【推荐1】This is the SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, I'm Barbara Klein.

Animal experts say one of the world's most beautiful and rare kinds of big cat is close to disappearing from the wild. A study earlier this year found that about thirty Amur leopards (豹) still live free. The cats are also called Far Eastern leopards.

Recently, their number has been reduced by one, Some person shot a female Amur, then beat her to death. The animal's body was discovered last month in the Barsovy National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Russia.

An official of the World Wildlife Fund, Darron, said this was the third such killing in the area in the past fives years. Mr, Collins said the death of even one adult female is a huge loss for the endangered cat, He noted that the killing reduces the possibility for cubs (幼兽) or young.

It is not clear how many Amur leopards still live free. One population count was performed in February and March. Wildlife expert Dmitry Pikuuov led this study. It found evidence of seven to nine males. The study identified three to seven females without cubs, Four leopards were identified as females with cubs. In all, five or six cubs were recorded, Six to eight animals could not be identified.

Most of the land where the Amur leopard once lived was in China.New roads and climate change there threatened the animals. So did hunters who kill big cats for their body parts.

Mr. Pikuuov says adult Amurs need about five hundred square kilometers with good forests to survive. He said they also need a large and continuing supply of animals like deer for food. He believes the answer to saving the Amur leopard is for governments to provide protected spaces for wildlife.

【推荐3】While there are plenty of factors that go into how attractive you are to mosquitoes, new research has found the colors you’re wearing definitely play a role.

For the study, researchers from the University of Washington tracked the behavior of female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes when they were given different types of visual and scent cues (气味信号). The researchers put the mosquitoes into small test rooms and exposed them to different things, like a colored dot (小圆点) or person’s hand.

The mosquitoes first detect that you’re around by smelling carbon dioxide from your breath, which pushes them to look for certain colors and visual patterns that could indicate food, the researchers explained. When there was no scent cue like carbon dioxide in the test rooms, the mosquitoes neglected the colored dot, no matter what color it was. But once researchers sprayed carbon dioxide in the room, they flew toward dots that were red, orange, or black. Dots that were green, blue, or purple were overlooked.

“Light colors are perceived as a threat to mosquitoes, which is why many species avoid biting in direct sunlight,” researcher Timothy Best says. “Mosquitoes are very likely to be affected by dehydration (脱水) which can even cause them to die, therefore light colors may represent danger and cause avoidance. In contrast, darker colors may copy shadows, which are more likely to absorb and preserve heat, allowing mosquitoes to locate a host.”

If you have the option of wearing lighter or darker clothes when you know you’ll be going into an area with lots of mosquitoes, you’d better go with the lighter choice. Dark colors stand out to mosquitoes, whereas light colors blend in. When you’re going into areas where these small insects are known to hide, you can use bug spray and wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers. Regularly get rid of standing water around your home and empty items that hold water such as bird baths, toys, and planters. Each of these protective measures will contribute to decreasing your likelihood of getting bitten. And, if you’re able to wear something other than red or dark colors, even better.

【推荐2】What will restaurants look like in the future? What would your dinner taste like if a robot cooked it? A robot restaurant in Tianjin may give you the answers.

Covering an area of over 400 square meters with a total of 112 seats, the X Future Restaurant is a robot restaurant opened in November 2018. The restaurant has amazed customers with its fully-automated(全自动的)technology, which covers every step of the dining experience, from ordering to cooking to serving the dishes and even taking payment.

Entering the restaurant, one can order dishes by simply scanning(扫描)the QR codes on the table. There are over 40 choices of dishes. After taking the order, "robot cooks" prepare dishes using fixed time, temperature and ingredients designed by famous Chinese cooks.

"As the cooking is controlled by a computer system, the taste and quality of dishes can be good, "said Li Xiaokui, manager of the X Future Restaurant.

Robots also complete the delivery of dishes. Without following any designed route, the robot waiters serve meals thanks to automated driving technology, which helps each robot timely change its route when something is in the way.

These eye-catching technologies have received wide praise from customers. "The dishes taste surprisingly good. I couldn't believe that they were made by robots, especially dishes that were difficult to cook" one customer said. "The application of robots has increased our efficiency(效率)and cut down our costs, "Li said, "I think robot restaurants will develop fast and have a bright future. "

【推荐3】Sagrada Familia ( 2,056,448 visits/year)

Opening hours: 09:00-18:00 (October-March)       09:00-20:00 (April-September).

