Are Oceans Silent?
Most sea creatures, from whales and dolphins to fish, sharks and shrimps, respond to sound, and many can produce it. They use it to hunt and to hide, find mates and food, send messages and give warnings, establish territories, warn off competitors, confuse their targets, deceive enemies, and sense changes in water and conditions. Marine animals click bones, grind teeth and belch gases (磨牙打嗝); use special organs to make various noises. Far from the ‘silent deep’, the oceans are so noisy.
Into this age-long confused noise, in the blink of an evolutionary eye, has entered a new thunder: the trembling sound of mighty engines as 46,220 large ships passed the world’s shipping courses. Scientists say that background noise in the ocean has increased roughly by 15 decibels (分贝) in the past 50 years. It may not sound like much in overall terms, but it is enough, according to many marine biologists, to mask the normal sounds of ocean life going about its business. At its most intense, some even say noise causes whales to become disoriented, dolphins to suffer from ‘the bends’, fish to go deaf, leave their breeding grounds or fail to form groups—enough to disorganize the basic biology of two thirds of the planet.
“Undersea noise pollution is like the death of a thousand cuts”, says Sylvia Earie, chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Each sound in itself may not be a matter of critical concern, but taken all together, the noise from shipping, earthquake-related surveys, and military activity is creating a totally different environment than existed even 50 years ago. That high level of noise is bound to have a hard, sweeping impact on life in the sea.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Airline seats have been one-size-fits-all since the beginning. Today, those 16.5 to 18-inch wide seats are anything but.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity(肥胖症) has more than doubled since 1980. In 2014, more than l.9 billion adults were overweight, and over 600 million were obese.
The unchanged seat size and increase of obese passengers highlight the conflict between airlines’ needs and basic passenger rights.
Last month, lawyer Giorgio Destro, an Italian lawyer, sued Emirates, claiming his flight was disturbed by an obese passenger seated next to him. According to reports, Destro was not able to comfortably sit in his assigned seat, and spent much of the nine-hour flight standing or sitting in crew seats, because a 400-pound passenger took up half of his seat.
Many airlines have responded to the growing obesity by insisting passengers of size buy two seats to ensure safety and comfort. Samoa Air, for example, is charging by weight (which has become known as a “fat tax”). At first glance, the fat tax issue sounds discriminatory (歧视的), but some argue that this is purely down to numbers. A kilo is a kilo. It has nothing to do, with the condition of the weight. The heavier a plane is, the more fuel it burns through. In other words, the argument is whether it is fair that a 150-pound person is charged for their 50-pound bag, when a 300-pound person with a carry-on isn’t charged anything extra.
However, Peggy Howell of NAAFA argues that obesity is an illness, and that obese people should be entitled to having certain rights protected.
“We question the legality of the discriminatory policy and whether it violates the Air Carrier Access Act governing the treatment of passengers with disabilities,” she says. “The American Medical Association (AMA) recently declared obesity a disease, which should make fat passengers a protected class.”
Howell points out that the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) addressed this issue in 2009, and issued a ‘one-person, one-fare’ ruling covering passengers with disabilities. Those passengers include ones who are ‘clinically obese’ and who cannot fit into a single seat.
“There is a senseless concept that children grow up and leave home when they are 18, and the truth is far from that,” says sociologist Larry Bumpass of the University of Wisconsin. Today, unexpected numbers of young adults are living with their parents.
Analysts raised a variety of reasons for this return to the nest. One important reason is that the marriage age is rising, a condition that makes home and its pleasantness particularly attractive to young people, which is second to skyrocketing housing costs to which young people find their wings attached. Besides, a high divorce rate and a declining remarriage rate are sending economically pressed and emotionally hurt survivors back to parental shelters. For some, the expense of an away-from-home college education has become so great that many students now attend local schools.
Living at home, says Knighton, a school teacher, continues to give her security and moral support. Her mother agreed, “It is ridiculous for the kids to pay all that money for rent. It makes sense for kids to stay at home.” But sharing the family home requires adjustments for all. There are the quarrels over bathrooms, telephones and privacy. Some families, however, manage the delicate balancing act. But for others, it proves too difficult. Michelle Del Turco, 24, has been home three times — and left three times. “What I considered a social drink, my dad considered an alcohol problem,” she explains. “He never liked anyone I dated, so I either had to hide away to meet them at friends’ houses.”
