In 2019, the state of California was on fire. Alexandria Villaseor, who was 13 at the time, witnessed the destruction of Northern California’s Camp Fire, which would go on to burn more than 150,000 acres of land. Villaseor was scared. “That’s when I found out how important climate education was,” she reflected. “And just how much we lacked climate education these past couple of years.”

Villaseor, at the age of 15, was determined to have a bigger conversation. She quickly realized the fight requires international, government-level changes. For her, what started as local concern turned into a year-long protest in front of the United Nations’ New York City headquarters and a global campaign for more compulsory climate education. She sat on a bench in front of the headquarters, begging for the world’s leaders to take climate change seriously.

Her action received national attention, with millions of other students around the world joining in the movement. “It’s completely unacceptable not to learn anything about our planet and our environment in school, after all the young people would inherit the Earth.” Villaseor said, “That’s why I think that climate education is so important, and that’s why I focus a lot on it now.”

Right now, Villaseor is working with the American Administration on its climate plan, which has promised to center on the needs of young people and communities most impacted by climate change. She even spoke at the 2021 Democratic National Convention. “This was definitely a huge moment when I realized that people were listening to the voices of me and youth climate activists.” Villaseor said.

When she isn’t connecting with her fellow youth activists, Villaseor is like most other teens. “My favorite thing to do, of course, is sleep,” she said, “I like to read a lot. I like fantasy books, normally. I also like to write.”

6 . Reading is a complex and crucial skill that impacts the youth’s ability to perform as students. Therefore, it’s important to develop reading skills during childhood. A team of researchers focused on the effect of whole-body learning in instruction, known as embodied learning.

The research included 149 children, aged 5 to 6, who had just started school. They were divided into three groups: one that stood up and used their whole bodies to shape letter sounds; a seated group that shaped letter sounds with their hands and arms; and a control group that received traditional, seated instruction during which they wrote letters by hand.

“Our research showed that children who used their whole bodies to shape the sounds of letters became twice as proficient at letter sounds that are more difficult to learn as those who received traditional instruction” says PhD student Linn Damsgaard of UCPH’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.

With regard to difficult letter sounds, she adds, “There are many difficult letter sounds in Danish. These sounds are particularly important because once children become skilled at them, they will be better readers.

Associate professor Jacob Wienecke, who led the study, explains, the primary goal is to learn more about which methods can be used to give beginner readers a good start. The idea is that if, through play and movement, we can learn where their strengths truly lie, we’ll create a form of learning that combines reading with play, and that’s truly positive.”

Previously, the researchers showed that the children felt more motivated by teaching methods which included physical movement. Jacob Wienecke hopes this will provide an opportunity to inspire teachers and school managers to prioritize movement across subjects.

The study also investigated whether a direct effect of embodied learning could be found on children’s reading of words. This was not possible, which might be due to the fact that the children were at such an early stage of their literacy development that they could not yet use their knowledge of letter sounds to read words.

7 . It is often said that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” That is certainly true of the images of fleeting moments of nature submitted by international ecologists and students for the British Ecological Society’s (BES) annual photography competition. Here are a few of 2019’s winning entries.

Red Night

Photographed by Roberto Garcia Roa, it was declared last year’s overall winner. The image captures both the beauty of the magnificent snake and its fear of human threats like fires. The ecologist says, “During my visit to Madagascar, I had the pleasure of finding this snake and photographing it. To offer a dramatic scene reflecting the conditions that these snakes are suffering, I used an external red light as a source of light to capture the environment.”

The Rhino’s Annual Haircut

It was photographed by ecologist Molly Penny. The ongoing demand for rhino (犀牛) horns has reduced the population to just 30,000 globally. To try to save the species, ecologists in South Africa, home to over 20,000 southern white rhinos, have decided to saw off (锯掉) it part of the animals’ horns, which regrow every year. “The Rhino’s Annual Haircut,” captured beautifully in the black-and-white photo by Molly Penny from the University of the West of England, reduces the risk of the animals being cruelly murdered.

For the Love of Flamingos

Photographed by Peter Hudson, it captures a heart-shaped cloud of pink flamingos in Kenya, which is truly a sight like none other. The ecologist says, “Flamingos are all legs and necks but meanwhile beautiful and fascinating and I admit I have a deep passion for them, so I was thrilled when, flying high over Lake Magadi, I watched this flock from themselves into a heart shape.”.

Flames in Flumes

Photographed by Nilanjan Chatterjee, it captures a water redstart waiting to catch an insect near a small waterfall. It was the best overall student submission. The photographer wanted to show the struggle the river birds are likely to face from the slowdown in water flow due to planned dams in rivers across India.

8 . Beaches are not only great for lying on and doing water sports，and in fact one of the best ways of enjoying them is a classic beach walk. Here at iWantSun.co.uk we’ve been searching the globe to find you the world’s best and most famous beach walks，and here’s our pick of the top. Click on the most interesting walks and join our tourist program.

