4 . The only science fiction that ever really caught my attention when I was growing up, besides Star Trek and Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, was the novel Contact by Carl Sagan. When I was 15, I saw the 1997 film version of this. Later, as a 17­-year-­old adapting to my first semester (学期) at university, I read the book. Contact eventually became the gateway for me to try more popular science books.

One thing that interested me was the bitter fights the researchers got into with one another about their different ways of measuring the expansion rate of space­time. On second thoughts, maybe this was a lesson I was supposed to draw from Contact, but, at the time, I didn’t regard such politics as a scientist problem. Instead, what caught my attention was the portrayal of Eleanor “Ellie” Arroway, a scientist who searched for alien intelligence. In the film version, Ellie is seen listening to space using a pair of headphones connected to the Very Large Array (VLA)—a real facility in New Mexico.

Astronomers don’t really do this for the purposes of actual research because there is rarely any point. This is the kind of detail that is unimportant for the film of Contact, but how it portrays radio astronomy is one of the inaccuracies I occasionally hear scientists complain about. I was lucky enough to observe the behaviour of some water molecules (分子) in the Orion nebula (猎户座星云) using the VLA for my third­year lab course. We didn’t listen to the data. Instead, we processed it so that we could look at it.

That was probably the only time I ever excelled in the lab, and I was so excited to be a real­life Ellie Arroway. Later, I was forced to think more about the human aspects of my working experience. I witnessed unnecessarily heated arguments between scientists, complete with shouting and chalkboard punching (用拳猛击). But, thankfully, Contact had not only introduced me to the idea of radio astronomy as a possible career path, it had also given me a road map for remaining calm in the confused conflict of astronomical wonder and human politics.

5 . While they can’t pick out precise numbers, animals can comprehend that more is, well, more. From birds to bees and wolves to frogs, animals use numbers to hunt, find a mate, return to their home, and more. Researchers believe that this ability, known as numerical competence, plays an important role in how animals make these decisions. Andreas Nieder, a biologist at the University of Tübingen, explores the current literature on how different animals comprehend numbers.

Honeybees, for instance, can remember the number of landmarks they pass when searching for food in order to find their way back home. This ability can also be seen in animals choosing a larger amount of food over a smaller amount or in animals forming hunting groups. Wolves are more likely to hunt successfully if they have the right number of wolves in their pack for their prey (猎物) with prey like elk (驼鹿), only around six to eight wolves are needed, while hunting wild pigs requires a pack of nine to thirteen. Their prey also uses this concept to protect themselves—elk tend to live in small groups, which rarely have encounters with wolves, or gather in large groups to reduce the chance of any individual becoming prey. “They are assessing the number of individuals in their groups for their everyday life situations,” Nieder says.

Furthermore, numerical competence also plays a role in attracting a mate. For example, male frogs sing “advertisement” calls to attract females. The females, listening to their complicated calls, choose the males that sing the most “chucks” in their calls.

Now researchers do have some sense of the rules that govern numerical competence in animals. For example, they count approximately (大概) rather than specifically and two numbers need to be more different for them to tell them apart as those numbers get bigger. However, Nieder argues that more research needs to be done. “I hope I can encourage behavioral ecologists to specifically explore numerical competence in the wild, and, in doing so, also open new research fields,” he says.

It’s my great honor to have been given the chance to share with you my opinion on health.

That’s all. Thank you!

In your e-mail, you expressed disagreement about our teachers speaking both English and Chinese in English classes.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

9 . Do you think you need to shout at yourself to force yourself to finish your homework? If so, think again.    1     Research shows that practicing self-compassion (自我关怀) improves our mental and physical well-being and supports long-term success.

Self-compassion is the practice of being kind and supportive to ourselves. The opposite is being self-critical and mean to ourselves when we make a mistake.     2     These negative responses are related to depression, stress and reduced quality of life.

A 2017 study found people who practice self-compassion tend to handle stress better. Their bodies have less of a stress response when, for example, they meet with difficulties at work or school.     3     Let’s say they do poorly on a geometry test. Self-compassion helps them use the experience to make changes going forward, like seeking out a math tutor.

    4     We can start with mindfulness. First of all, practice observing our thoughts — are they understanding or critical? Don’t judge ourselves too severely then. Rather than getting caught up in how we could have done better, forgive ourselves and think about what to change while remaining respectful, and loving to ourselves.     5     We can read a novel, play a musical instrument or kick around a soccer ball with friends.

With practice, we can learn to treat ourselves with kindness and unconditional love — not tough love.

10 . Los Angeles residents Joe Blackstone and Jamie Mohn have long recognized the lasting impact storytelling can have on a child’s life. Shortly after getting married, the couple began volunteering to read books to elementary school kids. Then, when they became parents themselves, they created the J3 Foundation to help organizations devoted to children’s growth. But after learning two-thirds of fourth graders who cannot read effectively end up on welfare, Blackstone and Mohn decided to take a more hands-on approach: in 2018, they launched J3’s Cozy Reading Club.

Each session of the two-hour, after-school program is free and includes outdoor activities and a healthy snack. Then, it’s time for some comfortable reading. After teachers read a book aloud and the group talks about the storyline freely, the kids find a spot to sit while grabbing a book of their choice to look through. In the end, they get to choose two books to borrow and take home.

In its first year, J3’s Cozy Reading Club served 15 students in one L. A.-area classroom. As of 2022, it had expanded to 17 schools across four different districts, impacting a total of at least 400 students, the vast majority of whom live in underserved communities. With impressive statistics backing it up 90% of the students have significantly improved their reading scores, and 95% say they’ve started reading for fun since taking part in the program——its founders have much to celebrate.

“Having more than 5,000 culturally relevant books available to them is so exciting. I love it when our students can see themselves and their classmates’ lives reflected in the books they are reading. The hope of changing one kid at a time makes all the work worthwhile,” Blackstone said.

Currently, J3 is in the process of raising $864,000, so the Cozy Reading Club can expand to an additional 24 Los Angeles schools and double its book collection to 10,000. This is worthwhile. The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) reported that 68% of U. S. fourth graders weren’t skilled at reading in 2022, up from 66% in 2019.