1 . There are many fascinating aspects of ant life, but none may be a more practical lesson for us than their gift for avoiding traffic jams.

A new research paper published in the journal eLife reveals how ants keep traffic flowing by changing their behavior to meet changing conditions. For their experiments, researchers from the University of Toulouse and the University of Arizona focused on Argentine ants that frequently move from one colony to another depending on the proximity (临近) of food sources.

Exploring the Argentine ants’ gift for fast commutes, the researchers built bridges connecting their colonies. The bridges varied in width from a fifth to three-quarters of an inch. The colonies, too, were of different sizes, ranging from 400 to more than 25,000 ants. Essentially, researchers built a new infrastructure (基础设施) system for the ants, connecting their biggest cities to the smallest villages. Then they sat back and monitored the traffic.

To their surprise, even when those narrower bridges reached near capacity, there were no 20-ant pile-ups. Indeed, there was never a hold-up. Traffic remained steady regardless of how overburdened the infrastructure was because ants were able to adjust to the change of road conditions. At some point, when the bridges got really busy, ants moved not so much as individuals but rather like water flowing in an ever-constant stream.

“When density on the trail increased, ants seemed to be able to assess crowding locally and adjusted their speed accordingly to avoid any interruption of traffic flow,” the authors note in a news release. “Moreover, ants kept themselves from entering a crowded path and ensured that the capacity of the bridge was never exceeded.” Argentine ants are extremely effective in getting to where they need to be in a hurry.

The lesson for humans? The traffic problem may lie in our inability to adjust our driving habits for the good of the whole. “Traffic jams are everywhere in human society where individuals are pursuing their own personal objectives,” the authors write. “In contrast, ants share a common goal: the survival of the colony, and thus they are expected to act cooperatively to optimize (优化) food return.”

3 . While riding hard on a bike, do you feel like you are saving the planet? Or do you just feel out of breath? In fact, cycling is now considered one of the best weapons mankind can use in the fight against climate change.

The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution (决议) in March supporting bicycles as a tool for dealing with climate change. The resolution calls on member states to “add the bicycle to public transportation, in the city and countryside, in developing and developed countries”, with all 193 members of the UN agreeing upon the resolution.

The decision has received positive comments from different groups in support of cycling and the environmental awareness internationally. “It’s an important step toward the recognition of cycling as an important means of transport,” said the European Cyclists Federation.

The resolution from the UN comes at a time when climate change has returned to the center of the world’s attention. On February 28, the UN published a new report assessing (评估) recent climate change trends (趋势). The report warns that the world’s average temperature will rise by 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900), with more than 40% of the world’s population being “easily affected” to these temperature changes.

Cycling is an environmentally friendly means of transport. Choosing to take a bike instead of a car just once a day can reduce a person’s carbon emission (碳排放) from transport by 67 percent, according to a research by the University of Oxford. The research also found that cyclists produced 84 percent lower CO 2 emissions from all daily travel than non-cyclists.

Cycling has grown in popularity as people who take public transport to work wish to stay away from crowded public transport and also like taking any opportunity to exercise. Cycling culture has been further encouraged with the influence of COVID-19. In May 2020, bike sales in Spain increased 22 times compared with 2019. In London, large parts of the city are being closed off to cars so that people can walk and cycle safely.

More importantly, the resolution focuses on bike-sharing services, which could be seen as recognition of China’s bike-sharing success, noted CGTN. China has some of the largest bike-sharing systems in the world. This means of transport that produces zero emissions reduces the amount of CO2 sent out into the atmosphere (大气层) by 4.8 million tons every year, according to a 2020 report from the World Resources Institute.

4 . One pet parrot (鹦鹉) Louie managed to save a Tennessee family. The Smiths were woken up by the bird’s repeated and _______ cries. “If it hadn’t been for him, I probably would have been asleep during the disaster.” Barbara Klein recently tolda news agency, “Louie is a _______ hero. He started shouting ‘Fire’. He had never said that _______before.”

