1 . As we close out the final days of this year, treat yourself to a deliciously distracting new book —a book that you can dip into and out of throughout the holidays. Read up, rest up, and enjoy yourself.

A must-have guide for yoga-loving mamas, Yoga for Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond offers helpful relaxation techniques and breathing exercises that are tailored to each pregnant woman. The book also lays out valuable techniques for labor and staying in touch with your body as it continuously changes.

We could all use a little more peace in our lives. Uniquely suited for children and parents to do together, the 40 mindfulness exercises recommended here —from pausing to fully enjoy a tasty sandwich to taking chalk walk together—will not only teach children calm and gratitude, but also bring grown-ups and their littles closer together.

Frankie Elkin is a recovering alcoholic who devotes her time to solving cold cases, especially those involving people of color. A new investigation brings her to Boston, searching for a Haitian teenager who disappeared months ago. But as Frankie starts asking questions, someone else will stop at nothing to keep the answers hidden.

Lauren Redniss’ Oak Flat tells the story of the land near the San Carlos Apache Reservation through an Apache family fighting to protect the land which the U. S. government and two world-power mining enterprises are attempting to seize and destroy for its copper resources. Visually striking and deeply reported, Oak Flat tells a larger story of endless westward expansion and native resistance.

2 . Shark attacks in the screen are amazing. That’s because your actual chances of ever being attacked by a shark are mere one in 11.5 million. That’s roughly the same as your chances of winning an Oscar, which makes shark attack survivor, Mike Coots both incredibly unlucky and lucky: When Mike was 18, he lost his leg to a shark bite.

“I was attacked by a tiger shark in late October 1997. It was near my home on the island of Kauai — a typical fall morning with friends. The waves were really good, so nothing was stopping us.” That is until a large shark came right up under Mike and sank his teeth into Mike’s lower leg. As he tried to free himself, the shark bit down harder, shaking its head back and forth and tossing Mike around like a rag doll. Mike followed his instinct (本能): He struck the shark in the face, again and again until the shark released him. As Mike swam back into shore, he realized his lower right leg was gone. Mike’s friends rushed to his aid, and sent him to the hospital.

As soon as Mike was well, he did what many of us might consider unthinkable: he started riding the waves again, in fact, his first time back was near the site of his attack. But Mike was unshaken. Instead, he was curious — why was he attacked? His curiosity led him to research sharks, and Mike did learn something that would change his life: Humans are far more dangerous to sharks than the other way around.

His situation as a shark survivor empowered him to give sharks a voice, Mike says. He began working with the Hawaii state authorities (当局) to help pass a ban (禁令) on shark-derived products. “I partnered with other like-minded shark attack survivors and marine biologists, and we headed to Washington to urge (敦促) senators to create a nationwide bit! protecting sharks.”

I’m Li Hua.

Sincerely yours,

Li Hua

The International Space Station (ISS) is an     1     (extreme) high-tech spacecraft. It’s packed with     2     (advance) instruments and the fact that it’s basically a floating science lab tells you all you need     3     (know) about how important it is to NASA, the European Space Agency, and Russia’s Roscosmos. But, like any machine, it needs some love every now and then, and a couple of     4     (spacewalk) will provide the ISS     5     some much-needed upgrades.

According to     6     schedule provided by NASA, the first took place on June 26th and the other happened on July 1st. During both spacewalks, astronauts were tasked with     7     (change) old and outdated batteries to new, higher-capacity batteries.

The ISS uses a great amount of power, and it has a solar power array (太阳能阵列) to provide that power. However, because the space station     8     (complete) over ten trips around the Earth every single day, the spacecraft is often covered by the shadow produced by our planet. During those dark moments, the space station maintains     9     (it) power supply by using juice     10     is saved in its batteries. The old, outdated batteries are in need of replacement, and the work on the project began three years ago.

