ health? Money, Wechsler says. Sales from vending machines, and snack bars come directly to schools without strings (附带条件) by state or city school systems.

Faced with increasing financial pressures, schools are tempted (诱惑) to make deals with the junk food companies. However, the success some schools have achieved set others a good example. “In some places, schools are selling healthier choices and continuing to bring in revenue (收入),” Wechsler says. “The great progress made in these states shows that changes are possible to make.”

Wechsler also says schools that replace junk food with healthy food see a drop in revenue at first but then see revenue climb back up after a year or two.

【推荐2】School Bus Safety in the United States

Each school day, millions of children ride school buses. Do you know that the school bus is one of the safest vehicles on the road? Less than 1% of all traffic deaths involve children on school transportation vehicles. However, children are more at risk when approaching or leaving a school bus. It’s important for you to understand school bus safety.

Stop for School Buses

When you see a school bus slowing down or stopping, it’s not just the bus that you need to have your eyes on — but the surrounding area, too. Children wait at least several feet away from a bus and often cross the street when they’re boarding or getting off the bus. This is why you must stop for school buses, and don’t attempt to pass.

Illegal School Bus Passing

Illegal school bus passing poses a significant threat to children and others on the road. In every state, it is illegal for you to pass a school bus while the stop-arm is extended and the red lights are flashing.

Understanding School Bus Lights

Learn the school bus laws in your state and always follow them, as well as the flashing lights that school bus drivers use to warn you.

Yellow flashing lights indicate the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children. You should slow down and prepare to stop your vehicle.

Red flashing lights and extended stop-arms indicate the bus has stopped and children are getting on or off. You must stop your car and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop-arm is withdrawn, and the bus begins moving, before you can start driving again.