It is really hard to say how long adult children should live with their parents before moving on. Nevertheless, it is commonly recognized that lengthy homecomings are a mistake and they accidentally destroy the advantage of brief visits that will strengthen the relationship between parents and children. Children, struggling to establish separate identities, can end up with “a sense of inadequacy, defeat and failure.” And aging parents, who should be enjoying some financial and personal freedom, find themselves stuck with responsibilities, which is definitely a stress for them.
A trip to a water park can be a fun adventure for families, couples or a group of friends. Whether you prefer relaxing in a tube on a lazy river or riding a water roller coaster, a trip to one of the nation's water parks offers something exciting to everyone. However, the fun does not come without risks. People who plan to go to a water park should be careful enough and follow rules to avoid these risks.
Drowning (溺水) is one of the greatest dangers in water parks, especially for young children. The ability to swim is the most important skill in a water park. Before you go to a water park, make sure that all the people in your group know how to swim well. Do not swim in water that does not have a lifeguard on the scene. Many parks provide life jackets for free - do prepare some in case some people need them.
People usually choose to go to water parks on clear sunny days, which means that they are easy to get sun burnt, or even get heatstroke. Most of the water parks are open areas with little shelter or few buildings to block the sun, so it can be dangerous for people who have fair and sensitive (敏感的) skin to spend a whole day there. Be sure to wear a hat and a shirt with sleeves over your bathing suit while you are walking around.
In rare cases, water park guests may be subjected to polluted water. Some illnesses are easily spread in such situation. The most common cause of water pollution is small children who are not old enough to go to the toilet. Water parks have been trying their best to avoid the spread of diseases. However, pollution is still possible. Guests can protect themselves by trying not to swallow any water and washing their hands after playing with shallow and still water.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.
Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.
There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.
Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.
The sport you choose may
Hibernation is a time when animals “sleep” through cold weather. With true hibernation, the animal can be moved around or touched without knowing it. Some animals only go into a temporary sleep time and can get up quickly like bears. We are going to use the word “sleep” sometimes, but hibernation is different from regular sleep. With normal sleep, the animal moves a little, has an active brain, and can wake up very quickly while with true hibernation, the animal appears as if dead.
During the fall, hibernating animals eat more food than usual. Their bodies will live off their body fat as they “sleep” through winter. The animal will use up the body fat it stores and not lose any muscle. This causes the animal to come out of hibernation thinner but still as strong as it was in the fall. The animals get their winter nests, and dens ready. Different kinds of animals hibernate in different kinds of safe spots. When they go into hibernation and their bodies slow down, enemies can get them more easily. They try to pick the safest place to spend the winter away from these enemies.
Hibernation is the way that animals adapt to the climate and land around them. Animals must be able to live through extreme cold or die. Animals hibernate-or go into a deep sleep-to escape that cold. They also do this because it is really hard to find food during the winter.
When an animal begins to hibernate, its body temperature drops to a very low degree so that it almost matches the temperature outside. The animal's heartbeat and breathing rate slow down, too. This is when that stored fat that the animal packed on in the fall comes in handy. This stored fat lasts long because their bodies are slowed down so much that they don't need much energy.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Adding math talk to story time at home is a winning equation for children's math achievement, according to new research from the University of Chicago. The study shows a marked increase in math achievement among children whose families used Bedtime Math, an iPad app that delivers engaging math story problems for parents and children to solve together.
Even children who used the app with their parents as little as once a week saw gains in math achievement by the end of the school year. The app's effect was especially strong for children whose parents tend to be anxious or uncomfortable about math.
Previous research from this group has demonstrated the importance of adults' attitudes about math for children's math success. For example, a recent study found that math-anxious parents who help their children with math homework actually weaken their children's math achievement.
The new findings demonstrate that structured, positive interactions around math at home can cut the link between parents' uneasin about math and children's' low math achievement.
“Many Americans experience high levels of anxiety when they have to solve a math problem, with a majority of adults feeling at least some worries about math,” said Beilock, a professor in psychology. “These math-anxious parents are probably less likely to talk about math at home, which affects how competent(能干的)their children are in math. Bedtime Math encourages a dialogue between parents and kids about math, and offers a way to engage in high-quality math interactions.”
