1 . Have you ever imagined an insect-inspired robot, which weighs less than a gram, could one day help out in surgery (外科手术)?

Scientists have designed this small, “insect-bot” called mCLARI that can control and even change its body shape as it travels in different environments to fit through gaps. It’s 2 centimeters long, weighs less than 0.97 grams and can travel at a speed of 6 centimeters per second.It’s the smaller, faster replacement to CLARI, which was designed by the same team.

“Because of the robot’s small size and ability to change shape, we expect usage of this technology in four important areas,” the lead author Kaushik Jayaram said. These include disaster (灾害) response , check on high-value objects, environmental monitoring and medical treatment.

“In the long term, we hope such robots will be used more widely in moving through human bodies and performing surgeries that can’t be easily done at present,” Jayaram said. With mCLARI, Jayaram’s team is moving closer to creating robots that can fit in different environments—just like the insects they’re inspired by.

The mCLARI robot has four legs and can move in narrow spaces by changing between running forward and side-to-side and can use different speeds in human bodies. Its legs are joined to its body through joints (关节), which enables mCLARI to change its body shape based on the environment it is in. For example, its legs can be lengthened up to 50% in certain spaces.

As follow-up work, the scientists want to give mCLARI more power and sensing ability while helping the surgeries. “We are also excited about understanding the effect of shape change on improving functions of robots,” Jayaram said. “And this is sure a great one-step forward of the technology. The robot will have entered the market by 2025 and will bring greater benefits to mankind, especially in medical treatment.”

2 . As we all know, swimming is great fun. But it often comes with _________. Drowning (溺水)is a real possibility even for the most _________ swimmers. However, this dangerous situation can be changed with watchful eyes. This summer in Florida, two young men helped to _________ one drowning death.

Griffin Emerson, a 6-year-old child, swam in an apartment block’s pool. He enjoyed the pool’s _________ area. But he began to _________ toward the deeper part slowly, struggling to keep his head above water.

All that came about as no one else, including his mother, seemed to _________ him. Griffin’s frightening _________ in the water happened over the course of a full minute, ending up with the child going down to the _________ of the pool.

However, one young man, Noah, did find Griffin in the pool. He told his friend Weston to call 911 at once. And Noah _________ to jump into the pool to ____________ the 6-year-old.

Noah made it to Griffin, caught him and ____________ him to the surface and then to the side of the pool. Before the emergency services’ arrival, Noah and Weston tried their best to ____________ life-saving steps. ____________, a few minutes later, Griffin recovered his breath.

Griffin’s mother was ____________ to Noah and Weston for their heroic actions. But the two young men thought it was no big deal and hoped that this act of kindness would be ____________.

3 . A new study, led by Dr. Rebecca Stone, has shown that children as young as four years old eat 79% more calories when they are bored, compared to when they are in a normal mood (情绪) .

The researchers have explored the behaviors that make children more likely to eat when they experience negative emotions. Often when children experience bad emotions such as boredom or sadness, caring adults will use food to soothe them. However, this behavior, known as emotional feeding, appears to increase the possibility of children eating more when they are in low spirits. As time passes, too many calories intake will have a significant effect on children’s health both mentally and physically.

Dr. Stone stresses that the experience of boredom is important in the development of children’s sense of self and creativity, so she does not recommend that children should avoid being bored. Instead, she suggests children learn to experience boredom without turning to food. She also suggests that parents turn their children’s attention away from food when they feel bored, or restructure the home food environment to make it less likely that children turn to food in response to being bored.

While there do appear to be individual differences between children in terms of their eating when bored, it is helpful to know that the feeding practices that adults use around food might shape the likelihood of this happening. Although it is attractive to use food as a tool to help children, emotional feeding might lead to greater emotional eating in the future. It is important for parents and caregivers to be aware that this short-term fix could create future problems.

It is hoped that, on the original basis of the study, the team will deeply explore other negative mood states in children and offer advice and support for families to find more effective ways to manage challenges around children eating behavior.

