3 . Range anxiety(里程焦虑), the fear of running out of power before being able to recharge an electric vehicle, may be a thing of the past, according to a team of Penn State engineers who are looking at lithium iron phosphate batteries(磷酸铁锂电池) that have a range of 250 miles with the ability to charge in 10 minutes.

“We developed a pretty clever battery for mass-market electric vehicles,” said Chao-Yang Wang, a professor and director of the Electrochemical Engine Center at Penn State. “There is no more range anxiety and this battery is affordable”. The researchers also say that the battery should be good for 2 million miles in its lifetime.

They report today in Nature Energy that the key to long-life and rapid recharging is the battery’s ability to quickly heat up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, for charge and discharge, and then cool down when the battery is not working.

The battery uses a self-heating approach previously developed in Wang’s center. The self-heating battery uses a thin nickel foil(镍箔) with one end attached to the negative terminal and the other extending outside the cell to create a third terminal. Once electrons flow it rapidly heats up the nickel foil through resistance heating and warm the inside of the battery. Once the battery’s internal temperature is 140 degrees F, the switch opens and the battery is ready for rapid charge or discharge.

“This battery has slenderized weight, volume and cost,” said Wang. “I am very happy that we finally found a battery that will benefit the mainstream consumer mass market.” According to Wang, these smaller batteries can produce a large amount of power upon heating—40 kilowatt hours and 300 kilowatts of power. An electric vehicle with this battery could go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3 seconds and would drive like a Porsche, he said. “This is how we are going to change the environment and not contribute to just the luxury cars,” said Wang. “Let everyone afford electric vehicles.”

4 . Linguist Nicholas Evans had heard the Kaiadilt people, an Aboriginal(澳洲土著的) group in Northern Australia, say “malji” on the beach many times. He knew the term meant “schools of mullet” and “holes of a fishing net”, but they would say it even when pointing at empty water. It wasn’t until he saw a local artist’s painting of malji that he realized the word also convey other meanings. This is never a rare occurrence in Australia.

The Kaiadilt’s native Kayardild vocabulary, as with many small remote cultures, got weakened by Europeans who conquered the area. Take Australia for example, as Kayardild and other Aboriginal tongues faded under British rule, the communities lost the ability to pass on their understanding of natural patterns and island ecology. In modern history, the tongue has never had more than a few hundred speakers. Today, according to UNESCO, approximately 40 percent of the world’s 7,000 languages are at risk of disappearing in the next century or two. Losing them means letting go of ancient knowledge about little-known places reflected within the words. “Each language holds clues that help us understand all people, but you don’t know until you look,” says Evans.

From a global perspective, anthropologist(人类学家) can study the evolution of speech patterns to help fill in our history. They can see how people moved across islands and discover when technologies like “canoes” came out by tracking the appearance of sailing terms.

On the individual level, working to save tongues offers a way to get back identity and share cultural pride. That’s been the case in Hawaii, where immersion schools(沉浸式学校) run jointly by Native Hawaiians and the state government helped the number of olelo-fluent speakers jump from a few dozen to 24,000 between 1985 and 2010. Elsewhere, international groups like the Endangered Language Fund are helping Aboriginal scholars launch their own campaigns. Each word they save makes the human experience complete.

5 . It was a cold and dark November morning several years ago. My alarm clock had just gone off but I was having trouble getting out of bed. My Dad had died a few weeks before and I found myself just going through sadness and depression. I didn't feel ready to go on without him.

My Day had been my hero growing up. He had worked so hard all of his life to provide for us. He had a temper and would sometimes yell at me and my brothers, but he also had a kindness and gentle laugh that he would share with us as well. I always knew that he loved me. Still, he had been raised in an old fashioned way and raised us that way too. I couldn't remember ever being hugged by him after I reached a certain age.

After my granny passed away, his health began to rapidly fail and within a few months brain cancer had taken him from us. I remember thinking what I would have given for just one last hug from him.

I sighed and got out of bed. I turned on the lights and walked into the hallway. I saw my son Jones walking down the hall to meet me. Suddenly, he opened his arms and gave me a huge. And just as he did I heard my Dad's voice deep inside of me say, "Joey, this hug is from me!" I cried and smiled at the same time. At that moment, in the place where heart, mind, and spirit all meet I felt loved. I felt loved by Dad. And I knew that I couldn't give up on life. I still had a lot of things left to do and a lot of love left to, share.

6 . While known for its Pacific Ocean beaches and fashionable coastal towns, the Golden State is also home to many new and clean lakes where visitors can soak up the sun and cool off.

Shasta Lake

Shasta Lake is the largest reservoir in California at 30. 000 acres wide. The Lake is in Northern California and is a three and a half-hour drive from Los Angeles. With 370 miles of shoreline,   it's no surprise that renting a houseboat is a popular activity. Depending on their location ,   visitors can enjoy the view of Mt. Shasta, which has snow on its peak year-round.

Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake is another great option for those wanting to take a day trip from Los Angeles. It takes only two hours to drive there from downtown Los Angeles. Animal lovers can stop by the Big Bear Alpine Zoo to get an up-close look at the lake's namesake (同名物). The lake also has many hiking and biking trails,   along with plenty of fishing spots.

Lake Havasu

Lake Havasu is divided along the border of California and Arizona and is an oasis (绿洲)in the desert. It's a five-hour drive from Los Angeles and a two and a half hour drive from Las Vegas. Visitors can fish or go boating on the lake that was formed from the Colorado River.

Mono Lake

Mono Lake is located in the Sierra Nevada mountains and spans more than 70 miles. It's a five-hour drive from either Los Angeles or San Francisco. Visitors into fishing should head to a different lake because this body of water does not have any fish. It's a salty lake, which means that it's filled with saltwater and is two to three times saltier than the ocean.

