【推荐1】Sleep-deprived human parents know the value of a quick nap, but it turns out chinstrap penguins (带帽企鹅) have us all beat. When nesting, these Antarctic birds take four-second-long “micro-sleeps”, a strategy that allows parents to keep constant watch over weak eggs and chicks, all while having 11 hours of total sleep a day, according to a new study.

Chinstrap parents, like other penguins, take turns guarding the nest. While one bird protects the chicks, the partner finds food at sea. Then the penguins trade places. For two months between egg laying and fledging (羽化), it’s a series of nonstop demands.

In order to study how penguins manage to accomplish all this and get the necessary sleep, Lee, a leader researcher, first stuck biologgers, small battery-powered devices, to the backs of 14 nesting penguins of both sexes. This device functions like a smart-watch, measuring physical activity, pulse, and the ocean depths of foraging (觅食) birds.

Next, the team humanely arrested each of the penguins, attaching the devices temporarily into their skull to measure brain activity. When an animal is awake, the brain constantly buzzes with activity. During sleep, however, brain waves slow down and stretch out. When Lee started reviewing the data, he was surprised to discover the birds, slept in four-second intervals throughout the day and night while looking after their eggs or chicks.

“In both humans and penguins, micro-sleeps occur during times of exhaustion, yet nesting chinstrap penguins seem to have a near-exclusive reliance on it,” Cirelli, another scientist, says. Studying sleep in natural environments is difficult, so “the simple fact that they were able to record data in these conditions is incredible.”

While the data is convincing, Cirelli notes that the researchers only studied the penguins during nesting periods, making it impossible to tell if the birds micro-sleep when they’re not parenting. The other challenge is understanding how micro-sleep impacts the brains and bodies of the penguins. Sleep deprivation (匮乏) in humans causes a range of health problems, and it’s not clear whether penguins experience this, too.

【推荐2】Recently, Australian scientists learned something unexpected about magpies(喜鹊)when they tried to attach trackers to them to learn more about their habits.

The birds the scientists hoped to study were Australian magpies. They’re medium-sized black and white birds from the same bird “family” as crows(乌鸦). They live in groups of up to 12 birds and work together to defend the area they live in.

The researchers were eager to try a new tracker on the magpies. They hoped to learn more about how far the birds flew and what they did during a normal day. The scientists are concerned that magpies may have a hard time adjusting as the world warms up because of climate change.

To keep the trackers on the birds without causing flying problems, the researchers developed a special harness (背带). It was tough, so it wouldn’t come off by accident. But it had a special release controlled by magnets (磁铁). This was meant to allow the scientists to free the birds from the harnesses at a special magnetic bird feeder, without having to catch the birds again.

The researchers placed trackers on five magpies using their special harnesses. But just ten minutes after setting up the last magpie, they noticed something unusual: an adult female magpie was helping another magpie get free from its harness. In a few hours, most of the other magpies had also been freed from their harnesses. By the third day, none of the birds had trackers anymore.

The scientists were disappointed about the trackers, but they realized that the magpies had taught them something else: magpies are able and willing to help each other out. This is called “rescue behavior”, and it’s not that common in the animal world, especially among birds.

【推荐3】Penguins are flightless birds that spend half their time on land and half in the water.

    1     They have dark and white feathers, and their wings have evolved into flippers (脚蹼). Most penguins feed on fish, squid and other forms of sea life caught while swimming.

    2     They are mostly found in groups that include thousands of penguins. Penguins each have their own unique mating call, and they use that to locate their mate and chicks in such a large group.

Although almost all penguin species are native to the Southern Hemisphere, they are not found only in cold Antarctica.    3     Several species are even found in the temperate zone, and one species, the Galátpagos penguin, lives near the equator (赤道).

Unfortunately, many penguin species worldwide are facing threats. The biggest is climate change and global warming. As the earth warms up, the sheets of ice have melted, and the algae (藻类)that grow under the ice decrease. The algae are eaten by tiny creatures called zooplankton. When there is a drop in zooplankton, it affects the fish that depend on it.    4    

Another major threat is from oil spills. If coated with oil, penguins cannot float or swim in water. Also, if oil is swallowed, penguins will die from poison.    5    

【推荐1】Liu Xinlin, 22, experienced her first ride in a self­driving taxi in Changsha, the capital of China's Hunan Province. “I made an appointment soon after setting the starting and ending points in the app,” said Liu. “A safety supervisor contacted me and the taxi arrived in about 10 minutes.”

