1 . When it comes to architectural accomplishments, humans like to think they stand at the top. That is to underestimate the astonishing achievement s of social insects; for example, white ants raise skyscraping nests. The true master builders of the insect world, however, are the hundreds of species of stingless bees.
In a new study, Ms. Di Pietro and her colleagues observed over 400 colonies of the stingless bee species in a large bee house in Brazil in 2022 and 2023. Around 95% of the colonies exhibited honeycombs (a structure made by bees) built up in horizontal layers (水平分层), like tiered wedding cakes, while the rest adopted a spiral (螺旋的) structure.
Since the stingless bee shows a strong preference for a horizontal-layer honeycomb structure, it’s surprising that spiral honeycombs occur. The team confirmed that there was no difference in the average cell-building rate between the two styles, and therefore no efficiency advantage.
In order to rule out a genetic explanation for the different styles, the researchers transplanted workers from colonies that built in one tradition to colonies that built in the other, having first emptied the host structures of their native adults. The imported workers soon switched to the local style, which was then continued by the colony’s young insects as they eventually matured into workers.
Dr. Tom Wenseleers guessed that the bees may switch styles as a way of coping with the build-up of small construction errors made by their fore-runners. Such a process, in which multiple organisms indirectly affect each other’s behavior through the traces they leave in their environment, is known as stigmergy (共识主动性). The researchers later introduced a sign of spirals to the otherwise perfect horizontal-layer honeycombs, and found that it did indeed cause the bees to switch to building spirals.
These results suggest that stingless bees can pass on different building traditions across generations and individuals needn’t be instructed by their peers. “The findings are the clearest demonstration of cultural differences naturally appearing in insects. Insect culture would once have been thought impossible,” says behavioral biologist Andrew Whiten, who wasn’t involved in the research. “Less than a century ago, culture was thought to be uniquely human.”
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?| A．By posing a contrast. | B．By reporting an event. |
| C．By supposing a situation. | D．By justifying an assumption. |
| A．It is a result driven by genetic factors. |
| B．It involves cost and efficiency considerations. |
| C．It is switched constantly between several styles. |
| D．It shows flexibility in the changing environments. |
| A．The impact of fore-runners’ behavior on other stingless bees. |
| B．The underlying logic behind stingless bees’ building styles. |
| C．The advantages of maintaining stigmergy among stingless bees. |
| D．The significance of correcting small errors during construction. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Conservative. |
| C．Favorable. | D．Critical. |
2 . Art Contest — Technology &You!
Technology is everywhere these days. Automation has pioneered innovation. Your phone is probably in your pocket or your hands at all times, and now it’s easier than ever to communicate with anyone in the world. What are your thoughts on technology, social media or your phone? Do you feel excitement every time you get a notification message, or do you feel tied down by these digital “chains”?
However you feel, we want you to put that into artwork-paintings, digital art or photography. One winner and several honorable mentions will be featured in the December 2024 magazine, and the winner will receive a $25 gift card! You may even see your art work in future issues of Teen Ink magazine.
Deadline: Nov. 1, 2024
Details and requirements:
Entrants must have a Teen Ink account and be aged 13～19.
Inappropriate content will not be accepted.
Submissions must relate to the topic (technology).
Entries must be a piece of artwork created by the entrants themselves.
Entrants can submit as many pieces of art as they wish.
How to submit:
Entries can be submitted through the Teen Ink website. All entries submitted will be reviewed and considered for the contest. See our submission guidelines for more information.
Make sure to submit your art work to the appropriate art category(technology) on Teen Ink. You can do this by using the “additional tags (标签)” field in your submission form.
1. What is the main theme of the art contest?| A．The development of technology. | B．The application of technology. |
| C．Innovations of technology. | D．Viewpoints on technology. |
| A．Submit original artwork. | B．Submit artwork with a unique tag. |
| C．Submit different types of artwork. | D．Submit only one piece of artwork. |
| A．A library. | B．A magazine. | C．An art school. | D．An art museum. |
3 . The public footpath laid barely 20 meters from where I stood, promising a walk along the river, passing fields and through woodland, well away from any road. Yet there was something in my way — the River Thames.
I checked my map to see how to reach the path, but there was no other footpath that would lead me to the island on which it sat. It was only accessible by boat — kid’s dream. Similar to a talent show, some performances are educational but mostly, they just make you laugh. Talent is irrelevant, and audience engagement through call and response is essential.
