1 . A video circulated on social media earlier this year, showing a tourist opening the door of a vehicle, reaching out an arm and attempting to stroke a passing lion. The lion shrugged the tourist off, but it could have easily gone horribly wrong.

Reckless behaviour around wildlife risks the safety of both people and animals. People risk being attacked, mauled (撕咬) and possibly killed, while animals can be harmed, removed or even put down, regardless of whether they were only defending themselves. Animal attacks can also cast a destination in a negative light, causing temporary closures or scaring off visitors. All just so someone could boast that they had stroked a lion or captured a moment on a camera phone.

“Tourists are getting more and more reckless around wildlife and the source of the problem is social media.” says wildlife photographer Anette Mosshachers. “People risking their lives or doing stupid things with wildlife are after ‘likes’ and followers, something to show off on social media,” says Mossbacher. “The greater the risk, the more ‘likes’ they get. With some clients, it seems like a sickness or addiction.”

Yet social media is not entirely to blame. People have always taken risks for an experience. Foolish behavior and a tendency to get cocky around dangerous animals must have been around since the dawn of humanity. A hunger for attention online might drive some of the current madness, but some individuals might be trying to recreate a piece of the action they have seen on television. Perhaps the adrenaline (肾上腺激素) rush when close to wild animals causes a disappearance of common sense.

“There’s a worrying lack of awareness that animals several times our size, weight, speed and strength can easily hurt us,” says wildlife photographer David Lloyd. “I don’t think parks are doing enough to raise awareness. Tourists need to know how their presence can affect wildlife. A good example is cheetahs (猎豹) on vehicle rooftops. It may be a thrill for the bystanders, but the consequences if a mother cheetah falls off would be severe. She would no longer be able to hunt, so her cubs could easily starve.”

“People aren’t getting the education about why they need to stay away from wildlife, including avoiding diseases, keeping people secure and letting wildlife be wild,” says Philip Muruthi, vice president of species conservation and science for the African Wildlife Foundation. “We need to educate tourists through signs, pamphlets and frontline drivers. We should stick to guidelines, and there needs to be enforcement through the law.”

2 . Small batteries are big problems, but nobody really pays attention to where they end up. Researchers at the Cellulose & Wood Materials Laboratory are working to address this problem. Their new research paper describes a water-activated paper battery developed from environmentally friendly materials that could eventually present a sustainable alternative to the more harmful batteries common in low-power devices.

The paper battery has the same key components as standard batteries but packages them differently. Like a typical chemical battery, it has a positively charged side called a cathode, a negatively charged side called an anode, and a conductive material called an electrolyte (电解质) between the two. A traditional battery’s components are enclosed in plastic and metal; in the new battery, the anode and cathode are inks printed onto the front and back of a piece of paper. That paper is filled with salt, which dissolves (溶解) when the paper is dampened with water. The resulting saltwater solution acts as the electrolyte.

Sustainable materials were a precondition for the researchers, who considered only safe and plentiful ingredients to create their device. “We were fairly confident that we would have something that would work in the end, but developing these materials and ink systems is challenging,” says Gustav Nyström, senior author of the study.

After trying hundreds of formulations for the battery components, the researchers settled on a graphite ink to make the cathode, a zinc ink for the anode, and salt-filled paper to create the electrolyte.

When the paper is dry, the battery is shelf-stable. Add just a couple of drops of water, however, and the salt dissolves, allowing electrons to flow. Once the paper is dampened, the battery activates within 20 seconds. The new battery’s operating performance declines as the paper dries. When the scientists re-wet the paper during testing, the battery regained functionality and lasted an hour before beginning to dry out again.

Although the researchers demonstrated that their battery could power an alarm clock, the paper batteries are unlikely to replace standard ones on store shelves. Nyström envisions a future where these paper batteries could make their way into products within the next two to five years. “The performance that you see on this device, I think, is enough for a lot of other applications already,” he says. It is mostly a matter of increasing production and integrating the batteries into systems such as diagnostic tests and environmental sensors.”

3 . A school bus driver returned to college to become a high school history teacher, thanks to some _________ students.

Clayton Ward is a history lover, and as such,_________the time he’d spend chatting with students about their history classes as he _________ them to and from school.

“After several of these discussions, some of the students would tell me they wanted me to be their _________.” he said. “That small mention from those kids… it _________ me and gave me the motivation to complete a goal I had started years ago.”

_________, Ward went to college after his highschool graduation; but after a year, he had to leave and soon started driving buses. But he still valued _________, and talking with the students on the bus route renewed his sense of passion for expanding and teaching young minds.

Ward enrolled (注册) at a community college in May 2019, and _________ to take his classes full time while also still driving his bus.

“It wasn’t always _________. I would drive my route in the morning and afternoon, take classes in between shifts and take night classes,” he said. “I would think of those students and all the years I wanted to make this happen, and it helped me focus my energy.”

“You wouldn’t think that kids can do something like that, to give me the __________ and ambition to go back to school,” Ward said. “It’s kind of crazy that such a small thing can make such an impact on your life.”

9 . Have you ever wondered what happens to all of the old object s launched into space, such as rockets and satellites? It’s called space junk, and much of it is still out there now. According to NASA, the definition of space junk is “any man-made object in orbit (轨道) around Earth that no longer serves a useful function”.

One large piece of space junk, an abandoned rocket, hit the dark side of the moon on March 4. The rocket’s origin is not clear, but scientists know that it was massive—weighing about 3 tons. It must have left a large crater (坑), estimated 10 to 20 meters wide, on the moon’s surface. It won’t be visible right away, but scientists are trying to locate it. “We will find the crater, eventually,” Mark Robinson, lead investigator for NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, told USA TODAY. “Depending on its location, it could take as long as 28 days.”

What’s significant about this space junk crash is that it draws attention to some of the potential dangers of space junk. First, the accumulation of space junk in Earth’s orbit means that satellites and the International Space Station (ISS) are at risk. In 2016, tiny space debris (残骸),smaller than a millimeter, caused a tiny chip in the ISS’ window. Imagine the damage that a larger piece of debris could cause. The European Space Agency website states that objects “up to 1 cm in size could disable an instrument or a critical flight system on a satellite” while objects over 10 cm “could shatter a satellite or spacecraft into pieces”. If this sounds terrifying, that’s because it is. Any collision (碰撞) with larger pieces of debris could be especially dangerous for manned spacecraft.

In addition to potential damage to spacecraft and satellites, space junk also poses a threat to the Earth itself Crashes can send debris into the atmosphere where it can remain for many decades. Some powerful collisions can even send large debris hurtling (猛冲) toward Earth’s surface where it can affect the local environment. Leftover rocket debris can contain toxic materials that are harmful to plant and animal life. Some people in Siberia have even reported serious health problems after rocket debris landed in their regions in 2012, a local doctor told the BBC.

10 . 2023 Illustration(插画) Competition

Welcome to enter for the Communication Arts Illustration Competition, most respected and admired in the industry for creativity in illustration. Each winner will receive a professionalized Award of Excellence, a trophy (奖杯) and a certificate. This award is one of the most desired awards. If chosen, winning will place you in the highest position of your industry.

Any illustration first published or produced from Jan. 2023 to Jan. 2024 is qualified. Entries may originate from any country. Descriptions in English are necessary for the judges to read.

Digital Images: RGB images in JPG format with a maximum file size of 2 MB. GIF images may be livelier, but would be turned down, and so would the PNG ones.

Entries must be registered no later than Jan. 13,2024. Entries registered after that date will be charged a fee of $ 10 each. No entries can be registered after Jan. 27, 2024.