7 . In the 1994 film Forrest Gump, there's a famous saying, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. The surprise is part of the fun. Now blind box toys（盲盒)are bringing the magic of surprise to online shopping.

A blind box toy is hidden inside similar boxes but invisible from the outside. You don't know what will be inside, although the toys typically come from pop culture, ranging from movies to comics and cartoons.

Blind boxes have become popular since they were first introduced from Japan to China in 2014. According to a 2019 Tmall report, the mini-series of Labubu blind box designed by Hong Kong-born Kasing Lung, was named Champion of Unit Sales with 55, 000 sold in just 9 seconds during the Singles Day shopping event. Most customers for blind boxes are young people aged 18 to 35.

According to The Paper, blind box toys are popular in part because of their cute appearances. The typically cute cartoon figures(人物)come in small sizes, making them suitable for display almost anywhere.

Even if blind boxes are not their top choice for decorations, the mystery and uncertainty of the process also attracts people. It's the main reason why people buy blind boxes one after another.

"Expecting the unknown is always a part of the box-opening process," said Miss Cao, 24, who lives and works in Shenyang. Speaking to Sina News, she said: "Until you open all the boxes, you cannot know what it is inside."

Opening a blind box is a delightful little surprise for our mundane daily lives, something small but fun to wait for each day, week or month. When people open this simple little box, they may be disappointed, but the uncertainty is part of the fun. People will open more blind boxes and hope for a better outcome.

When someone re-makes Forrest Gump, don't be surprised if he says, "Life is like a blind box."

8 . Once upon a time two brothers, who lived on neighboring farms, had a quarrel. It was the first serious rift in 40 years, sharing machinery and exchanging goods as needed.

One morning there was a knock on the older brother's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's tool box.

"I'm looking for a few days' work." he said." Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with?"

"Yes." said the older brother. Look across the creek（小溪）at that farm. That's my younger brother. Last week there was a grassland between us, but he made a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to make difficulties for me, but I'll do him one better." "I want you to build me an 8-foot fence, so I won't need to see his place or his face anymore."

The carpenter said, "Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you." The older brother got things ready and went to town.

The carpenter worked hard all that day. About sunset, when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job.

The farmer's eyes opened wide. There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge—a bridge from one side of the creek to the other! The neighbor, his younger brother, was coming toward them." You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done." They met in the middle, taking each other's hand.

They turned to see the carpenter taking his toolbox onto his shoulder.

"No, wait! Stay fora few days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother.

"I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but I have many more bridges to build."

9 . Decades ago, NASA asked experts to develop the "smell of space1' in order to help prepare astronauts for the experience of outer space. Now, a perfume, Eau de Space, has attracted eager buyers.

According to the Kickstarter campaign, which has been launched to sell Eau de Space, the history of the "smell of space" has been unclear owing to various accounts of its development. Ever since the first spacewalk, astronauts have been shocked by the smell.

NASA astronauts Col. Chris Hadfield said, "The only time you can smell space is when you come back from a spacewalk. As you open the hatch(舱门)，there is a distinctive smell. " Some astronauts and space tourists describe it as fruit, or burnt cookies. Astronauts Gene Cernan talked of another smell he experienced: "The moon smells like spent gunpowder " The smell of space is so distinct that NASA reached out to fragrance makers to recreate the smell, according to NASA documents.

Now, the makers have cooperated with award winning perfumers(香水调配师)，and report that they've secured commercial contracts to reproduce the smell based on astronaut’s accounts.

At S29 per boule. Eau de Space will help support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs for students. “For every bottle of Eau de Space you buy, were going to donate one to a STEM program for low-income. It’s a big promise and isn’t the best decision for a company trying to make a profit. But we really believe in the cause and hope you do too. Imagine that a child who smells Eau de Space today is inspired Io become an astronaut, scientist or engineer,” shows Kickstarter.

Eau de Space will be made in the UK employing low-income labor and environmentally-friendly practices, including zero manufacturing waste, according to the campaign. So far, about 11,000 people have become supporters.

10 . In early December,a new set of rules governing behavior inside Shanghai's subway came ffect, forbidding listening to electronic devices without earphones inside subway coaches.

This was long called for. Subway cars are public spaces where nobody should annoy others. However, in reality there are many who play their music or movies without the aid of earphones, disturbing co-passengers. Even if the music and movies are not loud enough, the disturbing elements also scream with joy or laughter in reaction, and they are indifferent to how it affects others inside the coaches.

In the absence of clear rules forbidding such behavior inside the coaches, there was nobody the disturbed passengers could turn to for assistance. Even if they had complained, the authorities inside the subway would have said they were not empowered(授权)to help them. However, noise inside a subway cannot be a personal matter. A person has no right to impose his movie or music on others in the shared space. Every passenger has the right to be undisturbed by any movie or music that other passengers are enjoying.

Thanks to the new rules. those taking a subway cmi now complain to staff members about smartphone noises. That the news about new subway rules was read by nearly 300 million times on the micro blog is the biggest evidence of l)ow people are happy and are looking forward to die absence of noise in the public space.

The new rules also forbid people from eating or drinking inside subway coaches, which, too, is a welcome change, as sometimes die food is smelly and lets off an unpleasant smell that can cause discomfort to fellow passengers. The new rules will help create a better environment for everyone inside the subway coaches.

The only drawback with the new rules is that it does not give specific punitive(处罚的) measures .For example, there is no listed punishment such as fines or warnings for those disobeying the rules. Maybe the subway staff members will have to be artful and persuasive while carrying out the new rules.