Away from phones and peers back home, social norms fade and space for self-exploration forms. Shy kids come out of their shells, and cool kids let their guard down. They get to open up this door to a part of themselves that they wouldn’t have felt safe to reveal at school or at home.
It’s been a decade since my last performance as a camp counselor, and I never thought of skits from a skill-building perspective. But I now realize this rich camp tradition left a great impression on me. Through camp skits, I developed my sense of humor, built confidence in front of a crowd, and learned how to accept others for their quirks (怪癖).
Maybe we can make our schools or communities more like summer camps by bringing the silliness of skits into our families and classrooms to reconnect with ourselves and each other. The next time you’re sitting around a campfire with friends and family, give it a try. Embrace the discomfort and invite your loved ones to join in on the improvising (即兴创作). And remember: the more funny noises and childlike humor, the better.
1. What is the main purpose of skit performances at summer camps?| A．To entertain and engage the audience. | B．To showcase talent and skills. |
| C．To educate the audience. | D．To compete with fellow campers. |
| A．Defend. | B．Relax. | C．Mature. | D．Respond. |
| A．She developed a competitive spirit. | B．She understood social norms better. |
| C．She became more tolerant. | D．She became more creative. |
| A．Take up challenges in life. | B．Accept our imperfections. |
| C．Participate in more community activities. | D．Break out of our comfort zone. |
4 . The American Psychological Association(APA) has issued its first advisory on social media use in adolescence (青春期). What’s most striking in its data based on recommendations is how little we really know about how these apps affect our kids.
The relative newness of platforms like Snapchat and Tik Tok means little research is available about their long-term effects on teen and tween brains. Getting better data will require significant funding—and much more openness from tech companies.
“What little evidence we do have unsurprisingly suggests that social media trades on motivators that aren’t great for young brains. Many kids’ first exposure to social media occurs at the worst possible time when it comes to brain development,” says Mitch Prinstein, a psychologist and neuroscientist at the University of North Carolina(UNC).
“Things like ‘button and artificial intelligence(in general)’ are going to affect young people’s brains in a way that’s very different from adult brains when it comes to the desire to stay online and to say or do almost anything to get followers.” When it comes to social interactions, he compares kids’ brains to a car with a huge gas pedal and weak brakes (刹车).
Earlier this year, Prinstein and his UNC colleagues published the results of one of the first studies of how the adolescent brain reacts to social media. The team surveyed a group of middle schoolers to understand their social media habits, and then stuck them in an MRI machine to watch their brains as they reacted to social rewards or punishments. They found that 12-year-olds who habitually checked social media had distinct neural patterns, with more activities over time in parts of the brain associated with motivation, salience(or where attention is focused) and cognitive control.
The team didn’t weigh in on whether those differences were good or bad, or whether the relationship was causal or correlational. But their work points to the need for more research. It should also remind parents of the need to be keenly aware of social media’s hidden influence on still-developing brains.
1. What issue regarding social media apps does the APA report highlight?| A．Their addictive nature. | B．The lack of data on their influence. |
| C．The dishonesty of their developers. | D．The ineffectiveness of their incentives. |
| A．Uncontrolled. | B．Sensitive. | C．Unpredictable. | D．Productive. |
| A．They are usually highly motivated. | B．They find it difficult to concentrate. |
| C．They have greater cognitive control. | D．Their brains show unique features. |
| A．Empowering Teens in the Digital Age |
| B．How to Guide Teens’ Social Media Engagement |
| C．The Hidden Influence of Social Media on Young Minds |
| D．The Importance of Healthy Social Media Habits |
5 .
Plan your time carefully. When planning your work, you should make a list of things that you have to do. After making this list, you should make a schedule of your time. First your time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc. Then decide a good, regular time for studying.
Find a good place to study. Look around the house for an area suitable for study. Keep this space, which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room, free of everything but study materials. No games, radios, or television. When you sit down to study, concentrate on the subject.
Make good use of your time in class.
Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes, review the important points that your teacher is going to discuss the next day, and read that material.
Develop a good attitude towards tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. This helps you remember your new knowledge. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t be over worried.
| A．Take advantage of class time to listen to what the teacher says. |
| B．Don’t forget to set aside enough time for entertainment. |
| C．There are other methods that might help you with your studying. |
| D．Maybe you are an average student. |
| E．No one can become a top student unless he or she works hard. |
| F．Make full use of class time to take notes of everything the teacher says in class. |
| G．This will help you understand the next class. |
6 . Parenting roles evolve from the full control and safekeeping of a young baby to the delicate dance between independence and guidance in adolescence (青春期). Eventually, our children become adults, and if we are lucky, we will have lifelong friendships with them.