“The taxi drove very smoothly by itself. And the safety supervisor and technician sitting in the front basically didn't have any manual control of it,” said Liu after a 10­minute­long test ride. “The taxi passed through three or four crossroads and it was a safe ride without any unexpected situations.”

The self­driving taxi, named Robotaxi, is operated by Hunan Apollo Intelligent Transportation Co., Ltd. based in Xiangjiang New Area in the city. On April 21, the company announced that a group of 30 self­driving taxis had entered public use in the city and users can hail one for a free ride.

“The in­car touch screen can display barriers and dynamic predictions within the 360­degree field of vision and clearly present the conditions of passing vehicles, crossroads and traffic lights,” said Cheng Li, director of the test and vehicle operation department of the company. Cheng added users can learn information such as the vehicle's speed and remaining distance through the screen in real time.

In September 2019, the company launched a trial service for a group of citizens, who had to first complete training and other procedures. The technical personnel have started testing self­driving taxis and accumulated a lot of test data since the second half of last year.

China allowed local governments to arrange road tests for intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs), which cover different degrees of autonomous driving, in April 2018. An increasing number of cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, have issued license plates for road tests of ICVs.

【推荐2】This year, new technologies will enable more drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel (方向盘) while on the road. But that doesn’t mean their cars will be fully self-driving-that day still remains far in the future.

Automakers like General Motors (GM), Ford and Stellates are introducing, or upgrading existing technologies. But in the words of Kay Stepper, an automated driving expert, these systems are “feet off’ and “hands off”, but they will not be“eyes off’ or “mind off’.

For the time being, these systems will only be used on limited-access highways, where there are no pedestrians (行人) or bicyclists. Vehicles with this technology will be able to drive at relatively high speeds, but only in simple traffic situations.

Bryan Reimer, a researcher with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Age Lab, said it will be decades before people can buy truly self-driving cars in which humans ride as passengers.

Still, the technology that will be rolled out by the major automakers this year will do more than most so-called Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS, do now.

GM’s Super Cruise system allows drivers to completely let go of the steering wheel while driving on selected highways. It was introduced in 2017 on the Cadillac CT6 sedan, which was discontinued last year. An improved version is coming this year on the Cadillac Escalade SUV and the Cadillac CT4 and CT5 sedans.

Super Cruise only works on highways that have been previously laser-mapped in three dimensions. GPS positioning and the vehicles’ radar sensors and cameras are used to enable drivers to unhand all the controls.

Drivers still need to pay attention, however. A camera in the car makes sure the driver is looking at the road at all times. If the driver looks away from the road for more than a few seconds, the system will stop working.

【推荐3】Would you carry around an electronic ID, not in your pocket, but in your body? Does this idea scare you or make you feel safe?

The first computer ID chip(芯片) that could be planted under a person’s skin might be marketed very soon.

Developed by Applied Digital, an American technology company based in Florida, the device(发明物) could meet the need for public security(安全) after the September 11 attacks.

For airports, nuclear power plants(核电站) and other high security facilities, the immediate effects are obvious.

The technology could help put an end to false ID cards, because it would be difficult to remove and copy a tiny computer chip. The chip is as small as a grain of rice.

The technology would also allow satellites to track a person’s every movement and store medical records.

These uses are already attracting interest for tasks like fighting against kidnappings(绑架), or helping with medical operations.

But some people are afraid of the loss of privacy(隐私).

“You always have to think about what the device could be used for tomorrow,” said Lee Tien, a senior privacy lawyer in the United States.

“At first a device is used for applications we all agree are good, but then it slowly starts being used for more than it was intended,” he said.

However, Applied Digital says it will soon apply for government permission for the device. It says that the first people to use the chip will be volunteers.

Getting the implant(需移植的芯片) would go something like this:

A person or company buys the chip from Applied Digital for about US $ 200. And the company encodes(编码) it with the desired information.

The customer then takes the chip to their doctor, who can plant it with a large needle.

The device has no power supply, rather it is activated(使活动,使运行) by a scanner(扫描仪) running across the skin above it. Without a scanner, the chip cannot be read.

Even with the privacy concern, some are already eager to use the product.

