1 . Dutch researchers have discovered that birds living in cities are using metal spikes (尖刺) to build their nests. People put these spikes on buildings in order to keep birds off their balconies, benches, and chimneys, but birds seem to be stealing them and using them to keep people away from their eggs.

The research began when, in the courtyard of a hospital in Antwerp, Belgium, biologist AukeFlorian Hiemstra found a large nest that had been built by a magpie (喜鹊). The nest was made from about 1,500 metal spikes. They were pointing outward to create a protective system around the nest.

“I just stared at it, this strange, beautiful, weird nest,” Hiemstra told BBC News. When he investigated further, he found that magpies had moved away nearly 165 feet of metal spikes that had been glued to the hospital’s roof.

After Hiemstra made this discovery, his team heard about a similar nest created by crows in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, and another magpie nest in Glasgow, Scotland. The crows had positioned the spikes in a different way, perhaps using the metal to support the nest’s structure.

In their report, the researchers mention many kinds of birds moving spikes off buildings, but they chose to focus their study on corvids(birds from the crow family). The researchers pointed out that there have been previous studies on how corvids use everything from telephone wires to clothes hangers to build their nests. They said the use of anti-bird spikes “hints at a functional use”—meaning the birds seem to know exactly what they’re doing.

Magpies have often been seen nesting in thorny (多刺的) places, where the thorns can prevent people from attacking the small eggs and chicks inside the nest. Thorny hedges aren’t common in cities, however, so the theory is that magpies use the human-made version instead. Hiemstra calls this the birds’ “revenge”. “We’re trying to get rid of birds, but the birds are collecting our metal spikes and actually making more birds in these nests,” he said.

3 . While socializing comes naturally for some, it can be a struggle for others. Shyness is a normal, common personality trait (特征).     1    . If you’re often hesitant to engage in social situations, you may interact with those around you in a more comfortable way. We outline four strategies for overcoming shyness in life.

You may have been shy most of your life.     2    . Working through shyness and developing increased confidence may seem like a discouraging task for you, but viewing the journey as an exciting adventure to parts unknown can be exciting and, in turn, may boost your self-esteem.

    3    . Talking to yourself in a negative way when describing yourself can damage your self-confidence. Consider replacing phrases like “I am shy” with “I am learning to be more comfortable” in social situations. This can go a long way toward moving from shyness to confidence.

Mindfulness involves drawing your attention to the present and being aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings.     4    . In one study, participants in a mindfulness program experienced an improved view of their self-worth.

Getting started can be the hardest part of learning how to be more social for those who are shy.     5    . You can start out small. Try chatting with the teller at the bank or the person ahead of you in the checkout line. This can help you build confidence and work your way up to more difficult challenges.

4 . Volunteer at the EcoTarium! We simply could not offer the programs and special events that make the EcoTarium a unique resource to our community without our diverse and dedicated corps of volunteers. To be considered for a more specific position, look through the volunteer listings below, and submit an application.

Our zoo ambassador volunteers will assist the Zoology Department to connect with guests through engaging educational experiences about our animal residents. We are looking for volunteers who are passionate about animals and excited to interact with guests of all ages. Volunteers may also complete behavioral studies on numerous animals within the care of the EcoTarium to help enhance the welfare for our animals!

Animal care volunteers will aid in all areas of husbandry (农牧业), including feeding, cleaning, record keeping, training animals, and behavioral observations. They will work with a variety of animals under our care, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The position is physically demanding and requires working in all weather conditions.

Through conversations and hands-on activities, education program volunteers help visitors make meaningful connections to our exhibits, encourage curiosity and scientific inquiry, and challenge visitors to dive deeper into the concepts explored at our museum.

The EcoTarium seeks volunteers who are interested in making a contribution to science by uncovering lost specimens (标本) in the EcoTarium collection! Photograph, measure, and take notes on birds, eggs, seashells, or pressed flowers. This is an excellent position for a high school or college student considering a career in biology or lab science. It is also appropriate for citizen scientists of any age. It offers an opportunity to see examples of rare or extinct plants and animals.

6 . Packing up my luggage, I felt a wave of fear. Maybe tomorrow’s flight would be ________ and I didn’t have to go after all — I ________ hoped. It was May 2022, and I’d ________ my job in London to begin a year-long journey around the world.

I loved to travel and had been ________ to visit many countries with friends and family. This time, I’d be travelling alone, which was pretty ________ for a woman with a disability, though I have learnt to ________ life in a wheelchair since I was 7.

Accessibility isn’t much of a(n) ________ in some countries, but my first ________ on my solo trip was Bali. Although I’d ensured my hotel wouldn’t be a problem, I couldn’t ________ any risks.

“If it doesn’t ________, you can always come home.” my parents ________ me. But I wasn’t going to give up without a ________.

