【推荐2】How To Improve Speed Reading

Look at groups of words, not single words.     1    , then this will slow your reading speed way down. However, if you can get into the habit of reading groups or chunks of words at one time, then you can read much faster.

Read with your hands. Use your finger to push yourself through the page. As you read, move your hand left to right under the text as if underlining it.     2    . You may start by moving at a slightly faster pace than your ordinary reading, and speed up on subsequent readings.

    3    . Scanning is a highly effective way of extracting answers from a text without really reading it. To scan, first visualize the word number, or phrase you would like to find.     4    . The information you are looking for should pop out at you.

Race the clock. You can train yourself to read faster by timing yourself as you go. Set a timer for fifteen minutes, and speed read as you normally do. Do not count the words, just the pages or paragraphs. Record your figures: for instance, you might write“15min/6.5 pages.” The next day, set the alarm for 15 minutes again and try to read faster.     5    . “15 min/7 pages,” for instance. Do this every day or 5 days a week to improve your skills.

Try to beat your last time every session. However, if you notice your comprehension is dropping, you may need to aim for a more moderate improvement in speed.

【推荐1】This summer, nearly 65 percent of the United States is experiencing “unusually dry” weather. More than 109 million people are living under drogue conditions.     1     So how to garden when there’s a lack of water?

    2    Newly planted trees and shrubs(灌木)should be put on the top of the watering list. They require regular watering until their roots get deep into the soil. That process can take a full year. Vegetables such as beans, cabbage, and lettuce also have high water needs. None will likely survive with little water.

Most plants require an average of 2 to 4 centimeters of water each week under normal conditions. That need could increase, however, during periods of extreme heat, when the soil dries out more quickly.     3     Divide it over two or three times per week.

Use deeper, less-frequent watering instead of daily sprinkles(洒水)which can be wasteful? Watering deeply also leads to stronger, deeper roots that are better able to support plants when there’s no surface water. So avoid using overhead sprinklers.     4     You can place watering devices on the soil directly over roots.

Consider using recycled household water, also called gray water, to water plants. Unsalted water left over from boiling eggs or vegetables provides extra nutrients(营养物). Dish and bath water that is not too soapy will not harm plants. And water captured(捕获)while cleaning fruits and vegetables can be used around the garden.     5    .

【推荐3】As Earth’s climate continues to change, a plant’s ability to adapt to its changing environment is important to its survival. Often, to stay alive, a plant must move locations by releasing its seeds, but plants are rooted in the ground and cannot move themselves. Instead, they are dependent on animals or the wind to carry their seeds to a new location.

Playing an essential part in an ecosystem (生态系统), plants create resources like food and medicine for us human beings. A team of researchers developed the model to better understand how plants can stay resiliency (韧性) when facing challenges like climate change.

“Once seeds are released from a plant, we wanted to know how far they can go because as wind conditions shake, the seeds will be moved around differently because of various weights, sizes, and shapes,” says Binbin Wang, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri.

Changes in one part of the ecosystem can create a “snowball effect” on other parts. That’s why understanding seed spread is important. Plants can only make this move once during their life — as a seed, says Lauren Sullivan, an assistant professor at Michigan State University.

“Understanding how plants move as seeds year-round is important for us to analyze how they’ll be able to handle climate change,” Sullivan says. “This movement is also important for how we can increase diversity (多样性) in the ecosystem.” “We’re now able to partner with researchers. This innovative approach can help us develop accurate models that are simple enough to make good predictions in a short time.”

The model, which makes predictions based on seed and plant type, plant height, and wind speed, can develop an entire year’s worth of predictive data in just one or two days. As part of their future work, the team will develop educational programming for K-12 and college students. For example, they will provide opportunities for college students to explore how different disciplines, such as agriculture, biological sciences, and engineering, can work together to solve different real-world problems.