1 . Tya started volunteering as a Greenpeace firefighter after the great forest fire in Riau in2015.

“My family was my main reason to sign up. My parents had a respiratory (呼吸的) infection caused by the smoke. Small children were also forced to stay at home. What is certain is that we are directly impacted by the forest fires,” said Tya.

Now, every year, as summer rolls around, Tya gets worried because that’s when most forest fires occur, either naturally or as a result of land clearing. “In my opinion, forest fires are the result of human activities of those who no longer think about clean air,” she said.

Before carrying out tasks in the field, she had to take a volunteer firefighting course held by Greenpeace Indonesia. As a new firefighter, Tya’s first few duties have been to carry out awareness campaigns to talk about the dangers of forest fires. In order to protect nature, she encourages the public to reduce their use of single-use plastic and also to carry ashtrays to hold cigarette butts. “It could be simple acts but the effect that is felt is extraordinary, especially when people around you are also slowly becoming more aware of climate issues,” she said.

In 2016, Tya and her team spent two weeks putting out fires in the Bukit Timah area. On one of the days, a strong wind had picked up, flaming the underground fire back up to the surface where it quickly started getting worse. Back at camp, Tya and her other colleagues were worried for the safety of their teammates. Fortunately they made it back safely, but their faces looked more tired than usual.

Despite the challenges, the courageous young woman stands ready to do what she can to protect the environment. “As a firefighting volunteer, I must be ready when called upon in the event of a fire and ready to be placed wherever I am needed.”

2 . The Best Fall Leaves Camping in the US

Whether in search of changing leaves, mild climates, or a socially distant getaway, here are some of the best spots for fall leaves camping in the US.

Quarryville, PA

Home to pretty rolling hills and rural countryside, this area develops successfully in the fall with some of the best leaf-admiring in the Northeast. It’s located on 63 wooded acres, head to Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort. Here, you’ll find never-ending views of the changing leaves plus family-friendly entertainments such as a water zone and mini golf.

Cape May, NJ

Known as America’s oldest seaside resort made famous by its beaches and boardwalks——Cape May is also home to several camping destinations. Guests can enjoy wilderness with the conveniences of a modern campground. Hike through the amazing National Wildlife Refuge to see leave s change color in fall or discover some of the finest wines on the east coast at nearby vineyards.

Beaverton, MI

Central Michigan, along the Cedar River, offers plenty of cool campgrounds where you can splash in the water and admire the fall leaves. Gladwin City Park and Campground in Gladwin provides peaceful escape for those looking to sit back and relax. Meanwhile, in Beaverton, Calhoun Campground occupies 40 acres of backwater land on Ross Lake with beautiful wooded sites facing the lake and activities such as boating and trail hiking.

Conway, SC

This travel hotspot is known for beachside accommodations, but it’s also home to forest camping. You’ll find the best of both worlds at Carolina Pines RV Resort it’s still warm enough to go to the beach or the pool in the fall, but you’ll also enjoy views of the season’s changing leaves. And don’t forget to check out the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway(SC11),where more than a half-dozen colorful state parks and their gorgeous fall leaves are all within easy reach.

4 . Reading has always been a useful skill. And with reading becoming more digital, educators should start looking into how they can teach this important skill to the students.

With the development of social media, students are connecting more with written language than ever before. This should be a success up to a point. But the reading they do does not always bring good reading skills or challenge its readers with new words. The National Literacy Trust found that students who use social media held a more positive (积极的) view on reading and writing. Educators need to make use of this new reading culture.

One way this can be achieved is by using digital libraries. Students as young as three are being encouraged to read online. Epic! is a good place to start. It is an eBook service that offers readers under 12 chances to read about 20,000 books. Similar apps allow students to read books they like. Educators need to understand that giving students the freedom to choose books that are attractive to them is important. If students enjoy what they. read, they will see reading as a good way to get information.

There are ways that digital technology can be applied into teaching reading. Educators can use tools to check the way students read. By understanding students’ reading habits and speeds, educators can know where the problems lie. Then they can change their teaching to best suit the needs of their students.

This was very difficult to judge before, and educators had no tools but to make their students read out loud. The digital age is giving students control their own reading and allowing teachers to teach according to the students’ needs.

5 . Goldfish may seem like simple creatures swimming in a glass tank, but they possess a rather complicated navigation system, as discovered by researchers at the University of Oxford Led by Dr. Adelaide Sibeaux, the study aims to shed light on our understanding of how fish, and potentially humans, estimate distances using what could be described as an internal GPS.