Admission: $11, or $10 with the Barcelona Card.

Disabled access: Yes.

The temple has been under construction since 1882 and they’ve still got another 30 to 80 years to go before it will be finished. The project’s vast scale (规模) and its special design have made it one of Barcelona’s top tourist attractions for many years.

La Pedrera (1,133,220 visits/year)

Opening hours: 09:00-18:30 (November-February)       09:00-20:00 (March-October)

Admission: $9.50. Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

Disabled access: No.

This building used to be called Casa Mila, but nowadays it’s more commonly known as La Pedrera. It was made of bricks and had colorful tiles (瓷砖).

Barcelona FC Museum (1,032,763 visits/year)

Opening hours: 6th April-4th October: (Monday to Saturday) 10:00-20:00; the rest of the year: 10:00 to 18:30.

Admission: $8.50 for entry to museum and an extra $17 for a guided tour.

Disabled access: Yes.

It is now generally considered as the best football museum in the world. You can see so many trophies (奖杯), pictures and statues of great football players. I’m not a football fan but I still enjoyed walking round this museum.

Miró Museum (518,869 visits/year)

Opening hours: Check website for details as they vary depending on the time of the year.

Admission: $8. Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

Disabled access: Yes.

This museum has a wide range of Miró’s works dating back as far as 1914. This artwork collection includes not only his paintings but also a good selection of sculptures.

【推荐1】It’s really true what people say about English politeness: it’s everywhere. When squeezing(挤) past someone or passing through a crowd in a narrow place, people say “sorry”. When getting off a bus, English passengers say “thank you” rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others is sometimes unavoidable(不可避免的), and the bus driver is only doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles and came to appreciate(欣赏) some more polite ways of communicating with people, and here are some more polite ways of interacting with people in UK.

People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customer and shop assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be surprising to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, which is different from Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.

Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize(批评) others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers repeated several times but none of their explanations were intended as scolding me. It has been my impression that by avoiding scolding, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is showed in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat(请客) women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies(适用于) to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter are a bit mean(吝啬的).

【推荐2】Before the discovery of DNA information in the 1980s, fingerprints（指纹）were the easiest way to solve serious crimes. It’s believed that each one of us has our own fingerprints. But did you know that our fingerprints could show a lot about us?

According to The Conversation, fingerprints can show lifestyle and environment, eating habits, possible medical problems and even the job of a person.

So how can we work all this out from just a simple fingerprint? Well, a fingerprint is formed when a finger touches a surface. Most fingerprints can’t be seen to the eye and require a chemical development process in order to make them shown. Stuck between the raised lines of a fingerprint, however, are things that can tell a story about who we are. Things like sweat, blood, and food show a lot of information about us.

Besides, its use could be much wider. For example, it may be helpful in the future to doctors treating their patients. A fingerprint check may also tell a doctor whether a patient is properly having a medicine. In the treatment of some of the most serious illnesses, having proper medicine is important.

In the future, fingerprint science can be used to the police and help doctors keep us in the best possible health.

【推荐3】Organic food, grown without artificial chemicals, is increasingly popular nowadays. Consumers have been willing to pay up to twice as much for goods with organic labels. However, if you think paying a little more for organic food gets you a more nutritious and safer product, then you'd better save your money. A study led by researchers at Stanford University says that organic products aren't necessarily more nutritious, and they're no less likely to suffer from disease-causing bacteria, either.

For their new study, Smith-Spangler and her colleagues conducted a review of two categories of research,   including 17 studies that compared health outcomes between consumers of organic against traditional food products, and 223 studies that analyzed the nutritional content of the foods, including key vitamins, minerals and fats.

While the researchers found little difference in nutritional content, they did find that organic fruit and vegetables were 20% less likely to have chemicals remaining on the surfaces. Neither organic nor traditional foods showed levels of chemicals high enough to go beyond food safety standards. And both organic and traditional meats, such as chicken and pork, were equally likely to be harmed by bacteria at very low rates. The researchers did find that organic milk and chicken contained higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy fat also found in fish that can reduce the risk of heart disease. However, these nutritional differences were too small, and the researchers were unwilling to make much of them until further studies confirm the trends.

Organic food is produced with fewer chemicals and more natural-growing practices, but that doesn't always translate into a more nutritious or healthier product. The U. S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) states that “whether you buy organic or not, finding the freshest foods available may have the biggest effect on taste.” Fresh food is at least as good as anything marketed as organic.