Study participants included 587 first-grade students and their parents. Families were given an iPad installed with a version of the Bedtime Math app, with which parents and their children read stories and answer questions involving math, including topics like counting, shapes and problem-soling. A control group received a reading app that had similar stories without the math content and questions related to reading comprehension instead. Children's math achievement was assessed at the beginning and end of the school year. Parents completed a questionnaire about their nervousness about math.
The more time parents and children in the math group used the app, the higher children's achievement on a math assessment at the end of the school year. Indeed, children who frequently used the math app with their parents outperformed similar students in the reading group by almost three months in math achievement at the year's end.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A good story encourages us to turn the next page and read more. We want to find out what happens next and what the main characters do and what they say to each other. We may feel excited, sad, afraid, angry or really happy. This is because the experience of reading or listening to a story is much more likely to make us “feel” that we are part of the story, too. Just like in our “real” lives, we might love or hate different characters in the story. Perhaps we recognize ourselves or others in some of them. Perhaps we have similar problems.
Because of this natural empathy with the characters, our brains process the reading of stories differently from the way we read factual information. Our brains don't always recognize the difference between an imagined situation and a real one so the characters become “alive” to us. What they say and do is therefore more meaningful. This is why the words and structures that relate a story's events, descriptions and conversations are processed in this deeper way.
In fact, cultures all around the world have always used storytelling to pass knowledge from one generation to another. Our ancestors understood very well that this was the best way to make sure our histories and information about how to relate to others and to our world was not only understood, but remembered too. (Notice that the word “history” contains the word “story” -- this is not a coincidence!)
Encouraging your child to read or listen to stories should therefore help them to learn a second language in a way that is not only fun, but memorable.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Television is doing irreparable harm
Television hasn’t been with us all that long, but we are already beginning to forget what the world was like without it. Before we admitted the one-eyed monster into our homes, we never found it difficult to occupy our spare time. We used to enjoy civilized pleasures. For instance, we used to have hobbies, we used to entertain our friends and be entertained by them, we used to go outside for our amusements to theatres, cinemas, restaurants and sporting events. We even used to read books and listen to music and broadcast talks occasionally. All that belongs to the past. Now all our free time is regulated by the television. We rush home or have our meals quickly to be in time for this or that programme. We have even given up sitting at table and having a leisurely evening meal, exchanging the news of the day. A sandwich and a glass of beer will do anything, providing it doesn’t interfere with the programme.
There is a limit to the amount of creative talent available in the world. Every day, television consumes vast quantities of creative work. That is why most of the programmers are so bad: it is impossible to keep pace with the demand and maintain high standards as well. When millions watch the same programmes, the whole became a village.
Television encourages passive enjoyment. We become satisfied with second-hand experiences. It is so easy to sit in our armchairs watching others working. Little by little, television cuts us off from the real world. Television may be a splendid medium of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other. We only become aware how totally irrelevant television is to real Jiving when we spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountains, far away from civilization. In quiet, natural surroundings, we quickly discover how little we miss the television.
Are Emails and Text Messages Destroying the language?
Technology has undoubtedly brought about a revolution in communication. Most people would agree that this has been a positive development. Recently, however, there has been concern over the negative effect that modern methods of communications are having on the English language.
On one hand, the increasing use of e-mails and text message is changing the way we use grammar. By this in mean that certain words are dropped in order to keep message short. In my view, this cannot be avoided. In a text message, for instance, there is neither the time nor the space to write complete sentences. The same applies to e-mails, which are supposed to be a shorter, more direst form of communications. In both cases, the need to be brief often means that the grammar is changed in some way.
On the other hand, it is fashionable nowadays to shorten the spelling of words, particularly in text message. One example of this is when people write ‘CU later’ instead of ‘see you later’. To purists or to it simply shows that the language is changing in much the same way as it has done for centuries.
In my opinion, writing English correctly is not so important as getting the message across. If, for example, you send someone an e-mail or a text message telling them to meet you in a specified place at a certain time, making yourself understood is much more important than your grammar and spelling. As far as I am concerned, we should allow a certain amount of flexibility. Not everyone has a perfect command of the language but that should not stop them from being able to communicate.
To sum up, the effect that e-mails and text messages are having on written English is a significant one. This may , in the future, result in major changes to the language. However, we should not let rules get in the way of communication. After all, isn’t that the reason language was developed in the first place--- so that we could communicate?