Jell Jacobs from Florida hopes to become the first buyer of the chip to store his medical records. Suffering from a serious illness, he wants to make sure doctors can help him quickly.

Eight Latin American companies have also shown interests in the device. It could help to find any tourists who are kidnapped.

【推荐1】Indoor Sports Games & Activities for Kids

Stuck indoors? No problem. There are plenty of fun sports activities for kids that can be played indoors. Here are the most fun indoor sports activities and games for kids.

Obviously you don’t want to play football in your family living room, which is why this safer version of football is the perfect indoor sports activity for kids. This game is easy: simply drop a balloon in the middle of a long rectangle table, and have each team try to blow the football toward the other’s side goal. For a funnier, larger than life version of indoor balloon football, check out this must-see video.

Who is eligible: Aged 6⁺

While most might think that Hula Hoops are a solo activity, you can totally play hula hoop with others as a fun kid’s indoor sports activity. The most fun team-based activity using a Hula Hoop is racing: Have two kids spinning Hula Hoops and then try to simultaneously(同时) move, whether they run, shimmy, or herky-jerky their way to the finish line, and is then declared winner!

Who is eligible: Aged 8⁺

Foam (泡沫)sports are perfect for indoors, since most foam objects won’t break any windows inside your home! Take your kid to your local department store, and be sure to pick up a foam basketball, foam football, or even Nerf foam guns. Make sure you ensure boundaries in your home when letting your kid play indoors with foam sports toys.

Who is eligible: Aged 4-6

Obviously it is ideal to start with a foam ball, and make sure there is enough space around the hitter so that they don’t accidentally hit anyone!

Who is eligible: Aged 5-9

【推荐2】5G has the potential to disrupt a huge number of industries, including one of the world’s oldest: Farming. Next-generation 5G networks can be 100 times faster than 4G, making communication between devices and servers much quicker. 5G can also carry much more data than other networks. That makes the technology ideal for transmitting information from remote sensors and drones, key tools that are being tested by farmers. 5G is also helping to automate farming processes.

UK initiative 5G RuralFirst launched a smartphone app in March called Me+Moo, which lets farmers track a “connected” cow and receive daily updates on the animal’s health and behavior. The system, which is being tested on cows at the Agri-Epi Center in Somerset, England, is funded in part by UK government and supported by the tech company Cisco (CSCO). The cows wear 5G-connected collars that send data to the app on everything from what they’re eating to how they’re sleeping. Farmers can see the information instantly. “This provides peace of mind that the cows are happy, healthy and behaving normally, as well as early warning if they are getting sick, are pregnant or need to be checked,” said project manager Duncan Forbes.

Yet to make a difference, 5G will first need to be installed in rural areas. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that in order to provide for the world’s rapidly rising population, the planet will need to grow 70% more food in 2050 than it did in 2009. “To respond to those demands, farmers will need new technologies to produce more from less land, with fewer hands,” reads one report from the organization.

In 2017, another 5G RuralFirst project became the first in the world to successfully plant, tend and harvest a crop without a single human stepping foot in the field. Autonomous Automatic tractors sowed the seeds, drones with sensors monitored the crops, and smaller machines took samples from fields to assess what fertilizers and pesticides to apply.

【推荐3】Imagine someone who has spent the majority of their life sitting with a sign on the side of the road and that very person giving someone their last 20 dollars. That’s exactly what Marine Corps veteran (退伍军人) Johnny Bobbitt, 34, did in October in Philadelphia.

Bobbitt served in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked as a paramedic (医务辅助人员) in Vance County, N. C. before he became homeless. Nobody knew how he got to where he was because he was discreet about that.

One night in October, Bobbitt was sitting roadside with a sign in Philadelphia as usual, when Kate McClure of Florence Township, N. J. was driving home down Interstate 95 and ran out of gas. Scared and nervous, she got out of the car to head to the nearest gas station. As McClure was heading to the nearest gas station, she ran into   Bobbitt and he told her to get back in the vehicle and lock the door. Minutes later, he appeared with a red gas can. He’d used his last $20 to buy her gas.

After that unexpected meeting, McClure and her boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, who both live in New Jersey, visited Bobbitt several times to deliver gift cards, cash, snacks and toiletries. They then decided to create a fund raising page so he wouldn’t have to spend the holidays sleeping on the street.

