1 . Since the mid-1990s, tourists have paid storm-chasers to take them to places in the American Great Plains where they expect to see tornadoes. Why, a reasonable follow-up question might go, would anyone want to get so close to something so disruptive? These tourists, a study found, characterized their relationship to severe weather as a “passion”, describing their feelings about tornadoes using words like “enjoyment”, “fascination” and “love”. Some people seem spiritually moved by tornadoes-one tourist called the storms “humbling” -but the main motivator seemed to be simple: Twisters are cool.

America has many more tornadoes than any other country, and its people have long regarded twisters with a mix of fear, awe and thrilled pleasure. Fast-moving and dramatic, tornadoes have been irresistible parts for popular entertainment. One needn’t be an extreme-weather enthusiast, however, to take a brief and far-less dangerous tour: of culture tornadoes have inspired and of the transformation of American society’s feelings about these storms from fear to excitement.

European colonists in the future United States were fascinated-and sometimes horrified-by their new land’s weather. In the Early Republic, the influence of romantic ideas about the terrible and wonderful power of nature became clearer in American tornado culture. Some people began to write about tornadoes in terms of awe, and to produce art that explored the phenomenon’s natural beauty, while also moralizing about its meaning. Since the 1930s, American tornadoes have been less deadly: the country has much better early-warning systems, fewer people live in rural areas and tornado activity has largely shifted from the southeast to the thinly-populated Great Plains.

Storm-chasing-a scientific, thrill-seeking activity that most Americans found out about via the1996 blockbuster film Twister, is still incomprehensible to many who don’t practice it. “I find it difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t chased what forces us to seek pleasure from risk,” wrote Jennifer Henderson, a scholar and crazy storm-chaser, characterizing her feelings while chasing as “a sense of exposure and revelation tightly coupled”.

2 . Shrewsbury is an ideal getaway with visitors.

Set off on a self-guided tour of Shrewsbury on one of the town’s new e-bikes. The route is easy to follow with lots of stops along the way, including the Welsh Bridge, Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery and the Victorian-era Shrewsbury Prison. It’s most suitable for ages 14-plus.

This was the world’s first iron-shaped building when it was built in 1797-a forerunner of the modern skyscraper (摩天大楼). A new visitor centre opened in September-it’s also the end point of the Heritage Trail e-bike tour. An exhibition explores how the building has grown and been repurposed over the years.

Situated in the centre of town, this was an innovative example of modern architecture when it opened in 1965. Recent upgrades mean it’s now home to more than 70 independent businesses, including traditional market stands, artisan producers, craft shops and antique dealers.

Opened in 2020, Riverside Cabins is a rural collection of wooden cottages built in18th century, a 20-minute drive from Shrewsbury. Cabins sleep between two and six guests and each come with their own hot baths, as well as Wi-Fi and smart TVs. Try your hand at boating along the river, with equipment available to borrow on site. From £ 135 for a minimum of two nights for a family of four.

5 . Accents in English

Accents are fascinating and usually come with kinds of information.     1    . So many people, especially actors, are interested in learning accents.

Thanks to the development of technology, various handy accesses are available for people to share and pick up accents. English actor and accent coach Sarah Valentine is an expert in teaching the tones which can change the English language.     2    .

Valentine has been working in TV since the 1990s. She appears to have found success coaching other actors to speak in a variety of dialects.     3    , TikTok is a medium to educate the masses. Valentine’s TikTok takes simple phrases, such as “I’m hungry” or “the milk smells funny”. Valentine then repeats these simple words in accents including German, Dutch, and New York. She also highlights the rich variety of dialects within the UK, including Yorkshire, Scouse, Cockney, Geordie, Welsh, and Northern Irish.

“    4    ,” James Lantolf, a professor at Penn State, said. “Isolated (偏僻的) areas, such as New Orleans, develop different dialects. Since there is no contact between regions, entire words and languages can grow and develop independently. Social standing and education also affect the language of an individual person.” It is thought that accents have psycho-social purposes, allowing individuals to identify oneself and others as part of a group.

Everyone has an accent. A dialect coach like Valentine can help one learn to speak differently, for an acting job or for fun.     5    . Learning a second language as an adult is difficult; for much the same reason, it’s tricky to change your accent. With that in mind, watching Valentine change accents at the drop of a hat is all the more impressive.

6 . When you teach a child how to solve puzzles, you can either let them figure it out through trial and error, or you can guide them with some basic rules and tips. Similarly, incorporating (合并) rules and tips into AI training — such as the laws of physics — could make them more efficient and more reflective of the real world. However, helping the AI assess the value of different rules can be a tricky task.

Researchers report that they have developed a framework for assessing the relative value of rules and data in “informed machine learning models” that incorporate both. They showed that by doing so, they could help the AI incorporate basic laws of the real world and better navigate scientific problems like solving complex mathematical problems and optimizing experimental conditions in chemistry experiments.