【推荐1】Whether it's studying for exams, working on a project or struggling with an essay, we've all been under huge stress at some point. When it gets hard for us to bear, we can reach a level of exhaustion — the terrible burnout (倦怠). However, that feeling of exhaustion is not just physical; it can be mental as well.

According to Psychology Today, burnout isn't just caused by working long hours; it is more about prolonged or repeated exposure to a stressful situation.

Its result can be feelings of cynicism, depression and lethargy (嗜睡). Suffering from burnout can stifle (扼杀) our creativity and productivity. Ironically, this means that striving to be more efficient can result in a reduction in our productivity. But what can we do to avoid the evils of burnout? Well, there are some tips that may help you.

Psychologist Albert Bandura's idea of self-efficacy — which is the theory that you should believe in your ability to complete a task at hand — may assist you. A feeling that the task is achievable and that you are capable of succeeding might make a difficult task less tiresome.

Finding ways to express your creative side may help. Not everyone has creative aspects to their jobs, therefore, they need to find other outlets. They could paint, write or take part in local theatre. All of this may help to free them from the stress that may exist in their working life.

Looking after yourself and your surroundings can also be beneficial. The consequence is that you are surrounded by a cleaner and more positive environment. This, in turn, leads to another tip, which is to have healthy and positive thoughts. Being negative can be incredibly draining (心力交瘁的). Having a positive mental attitude towards everything you do means that you may feel more capable as well.

Burnout is a common condition associated with the pressures of the modern world. It's not just a physical condition; it has psychological effects that can impact heavily on your work and life in general. Taking steps to avoid burning out can benefit not just us, but our bosses and families.

【推荐2】Com has been a significant part in American food since before European arrival. After the Civil War, grits(粗玉米粉), which are made out of corn, became a diet mainstay(支柱) because water-powered mills turned up. They were relatively inexpensive and could be eaten with almost anything, making it possible for everyone to enjoy.

Grits are usually cooked with water, cream and butter over the course of many hours. There can be varied types of grits from smooth to grainy. There are even instant grits for those without the hours to cook. Worth noting is that sugar is not typically added.

Grits can be served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but they’re commonly used as a base, usually topped with seafood and a delicious sauce. It’s a dish eaten by everyone from sitting presidents to blue-collar workers in a variety of ways, both in fine dining restaurants and oily spoons.

Shrimp and grits is the most well-known dish incorporating grits, especially in coastal areas like Charleston, South Carolina. It was originally a fisherman’s breakfast, a hearty meal before a long day of work, and today, it’s found on menus throughout the nation.

Chefs have also become creative with the dish, adding modern elements to the traditional. Mashama Bailey has a foie gras(鹅肝酱) and grits dish at The Grey in Savannah, Georgia. Edward Lee has prepared it like the porridge his Korean parents cooked during his growing up, but uses Kentucky’s Wiesenberger grits. Nathalie Dupree has made her career on the dish with her cookbook titled “Shrimp and Grits” , while Virginia Willis has appropriately titled “Grits”.

【推荐3】In the year 2017, the world lost many great musicians. Their deaths were felt over the world and country music star Keith Lionel Urban honored these musicians in a very special way. During a New Year’s Eve concert, Keith talked about all the greats that passed away and how some of them were music and life coaches or examples to him. That was when Keith decided to put together a mixture of songs from all of these artists.

At the concert, pictures of some of the most eminent people in the music industry appeared across the screen. As their pictures appeared, Keith sang the songs that the artists were best-known for. Each performance was truly moving, and the audience loved it. Instead of thinking it was a sad moment, everyone was able to think about how much joy these artists brought to the music industry.

Keith sang a few lines from songs by Chris Cornell, Gregg Allman, Chuck Berry, Don Williams, Glen Campbell and Troy Gentry. The audience cheered aloud whenever he changed from one song to another. It was amazing how smoothly he played through the different styles of music. It was a perfect interpretation of his gift.

When he got to the final song, he invited his wife to join him on stage to dance and close out the night. Then his two daughters joined their parents. It was really an unforgettable performance.

Music truly has the ability to touch a special place in our hearts and even if we do not know these artists personally, their songs have meant a lot to many of us. I am sure those artists would have been so proud to hear him sing their music. It is a way to honor those late artists and celebrate the joy they brought to our lives!