As a traditional and unique folk art craft of Beijing, Beijing silk figurine has     1     long history of more than a thousand years. Beijing silk figurine, “Jan Ren” in Chinese, is a kind of handmade doll made of silk, gauze (纱布) and so on.

Originating in the Tang Dynasty, figurines at that time     2     (make) of bamboo and covered with paper. Later in the Northern Song Dynasty, silk clothing and accessories were added, which     3     (basic) formed the first model of silk figurine.

In the Qing Dynasty, with the     4     (popular) of people’s worship of the God and Goddess of Longevity, silk figurines were made into such images and often used     5     gifts for elderly people to wish them a long and     6     (health) life. And high officials and the wealthy started to purchase silk figurines at high prices as art decorations in the home.

Most of characters of Beijing silk figurines come from Chinese folktales and traditional dramas,     7     are very familiar to the public. From its facial expression, clothing and postures,     8     is not difficult to tell that the silk figurine is all tinged with (带有) the Chinese flavor from head to toe. It takes twelve complicated steps     9     (complete) a final product, and it usually takes craftsmen up to two months to finish one silk figurine. The whole process includes sculpting, painting,     10     (design) clothing, making props (道具) and dressing hair, and each step requires extreme patience and skillful techniques.

2 . How to Successfully Adopt a Dog

Caring for a dog goes far beyond providing food, water and shelter. It takes research and careful planning to bring the right dog into your home,     1    

    2     Consider factors such as size, energy level, grooming (梳毛) requirements, and so on. Assess your living situation to ensure it’s suitable for a pet. Prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for the commitment of dog ownership.

Explore nearby animal shelters and rescue organizations to see the dogs available for adoption.     3     Then you may find one that you connect with and fits your preferences.

Before bringing your new dog home, ensure your living space is safe and equipped to meet their needs. Purchase essential supplies such as food and water bowls, a comfortable bed, toys, leash, collar, and identification tags. Create a designated area for your dog to eat, sleep, and relax.

Once you’ve adopted a dog, introduce it gradually to its new home environment. Start in a small area and gradually expand its access as it becomes more comfortable.     4     Give lots of praise, be patient, and make sure your dog feels safe in its new surroundings.

Soon after adoption, schedule a comprehensive veterinary examination for your new dog.     5     It will also ensure your dog is up-to-date on vaccinations and preventive care. Discuss a plan for ongoing healthcare if necessary.

3 . In an increasingly digital world, smartphones have become an essential part of teenage life. A recent Pew Research Center survey of 1,453 U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 and their parents illustrates the complex emotional relationship between teens and their devices.

The survey found that a majority of teens experience positive emotions when separated from their smartphones, with 74% reporting feeling happy and 72% feeling peaceful. However, a significant minority also reported negative feelings, with 44% feeling anxious, 40% feeling upset, and 39% feeling lonely without their phones.

Despite these mixed emotions, most teens believe that smartphones provide more benefits than harm for their age group. Seventy percent of teens said smartphones offer more advantages, while 30% believed the opposite. Younger girls aged 13 to 14 were more likely than older teen girls and boys to say the harms outweigh the benefits.

Teens also recognized the potential of smartphones to facilitate personal growth and academic success. Nearly 70% said smartphones make it easier to pursue hobbies and interest, and 45% believed they help young people perform better in school. However, opinions were divided on the impact of smartphones on social skills and friendships.

The survey also explored the challenges parents face in handling the digital landscape. Half of the parents reported looking though their teen’s phone, and about 40% said they regularly argue with their teen about phone use, Nearly half of the teens said their parents are at least sometimes distracted by their own phones when trying to have a conversation.

As concerns grow about the impact of social media on young people’s mental health, this survey highlights the nuanced (微妙的) relationship between teens and their smartphones. While the devices offer many benefits, they also present emotional and social challenges that both teens and parents must navigate in an increasingly connected world.

4 . Polar bears in Canada’s Hudson Bay risk starvation as climate change lengthens periods without Arctic Sea ice, despite the creatures’ willingness to expand their diets.

Polar bears use the ice that stretches across the ocean surface in the Arctic during colder months to help them access their main source of prey—fatty seals. In the warmer months when the sea ice recedes (消退), they would be expected to conserve their energy and even enter a hibernation-like (类似冬眠) state.

But human-caused climate change is extending this ice-free period in parts of the Arctic, which is warming between two and four times faster than the rest of the world, and forcing the polar bears to spend more and more time on land.

New research looking at 20 polar bears in Hudson Bay suggests that without sea ice they still try to find food. “Polar bears are creative and clever, and they will search the landscape for ways to try to survive and find food resources to compensate (补偿) their energy demands if they’re motivated,” said Anthony Pango, a research wildlife biologist with the US Geological Survey and lead author of the study.

The researchers found that of the group, two bears indeed rested and reduced their total energy consumption to levels similar to hibernation, but the 18 others stayed active. The study said these active bears may have been pushed to continue to look for food, with individual animals documented eating a variety of foods including grasses, a gull, a rodent and a seal carcass. Some bears even swam long distances to find food.

But ultimately the researchers found that these foods didn’t give them as much energy as their usual prey. So, 19 out of 20 polar bears lost weight when there was no ice, which made them more likely to starve. That means that the longer polar bears spend on land, the higher their risk for starvation.

“As ice goes, the polar bears go, and there is no other solution other than stopping ice loss. That is the only solution,” Pango said.

