【推荐1】Scientists have been working to grow meat “in vitro,” or in a laboratory, for many years. In the laboratory, they mix cells from a horse and a pig. They feed the cells to help them increase in number and grow into a small piece of meat.

Right now, the meat that scientists have made is very small and looks gray because in vitro meat does not need blood to grow. But this is not its only problem. It takes a long time for the meat to   grow and scientists do not know how to make a large amount. It also costs a lot of money to   make in vitro meat. Making enough for one meal would cost $250,000.

Although producing in vitro meat has many problems, scientists continue to work because in vitro meat would have many advantages. Since we have 7,000,000,000 people on the planet to feed in, vitro meat can help lower the need for the earth’s resources(资源).

Besides, “Moving the production of meat from farms to laboratories would help cut down the huge amount of harmful gases produced by farm animals,” says reporter Nick Collins.

In vitro meat could solve many of the problems of animal meat. But can humans eat this in vitro meat? Scientists do not know if it even tastes like real meat. Because of food research laws, they are not yet able to taste their meat. But they hope someday people can buy it in their local market. They say it is real meat and it is just made in a different way.

A lot of people are still worried about in vitro meat. However, it will be years before the meat is ready to sell. Kate Shipard, a writer for Mother Jones magazine, says, “It will require hard testing before it can be fed to humans. It is still such a new idea that we do not know yet what health problems it may have. Right now, there are no rules for in vitro meat.”

【推荐2】When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, yes, and drink all of them. Then you're ready for an adventure.

Researchers from the University of Sussex in England say they have found for the first time experimental evidence that sour tastes lead to more risk-taking behaviour in a paper published on 7 June, 2019.

In the study, 168 volunteers from the UK and Vietnam were given a 20ml solution representing one of the five main taste groups: bitter, salty, sour, sweet and umami. The tasters then took part in a computerized test that measures risk-taking: they got paid to blow up a digital balloon. The more air in the balloon, the more money they could get; they could cash out whenever they wanted. But if the balloon popped or exploded? Bye   bye , potential winnings.

When the researchers studied the performance of the volunteers, they found the people who'd tasted sour were much more likely to keep pumping up the balloon compared with people who'd gotten a taste of the other solutions. On average, sour tasters were 39% more likely to push the balloon to its limits than sweet tasters, 20.50% more than bitter, 16.03% more than salty and 40.29% more than umami.

This finding makes a degree of sense—without taking risks, we don't learn anything new. And it is obvious that people with disorders such as anxiety and depression are unwilling to take risks. So, the researchers argue, if you have these disorders, maybe adding more sour foods into your diet could help keep that aversion in check. Then you'd be more likely to take chances, like talking to a stranger, and that will lead to self-improvement.

【推荐3】Nao, the first robot able to show feelings, has been created by a European research team. When Nao is sad, he lowers his head and looks down. When he’s happy, he raises his arms for a hug. Nothing is out of the ordinary, except that Nao is a robot.

“We’re modeling the first years of life,” says Lola Canamero, a computer scientist at the University of Hertforshire. “The feelings are shown through physical gestures and body movements rather than facial or verbal (言语的) expressions.”

In the future, says the scientist, robots are likely to act as companions, provide support for old people, and help people shop online. In such uses, the display of feeling will be important in making the interactions (交往) more natural and comfortable.

Nao has been programmed to copy the emotional skills of a one-year-old child. It can memorize faces, and knows the basic rules of good and bad. Based on these it can decide how to react to what is going on. The actions going with each feeling are pre-programmed, but Nao decides for itself when to display them.

Nao is also programmed to have different personalities. A more independent robot is less likely to call for help when exploring a room, while a more fearful robot will show distress if it finds something in the room that may be harmful.

Canamero’s team will take its emotional programming forward into medical applications. Part of the project will look at ways to use robots in hospitals to support the roles of doctors, nurses and parents. Children might find that a small, friendly-looking robot that can understand their emotional states makes them less anxious. “We want to explore different roles—the robots will help the children to understand their treatment and explain what they have to do. We want to help the children to control their anxiety.” she says.