Play is a key element of friendship with children. With babies and very young children, we play with them, engaging in back-and-forth activities. They often start the game, and we join in. They pull us into play, and we love it. In the language of experts who research children from birth to 3 years old, we express delight in these interactions. But delight often hits a snag when our children learn how to say “no”. From this point onward — into adolescence — we focus on getting children to behave. We tend to be the parent, not the friend, often saying “because I said so”. Highlighting our role as taskmasters limits our parenting tools. If we can leave time and space for child-driven play and activities — without adult demands or expectations — we can return to delight. These friendly interactions expand our relationship with our children. It’s not the same as peer friendship, but we are being friends.
Beyond play, the other foundational component of parent friendship is the child-directed conversation. Maintaining a friendly, non-judgmental standpoint in conversation with your kids can provide you with a world of trust and engagement. Being quiet and not saying anything are undervalued parenting tools. Instead, we can keep our ears open for informal chatter and then listen with intention and presence. And it’s usually best if we don’t offer ad vice unless asked for it. Being curious and compassionate and listening deeply to their stories and worries build emotional bonds, maintain communication, and produce trust, which sounds like friendship.
In my experience as a child, a parent, and a child psychiatrist, I think we can be more than command-and-control. And I firmly believe that we can treat children with affection and respect, as companions.
1. What does the underlined word “snag” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Misjudgement. | B．Demand. | C．Challenge. | D．Response. |
| A．Be a deep listener. | B．Start the topic of a talk. |
| C．Never make any comments. | D．Avoid any informal chatter. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Approving. | C．Unclear. | D．Negative. |
| A．Parent-child Friendship Bonds | B．Lifelong Parent-child Relationship |
| C．Fundamental Elements of Friendship | D．Parenting Roles in Children’s Growth |
7 . If you feel discouraged because of your plain looking, here are some practical ways that you can rethink about your own appearance self-esteem(自尊).
Throw away conventional, media-defined ideas of beauty.
Define yourself in ways other than how you look. Make your self-esteem based on your inner, not outer qualities. Focus on what you like about your abilities, personality and perspective on the world. These almost always show improvement over time.
Use others as a sounding board. You may think your nose is huge, but those who care about you may find the very features that bother you the most lovely. If you’re feeling that you “look funny” or “fat”, ask your nearest and dearest.
To sum up, changing our society’s views of attractiveness won’t be easy.
| A．Focus on keeping healthy |
| B．Be concerned about how you feel inside |
| C．They may, surprisingly, give supporting ideas |
| D．Shifts in our viewpoint can make no difference |
| E．So work your way through the tips listed above |
| F．You’re not going to change society’s definition of beauty |
| G．And they are often more changeable than facial or bodily features |
8 . Rick Guidotti put aside his career as a fashion photographer to turn his lens (镜头) to people living with genetic, physical and behavioral differences.
He says what changed his perception (看法) of beauty was a chance encounter with an albino (患白化病的) girl. “I was just tired of people telling me who was beautiful. Every season that face would change but I was always told who was beautiful. As an artist, I don’t see beauty just on covers of magazines. I see it everywhere. So that was my original intention — that opened my eyes a little wider and wider.”
Guidotti has created Positive Exposure, a not-for-profit organization that uses photography and video to transform public perceptions and promote a world where differences are celebrated. Guidotti and Positive Exposure are featured in a new documentary called On Beauty.
One of the women featured in the film is Jayne Waithera. “I never thought I was beautiful because nobody said that to me, but meeting him was my profound moment. I remember that particular day. He took my picture and I felt so good like I felt there’s somebody who, like, really loves me and sees me for who I am and who sees me more than my condition.”
Guidotti is travelling from city to city to promote On Beauty. He says his tour is not about money; it’s about the message. “As I travel from community to community, I’m taking photographs and I’m empowering (给某人……的权力) individuals with a positive sense of who they are. They’re seeing beauty in their reflection but I’m also empowering their families and they in turn are empowering their communities as well. All is based on the philosophy of change — how you see, how you change.”