6 . Best Apps to Practice Language Skills

Babbel

Babbel is a popular online language-learning platform that offers courses in 14 different languages. Babbel’s courses are designed to teach users practical, everyday language skills that can be used in real-life situations. The platform uses interactive lessons that cover topics such as vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and cultural insights to help learners build their language skills. Babbel’s courses are available on desktop and mobile devices, making it easy for users to learn on the go. Babel operates on the subscription based model, which costs $19.99 per month.

Memrise

Memrise use a variety of interactive techniques, including spaced repetition, audio and visual cues, to help learners remember new words and phases more effectively. Memrise’s courses also prioritize practical, everyday language skills over academic language. Additionally, Memrise offers a community feature where users can interact with other learners and native speakers to practice their language skills. A monthly subscription to Memrise will cost $12.99.

Busuu

Busuu offers comprehensive courses in 13 different languages, all of which feature audio recordings of native pronunciations. The lessons are organized into topics. And what’s more, each course even comes with a separate travel course for those who need to quickly get the basics before a trip abroad. Uniquely, Busuu also allows users to engage native speakers in their learning process. However, to access most of the features and course materials, users have to invest $11.99 a month.

Drops

Drops uses engaging visuals and game-like exercises to help learners remember new words and phrases more effectively. The platform offers short, bite-sized lessons that last only a few minutes. This makes it easy for users to fit language learning into their busy schedules. According to Drops, its online courses contain over 20,000 beautiful illustrations and 3,300+ words covering 180+ topics. A subscription to Drops will cut you back by $12 per month.

7 . The Voynich manuscript (手稿) is a 234-page book filled with writing in a strange language now called Voynichese. It also features many strange drawings of unknown plants, people and charts. Based on the images alone, it seems to have something to do with medicine.

The language in the manuscript appears nowhere else and has become one of the greatest linguistic riddles of our day, Since its discovery, it has attracted researchers, been called a hoax (骗局), and been the subject of a huge number of articles.

By carbon dating the manuscript, researchers are pretty confident that it was constructed in the early 1400s. And through the magic of linguistic analysis, most people agree that the manuscript is not a hoax. Or, if it is, it’s a very, very complex hoax.

A paper published in 2016 by computer scientist Greg Kondrak and his student Bradley Hauer gained a lot of attention. Their theory was based on the idea that Voynichese was made with a substitution cipher (替代密码). That means it was written in a real language, and then each of the letters in that language was replaced by a specific Voynichese letter.

This is where the computing power comes in. By having a computer compare the text of the Voynich manuscript to 380 languages, Kondrak and Hauer ran the substitution cipher through as many languages as possible and determined if the text would make sense. In the end, they figured out that the original language was Hebrew, and they even translated some of the text. There are a few problems with their results, though: they compared the manuscript to modern Hebrew, not 15th-century Hebrew; they had to make “spelling corrections” for it to make sense; and, possibly most egregious (过分的) of all, they got their results using a translating app.

Despite all the innovations in code-breaking over the last century, the Voynich manuscript still rejects our advances. If Voynichese is indeed ever solved, artificial intelligence could very likely play a role.

8 . After a decade of negotiations, nearly 200 countries have agreed to a new United Nations treaty(条约)to protect the world’s oceans, the first of its kind in 40 years. The High Seas Treaty aims to protect 30% of the open oceans by 2030, setting a plan in motion to preserve this vast area.

Oceans cover about 71% of the Earth’s surface and are home to countless species of animals and plants. They play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy planet. However, overfishing and pollution from ships and other sources have severely impinged on many marine (海洋的)species and ecosystems.

The last major UN sea treaty in 1982 described the “high seas” — the parts of the oceans that aren’t controlled by any country — but it did not protect them. The high seas, which account for two-thirds of the ocean, currently have only 1.2% of their massive area protected. A marine protected area(MPA)is an area in the sea with strict rules about fishing and other activities. While more and more countries have established MPAs in their waters, most are not connected, limiting their effectiveness for migratory(迁徙的)species.

Last December, over 110 countries committed to protecting 30% of their land and ocean areas by 2030．The High Seas Treaty now enables the extension of this goal to the entire ocean. It aims to make 30% of the high seas become protected areas by 2030 and requires that proposed activities on the high seas undergo assessment for their potential impact on the ocean environment.

Reaching the agreement was challenging due to differing views on ocean protection among countries, such as limits on fishing or pollution. Disagreements also arose over sharing resources between rich and poor nations, with the latter seeking an assurance that resources benefit everyone, not just those in wealthy countries.

The treaty is not yet final and must be officially accepted at a UN meeting. Then it must be approved and signed by enough countries before it takes effect.

9 . Sarkar is a nanotechnologist (纳米技术专家) and assistant professor at MIT. She is conducting her research on brain diseases that _________ the minds of millions of people worldwide.

Born in Kolkata, India, Sarkar credits both of her parents as early _________. Her courage as a researcher comes from her _________, who as a young woman went against social norms (常态) in her village by _________ to fund her own education. Meanwhile, Sarkar’s father _________ her interest in engineering. Sarkar recalls her father finding time for his _________, fashioning devices to make home life more _______, including an electricity-free washing machine. “That got me very _________ in science and technology.” Sarkar says.

After _________ a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Dhanbad, Sarkar __________ California to study nanoclectronics. There, she tested new ways to __________ nanodevices that could reduce the amount of __________ consumed by computers and other everyday electronics. __________, she made a breakthrough by developing a standout nanodevice.

Along the way, Sarkar became fascinated with the __________, which she calls “the lowest energy computer”. She hopes to put nanodevices between human neurons (神经细胞) to improve the computing speed of the processor in our brains. “Our brains are __________, but we could be better than what we are.” she says.