1 . Considering they are the world’s most numerous areas of water, it is surprising that ponds are poorly understood. There are millions — possibly billions — of them.     1    

This neglect might not have mattered if it were not for increasing evidence that ponds are extremely important habitats for wildlife as they have rich, diverse and distinctive communities with varied rare and endangered species. Across many landscapes, they are being shown to support far greater variation of species than rivers and streams.     2     It allows them to have a wider range of conditions compared with rivers and streams where flowing water tends to homogenise (同质化) water chemistry.

So why have we failed to notice such a vital part of the natural world? A key reason appears to be what freshwater scientist John Downing has called “a saliency error”: the misjudgment where we humans naturally assume that if something is small, it can’t be all that important.     3     We don’t realise that these waters have a deeply ancient origin and have existed on Earth as long as there has been land and water.

These misunderstandings within freshwater science have had a big impact on our ability to protect their wildlife. In Europe, for example, the Water Framework Directive mostly excludes any bodies of water smaller than 50 hectares.

    4     Last year, the Ramsar Convention, an international agreement, introduced a resolution on small wetlands, including ponds, giving crucial recognition to them. And the European Union-funded PONDERFUL project is gathering data on Europe’s ponds. However, there remains much to do. As the effects of climate change deepen, plants and animals will increasingly need to move across the landscape to survive.     5     They are easy to make and they colonize rapidly, which can help freshwater species adapt over short timescales.

2 . Over the summer, the neuroscientist Christ of Koch accepted defeat on his 25-year bet with the philosopher David Chalmers, a lost wager that the science of consciousness would be all wrapped up by now. Despite decades of research, there’s little sign of shared understanding on consciousness, with several competing theories still being debated.

In my new book entitled Why? , I take head-on the question of why it’s so hard to make progress on consciousness. The core difficulty is that consciousness cannot be easily observed. You can’t look inside someone’s brain and see their feelings and experiences. Science does deal with things that can’t be observed, such as fundamental particles (粒子), quantum wave functions (量子波函数), and maybe even other universes. But consciousness poses an important difference: in all of these other cases, we theorize about things we can’t observe in order to explain what we can observe. Uniquely with consciousness, the thing we are trying to explain cannot be publicly observed.

How then can we investigate consciousness? I argue that we can account for the evolution of consciousness only if we reject reductionism (简化论) about it. Most consciousness researchers employ a reductionist view of the universe, where physics is running the show. Thus, insofar as there are some future possibilities left open by the arrangements of particles in our brains, they are settled by nothing more than the random chanciness implicit (含蓄的) in quantum mechanics.

Some challenges have emerged lately to this reductionist model. The neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell argues that the free will of conscious organisms plays a role in determining what will happen in the brain, over and above what is settled by the laws of physics. Evolution offers one of the strongest challenges. Natural selection only cares about behavior, as it’s only behavior that matters for survival. Rapid progress in AI and robotics has made it clear, however, that extremely complex behaviour can exist in a system that entirely lacks conscious experience. For any adaptive behaviour associated with consciousness, there could be a nonconscious mechanism that inspires the same behaviour. Given this, it is a deep mystery why consciousness evolved at all. But suppose the emergence of biological consciousness brings into existence radically new forms of behavior, over and above what physics alone could produce. Perhaps organisms that have conscious awareness of the world around them, and thereby freely respond based on that awareness, behave very differently than mere mechanisms. Consequently, they survive much better. With these assumptions, we can make sense of natural selection’s preference for conscious organisms.

As a philosopher, in Why? , I develop a radical form — the view that consciousness goes right down to the fundamental building blocks of reality — aimed at addressing the philosophical challenges of consciousness, as well as providing a framework for scientists to make progress on the scientific issues. It is a pincer movement (钳形运动) of science and philosophy that will, ultimately, crack the mystery of consciousness.

We all love to criticize, but unfortunately, we also hate being criticized. We freely post and comment on others, but feel annoyed at the way others assess us, both online and in person. The world seems unlikely to change anytime soon. Fortunately, though, each of us can change how we give and take criticism, which will make us less likely to harm others, more resistant to being angry, and better able to benefit from feedback — even when it is negative.

Criticism is defined as judgment of the merits (优点) and faults of something or someone in written or spoken form. Technically, criticism can include praise, but that isn’t what concerns us here. What annoys us is criticism of the negative variety, even when well-intentioned — so-called constructive criticism, which means to provide guidance so we can improve. Worst of all is destructive criticism, which aims to cause hurt or damage.

The culture of criticism isn’t going away. The only way to flourish (繁荣) in it, and despite it, is to adopt new habits of getting and giving critical feedback. One rule is to assume that criticism, even when it seems personal, is not actually about you personally. When we receive criticism, we make it personal in two ways. First, we may naturally analyze the critic rather than the criticism. Second, we tend to consider the criticism a judgment on our natural abilities, rather than on our performance. Interestingly, even among young children, research shows that viewing criticism as a judgment on one’s abilities can lead to lower self-worth, lower positive mood, and less persistence at tasks.

If taking criticism is particularly hard for you, you are not alone. However, taking criticism badly is more embarrassing, ultimately, than the criticism itself. If we do the work to learn to accept negative feedback, we will be much better off.