1. Why did Guidotti change his career?| A．He intended to establish his own company. |
| B．He expected to earn more money than before. |
| C．The beauty on covers of magazines is beyond satisfaction. |
| D．The meeting with an albino girl changed his view on beauty. |
| A．It enjoys high profit. | B．It welcomes differences. |
| C．It spreads photography skills. | D．It enhances community bond. |
| A．Jayne was beautiful indeed. | B．Jayne disliked being photographed. |
| C．The film became a hit thanks to Jayne. | D．The photographs made Jayne more confident. |
| A．Beauty comes from life. | B．Attitude affects behavior. |
| C．Travel enriches experience. | D．Communities influence individuals. |
9 . Go Sledding (滑雪橇) around Baltimore
From steep slopes (陡坡) to gentle hills, there’s no shortage of local sledding rides in the Baltimore area. Here are a few of the favorites.
Leakin Park
1901 EAGLE DRIVE
There’s a sweet slide behind the Crimean Mansion off Eagle Drive — also known today as Friends of Orianda House — which is accessible and also one of the best-kept sledding secrets inside city lines. The Winans Meadow area is super scenic year-round, but especially so when it snows.
Baltimore Country Club
4712 CLUB ROAD
The golf course is a legendary sledding destination, but make sure to be aware that the steep slope here is nicknamed “Adventure Hill” for a reason. No small number of green hands have rolled down here. As one Reddit commenter said, “It left me hurt many a time as a kid” — words no doubt that frighten some but also attract more than a few.
Herring Run Park
3800 BELAIR ROAD
The 375-acre northeast area may be the top spot in the city for the variety of hills to choose from. Created by the Olmstead Brothers more than a century ago, the stream valley park is also home to fox and deer, which you might just spot wandering about in their winter coats. Visitors can enjoy the benefit of sufficient parking for private vehicles.
Federal Hill
300 WARREN AVE.
It’s an obvious destination, given its picturesque view overlooking the Inner Harbor, for sledding and building snowmen and snowwomen. The hills here are very steep, however. Just be careful not to rush out onto Key Highway or into the back of the American Visionary Art Museum.
1. Where is the destination with easy access to parking lot?| A．At 1901 EAGLE DRIVE. | B．At 4712 CLUB ROAD. |
| C．At 3800 BELAIR ROAD. | D．At 300 WARREN AVE. |
| A．They enjoy beautiful scenery. | B．Sledding there is challenging. |
| C．Visitors can interact with animals. | D．They are perfect for building snowmen. |
| A．Travel. | B．Environment. | C．Health. | D．Culture. |
10 . Landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom has designed a new green roof on the Rangsit Campus of Thammasat University, about 25 miles north of central Bangkok, Thailand. Her imaginative work challenges the common thinking that urbanization has a negative impact on the planet, whether flooding, excess(过度的)energy use, disrupted biodiversity or the heat island effect.
The 236,806-square-foot structure, which opened in December 2019, includes a flood water management system and Asia’s largest rooftop organic farm. It combines modern landscape architecture with traditional agricultural knowledge, creating a green and friendly environment.
The green roof, containing an H-shaped landscape, looks like a futuristic hill with a brick building beneath it. The hill features a complex pattern of zigzagging terraces(之字形梯田)of planted beds, leading all the way down to the bottom. When rainwater hits the roof, it flows down the zigzags while being absorbed by the soil in the beds. The excess water is directed into four storage ponds—with a capacity of up to 3 million gallons. The process slows down the flow speed of rainwater runoff compared to a normal concrete rooftop. This keeps the area from flooding during heavy rains.
The roof’s terraces are filled with organically grow n crops, including a drought tolerant variety of rice, many local vegetables and herbs. The farm can supply the canteens on campus with a large amount of rice, herbs and vegetables a year. The food waste is composted(把……制成堆肥)to make the soil of the farm richer, and water from the storage ponds is used to water plants, creating an entirely localized and circular system.
The farm serves as an outdoor classroom and a source of local jobs, too. Farmers offer workshops on sustainable agriculture and nutrition as part of the university’s sustainability course. “Students and community members are invited to participate in seasonal seeding, harvesting, and soon,” says Voraakhom. “The urban farm is training a new generation of organic farmers with real-world skills. It also promotes a sense of community.”
1. What can we say about Voraakhom’s work?| A．It’s creative. | B．It’s demanding. |
| C．It’s short-lived. | D．It’s energy-consuming. |
| A．To look more distinctive. | B．To increase water storage. |
| C．To plant diverse vegetables. | D．To decline the flow rate of water. |
| A．It features recycling. |
| B．It improves students’ lifestyle. |
| C．It develops the most healthy crops. |
| D．It has better outputs than other farms. |
| A．To complain about the poor employment. |
| B．To encourage innovation in local communities. |
| C．To show the possibility for farmers to become professors. |
| D．To speak favorably of the students’ access to hands-on knowledge. |