In Bali, the hotel where I stayed was ________ by a kind woman who made sure I had ________ to the shower and anything else I needed. With her help, I made it to a mountain ________ and saw most of the island’s sights. As ________, the view from the top was thrilling.

After that, I made the trip up as I went, staying in a country until I got ________ and moved on to the next. Wherever I went, such as Africa and Asia, I was greatly impressed by the ________ of strangers helping me.

________, I’d visited a total of 66 countries on my own by February 2023. Now, I’m fully ________ that a disability doesn’t have to stop a person from getting out there and seeing the world.

8 . Last year, there were 38 student members and a full-time teacher in the school band. But over the summer, the director took another job and the school board had no applicants for the vacant position.

“It was such a downer,” remembers Jadyn Lane. “But we were given a choice — we could sign up for other electives (选修课), or find a way to make the band work.” Most students signed up for other electives, but 10 students decided to stay.

“It wasn’t an option to quit,” says Hailey Fitzgerald. “I’ve been in the band for seven years. I love it! It’s too important for too many reasons.” The students elected Hailey as director, a position she accepted on the condition they would all work together and share responsibilities. They recruited Casey Griffith and Jennifer Nail-Cook to be their official faculty advisors. Casey did the paperwork, and Jennifer helped with the music.

They directed themselves. Front and center on the band room whiteboard are a set of rules which they created themselves. In addition, they made a calendar (日历) of their upcoming events, like football games. It included a daily countdown to each event so they’d be prepared.

Perhaps most importantly, they decided which instruments were necessary to make a band of this size work. Most of them were drummers. How could they play those instruments with the people they had? “Several members switched instruments and some even learnt brand new ones,” Hailey says.

The time came last month for their first public performance. It was a home football game against Richwood. They had no idea what to expect. Would it work? Would the crowd cheer them on? Would they cheer up the football team? To their surprise, a group of students made posters for the band and hung them at the entrance to the football field. “We thought some people didn’t even know we still had a band,” says Jadyn. But their classmates had been paying attention and wanted to make their first game special. And their school won.

9 . A new study reveals that trees can communicate and warn each other of danger. “For the first time, researchers have been able to visualize plant-to-plant communication,” said Masatsugu, senior author of the study.

The idea of talking trees started to take root in the 1980s. Two scientists found that damaged trees began producing chemicals that made their leaves unappetizing and indigestible to discourage insects. The trees then sent chemical signals to one another through the air. Over the past four decades, scientists have observed this cell-to-cell communication in more than 30 plant species.

Past research shows plants communicate with their surroundings by releasing chemicals known as volatile (易挥发的) organic compounds. One class of these compounds are released when a plant is injured: green leafy volatiles. These are released by, as the name suggests, pretty much every green plant with leaves, and are produced when a plant experiences physical damage. An example of these compounds is the smell released from fresh-cut grass.

In the new study, Masatsugu and his colleagues manually damaged leaves and placed insects on tomato plants to trigger the release of various green leafy volatiles. After testing many of them, the team found it seemed to increase calcium ions (钙离子) inside cells. The calcium signaling is like a switch to turn on the defense responses from the plants.

With this new understanding, researchers say plants could be immunized against threats and stressors before they even happen. For instance, exposing healthy plants to insect-ridden plants or the associated green leafy volatiles could boost their genetic defenses, so farmers use less pesticides. The revelation could also help make plants more resilient (有复原力的) during a drought, signaling the plants to conserve more water.

Yuan Longping, a Chinese scientist     1     is known in China as the “Father of Hybrid Rice”, is a great man with a humble mind and a warm heart.

His lifetime research in hybrid rice made him a     2     (nation) hero and a symbol of dogged (顽强的) scientific pursuit.

It was in the 1970s that Yuan achieved his scientific breakthroughs that would later make him     3     household name.     4     (create) the hybrids, he added the genetic material of a wild rice from Hainan Island to commercial rice strains.

Yuan Longping was born in 1930 in Beijing, or Beiping, as it     5     (all) at that time. He entered college in 1949, and chose to study agriculture despite the doubts of his     6     (parent). After     7     (graduate) in 1953, Mr. Yuan took a job as a teacher at an agricultural college in Hunan province and devoted     8     (he) to the research into crop genetics.

“Famished (饥饿的), you would eat whatever there was to eat, even grass roots and tree bark,” Mr. Yuan recalled in his memoir (回忆录). “At that time I became even more determined to solve the problem about     9     food production can be increased so that ordinary people would not starve.”

“There’s no secret to it; my experience can     10     (actual) be summed up in four words: knowledge, sweat, inspiration and opportunity,” Mr. Yuan said in a video message that encouraged young Chinese to go into science.