McClure started the GoFundMe page on November 10. With the page, the couple hoped to raise $10,000, enough money for his rent, a reliable vehicle and up to six months’ expenses. Bobbitt’s story ran in a local paper. By November 15，more than 10,000 local people had made donations through the GoFundMe page and more than $300,000 had been raised.

On Thanksgiving, Bobbitt was resting in a hotel, his feet up on the bed, drawing up a grand plan for his new life, thanks to several thousand dollars raised to repay him for a good deed.

【推荐1】The exam comes in July. When the exam finishes, the summer vacation begins. Boys and girls have two months to rest. The summer vacations are the best part of a year for most children. The weather is usually good. They can swim, go to summer camp or visit other places with their parents. 

We all know that the beaches are good places to relax. Some children are lucky to live near the sea. They can enjoy the sea at any time. But for the children who live far from the sea, they go to the beaches for only one or two weeks with their parents. 

Why do children like spending their summer vacation on the beaches? It is because they like the sand, the sun, the cool wind and the salt water. There are a lot of new things to see, nice things to eat and exciting things to do.

【推荐2】A severe drought(干旱) that has caused water levels in Southeast Asia's Mekong River to drop to their lowest in more than 100 years could have devastating(毁灭性的) consequences for fish, as well as the tens of millions of people living and working along the river, experts warn.

This year, the dry conditions in the Mekong region persisted(持续) due to warm Pacific Ocean currents(洋流)known as the EI Nino effect. But climate change is also a driving factor, experts say, causing the rainy season to shorten considerably. The situation was made worse by hydropower (水利发电)dam operators upstream, in China and Laos , with holding water for their own purposes.

Many rice farmers in the region have been unable to plant their main crop, raising fears 'of a heavily diminished harvest this fall. Less water flow could also have a devastating impact on fish reproduction in the Mekong River basin. Perhaps even more alarming, experts expect that droughts and disruptions(中断)to the water flow of the Mekong will become more common, and they warn that it could eventually lead to the ruin of the entire ecosystem.

Originating in the Tibetan highlands, the Mekong River flows through six Asian counties before emptying into the South China Sea. The river basin is home to the largest inland fishery in the world and more than 60 million people depend on it for their livelihoods.

Few rivers in the world rise and fall with the seasons as much as the Mekong, which can drop Few rivers in the world rise and fall with the seasons as much as the Mekong, which can drop up to40 feet in some places at the end of the dry season. When the rainy season arrives, they normally produce a flood pulse that brings with it sediment(沉淀) important to agriculture as well as huge amounts of tiny fish, including many critically endangered species such as the Mekong giant catfish, that are swept into the Tonle Sap Lake and other floodplains where they can mature.

【推荐3】Just as Thanos wiped out half of the universe’s population by clicking his fingers, so clicks of online shoppers have destroyed large numbers of once booming brick-and-mortar shops (实体店).

The emergence and popularity of online shopping indicates the darkest hour of physical stores. Reading the profit announcements of large retail stores like Walmart and RT-mart is about as frustrating as a tour of an ICU (intensive care unit). The Internet is apparently taking down yet another industry. The Chinese Census Bureau released data showing that online sales hit the target of more than 500 billion RMB in “Double 11” this year.

Although many think the downfall of some physical stores arises from their failure to keep up with times, it doesn’t fit the fact that they made every endeavour to reinvent themselves. As the CEO of Carrefour based in China once put it, “We had been scratching our heads. We used the internet-connected tools to innovate about everything our branches did from managing stock of goods, marketing to getting paid.” On top of that, they delivered goods to houses free of charge. They maximized their staff’s hospitality towards customers. But hospitality paled in comparison to the great convenience the online shopping has brought. Walmart in Hangzhou used drones (无人机) to drop what customers had bought during the lockdown of Covid-19.

Some struggling physical stores have opened online stores, such as Suning, so people will come to them directly rather than to Tmall, Taobao and JD platforms. But even if they get online traffic, they are just struggling to make enough money online to compensate for what they are losing offline. Their narrow range of products catering to the needs of customers is their Achilles’ heel.

Despite the disadvantages physical stores are having, the brick and click competition won’t disappear in the foreseeable future. Will online shopping continue to be David? Maybe Goliath can turn the table. Who knows?