3 . A new study suggests that science role-playing may help tighten the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and math(STEM)education and careers for women simply by improving their identity as scientists.

Frustrated by the gender gap in STEM, in which some fields employ at least three times more men than women, Cornell graduate student Reut Shachnai wanted to do something about it. Reut said the idea to help foster young girls’ interest in science came to her during a lecture in a class she was taking on Psychology of Imagination.

Reut designed an experiment to test if assuming the role of a successful scientist would improve girls’ persistence in a “sink or float” science game. The game itself was simple yet challenging: a computer screen projected a slide with an object in the center above a pool of water. Kids then had to predict whether the object would sink or float.

She studied 240 four -to -seven -year -olds, because this is around the time kids first develop their sense of identity and capabilities. They were divided into two groups. Children in the “story” group learned about the successes and struggles of a gender -matched scientist before playing the game. Boys heard about Isaac Newton and girls were told about Marie Curie. Children in the “pretend” group were told to assume the identity of the scientist they just learned about.

All kids played at least one round of the game. No matter what group they were in, girls got the answers right just as often as boys -nearly 70% of the time. Boys, however, didn’t really benefit from the stories or make-believe. Besides, girls pretending to be Dr. Marie persisted twice as long at the sink-or-float game, playing just as much as the boys did.

Reut’s teacher Tamar Kushnir said, “Rather than merely hearing about role models, children may benefit from actively performing the type of actions they see role models perform. In other words, taking a few steps in the role model’s shoes, instead of merely observing her walk.”

5 . Bumble bees (大黄蜂) play, according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London. It is the first time that object play behaviour has been shown in an insect, adding to evidence that bees may experience positive feelings.

The researchers set up numerous experiments to test this, which showed bumble bees went out of their way to roll wooden balls repeatedly despite there being no apparent motivation for doing so. The study also found that younger bees rolled more balls than older bees and that male bees rolled them for longer than their female ones.

The study followed 45 bumble bees. Individual bees rolled balls between 1 and, impressively, 117 times over the experiment. The repeated behaviour suggested that ball-rolling was rewarding. This was supported by a further experiment where another 42 bees were given access to two coloured rooms, one always containing movable balls and one without any object. When tested and given a choice between the two rooms, neither containing balls, bees showed a preference for the colour of the room previously associated with the wooden balls.

The experiments removed any idea that the bees were moving the balls for any greater purpose other than play. Rolling balls did not contribute to survival strategies and was done under stress-free conditions.

The research was based on previous experiments, which showed that bumble bees could be taught to score a goal by rolling a ball to a target in exchange for a sugary food reward. The new research showed the bees rolling balls repeatedly without being trained and without receiving any food for doing so — it was spontaneous.

Professor Lars Chittka said, “Play is thought to contribute to the healthy development and maintenance of an animal’s cognitive (认知) and motor abilities, which may make for their searching for food and is considered an important aspect of animal welfare. The finding shows insect minds are far more complex than we expect. We need to do all we can to protect insects.”

7 . “Yard sale” is appealing to bargain hunters, antique seekers and so on. It may seem simple.     1     Here, what you need to know, do and plan for in order to hold a great event.

Plan in advance. Have you decided you’re going to have a yard sale? Great!     2     In addition to gathering up and assessing your things, placing signs around the neighborhood, you also need to find out whether your city requires a permit and whether your other neighborhood organization has rules about yard sales.

Get help. You probably don’t want to do this all alone since your attention will be spread pretty thin during busy sale periods. Ask a couple of friends, neighbors or family members to help you out with set-up, running the register or clean-up -or better yet, to add their own things to the sale.     3    .

    4    If you’re going to the trouble of attempting to sell your stuff, make it look attractive so it actually sells well. Wipe down appliances, wash, iron and hang clothing, and lay everything out nice and neat on clean tables and shelves, not in piles.

Be safe.     5     Do not let people enter your house to try on clothes or use the bathroom, and keep your doors locked. Don’t take personal checks from strangers, and rather than a cash box anybody could grab, keep earnings on your person in a fanny-pack-type device or safely in your pocket. Take periodic trips inside to put the cash.

8 . While most teenagers are simply hoping to get their driver’s license, 17-year-old Mack Rutherford has had far higher goals. The ambitious teen sought to become the youngest person to fly solo around the world. After five months and a day, Rutherford successfully achieved the incredible feat.

In March 2022, 16-year-old Rutherford took off on his adventure. He flew a Shark, a high-performance ultralight (超轻型的) aircraft. His journey around the world tested him in the skies through monsoons (季风) and extreme temperatures. Rutherford’s longest flight on this journey was from Japan to the U. S., which took him 10 hours over water. The highest altitude he had to face was 12, 500 feet over Mexico. He flew across four continents, 30 countries.

After everything, Rutherford landed safely in Sofia on August 24. He arrived home to discover he’d broken two Guinness world records: he is the youngest person ever to fly around the world solo, and also the youngest person to do it in an ultralight aircraft. But he surprised the world by becoming the youngest pilot ever at age 15, when he received his microlight pilot’s license.

This incredible achievement at such a young age is certainly worth celebrating and his family might be the perfect people to fully appreciate it. Rutherford’s father is a professional pilot. This sparked an interest in aviation (飞行) for the young Rutherford since he was 11. And Rutherford’s sister, Zara Rutherford, recently completed a similar solo journey and holds her own world record as the youngest female pilot to complete a solo flight around the world.

“I’m very happy to complete my five-month journey around the world,” Rutherford said. “It took a bit longer than it was supposed to, but everything is fine. I’m trying to show that young people can do something special and make a difference; just follow their dreams and they’ll eventually come true.”

9 . When she first looked for her wedding dress, Gwendolyn Stuglis had a budget or $1,000. After trying on several dresses, she was _______ a champagne-colored dress with long sleeves by the salesclerk. “I got _______ in my eyes because it was the dress I really wanted,” she admitted. The only _______: it was triple her budget. After some encouragement from her mother-in-law, Stulgis _______ it. She explained, “Although I hadn’t enough money, that dress was _______ made for me.” She wore the gown with _______ when she became a Stulgis.

As most brides do, she hung her wedding dress in her closet when the _______ was over. Realizing the dress would be _______ if it continued to sit there, she decided to give it away. Stulgis turned to Facebook to search a _______ bride. In the post, there were two ______________: the bride must have their ceremony within three months and the dress must be ______________ others. More than 70 messages ______________ into Stulgis’ mailbox immediately. Margaret Hyde had planned on making her own dress before she saw Stulgis’ Facebook ______________. She told her sister-in-law, Alycia Ashley, that she wanted to enter but was ______________. So, Ashley secretly emailed Stulgis, ______________ Hyde as the most selfless person she knew.

Stulgis was moved by Ashley’s ______________. On June 4, Hyde was told she was chosen. “It was unbelievable,” she said ______________. Hyde promised to follow the traveling dress requests. After her post, Stulgis ______________ a Facebook group called Shared Dream Dresses. Since June, 200 dresses have been given away. Stulgis’ community of bridal donations started with such a ______________ emotion. She shared, “I want people to feel like they are worth something. I want them to ______________ their dress dreams without worrying about buying one. A dressing shouldn’t be kept in the closet.”