【推荐1】Reading is a complex and crucial skill that impacts the youth’s ability to perform as students. Therefore, it’s important to develop reading skills during childhood. A team of researchers focused on the effect of whole-body learning in instruction, known as embodied learning.

The research included 149 children, aged 5 to 6, who had just started school. They were divided into three groups: one that stood up and used their whole bodies to shape letter sounds; a seated group that shaped letter sounds with their hands and arms; and a control group that received traditional, seated instruction during which they wrote letters by hand.

“Our research showed that children who used their whole bodies to shape the sounds of letters became twice as proficient (熟练的) at letter sounds that are more difficult to learn as those who received traditional instruction,” says PhD student Linn Damsgaard of UCPH’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.

With regard to difficult letter sounds, she adds, “There are many difficult letter sounds in Danish. These sounds are particularly important because once children become proficient at them, they will be better readers.”

Associate professor Jacob Wienecke, who led the study, explains, “The primary goal is to learn more about which methods can be used to give beginner readers a good start. The idea is that if, through play and movement, we can learn where their strengths truly lie, we’ll create a form of learning that combines reading with play, and that’s truly positive.”

Previously, the researchers showed that the children felt more motivated by teaching methods which included physical movement. Jacob Wienecke hopes this will provide an opportunity to inspire teachers and school managers to prioritize movement across subjects.

The study also investigated whether a direct effect of embodied learning could be found on children’s reading of individual words. This was not possible, which might be due to the fact that the children were at such an early stage of their literacy development that they could not yet use their knowledge of letter sounds to read words.

【推荐2】Have you ever heard people say that laziness is the mother of poverty? Laziness is a sin (罪), everyone knows that. We have probably all had lectures pointing out that laziness is immoral, that it is wasteful, and that lazy people will never amount to anything in life. But is it often the case?

In fact, laziness is often caused by more complex reasons than simple wish to avoid work. Some people who appear to be lazy are suffering from much more serious problems. They may be so distrustful of their fellow workers that they are unable to join in any group task for fear of ridicule (嘲笑) or having their idea stolen. These people who seem lazy may be paralyzed by a fear of failure that prevents fruitful work. Or other sorts of fantasies may prevent work; some people are so busy planning, sometimes planning great deals or fantastic achievements that they are unable to deal with whatever “lesser” work is on hand. Still other people are not avoiding work; strictly speaking, they are merely procrastinating — rescheduling their day.

Laziness can actually be helpful. Like procrastinators (拖延者), some people may look lazy when they are really thinking, planning, contemplating (沉思), researching. We should all remember that great scientific discoveries occurred by chance. Sitting “lazily” under the tree, Newton wasn’t working in the orchard (果园) when the apple hit him and he devised the theory of gravity. All of us would like to have someone “lazy” build the car, particularly if that “laziness” was caused by the worker’s taking time to check each step of his work and to do his job right. And sometimes, being “lazy” — that is, taking time off for a rest — is good for the overworked students or executives. Taking a rest can be particularly helpful to the “lazy” athlete who is trying too hard or the “lazy” doctor who’s simply working himself overtime too many evenings at the clinic. So be careful when you’re tempted to call someone lazy. That person may be thinking, resting, or planning his or her next work. See for yourself!

【推荐1】Seth Magle is an urban ecologist in Chicago. In 2021, he started building a network of fellow urban animal lovers from around the world. They’re working to collect information so that it can be compared in different cities.

With the goal of trying to create more wildlife inclusive cities, the network helps reduce human wildlife conflict and increase human wildlife coexistence in the massively urbanizing areas.

In Chicago, Magle and his team have been watching their city’s wildlife for about 10 years. All together, they have over 100 camera traps set up across different types of urban environments from the downtown Loop and city parks to nature preserves and suburb golf courses.

During times of recent extreme heat, we do definitely see animals reduce movement and just stay where they are. It’s probably energetically difficult to move around when it’s so hot. Although this works for a short term in high temperature, it’s not ideal over a longer period because it means less time to search for food or a new mate.

As Magle and his network of urban researchers look toward the future and climate change, they predict bigger shifts. Temperatures everywhere are projected to warm, so wildlife in urban settings and beyond will likely have to shift their normal regions a bit further north to where it feels more comfortable and to what they’re already used to. We don’t have armadillos in Chicago, but we have them in the southern part of the state. And they seem to be migrating north.

Only time will tell how our urban wildlife reacts to these longer-term shifts in temperature.

For now, it sounds like urban animals — so long as they’re healthy — are totally capable of handling a few days of extreme heat here and there.

【推荐2】A highly expected project to get plastic out of the massive pool of ocean debris (碎片) is ready to begin its first period from Alameda, California. The creators of the project, called the Ocean Cleanup, say their system can remove 90 percent of the plastic in the ocean by 2040.

It’s those larger pieces that the cleanup system will stop. The system features a 600-meter-long line of unmoored booms (未停泊的水栅) that act as an artificial shoreline traveling with the wind, waves and ocean currents while rounding up plastic debris. Beneath the surface, the booms drag a 3-meter-long skirt, through which only the tiniest bits of plastic can escape. Currents will naturally push the line of booms into a U-shape, herding plastic particles (颗粒) so they’re easier to collect.

The booms are also tricked out with solar-powered lights, anti-collision (防冲撞) systems and satellite positioning to avoid ships and help project scientists keep track of the system’s location. Periodically, support ships will cart the collected plastic bits back to land for recycling.

The launch of “System 001” will be a test for the first of a planned fleet of about 60 such systems. Once launched, System 001 will undergo two weeks of field testing off the California coast, Lebreton says. If all goes well, it will head to the North Pacific, arriving within five weeks of the launch date. “We’re hoping to bring the first plastic back before the end of the year,” he says.

The Ocean Cleanup representatives say their project is meant to work consistently with such upstream measures. “Even while trying to change human behaviors, it’s still worth trying to remove whatever is already out there floating near the surface. The whole point is that we want to try to collect as much as possible,” Lebreton says.

Whatever the result of this deployment, some experts trying to tackle the plastic trash problem applaud the Ocean Cleanup for raising awareness around the issue.

【推荐3】Starting in September, shoppers at British supermarket chain Waitrose &Partners may notice a small yet significant difference. Nearly 500 fresh products will no longer have “best before” dates printed on them. This move is designed to reduce food waste by encouraging shoppers to use their own judgement as to whether a product is still good to eat, rather than relying on a printed date.

Marija Rompani, director of Waitrose&Partners, points out 70% of all food wasted in the U. K. happens at home. U. K. households throw away 4. 5 million tons of eatable food every year, meaning that all the energy and resources used in food production are wasted. He says this move will save money at a time of rising food costs and increasing financial pressures. By using up existing fresh food in our homes, we can also save on our weekly household food shopping, which is becoming an increasingly pressing concern for many.

Waitrose-Partners is not the only supermarket to make such changes in recent years. Another British chain, Morrison’s, made headlines in January for removing “use by” dates on milk, urging customers to do a test with their noses to determine whether or not the milk is still good to drink. Tesco removed “best before” dates on more than 100 fresh food products in 2018, and MarksSpencer did the same this summer for over 300 products after a successful smaller trial.

“Best before” typically refers to the date before which an item will have best taste and texture. Passing the date does not mean it goes bad — just that it’s less good. “Use by” refers to safety and will still be applied to Waitrose & Partners products where there’s a risk of food poisoning if consumed after the date printed on the packaging. There are exceptions if the item has been frozen ahead o£ its “use by” date.