【推荐1】From early times, man has been interested in art. People have often worked together to collect and save the world's art treasures. Fine art treasures from many countries are kept in an art museum called the Louvre in Paris, France. The works of art have been collected by the people of France over many centuries. It is one of the biggest art museums in the world.

The Louvre has not always been a museum. The first building was a fort (堡垒). In 1190, it was the king's castle with high walls and a round tower. It had a moat (护城河) to keep out the enemies. Over the years, the number of buildings around the castle grew. By 1350, the castle no longer needed a fort. The Louvre became a palace home for French kings and queens.

During the time of peace, new treasures were brought in. During the days of war, many treasures were stolen, and the buildings were damaged.

When Francis I became the King of France in 1515, he brought in many artists from other countries. One of the artists was Leonardo da Vinci from Italy. Da Vinci's Mona Lisa is the best known painting in the museum today.

In 1793, the Louvre became a public museum. It is a place where art treasures are kept for everyone to enjoy. Every year millions of people from all over the world come to the Louvre to see the masterpieces.

【推荐3】China is developing a system that recognizes individuals by their body shape and walking movements.Systems that recognize human faces are already being used to identify people in crowds or as a secure way to unlock personal devices.

The new system,known as “gait recognition”,is already on trial by police on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai.The Chinese technology company Watrix developed the system.The company announced last month that it had raised $14.5 million to speed up the development and sale of the technology.

The system works in a similar way to face recognition.Cameras capture video of people in public places.Then,machines powered by artificial intelligence (AI) examine and study the video.

Facial recognition systems identify the shapes and expressions on a person’s face to identify them.Gait recognition uses a person’s body shape and their way of walking to identify them.The system records a person’s shape and movements and then creates a model of the way they walk.

Huang Yongzhen is a former researcher who co-founded Watrix in 2016.He told the Associated Press his system can identify people from up to 50 metres away.It is designed to work even when a person’s face is covered or hidden.Huang says his gait recognition system is correct 94 percent of the time.This is below the success rate of many face recognition systems.But he says the system can still be helpful to police and for other commercial purposes.He also believes the system can be effective when used together with face recognition.

Gait recognition is not new.The technology has been researched by scientists in Japan and Britain and by US defense officials for about 10 years.But attempts to sell the technology have been slow.One of the reasons the technology has not developed further is that the systems are more complex than facial recognition.

【推荐1】International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing China

According to official statistics, over 110 nations and international organizations, over 120 unofficial exhibitors, as well as 31 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, together with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan have established gardens in the Expo Park, each presenting their own distinctive gardening and horticulture(园艺学).

Main scenic spots include: Core Scenic Area --- International Pavilion(展馆), China Pavilion, Plant Pavilion, Horticultural Experience Pavilion and Guirui Theater, 12 typical sites, International Horticulture, Chinese Landscape Horticulture, Horticultural Industry Development Belt, Great Master’s Garden, and Special Gardens.

The Exhibition started on April 29 and will end on October 7, 2019, lasting for 162 days and spanning three seasons including spring, summer and fall.

According to the International Exhibitions Bureau, the world exposition can be divided into two major categories based on their nature, scale and duration(持续时间). One is international registered exhibitions, which are also the highest level of expos globally, such as the Shanghai World Expo 2010. The other is the international recognized exhibitions or specialized expos, such as the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019.

The International Horticultural Exhibition (A1) is a horticultural exhibition of the highest level and greatest influence with AIPH’s approval and Bureau of International Exposition’s recognition. Beijing is the second Chinese city to hold the A1-level exhibition following Kunming in Yunnan Province. Cities in the following countries have also held the highest-level expo in the world: the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, France, Canada, the U.K., Japan, Thailand and Turkey. Among them, the Netherlands has held six A1 exhibitions since 1960, followed by Germany, five.

