1 . Imagine if your clothes could pick up the sounds of everything going on around you. Scientists have created a fibre (纤维) which can pick up sounds and could be used as a hearing aid, to monitor heartbeats or even in spacecraft.

The new fibre works like a microphone. It picks up sounds and turns them into vibrations (震动) and then electrical signals, in a similar way to how ears work. When woven (编织) into a shirt, the researchers say the fibre can even detect a wearer’s heartbeat. The fibre can hear sounds as low as those in a quiet library to louder sounds like heavy road traffic. It can even accurately tell the direction of sudden sounds like handclaps.

The fibre was created by engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and researchers at Rhode Island School of Design. “Wearing a piece of clothing that can hear, you might talk through it to answer phone calls and communicate with others,” said lead author Yet Wan, who created the technology at MIT.

Once they had created the fibre, the team wove it into a more traditional piece of clothing which was much more flexible. When it was woven into the back of a shirt it was able to pick up the sound of people clapping, even picking up the direction the clapping was coming from. When woven into the shirt’s inner lining (内衬) it could pick up the person’s heartbeat, which the researchers think could be used in a pregnant woman’s clothes to monitor a baby’s heartbeat.

As well as wearable hearing aids, and clothes that track your heartbeat, the team says there are possibilities beyond clothing. “It can be integrated with spacecraft skin to listen to space dust, or embedded into (嵌入) buildings to detect cracks or strains,” Yet suggests. “It can even be woven into a smart net to monitor fish in the ocean.”

3 . One of the best parts of travel is always the food. Or, more specifically, the junk food. It’s a delight people are unlikely to get to experience during the pandemic. But in one corner of the Internet, hungry people are keeping the joy of international snacks alive.

On r/SnackExchange, users trade the delights of their homeland by mail. First, you find someone on the board to swap (交换) with. You and your partner then post each other a box full of local finest processed foods, eventually uploading photos of your haul (收获) on the board for others to see.

First created in 2010, r/SnackExchange’s membership now totals 102,000. Most come to experience snacks they can’t find at home.

For the users who take part in snack exchanges, it’s a way to learn more about the world. For Meghan Quallick, a snack swapper from California, part of the motivation for swapping with an Australian was to get her hands on a specific item: Cadbury Black Forest bars. A colleague of hers had eaten the chocolate bars on a trip to Australia in years past and fallen in love with them, but was then unable to source them at home. Quallick’s snack partner included 10 bars of the chocolate in her package. “To get some and bring them to her was pretty exciting,” Quallick said. “My colleague had tears in her eyes.”

Snack exchanges do come with obvious financial disadvantages. Part of the process is to agree on a budget before you swap — on average that’s around the US$40-50 mark. But you should be prepared to spend twice as much on shipping as the actual snacks. Occasionally swappers get scammed (欺骗) by partners who don’t deliver on their end of the deal.

Often, the snack exchanges are about more than just the food. Heather Clarke, a snack swapper from Melbourne says, “They’re often cultural exchanges as well. You get people going, ‘Can you tell me what this is?’” Often, users enclose (随信附上) instructions on how to best consume the snacks. Going the extra mile is in the spirit of the community.

9 . Researchers examined 120 babies aged 6 to 14 months as they watched a children’s opera performed at a concert hall (61 babies watched in person, the other 59 watched a recorded form). They carefully set the recording so the performers were at the same size, distance and volume as the live form. The babies’ responses were tracked through heart monitors and tablets, and afterward research assistants searched through the footage (镜头) to note when babies were looking at the stage and when they looked away.

The live performance kept their attention for 72% of the 12-minute show and also had them continually watching for longer periods of time. The findings suggest that even babies feel the impact of being at a live show, through both musicians’ interactions with an audience and the social experience of being in a crowd. “Their heart rates were speeding up and slowing down in a similar fashion to other babies watching the show. Those babies were dealing with all these distractions (使人分心的事) in the concert hall, but still had these interests in the performance,” says Laura Cirelli, an assistant professor. In comparison, the recording held the babies’ attention for just half of the 12-minute show.

“If there’s something happening that we collectively are engaging (参与) in, we’re also connecting with each other. It speaks to the shared experience,” says Cirelli. “It’s well established that socialization (社会化) is important during early childhood development — a baby’s brain is laying the groundwork for future life skills and abilities as it grows. Music can play a powerful part in making those important bonds. Babies are more likely to socialize with someone after hearing them sing a familiar song or dancing to music with them.”

The study, which was co-authored by Haley Kragness, now an assistant professor at Bucknell University, will also feed into some of Cirelli’s other work. “If a baby is frequently brought to these kinds of events, will that provide the foundation (基础) for their engaging in music and the community later in childhood?” Cirelli says. “It speaks to why we are inborn to consume music and attend live shows in the first place.”

10 . As a high school student, you’re likely used to learning through reading textbooks.     1     This lies at the heart of “experiential appreciation,” a philosophy that encourages you to engage directly with the world around you. It’s about learning from real-life experiences, and discovering a more profound and engaging way to learn.

To practice experiential appreciation, you can start by getting involved in hands-on activities related to your subjects. They will provide a firsthand understanding of the concepts you’re studying, making learning active and meaningful. So, try joining a sports team, picking up a paintbrush, or taking part in a local charity event.     2    

As you dive deeper, immerse (沉浸) yourself fully in the surroundings and activities. When you’re in nature, don’t just look around.     3     Touching the leaves, feeling the wind and listening to the birds can enrich your learning and make each moment more memorable.

    4     After trying something new, ask yourself what you learned and how it made you feel. Write in a journal or discuss it with friends. This self-discovery turns experiences into life lessons and offers a deeper understanding of the world.

Experiential appreciation transforms learning from a task to be completed into a journey to be treasured.     5     So, explore the world around you, let every experience shape you, and discover the endless possibilities that await. This is the core of true learning, where every moment is a step towards a richer, more enlightened life.