7 . We know it’s good to learn another language. It broadens your horizons, helps you make new friends, and it’s fun too. But to improve our linguistic skills, many of us have to go through hours of school lessons or evening classes, with our heads buried in textbooks. Do we really have to do so? Or is there something convenient available?     1     There is certainly a huge demand for language learning, and having a smart phone means you can have a virtual teacher with you wherever you go.     2     And that’s why there are numerous learning apps available, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Some educational apps offer languages not popular enough to be taught at evening classes, or at most universities. And others offer ‘invented’ language courses in Esperanto, Elvish and Star Trek’s Klingon. Have no idea what they are?     3     Whatever you want to learn, apps allow you to go at your own pace and fit learning around other commitments. There is no doubt that technology is going to help in and outside the classroom.

    4     Guy Baron, head of modern languages at Aberystwyth University, thinks not. He told the BBC that technology should be used alongside classroom methods, not to totally substitute traditional teaching.     5     For one thing, the grammar involved may be beyond you; and for another, it will lack the peer support you could get in a classroom environment.

8 . Bats have long been one of the most feared creatures in the animal kingdom. Many pop culture associations with them are related to vampire men (吸血鬼) attacking women in order to suck their blood or witches putting evil curses on innocent individuals.

Although these associations are complete misunderstandings, bats do have a dark side as a dangerous disease medium. These flying mammals can carry a number of fatal diseases such as rabies and more recently Ebola. This has led many to wonder why we should even care about them.

Sure, there is good reason to be extremely cautious if you come into contact with bats. However, there is no denying the fact that bats play a significant role in maintaining a balanced ecosystem.

Many organic farmers have learned about the benefits of having bats nearby to help do away with amounts of pests that show up without pesticides. One brown bat, about the size of a human thumb, can consume about 600 mosquitoes and other unwanted insects within an hour. They make for a fantastic, almost essential, addition to pest management on any farm.

Even large government organizations have realized the economic benefits of bats. The United States Geological Survey estimates that bat contributions to pest management save the country at least 3.7 billion dollars per year. Without them, we would likely experience a dramatic drop in food production, which would eventually make its way into our weekly grocery bills.

As if this were not enough of an ecosystem service we receive, bats are also of great importance to a variety of plant species that are preferential to its pollination (授粉). Otherwise, these plants would decrease their ability to reproduce by at least 50 percent. A number of plant products consumed by humans fall into this preferential pollination category. Some popular foods include mangoes, bananas, peaches and guavas. Additionally, the agave plant, which is used to make tequila, is completely dependent on bat pollinators for reproduction.

Bats are major contributors to our society. These assets are in the best interest of the international community to protect and even to promote. Among significant fears housed by the general public, the fact is that we need them more than most of us imagine. And that’s why should take some measures.

10 . Since 1985, Johnny Jennings, now 87, has been selling newspapers and magazines to a recycling center with his son. By the time Jennings’ only child was 17, he stopped joining his father.

Even though his son is all grown up now, Jennings hasn’t slowed down his efforts. In fact, he’s turned his recycling money into something bigger.

He visits local churches and businesses to collect paper, which he brings to a recycling center for money. But instead of putting those earnings into his account, he sends every dollar to Georgia Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries. Once a year, he’ll give the organization a check somewhere between $10,000 and $35,000. By the first quarter of 2021, that added up to about $400,000.

Jennings dedicated himself to helping the charity after his first visit there when he was 18. “When we went to leave, these three little boys seized me by the knees and said, ‘Will you be my daddy?’” Jennings told TODAY. “And I said I’ll do what I can. That took my heart, right there.”

These days, Jennings’ recycling has turned into a community effort. After he’s made his own rounds recycling paper from businesses and churches, he’ll find more items waiting for him at home. Community members drop off other recyclables at the entrance at his door, along with books, food, clothes, and other items to give away.

In 2019 alone, he sold over 400,000 pounds of paper and 51,000 aluminum cans, and collected more than 32,000 pennies. Over the course of 32 years he’s recycled more than 9.8 million pounds of paper, saving an estimated 79,000 trees in the process. Jennings says he’ll continue raising money for charity as long as his health allows. “He is the last of a dying breed,” wrote Jennings’ friend Shay Drennan — Love in a viral Facebook post. “Our generation and the ones to follow could learn a lot from Mr. Jennings.”