4 . Disinformation, which is false information spread on purpose, has become a cause of concern recently. In response to this rising global threat, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Canberra and its partners will be organizing a two-day conference, DISINFO PACIFIC, on November 11 and 12, 2024.

The conference will focus on strategies for preventing and reducing disinformation, as well as applying best practices to address this global challenge. It aims to provide a forum (论坛) for journalists, social media experts, educators, researchers, policy-makers and communications professionals, from within and outside the UN.

Currently, we are in search of social media volunteers to provide online assistance for this conference.

· Outstanding oral and written communication skills

· Professional graphic (绘图的) design experience

· Prior involvement in designing document layouts

· In-depth familiarity with graphic design apps

· Working knowledge of the English language

Note: A degree in graphic design or a related field is considered a plus.

· Developing a comprehensive social media release plan

· Assisting in choosing the right types of media and updating conference information on a daily basis

· Working together with our communications team to create social media activities according to agreed requirements

· Developing a series of social media resources once the final concept is agreed upon, with a particular focus on a youth (university level) student audience

Join us now as a social media volunteer and help build a future with less disinformation. You will also have the opportunity to build connections with the UNIC Canberra and its partners and learn about the ways in which social media communication can support the promotion of a conference centering on disinformation.

Find out more at https://app.unv.org/opportunities.

The Chinese delegation (代表团) concluded the 2024 Paris Olympics with a remarkable achievement of 40 gold medals. 404 athletes     1     participated in 232 events across 30 sports won a total of 91 medals. This represents a     2     (significance) breakthrough — Chinese athletes have demonstrated huge potential in sports where we have been late starters, while holding the leading position in events such as diving and table tennis. The Paris Olympics provided a global platform for China     3     (show) its sportsmanship, confidence and openness.

6 . I’m walking around the house with a severe limp (跛行) and actively second-guessing every decision I’ ve ever made. That can only mean one thing: I just ran my one race for the year.

The 7-mile race is in my hometown in Illinois, and I’ ve been doing it almost every year since I was a 12-year-old boy. I reached my peak about 15 years ago and have been performing poorly ever since.

Why do I keep going if I no longer enjoy it and am getting worse every year? Tradition, mostly. Besides, I don’t dislike the whole race, just the running part. I like seeing all the running club members I’ ve known since childhood, and I love the free beer afterward. Running is just a minor block on the way to the good stuff.

That day, I was accompanied to the race by a group of three extremely in-shape people. We all live in the same Indianapolis suburb. These guys bike and run countless miles, often in the same day. One has done dozens of Spartan Races, which require the player to crawl through mud, flip tires and throw spears. Another is training for a triathlon (三项全能运动). In addition to being faster than me on foot, in the water and on wheels, he can also outlift me.

I didn’t hold much hope for the race— no one puts less pressure on me than me. Between miles 4 and 5, I felt so good that I wondered why I only do this once a year. Then I hit mile 6, and my body warned me. I pushed myself until I had a mile left, at which point my legs decided they were done. Determination and a can-do attitude are no match for gravity and distance. Exhausted, I slowly made my way to the finishing line.

Still, I can honestly say I gave everything I had. My slow, plodding (步履艰难的) finish was actually a victory that proves I gave it my all. I don’t need a huge cup to honor my heroic performance. My aching knee is enough of a souvenir.

A day later, even as my entire body tells me I’m an idiot, I can’t help but feel that the race was a success. I’ve decided to keep doing this race as long as my legs can support me.

7 . My 10-year-old son Egbert was a picky eater - he only ate chicken nuggets and yogurt - and unwilling to try new things. According to him, it’s because he has phobias, including heights and the dark. I was hoping to find a way to _________ him without using old sayings like “If you don’t try it, you’ll never know if you like it.” So before our skiing trip to Los Angeles, I _______ a rule: we would say yes to everything, including new foods and experiences.

We said yes from the beginning of our trip. At the airport café, Egbert began by trying new foods like vegetable meatballs. _______, he rated it as “not bad”. The next day in the snowboarding school, despite the fear of heights, Egbert challenged himself to learn how to ride a chairlift. After skiing, we were both cold and wet, and Egbert suggested the outdoor hot tub (浴缸). Though it would be a completely new experience for us, I _______ it together with him and the experience proved to be a delight. I felt _______ of myself for trying something new.

On our summer holidays, we continued the _______ of saying yes. At the competition in Cody, Wyoming, neither of my son and I _______ when we were invited onto the field to join in the horse racing. Though we came back without prizes, we were both laughing, sweaty and _______. I know it’s a moment we’ll never forget.

Therein lies the _______ of saying yes on vacation: it pushes us out of our comfort zone, though it’s not always possible to say yes to everything in our daily life. Developing a sense of ________ helps us live life to the fullest - even if we sometimes wind up cold and wet.

Now hundreds of Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxis are operating on the streets of Wuhan, Hubei province. These vehicles,     1    (equip) with Baidu’s latest technology to keep safe, have become popular. People are attracted by the competitive price offers and good service. And new job     2    (opportunity) will come with the rising demand for robotaxis, such as cleaning and repairing. However, robotaxis have also raised people’s concerns. Thus, more efforts    3    (require) to enhance self-driving testing and related technology.