Writing in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Sibeaux and colleagues report how they created a tank in their experiment with 2cm-wide black and white vertical stripes (条纹) on the walls, connected by similar stripes across the floor. The team trained nine goldfish to swim a set distance of 70cm and then return to their starting point when waved at. The experiment aimed to investigate how the fish would estimate this distance without any gestures, under different patterns.

Over multiple trials, the goldfish averaged a swim distance of 74cm, give or take 17cm, when presented with the vertical 2cm-wide stripes. However, when the stripe pattern was altered to either narrower vertical stripes, checked patterns, or horizontal stripes, the fish’s behavior changed significantly. Narrower vertical stripes led them to overestimating the distance by 36%, while horizontal stripes resulted in highly inconsistent estimations.

According to the researchers, the goldfish appeared to be using an “optic (光学的) flow mechanism” based on the visual density of their environment. They kept track of how frequently the vertical pattern switched between black and white to estimate how far they had traveled. The study suggests that different optic flow mechanisms are used by mammals, including humans, based on angular (有角度的) motion of visual features. The study implies that the use of visually based distance information could have emerged early in the evolutionary timeline.

“This study is novel because, despite knowing that fish respond to geometric information regarding direction and distance, we don’t know how they estimate distances,” Professor Colin Lever, although not involved in the study, said, “it’s exciting to explore fish spatial mapping because fish navigation evolved earlier and better than most mammals.”

8 . Los Angeles is great, but sometimes you need a change. If you only have one day to spare, consider one of these quick day trips from Los Angeles to some amazing nearby destinations.

If you want to exercise, check out the Indian Canyons that offer hiking trails (路线) and different attractive views. If relaxation is your goal, shop at the stores in Cabazon, or just sit by the pool. You can see works of famous artists including Picasso and Warhol in the Palm Spring Art Museum but the works are not for sale.

It’s easy to get there from L. A. by train. And it’s a perfect way to day-trip because all the places are within walking distance of the station. Head down to the beach at Fletcher Cover or walk along the Cedros Design District for window shopping.

Visitors can enter the man-made island by car, but it’s far easier and more fun to park your car on the Balboa Peninsula and take the boat for a quick trip across the water. Walk along Marine Avenue, the island’s main street. Here you’ll find plenty of restaurants, gift shops, and you can learn some local history in Island Museum.

A piece of California history and an old town make San Juan Capistrano an unusual day-trip destination with a lot of beauty and a little learning. If you have your heart set on getting up close with some animals, pay a visit to Petting Zoo. You can also learn some local history in the museum that is perfect for a walking tour.

9 . Holly, my wife,cannot cook. She is capable of the process of cooking, but she cannot cook in the same way that an octopus (章鱼) cannot ride a bike.

One time, I walked into the kitchen to find Holly making toast. I generally feel safe eating toast that Holly has made because it boasts nothing but few steps. But this toast was a bit thin and tough.

“It’s a bit thin and tough,” I said. “What bread is this?”

“It’s the same bread we always have,” Holly said, pointing to the bag.

“Oh, my God!” I cried. “It has a best-by date of January 2009.”

“It was in the freezer,”Holly said. “The best-by date doesn’t count if the product is frozen.”

“But still there is a limit for frozen food,” I responded, holding up a slice of bread which felt like a stone.

“No, there isn’t,” she replied. “I once saw a show where scientists found a rare animal frozen in ice for millions of years. They melted it, cooked it, and ate it.”

“That is why it is called a show,” I cried.

“You never appreciate anything I do,” replied Holly.

“That’s not true,” I said. “I appreciate everything you do. You’re a beautiful, kind, thoughtful person. But if I ordered a hamburger at McDonald’s and they handed it to me, saying, ‘Sorry, it was a bit tough because the bread had been stored for nearly 10 years,’ I would assume there was something wrong with the restaurant staff.”

“It would probably be good with me,” responded Holly, holding out her hands.“But you would never know whether the guy at McDonald’s spent an hour in the kitchen making it for you and burned his thumb on a pan.”

“Fine,” I sighed, raising it to my mouth. “I’ll taste it.” Taking the brown and yellow bread, I had a strong burning feeling like having a mouthful ofred ants. I swallowed with effort as my eyes began to water.

“Yes,” said Holly. “We were out of cream, so I used pepper from Sichuan, China instead.”