1 . A Happy Birthday for All

For her ninth birthday, Mary asked for some unusual birthday gifts such as soap, schoolbags and Towels. But Mary didn’t want these _________ for herself. She wanted to give them to other people.

At school, Mary’s teacher _________ her students, “You can’t always be self-centered. You have to _________ others.” Mary’s classmates had helped to _________ supplies for a school in Africa. But Mary wanted to do more. With help from _________ parents, Mary researched local charities(慈善机构)and _________ a shelter(庇护所)that helps women and children in need.

After finding out what supplies the shelter _________ , Mary included a list with each party invitation. Mary’s friends brought shelter supplies to her _________ party. Those who couldn’t come to her birthday party _________ gave gifts. She had so many gifts that they __________ her family’s truck! “It was like we were going on vacation.” Mary said with a __________ . She said it was fun to watch the pile of donations(捐赠物) __________ . Mary collected $650 in cash donations and more than $1,000 worth of __________ for the shelter in the end. __________ Mary went with her parents to send the supplies to the shelter, people there __________ her with another birthday party. They had __________ a cake for her and gave her a __________ signed(签名)by everyone there.

Mary hopes other children will hear about her __________ birthday and choose their own charity to support. “I felt really __________ when I did it,” she said. “You’re not just giving them something; you’re __________ them with their whole life.”

3 . When a chunk of ice fell from a collapsing glacier(冰川)on the Swiss Alps’ Mount Eiger in 2017, part of the long deep sound it produced was too low for human ears to detect. But these vibrations held a key to calculating the ice avalanche’s(崩塌)critical characteristics.

Low-frequency sound waves called infrasound that travel great distances through the atmosphere are already used to monitor active volcanoes from afar. Now some researchers in this field have switched focus from fire to ice: dangerous blocks snapping off glaciers. Previous work has analyzed infrasound from snow avalanches but never ice, says Boise State University geophysicist Jeffrey Johnson. “This was different,” Johnson says. “A signature of a new material has been detected with infrasound.”

Usually glaciers move far too slowly to generate an infrasound signal, which researchers pick up using detectors that track slight changes in air pressure. But a collapse—a sudden, rapid breaking of ice from the glacier’s main body—is a prolific infrasound producer. Glacial collapses drive ice avalanches, which pose an increasing threat to people in mountainous regions as rising temperatures weaken large fields of ice. A glacier “can become detached from the ground due to melting, causing bigger break— offs,” says University of Florence geologist Emanuele Marchetti, lead author of the new study. As the threat grows, scientists seek new ways to monitor and detect such collapses.

Researchers often use radar to track ice avalanches, which is precise but expensive and can monitor only one specific location and neighboring avalanche paths. Infrasound, Marchetti says, is cheaper and can detect break—off events around a much broader area as well as multiple avalanches across a mountain. It is challenging, however, to separate a signal into its components (such as traffic noises, individual avalanches and nearby earthquakes) without additional measurements, says ETH Zurich glaciologist Malgorzata Chmiel. “The model used by Marchetti is a first approximation for this,” she says. Isolating the relevant signal helps the researchers monitor an ice avalanche’s speed, path and volume from afar using infrasound.

Marchetti and his colleagues are now working to improve their detectors to pick up more signals across at-risk regions in Europe, and they have set up collaborations around the continent to better understand signals that collapsing glaciers produce. They are also refining their mathematical analysis to figure out each ice cascade’s physical details.

7 . Li Jianguo, a 49-year-old teacher at the Tianjin Vocational Institute, is set to be named as one of the “2022 most beautiful teachers” — an annual public award sponsored by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Ministry of Education.

Li has stood out by taking the lead in the training of students in vocational skills, gaining a number of honors including being named a national role model teacher. He has mentored seven national-level technique experts and a team of 14 technique “masters”. One of his students, Guo Jinpeng, who graduated from the institute in 2007, became a college teacher at the Chengdu Auto Vocational and Technical School and was named a national role model teacher in 2019.

Li’s nomination as one of the “most beautiful teachers” reflects that China is focusing on the importance of vocational education and aims to foster more leading personnel with the spirit of craftsmanship in the manufacturing industry.

At an international vocational and technical education conference in Tianjin last month, Li noted that there is no difference between vocational education and ordinary education, and “vocational education is not “secondary” nor should it ever be treated as less than ordinary education”. “Vocational education has the mission of fostering a quality workforce and technical experts for the country. The hardworking spirit is the key to building any ordinary people into leading personnel,” he said.

Li joined the institute in 1993 and later founded a machinery engineering practice center, providing free training to 7,500 people a week. In 2015, he led a team of teachers to work for 40 days to renovate 124 machine tools in the center. Li has devoted himself to building the country’s first additive manufacturing technique and application center at the institute to satisfy the thirst for the country’s human resources in 3D printing.

8 . The world’s craziest festivals

Crazy festivals all over the world are out there just waiting to be celebrated. Join Cornelia Kumfert on a trip to the most unusual events taking place around the globe.

Burning Man Festival

Every year in Nevada (US) there is artwork and cunosities galore to marvel at when the Black Rock Desert changes into a mammoth art exhibition.

In August and September, some 70,00 people come here to celetrate the Burning Man Festival.

San Diego Comic Con

Surely superheroes don’t queue? Well, at San Diego’s Comic Convention they do. Each July hey open their dos to fans of Superman and other comic figures. More than 100,000 annual visitors have paid homage to their mythical heroes.

Crying Baby Festival, Tokyo

At the Crying Baby Festival in Tokyo (Japan), sumo wrestlers do what they can to bring babies to tears.

Sadists run riot? Certainly not! It’s a 400-year-old tradition based on a Japanese proverb, which says that crying babies grow fastest and parents believe the event brings good health to their children.

Palio Contest, Siena

Fame and honour await the winner of the Palio contest in Siena (Italy).

In July and August, ten inhabitants of different districts of the city jockey for first place in a spectacular horse race.

The trophy goes to the contestant whose horse crosses the finishing line first—whether he’s still in the saddle or not.

10 . Humans have a way of understanding others’ goals, desires and beliefs, a crucial skill that allows us to anticipate people’s actions. Taking bread out of the toaster? You’ll need a plate. Sweeping up leaves? You’ll grab the green trash can. This skill, often referred to as “theory of mind”, comes easily to us as humans, but for robots it still has a high mountain to conquer.

In a recent study, computer science researchers made the robot “watch” the human complete the task using a camera placed directly above the assembly(组装)area, looking down. To detect the parts operated by the human, the system used AprilTags, similar to QR codes, attached to the parts. Then, the system used machine learning to learn a person’s preference based on their orders of actions in the task. “Based on how a person performs the small assembly, the robot predicts what that person will do in the larger assembly,” said Nemlekar. “For example, if the robot sees that a person likes to start the small assembly with the easiest part, it will predict that they will start with the easiest part in the large assembly as well.”

In the researchers’ user study, their system was able to predict the actions that humans will take with around 82% accuracy. “We hope that our research can make it easier for people to show robots what they prefer,” said Nemlekar. “By helping each person in their preferred way, robots can reduce their work, save time and even build trust with them.”This technology could also be useful in industrial settings where workers are tasked with assembling products in large numbers, saving time and reducing the risk of injury or accidents. Additionally, it could help persons with disabilities to more easily assemble products and maintain independence.

“Our goal is not to replace humans on the factory floor. I expect similar findings in other applications as well,” said Nikolaidis. “A robot that can quickly learn our preferences can help us prepare a meal, rearrange furniture or do house repairs, having a significant impact on our daily lives.”