When they woke up, they were shocked to find the _______ had spread across the rooms of the house. Barbara immediately carried her 5-year-old granddaughter and _______out of the house. But her husband Larry _______ escaped, and then was sent to hospital for the_______. “Larry ran to the kitchen and was trying to _______ the fire with water,” Barbara said. “Later he ran back into the house to try to _______our pets and his guitar. He kept saying he couldn’t breathe and I was shouting at him to ________ the house. I quickly told him to get down and he crawled out.” Barbara said her husband had to ________ in hospital while doctors tried to cure him so that he was able to attend the sixth ________ party of his cute granddaughter.

Although there was nothing left in their home, the family received support from a large number of ________ people. ________, Louie didn’t survive with them. However, to everyone’s relief, a generous person provided a flat to the Smiths and________ a new baby parrot to the family. “We call him Louie Jr.”, said Barbara.

6 . Growing up, Danielle Belleny was “always outdoorsplaying with plants and picking up insects and investigating the world on my own,” she told TIME for Kids. She hadn’t yet heard of wildlife biology, but that’s what she was learning about. “I wanted to be a veterinarian(兽医), at first,”she says.“I always knew I wanted to work with animals. That was the only job I knew where you could do that.” But when Belleny was in college, her dad mentioned wildlife biology as an alternative.

Later, Belleny started working on research projects. She spent a lot of time with animals in their natural environment. One project was about placing trackers on a bird called the northern bobwhite. For another, she spent time herding goats. It was a way to maintain a grass habitat for endangered box turtles without hurting them.

Belleny’s current job is at Plateau Land & Wildlife Management, in Hays County, Texas. “In the morning, I’m usually out the door by sunrise,” she says. She surveys birds. She keeps track of different species. And she searches for signs of what other animals in the area are doing. “It’s basically knowing how to read the landscape,” she says, “based on what plants and different characteristics are there.”

Around lunchtime, she’ll return home and write up a report. In the afternoon, she leaves for another site visit. Landowners can request her services. She advises people on how to accommodate the wildlife that lives on their property. “It’s a lot of meeting new people, a lot of quick introductions, and then talking for long periods of time.

Outside of work, Belleny has been birding, or bird-watching, for seven years. Her first book, This Is a Book for People Who Love Birds, was published in May. It allowed her to share her love of the activity. Now she’s working on a children’s book about birding. It’s scheduled to come out in fall 2023.

Belleny has some advice for young people who are thinking about careers. “Try everything you’re interested in. And if you’re interested in working with animals, go to a library and find some field guides.” There’s a lot of information about animals out there. Books are always a good place to start.

7 . Most environmental pollution on Earth comes from humans and their inventions, such as cars or plastic. Today, car emissions(排放物) area major source of air pollution leading to climate change, and plastics fill our ocean, creating a significant health issue to marine(海洋的) animals.

And what about the electric light, thought to be one of the greatest human inventions of all time? Electric light can be a beautiful thing, guiding us home when the sun goes down，keeping us safe and making our homes bright. However, like carbon dioxide emissions and plastic, too much of a good thing has started to impact the environment. Light pollution, the inappropriate use of outdoor light, is affecting human health, wildlife behavior and our ability to observe stars.

Light pollution is a global issue. This became obvious when the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, a computer-generated map based on thousands of satellite photos, was published in 2016. Available online for viewing, the map shows how and where our globe is lit up at night. Vast areas of North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia are glowing(发光) with light, while only the most remote regions on Earth(Greenland, Central African Republic and Niue) are in total darkness. Some of the most light-polluted countries in the world are Singapore, Qatar, and Kuwait.

Sky glow is the brightening of the night sky, mostly over cities, due to the electric lights of cars, street lamps, offices, factories, outdoor advertising, and buildings, turning night into day for people who work and play long after sunset.

People living in cities with high levels of sky glow have a hard time seeing more than a handful of stars at night. Astronomers are particularly concerned with sky glow pollution as it reduces their ability to view stars.

More than 80 percent of the world’s population, and 99 percent of Americans and Europeans, live under sky glow.