5 . UC Berkeley Youth Summer Camps

UC Berkeley Youth Summer Camps will provide a wide variety of one-week outdoor experiences and activities for young people on summer camps 2024. Here are four best summer camps.

Afternoon Adventures Camp offers many adventurous activities around the Berkeley Marina. Campers must be aged 8-10 to sign up. They will explore the ocean plants and join in other activities such as doing outdoor exploration, playing outdoor group games and going skateboarding. This camp provides an opportunity for younger campers to develop lasting friendship through outdoor games.

Blue Camp grew from the idea that all children need opportunities to take part in regular physical activities to support their mental health. This camp for children aged 7-12 includes art trainings, swimming lessons, free play and group games to create a fun and well-rounded camp experience. The camp is made up of three age groups to ensure safety.

Eco Adventures Camp allows campers to have the chance to explore various environments around Berkeley. Campers will practice observing through their senses and record their findings while they use scientific methods to explore various creatures of the Bay Area.

Discovery Camp is designed specifically with the 10-12 year-old in mind, with challenging new ways to explore the Bay Area. Activities may include hikes(徒步旅行)to regional waterfalls, cycling to a beach picnic lunch and rock climbing. The full day course covers a series of regional adventures, often with several stops in a day. All campers can enjoy the bus service to and from the campsites.

7 . Michael Cramer is really a miracle (奇迹). So many times he came close to dying, but he has managed to ________ . This young man is encouraging so many people with his real-life overcomer story.

In the beginning, he always felt tired. He ________ it was because he had Covid-19. But after seeing the doctor, he learned he had got a cancer (癌症) that would kill him.

Michael and his mother Ashlee couldn’t ________ the death sentence. He chose to fight for his life and underwent the ________ journey of chemo (化疗).

“The chemo was horrible. I felt so ________ . It was a long, slow journey of hospital trips and so many ________,” said Michael. However, He ________ went to war with his body in hopes of living. It was no easy thing as his body had shut down in many extremely painful ways. “I wanted to ________ so many times but I never did, and that kept me ________ ,” he said.

Ashlee’s heart broke as she saw what her son was ________ . “Our life was completely upset, but we decided to just ________ each day,” she said.

The poster they hung on the wall in Michael’s hospital room ________ them greatly, which said, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you ________ that matters.”

9 . Returning home from the grocery store (杂货店), 25-year-old Policano felt it necessary to help the elderly in her neighborhood to practice safer social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Her friend Elkind joined her. They decided to start an organization called Invisible Hands Deliver (IHD).

They had a website up and running. The site allowed the elderly and other at-risk individuals to make requests for groceries and medicines to be delivered to them. The webpage also included a call for volunteers, which acquired more than 2,000 sign-ups.

The beauty of the IHD lies in its ability to meet the needs of those who are at higher risk of being attacked by the pandemic. When a request is submitted, it is forwarded to all volunteers within the community, so that anyone who is available can come forward to help. The delivery itself is contactless. Despite the physical distances, volunteers make an effort to connect with their beneficiaries, chatting with them from the other side of the door.

The efforts of the IHD would not have been effective without the help of modern scientific techniques and equipment. From the beginning, social media made it possible to spread the word and gather support within a short time. Digital inventions like web hosting servers and cloud platforms have also helped the IHD to meet the needs of their community.

Following its success in New York, the organization has spread its work to other areas of the United States. Their acts of kindness have also inspired similar networks to spring up in the world. The IHD is also supported by other organizations. “Armed with these resources, we can grow our efforts and further reduce the terrible impact of Covid-19,” said co-founder Policano.

Managed by a team of college students, the IHD has shown that one is never too young to make a difference. In a time when the pandemic has forced people apart, young people are in a main position to take advantage of technology and bridge the gap, bringing communities together. Elkind said, “We’re able to come together when the world feels like it’s pulling us apart. That’s the only way we pull through this, by pulling together.”