1 . Every year, millions of monarch butterflies migrate 3,000 miles to Mexico from North America. “Everybody knows about the monarchs’ migration,” says Andy Davis, an animal ecologist at the University of Georgia. “But one of the things that we still don’t understand is how they’re capable of making such tremendous flight while being such small animals with limited energy.” Amazingly, some of the monarch’s continent-spanning magic may be owed to the size of its wing spot, according to a study published in PLOS One.

The question of how color influences the monarch’s flight began when Mostafa Hassanalian, a professor of mechanical engineering, published a paper about how the colors on the wings of the albatross (信天翁) might help it fly for longer distances. The black on the top of the bird’s wings absorbs more solar energy, creating a pocket of warm air; the white on the bottom absorbs less. Together, the opposite colors create more lift and less drag, helping the albatross to fly up more efficiently.

Motivated by Hassanalian’s paper, Andy Davis contacted him and they teamed up with three other experts to investigate whether the orange, black. and white patterns on North American monarch butterflies’ wings influenced their flight distance. Specifically, they explored whether these color patterns determined how far the butterflies could fly. They discovered that surviving migratory monarchs had 3% less black pigment (色素) and 3% more white pigment a surprising contrast from the albatross. They also observed larger white spots on Eastern monarchs, which migrate farther than Western and Floridian populations, along with deeper shades of orange. The team assumed that these color patterns might offer an aerodynamic (空气动力) advantage, although the reason for the larger white spots remains unknown.

Should the connection between white markings and flight performance prove true, they plan to apply it to drone technology. “If small coloration (自然色彩) effects can improve like 10% of your efficiency, that’s a lot,” Hassanalian says, “Another aspect is that your drone would be able to carry more, because this coloration helps it gain extra lift.” The enhancement could also benefit other aircraft, but he points out one warning: planes fly at a much faster speed than butterflies, so coloration may not be as relevant to them.

Other butterfly scientists have reacted to their work with both enthusiasm and skeptlesm. “It is a totally new idea and it’s quite exciting,” says Marcus Kronforst, an evolutionary biologist. “I’ve worked on butterfly color patterns my whole life, basically, and never, never considered this. It’s never crossed my mind that it might influence how the butterflies fly.”

2 . On a cold morning in May, I received a fascinating email from a high school friend. inviting me to a 10-day all-female surfing adventure in Portugal. The offer was irresistible, and I instantly knew my answer was yes.

The trip seemed simple enough. Ten women, ranging from 30 to 45 years old, all strangers, will gather on the Portuguese coast to embrace the challenge of surfing the Atlantic waves.

As a travel enthusiast, I quickly sought permission from my boss for this once-in-a- lifetime journey.

Through my 33 years, I’ve observed a common adult tendency: we often limit ourselves to refining skills we already possess. There’s a certain pride in improving our expertise, becoming increasingly knowledgeable in our chosen fields, yet unintentionally, this focus often leaves other skills undeveloped and leads to neglecting other areas of potential growth.

Two days later, I arrived in Ericeira, a charming surf town, where I met my surfing group. Despite our different personalities and backgrounds, we were all united in a persistent desire to challenge ourselves, learn, tackle and grow.

The shores at Ericeira, where the beginners learn to surf, are shallow and covered with slippery rocks. They make for softer waves but are difficult to navigate (驾驭).

Guided by our amazing coaches, together, we faced the waves. Sometimes, it poured with rain, and the waves crashed around us, but we were still out there. And with every slip and fall, words of encouragement filled the air.

Honestly, I probably spent most of my days frozen to the bone, but that didn’t matter because a new level of genuine joy and personal achievement had been unlocked.

Learning a new skill taught me the humbleness that can come from doing badly at something new, and the pride that develops when you finally manage to grasp something you’ve been working on.

While surfing might not be my calling, trying it out inspired me to take more risks in life, to step outside of my comfort zone and to never stop believing in myself. You never know what you’re capable of if you don’t go out there and try.

5 . If students will arrive at UT Dallas (the University of Texas at Dallas) after the first day of classes, the ISSO (International Students and Scholars Office) strongly suggests they put off their admission. It’s our experience that late-arriving students have a stressful time settling in and meeting all the pre-registration requirements, such as TB Test (肺结核检查), orientations (入学培训), housing and so on. The inability to meet all these requirements may harm a student’s F-1 or J-1 visa status.