【推荐2】You try to keep your eyes wide open while watching a basketball match or a marvelous firework show in case you might miss something exciting in just the blink of an eye. But in fact, humans blink about 15 times per minute on average. Have you ever missed anything because you blinked? Probably not. Why is that?

According to a new study published in journal Current Biology in September, our brain has the ability to “skip” the temporary darkness that we see when we blink. It can keep visual information for a short period of time and then put it together to form a conclusive image without interruption.

In order to understand how this works, a group of scientists at the German Primate Center and the University Medical Center Gottingen in Germany conducted an experiment.

In the study, the participants were asked to look at patterns on a screen whose orientation(方向)could be shown in different ways, such as horizontally( 水平的) or vertically( 垂直的).When one pattern was about to disappear and the next one was about to come, the participants had to indicate the direction that the next pattern would be oriented in.

The researchers found that when the orientations of two patterns didn’t match, the medial prefrontal cortex(内侧前额叶皮层)--- the area in our brain which is responsible for visual memory---was activated. This same area showed less activity when two patterns were in the same direction.

“The medial prefrontal cortex adjust current visual information with previously obtained information, and thus enables us to see the world with more stability, even when we briefly close our eyes to blink,” Caspar Schwiedrzik explained in Science Daily. He is the first author of the study and also a scientist at the German Primate Center.

【推荐3】Elephants are truly incredible animals. August 12 is World Elephant Day which means to help save elephants. What do you know about elephants? Here are some facts you may not know.

We know that elephants are large. But did you know that elephants often avoid eating a type of acacia tree(金合欢树), because it is home to ants and an elephant doesn’t want to get the ants inside its trunk. Its trunk is full of sensitive nerve endings(敏感神经末梢).

Female elephants live in groups of about 15 animals. The oldest in the group is the leader. She decides not only when and where they move but also when they rest all the year. Male elephants leave the female groups between age 12 and 15. But they aren’t loners. They live in all-male groups.

Asian elephants don’t run. Running requires lifting all four feet at once. But elephants filmed in Thailand always kept at least two on the ground at all times.

Elephants have passed the mirror test. They recognize themselves in a mirror. According to tests, great apes(巨猿), and dolphins(海豚) also have this ability.

Elephants can get sunburned so they take care to protect themselves. “Elephants will throw sand on their backs and on their head to keep them from getting sunburned and to keep bugs off,” said Tony Barthel, working at Smithsonian’s National Zoo. How do elephants protect their young? Adult elephants will put them in sand and then they will stand over the little ones as they sleep.

Some farmers in Kenya protect their fields from elephants by lining the borders with beehives(蜂巢). Not only are their crops saved, but the farmers also get more money from honey.

【推荐1】Food festivals around the world

Stilton Cheese Rolling

May Day is a traditional day for celebrations, but the 2,000 English villagers of Stilton must be the only people in the world who include cheese rolling in their annual plans. Teams of four, dressed in a variety of strange and funny clothes, roll a complete cheese along a 50-metre course. On the way, they must not kick or throw their cheese, or go into their competitors' lane（赛道）. Competition is fierce and the chief prize is a complete Stilton cheese weighing about four kilos (disappointingly, but understandably the cheeses used in the race are wooden ones). All the competitors are served with beer or port wine, the traditional accompaniment for Stilton cheese.

Fiery Foods Festival—The Hottest Festival on Earth

Every year more than 10,000 people head for the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They come from as far away as Australia, the Caribbean and China, but they all share a common addiction—food that is not just spicy（辛辣）,but hot enough to make your mouth burn, your head spin and your eyes water. Their destination is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival which is held over a period of three clays every March. You might like to try a chocolate-covered habanero pepper—officially the hottest pepper in the world—or any one of the thousands of products that are on show. But one thing's for sure—if you don't like the feeling of a burning tongue, this festival isn't for you!