“Embedding human knowledge into AI models has the potential to improve their efficiency and ability to make inferences, but the question is how to balance the influence of data and knowledge,” says first author. Hao Xu of Peking University. “Our framework can be employed to evaluate different knowledge and rules to enhance the predictive capability of deep learning models.”

Generative AI models like ChatGPT and Sora are purely data-driven — the models are given training data, and they teach themselves via trial and error. However, with only data to work from, these systems have no way to learn physical laws, such as gravity or fluid dynamics, and they also struggle to perform in situations that differ from their training data. An alternative approach is informed machine learning, in which researchers provide the model with some underlying rules to help guide its training process.

“We are trying to teach AI models the laws of physics so that they can be more reflective of the real world, which would make them more useful in science and engineering. We want to make it a closed loop (闭环) by making the model into a real AI scientist,” says senior author Yuntian Chen of the Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo.

7 . We can learn to be happy, but only get lasting benefits if we keep practising, a first-of-its-kind study has revealed.

The team behind the University of Bristol’s “Science of Happiness” course had already discovered that teaching students the latest scientific studies on happiness created a marked improvement in their well-being. But their latest study found that these well-being boosts are short-lived unless the evidence-informed habits learnt on the course — such as gratitude, exercise, meditation (冥想) or journaling—are kept up over the long-term.

Senior author Prof Bruce Hood said, “It’s like going to the gym — we can’t expect to do one class and be fit forever. Just as with physical health, we have to continuously work on our mental health, otherwise the improvements are temporary.”

Launched in 2018, the University of Bristol’s Science of Happiness course was the first of its kind in the UK. It involves no exams or coursework, and teaches students what the latest peer-reviewed studies in psychology and neuroscience (神经科学) say really makes us happy.

Students who took the course reported a 10 to 15% improvement in well-being. But only those who continued implementing the course learnings maintained that improved well-being when they were surveyed again two years on.

Published in the journal Higher Education, is the first to track well-being of students on a happiness course long after they have left the course.

Prof Hood said, “This study shows that just doing a course — be that at the gym, a meditation retreat or on an evidence-based happiness course like ours — is just the start: you must commit to using what you learn on a regular basis.

“Much of what we teach revolves around (以……为中心) positive psychology interventions that shift your attention away from yourself, by helping others, being with friends, gratitude or meditating.

8 . An old friend asked Nicola Swann, a British potter who lives in Heckington, near Sleaford, to do something extraordinary. This friend’s husband had problems using regular mugs (马克杯) because of a condition that affected his arms and hands. So she sought out Swann for help.

This is where Swann discovered a widespread issue—disabled individuals feeling uncomfortable using cups that looked like “sippy cups (吸管杯) for kids”. Due to sympathy and a desire to help, Swann came up with an answer. She made the first version of her disability-friendly mugs for her friend’s husband.

It was a double-handled mug that provided stability and had a design that didn’t sacrifice style. That was the start of what is now called “Digni-TEA” mugs from her Made with Mud business. Without fail, Swann was determined to make mugs that looked like everyday drinkware. She recognized that accessibility should not come at the cost of style. So she made a few different styles for everyone to use. Others had two oversized handles for easy use, a hold pinch for stability, and an uneven design for people who couldn’t tilt (倾斜) their heads back.

Swann’s decision to call her products “Digni-TEA” or “Dignity” mugs is more than just a choice of name. Her goal is to give people back their dignity so they can drink from a regular mug without worrying about medical help.

Swann’s decision to share her creations on social media made them more widely known. Swann wisely collaborated (合作) with a company in the East Midlands to meet the soaring demand for mass production. This step ensured a steady supply and allowed her to focus on what mattered most—the creative process.

The “Dignity Mugs” story is not just about a product; it’s a testament to the great influence one person can have in fostering (促进) a more compassionate and accessible society.

9 . International Day of Education

24 January

Education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed (宣布) 24 January as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development. Today, 250 million children and youth are out of school, and 763 million adults are illiterate (文盲的). Their right to education is being violated (侵犯) and it is unacceptable. It’s time to transform education.

International Day of Clean Energy

26 January

The International Day of Clean Energy on 26 January was declared by the General Assembly as a call to raise awareness and mobilize action for a just and inclusive transition (过渡) to clean energy for the benefit of people and the planet. 26 January is also the founding date of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), a global intergovernmental agency established in 2009 to support countries in their energy transitions.

World Health Day

7 April

It is celebrated annually and each year draws attention to a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world. The date of 7 April marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948.

The theme for World Health Day 2024 is “My health, my right”, which was chosen to champion the right of everyone, everywhere to have access to quality health services, education and information, as well as safe drinking water, clean air, good nutrition, quality housing, decent working and environmental conditions.

World Environment Day

5 June

World Environment Day, held annually on 5 June, brings together millions of people from across the globe, engaging them in the effort to protect and restore the Earth. People from more than 150 countries participate in this United Nations international day, which celebrates environmental action and the power of governments, businesses and individuals to create a more sustainable world. The event has been led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) since its start in 1973.