The Footpath of the Gods, Amalfi Coast，Italy

The name says it all really and you truly feel excited there, walking along this wonderful mountain path, which offers some of the most striking views on (he planet. The path begins at the town of Bomerano to charming Positano along the UNESCO World Heritage area of the Amalfi Coast. The whole walk will take you about four and a half hours to complete and pass over narrow rocky paths.

Sydney's Great Coastal Walk, Australia

Sydney's coastline is one of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes in the world. Here you have national parks, historic sites, shining and quiet beaches all in one place. Sydney's Great Coastal Walk runs all the way from Barrenjoey in the north to Royal National Park in the south and takes an unbelievable seven days to complete. However, if you're not up to doing the full walk, there are many different parts of the walk that you can do right in the city itself. Walking from the city9s famous Bondi Beach to the sweeping curve (大半径曲线）of Brone Beach takes just an hour, which takes in some top sceneries.

Great Ocean Walk, Australia

The Great Ocean Walk covers 104 km along Victoria's famous Great Ocean Road, located on the southern coast of Australia, from the holiday town Apollo Bay to the splendid Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Apostles are the area's famous stone landmarks which stand out like giants from the sea. The walk passes through a range of landscapes and sights, from national park, famous surfing spots and deserted beaches, to wild coastlines, waterfalls, lush (茂盛的）forests, historic lighthouses. Day walks and shorter three-hour walks such as The Wreck Beach Walk or the Lighthouse Cemetery and Lookout Walk can also be enjoyed.

So next time when you're looking for a beach holiday, don't just think about the holiday towns and the sand, but consider a more active sun holiday. If you have interest in any of the above places, please contact us, and we can give you the best services.

9 . Purdue University researchers have engineered flying robots that behave like hummingbirds, trained by machine learning algorithms (计算程序) based on various techniques the bird uses naturally every day. The robot would be able to fly better through collapsed buildings to find trapped victims.

Even though such a robot can’t see yet, it senses by touching surfaces. Each touch changes an electric current, which the researchers realized that they could track. Xinyan Deng, a professor, and her colleagues at Purdue have been trying to decode (破译) hummingbird flight so that robots can fly where larger aircraft can’t. Deng’s group studied hummingbirds themselves for many summers in Montana. They documented key hummingbird actions, such as making a rapid 180-degree turn, and translated them to computer algorithms that the robot could learn from when connected with a simulation (模拟操作).

Further study on the physics of insects and hummingbirds allowed Purdue researchers to build robots smaller than hummingbirds--and even as small as insects-without compromising the way they fly. The smaller the size, the greater the wing flapping frequency, and the more efficiently they fly. The robots have 3D-printed bodies and wings made of carbon fiber. The researchers have built one hummingbird robot weighing 12 grams--the weight of the average adult hummingbird. The hummingbird robot can lift up to 27 grams.

Designing their robots with higher lift gives the researchers more room to eventually add a battery and sensing technology, such as a-camera or GPS. Currently, the robot needs to be tied to an energy source while it flies-but that won’t be for much longer, the researchers say. The robots could fly silently just as a real hummingbird does, making them more ideal for covert (转换) operations.

Robotic hummingbirds would not only help with search-and-rescue tasks, but also allow biologists to more reliably study hummingbirds. In their natural environment through the senses of a realistic robot. This work is part of Purdue’s 1501° anniversary. This is one of the four themes of the celebration’s Ideas Festival, designed to show Purdue as an intellectual center solving real-world issues.

10 . “Excuse me,” he waved to the waiter. The waiter arrived at our table. “I ________ cottage cheese, but this is the mushroom.” The waiter returned with a(n) ________ smile on his face and said, “I’m sorry sir. I ________ took the order for the mushroom.” “Then change it immediately,” I said angrily. I had ________ my professor, who had retired as CEO of a billion-dollar multinational corporation, to lunch at the ________ restaurant. The waiter smiled awkwardly. I ________ to begin the “do-you-know-who-he-is” dialogue. But my professor was quicker. He said, “It’s alright. Just don’t ________ me for both dishes,” and laughed. “No, sir. Sorry, sir. Thank you, sir,” the waiter said and the ________ and gratefulness were written all over his face.

“Why did you do that, sir?” I asked, ________ .”It’s his duty to change your dish,” I said. “See how crowded the restaurant is? It’s a(n) ________ noon. Vernon,” my professor said. “Changing my order would mean more ________ for him and the chef. Maybe the waiter is ________. He probably would get a warning from the manager for this ________. Why put them through all this ________? This mushroom isn’t bad.”

When the bill arrived, my professor ________ paying it. He even left a big tip. When we walked out, he smiled at the waiter, who ________ so low that I thought he’d break his back. My professor also smiled and ________ the doorman when he thanked us for visiting.

Here was my professor, Mr. Smith, being sympathetic to people below his ________, and treating them like friends. “The true measure of a man is ________ he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good,” said Samuel Johnson. I’ll follow my professor’s ________ and try my best to do the same.