5 . The tickbird and the giraffe have a connection relationship that some scientists describe as win-win relationship and some as parasitism (寄生). This interspecies partnership is imbalanced in favor of the giraffe because it can live without the tickbird, while the tickbird is dependent on the giraffe for food resource.

The giraffe is a large mammal that lives in Africa along with other large grass-eaters. All these and many others host the tickbird. This bird has long been thought to remove ticks (扁虱) from its host, to the benefit of both—the bird eats the ticks, and the host is relieved of blood-sucking, disease-carrying insects—but recent studies reveal that this process is less than good. A secondary benefit to a host from the tickbirds’ presence is a sort of early warning system, since the birds make a loud sound if they sight an enemy. This is of less benefit to the giraffe than to other hosts because the giraffe has the advantage of great height and keen eyesight and is fully capable of spotting predators without the bird’s assistance. The tickbird is likely of greater benefit in this capacity to the nearsighted rhino.

They cross through the host’s hair looking for insects as their food. According to the researcher Paul Weeks, reporting in the journal Behavioral Ecology, tickbirds can and do enlarge tick bites and other wounds on their host body to seek for food resource, making the host-tickbird relationship unfair. The host, like the giraffe, however, would have a hard time keeping tickbirds off itself. So they tolerate the birds who cling to their bodies and chow down selectively at the buffet on the giraffe’s body.

6 . Scientists at Stanford University have designed a new paint that could help reduce our growing dependence on air conditioners and heaters. It comes in a variety of colors, and if used properly, it could seriously reduce electricity bills and emissions.

The paint is capable of reflecting about 80 percent of mid-infrared light (中红外光) from the sun, which is 10 times more reflection than traditional colored paints. When used on the outside of a building, the paint keeps heat out, and it can be used on the inside to keep heat in. As such, the developers of the paint say it provides a “year-round energy-saving solution” that can be used in a variety of climates.

When tested in artificially warm conditions, the paint reduced the amount of energy needed to cool the enclosed space by almost 21 percent. Tested in artificially cold conditions, it reduced the energy needed to heat the space by 36 percent. Across an entire building, researchers estimate the paint could save 7.4 percent of the energy needed to heat or cool a mid-sized apartment building.

Different from other paints, this new version from Stanford is not just pure white or silver. Its variety of colors include white, blue, red, yellow, green, orange, purple and dark gray. This rainbow is possible because the new paint has two layers that are applied in a series. The first is the reflective bottom layer, which contains silver aluminum flakes (铝片). The second is an infrared transparent top layer that contains colorful nano-particles. Both of these layers are water-resistant and work in humid and hot environments.

“For both heating and air conditioning, we must reduce energy and emissions globally to meet our zero-emissions goals,” says material scientist Yi Cui from Stanford. The team continues to refine their technology and hopes to commercialize the paint in the future.

I didn’t know how powerful a tool humor could be till the day I     1     (accidental) discovered it I remember I was 16 years old or so, and like most     2     (teenager), I too was a difficult kid. My careless attitude would get on my mom’s nerves, leading to huge fights. For me, it felt like she hated me and picked on every move     3     I made.

It was on a regular day, in the middle of the day’s fight, when my mom shouted at the top of her voice as I had again forgotten to wipe the floor after my shower. And not     4     my surprise, she had slipped on it again. As she came to me     5     (scream), I remember holding her face in my hands all of     6     sudden and expressing as I teased her, “Oh, did you fall again? Sorry!” to which she shouted, “Of course I did!” Looking at each other for a second we began laughing and that was the first time that our fight     7     (end) on a good note. It was on that day that I realized how my harsh (尖刻的) words were only adding fuel to the fire when all it needed was a little humor.

Conflicts cannot be avoided     8     talking about a relationship. Although it does spice up relation, just like too much of anything is bad, too many conflicts do a lot of harm to a relationship. This is the time when humor can act as its role     9     (ease) the situation and help share some lighter moments of fun. So     10     (laugh) or humor is the best medicine.

8 . Life is filled with numerous victories and downfalls; what matters is how you handle each situation. May it be your love life or a serious life struggle, we must learn to move on. Here’s how you can create a new chapter in your life.

Learn from others.

    1     Since they know the hardships, they will be able to assist you better. Never let go of hope, find aspiration and motivation in others even when you can’t find it in yourself. When you start learning and depending on others, you will notice the different patterns which made them successful. Some people plan the solutions while others actually live the solutions, always go for the latter. If people are truly free of their issues, they will be able to help you out truly.

Try everything you can imagine.

Sometimes we might feel that we have tried out so much but still nothing is working out for us. In this kind of situation, what can we do?     2    . Try solutions that you never ever dreamed of, and who knows, they might actually make things better for you.

Let go of your past.

In order to move on from every struggle and heartbreak, you must let go of the past, guilt and resentment. No matter what, negative feelings are always going to be counter-productive. You may feel like justifying them but they are only going to drain you out in the long run, so you have to avoid them.     3    

    4    

In stressful situations, most people tend to get busy doing the things that don’t get them anywhere     5    . What really helps in such situation is to make sensible and favorable choices for yourself. Don’t follow the path to anger and des troy what is good for you. Picture your goals in your mind and make sensible steps towards them with each passing day. Let nothing stand in your way.

9 . A Chinese woman who lost an eye in a road accident a decade ago has received high praise for developing cool-looking artificial eyes as she struggles to overcome appearance anxiety that often accompanies such a loss.

The former dancer and actress from Beijing, who is known by her online nickname, Xintong, completed the process of becoming a self-taught artificial eye maker, in 2020.

She spent years improving her skills through trial and error, driven by a desire to help others with a similar disability rediscover their confidence.

A decade after she lost her right eye in a car accident aged 18, and following years of self-hating, Xintong now runs her own artificial eye-making workshop.

From the beginning, her aim has been to help people like her by providing them with custom-made artificial eyes. “Because I once got wet in the rain, I now want to give others an umbrella,” she said.

The idea came from a “very cool” overseas artificial eye maker who did not care what other people said or thought about people who had lost an eye.

“People already look at me in a strange way, so why not exaggerate how I appear and use that to my advantage?” Xintong said.

However, Xintong found the artificial eyes she had to wear both ugly and uncomfortable. “I thought to myself, it would be great if I could produce ones according to my own taste,” she recalled.

She pursued her dream and in 2020 quit her teaching job to devote herself full-time to artificial eye-making.

Now she’s mastered the technique of making her ideal artificial eyes, opened a workshop and hired three assistants.