1 . Three scientists jointly won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics for proving that tiny particles (粒子) could keep a connection with each other even when separated, a phenomenon once doubted but now being explored for potential real-world applications such as encoding information. Frenchman Alain Aspect, American John F. Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger were quoted by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for experiments proving the “totally crazy” field of quantum entanglements (量子纠缠) to be all too real. They demonstrated that unseen particles, such as photons (光子) , can be linked, or “entangled”, with each other even when they are separated by large distances.

In quantum entanglement, establishing common information between two photons not near each other “allows us to do things like secret communication, in ways which weren’t possible to do before”, said David Haviland, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics. Quantum information “has broad and potential effects in areas such as secure information transmission, quantum computing and sensing technology”. The kind of secure communication used by China’s Micius satellite, as well as by some banks, is a “success story of quantum entanglement”, said Harun Siljak of Trinity College Dublin.

The Nobel Committee said Clauser developed quantum theories first put forward in the 1960s into a practical experiment. Aspect was able to correct an error in those theories, while Zeilinger demonstrated a phenomenon called quantum teleportation that effectively allows information to be sent over distances. “Using entanglement you can send all the information which is carried by an object over to some other place where the object is.” Zeilinger said. He added that this only works for tiny particles. “It is not like in the Star Trek films transporting something, certainly not the person, over some distance,” he said.

The 2023 Chinese Bridge Calligraphy and Painting Contest lasted for six months,     1     (attract) 1, 084 contestants from 86 countries     2     a total of 1, 146 calligraphy and painting works.

According to experts, the award winning calligraphy works this year mirrored many Chinese classic elements with more     3     (expressive) and creativity, compared to the winners of last year's contest,

“I feel honored to be the judge again and also     4     (delight) to find that the entries for this year have been such a breakthrough. From their progress, you can     5     (definite) see the authors must have spent a lot of time and energy learning traditional Chinese culture, ” commented one of the judges.

At the closing ceremony, Zhang Bo, professor from Beijing Language and Culture University, gave high praise of the achievement of overseas Chinese teaching,     6     played a significant role in cultural exchanges. He said the quality of the entries resulted from the contestants' years of study, as well as     7     guidance and assistance of overseas Chinese teaching behind them.

The experts suggested watching the videos about the contestants on the website. “Through these videos, we can see their daily practice and creation process,     8     we can also feel their understanding and love for Chinese culture from their introductions. The creative process of calligraphy and painting     9     (have) a visual appreciation similar to dance. It is our hope that these videos     10     (share) on social media will encourage more people to develop a love for Chinese culture.”

3 . A lot of people assume the more work they put in at the gym, and the longer and harder they push themselves, the better their results will be.     1     But if you want to get the best gains, the key is to focus on the quality of the work rather than the quantity.

Your body is capable of making only tiny adaptations and improvements at any one time. Once you've given it enough push to make these changes, any additional work you do after that point won't be making you any better.     2     This is because you'll need longer to recover afterwards. Besides, you won't feel fresh when you start your next session. Ideally, it's just enough to do the smallest amount of work required to promote growth in every workout.     3     Thus the minimum amount of exercise brings the maximum physical gains.

    4     For example, if a new gym-goer wants to get stronger, he might start a squat (深蹲) workout, which is made up of ten steps, each having five repetitions. In theory, it's a sensible way for building strength. If he's only attempted three steps in his previous exercise, it's far from enough. The fourth step would push him past his previous limit and force adaptation. But the subsequent steps are meant for more professional people.     5    

As a general rule, regardless of your experience, aim to only increase the volume of any exercise by one step from workout to workout.

9 . Social media companies are often compared to tobacco companies, for they both market harmful products to children and design their products for maximum customer loyalty (that is, addiction), but there’s a big difference: Teens can and do choose, in large numbers, not to smoke. Social media, in contrast, applies a lot more pressure on non-users, at a much younger age and in a more unnoticed way.

Once a few students in any middle school open accounts at age 11 or 12, the pressure on everyone else to join becomes intense. Even a girl who consciously knows that Instagram can foster beauty obsession, anxiety, and eating disorders might sooner take those risks than accept the seeming certainty of being out of the picture and excluded. In this way, social media unlocks a remarkable achievement: It even harms adolescents who do not use it.

A recent study in the University of Chicago illustrated the effects of the social media trap precisely. The researchers asked more than 1,000 college students how much they would need to be paid to deactivate (停用) their accounts on Instagram for four weeks. On average, the students said they would need to be paid roughly $ 50. Then the experimenters told the students that they were going to get most of their friends to do the same, and then asked, Now how much would you have to be paid to deactivate, if most others did so? The answer, on average, was less than zero — most students were willing to pay to have that happen.

Most students are on social media only because everyone else is too. This is the textbook definition of what social scientists call a collective-action problem. It’s what happens when a group would be better off if everyone in the group took a particular action, but each actor is discouraged from acting, because unless the others do the same, the personal cost outweighs the benefit. Cigarettes trapped individual smokers with a biological addiction. Social media, however, has trapped an entire generation in a collective-action problem.

10 . There’s a site in Cornwall, in southern England, called Woodland Valley Farm. Here, farmer Chris Jones allows beavers (河狸) to wander in an enclosed five-acre plot. Their natural dams, he says, have helped control repeated flooding of the downstream village.

Centuries after beavers were hunted to extinction in Britain, efforts are now underway by environmentalists to reintroduce the creature. “Sometimes they can really be annoying; they can mess everything up,” says Christof Angst, an official consultant of be aver management. “But if you look at it on the whole, the positive impact of this species is huge.” Some of the benefits of beavers’ work on a landscape include a boost to biodiversity, drought resistance, and improvement of water quality by moving pollutants.

Yet, as the animals’ return becomes increasingly widespread, the debate is shifting from whether to bring them back to a question of how to manage them once they start appearing in waterways. The consequences of bringing beavers back are not all positive, the most common one being the flooding they can cause, rather than reduce. In addition, critics point to the high costs of beaver-felled trees and be aver reintroduction programs.“Who’s going to pick up the cost, who’s going to do the repairs, who’s going to cover crop loss?”asks Richard Bramley, a farmer from the York area.“There’s no plan.”

To avoid conflicts, organizers have fenced in beaver-related projects. The beavers are not permitted to wander freely beyond the fences. The government has also put together a beaver management strategy framework, which advises communication and listening, in an effort to clear up misunderstandings and concerns. When beavers do cause issues, available options will be provided, including modifying the dams, reducing water levels, or relocating the animals.

“What we want to direct people towards is coexistence with wildlife and nature,” saysEva Bishop, head of communications and education at the Beaver Trust. “We need to encourage people to give space for nature to function.”