La Tomatina—The World's Biggest Food Fight

On the last Wednesday of every August, the Spanish town of Bunol hosts Ea Tomatina—the world's largest food fight. A week-long celebration leads up to an exciting tomato battle as the highlight of the week's events. The early morning sees the arrival of large trucks with tomatoes—official fight-starters get things going by casting tomatoes at the crowd.

The battle lasts little more than half an hour, in which time around 50,000 kilograms of tomatoes have been thrown at anyone or anything that moves, runs, or fights back. Then everyone heads down to the river to make friends again—and for a much-needed wash!

【推荐2】Claude Monet was born in Paris, France, on November 14,1840. By the time he was fifteen, Monet had become popular as a caricaturist. Through an exhibition of his drawings at a local frame shop in 1858, Monet met Eugene Boudin, a landscape painter. Boudin introduced Monet to outdoor painting, an activity that soon became his life’s work.

Monet was interested in natural light, atmosphere, and color, and recorded them in his paintings as accurately as possible. A striking example of his early style was the Terrace at St. Adresse, which contained a shining mixture of bright, natural colors.

Monet exhibited regularly in the group shows. His painting Impression: Sunrise inspired a newspaper critic Louis Leroy to call all of the artists in the group “impressionists,” and the name stuck.

Monet gradually gained critical and financial success during the late 1880s and the 1890s. This was due to the efforts of Durand-Ruel, who sponsored one-man exhibitions of Monet’s work.

During the 1890s he devoted his energy to paintings of haystacks. In these works Monet painted his subjects from the same physical position, allowing only the light and weather conditions to vary from picture to picture. By 1899 he began to work on his famous paintings of the water lilies in his garden at Giverny, France.

Monet’s late years were very difficult. His health declined rapidly, and he was almost blind. Besides, he struggled with the problems of his art. In 1920 he began to work on twelve large canvases of water lilies, which he planned to give to his country. To complete them, he fought against his own failing eyesight and the fact that he had no experience in creating large-scale mural art. In fact, the task required him to learn a new kind of painting at the age of eighty. The painting was characterized by a broad, sweeping style and depended almost entirely on color.

Monet died on December 5,1926,at his home. He once wrote, “My only merit lies in having painted directly in front of nature, seeking to express my impressions of the fleeting effects.” Most art historians believe that Monet accomplished much more than this. He helped change the world of painting by shaking off the convention of the past. By dissolving forms in his works, Monet opened the door for further abstraction in art and influenced such later artists as Jackson Pollack, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning.

【推荐3】This past weekend my wife and 1 had the opportunity to be in Colorado for a school reunion.On Saturday, we decided to take a day trip up to the mountains for a hike.The hike started at Echo Lake, near the base of the beautiful Mt Evans.The path would follow a river up the mountain to another lake.

We crossed the river a few times on wooden planks and walked through some thick trees slowly and unsteadily but eventually we made it to the lake.It was absolutely beautiful and definitely worth the hike.But we noticed that the path continued up the mountain further.We had plenty of water and a little more energy so we decided to keep going and see where it led.

The path got steeper from there and sometimes it was hard to find.But we stuck with it because every quarter mile the trees would open up and we’d get an amazing view of the mountains around us.Eventually, the path led us to another lake that was even more beautiful than the first.

We were about to stop and eat lunch, having reached our destination, when my wife noticed a waterfall at one end of the lake.We could see that the path we were on continued up the mountain to what must be the source of the waterfall.Having seen it, we knew we had to try and make it.

During the next mile of hiking we had to trudge through dark, sticky mud and then hop on logs and rocks across rivers.The last half mile was really steep, and we had to hike through the thick snow which was far beyond our expectations.The altitude was starting to affect us as the air got thin and our muscles ached.

Eventually, we made it to the top and found one of the most beautiful sights I have ever had the privilege to see.At the top there was yet another lake, with amazingly blue water, the snow-capped mountains reflected on its surface.It was breathtaking.

I learned a lesson about setting goals that day.