Departmental Late Arrival Letter

UT Dallas academic departments have the freedom and authority to write a late arrival letter on a student’s behalf. Departments may only offer this letter if they are willing to make a statement to CBP (Customs and Border Protection), showing that they will ensure that the late-arriving student will be able to meet all university and immigration requirements despite the late arrival.

Approval or denial of late arrival will be based on the individual worthiness of the request. The letter should be addressed to CBP and sent directly to the student from the academic department.

In general, scanned and printed images will be accepted by CBP. The letter should state:

◎ How late the department is willing to let the student start the semester. This must be a specific date.

◎ That the student will be able to enroll full-time in the academic program and make normal academic progress despite the late arrival.

The letter will not guarantee entry into the US; it simply reduces the possibility that late-arriving students will be turned away at the US Port of Entry.

If Entering Late:

Email the following areas the arrival date as soon as possible:

1. Intercultural Programs (ICPrograms@utdallas.edu) to schedule an International Student Orientation.

2. The Student Health Centre (Healthcen @utdallas. edu) to schedule a TB Test.

3. Academic department to communicate about late registration.

Consequences of late arrival:

◎ Late registration for courses

◎ Limited class availability

◎ Late registration fees

Late-arriving students are required to keep full-time enrollment throughout the semester. The ISSO will not approve reduced course loads due to the late arrival.

Yours,

Li Jin

7 . We had a painter in our home recently. Unlike many, he was _________ and completed the work in a timely way. And he went above and beyond the call of _________, like filling in little nail holes in the hallways.

The painter was always friendly and his prices were _________. I happily handed him a bottle of wine as an extra reward of our _________. As a famous writer puts, “Kindness _________ another; the painter’s friendliness makes me be friendly to others and so it goes.” Unfortunately the _________ is also true. Sometimes, people are rude to us and we tend to _________ in a kind way. My daughter recently moved across the country. The movers couldn’t have been more unpleasant. First they _________ to put the boxes in certain rooms. They threw them around and _________ many things including an expensive dining room table, but they were ____________ to take responsibility. I give my kid credit for reacting to the company with ____________ instead of rudeness.

I recently ordered some avocados (牛油果) online. Every single one was bad. Although I ____________ got a refund, I was troubled by the seller’s complete indifference to doing his job well and to the impact on the ____________. I was about to ____________ about his lack of service awareness. But I stopped myself. I was ____________ by the negative behavior and I had to work not to react.

We have to stop greeting rudeness with ____________ behaviors or performance. What ____________ is that, instead of waiting for others to be kind to us, we should make a positive ____________ to be kind to others. It doesn’t take a lot — a smile, a kind word and an offer to help or to ____________ another person. What a great deal — low ____________ and high reward!

9 . Many of us seem to have lives that follow a certain way. From kindergarten all the way to when we get married, every stage of our lives seems to be preset. And although this works well for a lot of people, according to British scholar Jay Shetty, there is no “right” schedule to live our lives by.

A few months ago, a video of Shetty’s speech “Before You Feel Pressure” became popular on the Internet across the world. In the video, he sends an important message that we should think “outside of the way” and have the courage to follow our hearts. As Shetty says in the video, we don’t have to get stressed and put ourselves in a race with our peers or judge our lives based on others’. “Everything in life happens according to our time, our clocks,” he says.

In his inspiring speech, Shetty points out that UK author J. K. Rowling got her famous “Harry Potter” series published at age 32, after being turned down by 12 publishers. Shetty also mentions that US actor Morgan Freeman didn’t get his big break until he was 52 years old. So we shouldn’t let anyone rush us.

As physicist Albert Einstein once said, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that’s counted truly counts. The key to staying on our own tracks is to be patient and keep our own interest. ” In Australian nurse Bronnie Ware’s best-selling book “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying”, she recorded the dying regrets of her patients, and the top one on the list was: “I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the one others expected of me. ”

Indeed, we are all unique in our personalities and gifts, and there’s no perfect fit for all. We should listen to our inner voices and ignore what the world has taught us, and what we’ve picked up from people around us. “It is important to allow people to go back to being self-aware of their own interests, needs and concerns,” Shetty told the magazine. “It’s disconnecting from what ‘makes sense’ to what actually moves you and what makes sense internally (内在地). ”