2 . There are few places on Earth that humans haven’t messed up. Now even Antarctica, the only continent with no permanent human inhabitants, is being altered by us. A study found that the increasing human presence in Antarctica is causing more snow melt-bad news for a frozen world already battling the effects of human-caused global warming.

Black carbon, the dark, dusty pollution that comes from burning fossil fuels has settled in locations where tourists and researchers spend a lot of time, scientists found. Even the smallest amount of the dark pollutant can have a significant impact on melting because of its very low reflectiveness: things that are light in color, like snow, reflect the sun's energy and stay cool; things that are dark, like black carbon, absorb the sun's energy and warm up.

“The snow albedo (反射率) effect is one of the largest uncertainties in regional and global climate modeling right now,” Alia Khan, a snow and ice scientist at Western Washington University, told CNN. “That’s one of the motivations for the study, to quantify the impact of black carbon on regional snowmelt, which is important for quantifying the role of black carbon in the global loss of snow and ice.”

“Antarctica is sitting there pretty much silently all year. But, if it weren’t there, in the state that it is meant to be, the balance that we have in the climate system will no longer be,” Marilyn Raphael, a geography professor said. “Antarctica’s sea ice is also important to maintain a balance in atmospheric circulation,” he added. As waters get warmer, some Antarctic creatures are finding their homes more and more unlivable.

“Everything we do has consequences,” Raphael said. “We need to educate ourselves about those consequences, especially in systems that we know relatively little about. We have to be careful that we don’t upset the climate balance.”

5 . New research from the University of Portsmouth has shown a marked increase in shipping in the North East Atlantic. Scientists now warn that more monitoring is required to help protect sea life.

Researchers at the University of Ponsmouth have discovered that rates (率) of shipping in the North East Atlantic area rose by 34 per cent in a five-year period. The research is the first detailed survey of shipping activity in the North East Atlantic. Researchers used data from over 530 million vessel (船) positions recorded by Automatic Identification System(AIS). They looked at the change in shipping between 2013 and 2017 across ten different vessel types. In total the study area covered 1.1 million km², including waters off Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany,Iceland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal. Spain, and the UK.

Lead author, James Robbins said: “This change is likely to put more pressure on the marine (海洋的) environment, and may influence the protection of at-risk species. Renewed monitoring effort is needed to make sure that protective measures are enough to save species under threat in a changing environment.”

Some of the greatest shipping increases were found in areas close to the Spanish coast. The Espacio Marino de la Costa da Morte saw a rise of 413 percent in vessel activity. It is an area used to protect seabirds.

Dr. Sarah Marley, Visiting Researcher at the University of Portsmouth, said: “Shipping is the most widespread human activity in our oceans, carrying a set of threats-from unnoticeable effects like underwater noise pollution to serious results when ships hit whales.”

Professor Alex Ford. from the University’s Institute of Marine Sciences, said: “Given the well-documented effects that shipping can have on the marine environment, it is necessary that this situation continues to be monitored-particularly in areas used to protect vulnerable (脆弱的) species which may already be under pressure.”

6 . The US tech giant Microsoft Corp and the leadership consulting firm DDI worked together on a new project on Thursday, with the goal of helping more than 1 million women in China improve their digital skills and embrace the digital future.

The Women Digital Future project came as reports show that women have been more negatively impacted by the COVID-19 than men, and an improvement in digital skills is expected to help them better deal with the bad results from it.

Microsoft said it will partner with a number of companies and organizations to help women in multiple ways, as COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation worldwide and women are faced with more challenges in both life and work.

Alain Crozier, chairman and CEO of Microsoft Greater China, said, “Microsoft has always placed a high value on the development of our female employees and strongly promoting the power of women to drive the world forward.”

Mindy Yeh, managing director of Greater China, said the company’s global survey shows that there are nearly double the number of female leaders at the top 20 percent of well-performing companies than in the bottom 20 percent. Moreover, they have clear advantages in terms of teamwork and interaction.

Cecilia Qi, general manager of GSK China, said, “Digital transformation is both an opportunity and a challenge for women. This is especially the case in the new era, which requires companies to provide women with more support to help them achieve better work-life balance and continue to gain success as they continue forward in their career. Success belongs to everyone, and I believe that, in the future, society will be more supportive of women and provide them with more equal career opportunities.”

9 . In the 1890s, Oscar Wilde tried to change the way men dressed. In summer, he said, the standard dark suits were too heavy and hot. _______, men should wear light shirts and shorts.

Did anyone follow his _______? Certainly not. They just laughed.

Last week, Mayor of New York said he was concerned about New Yorkers in the heat. He suggested dressing _______. His words were not meant for the women, who already know how to _______ hot weather in light clothing and little dresses. But what about the men? Have they made any changes? No. The mayor himself _______ to go to work in a dark suit.

It didn’t seem _______. The women all looked so cool, while the men were all _______.

So the next day, I put on _______. As I walked down the street, I felt quite cool but very _______. Everybody looked at me. Some people even ________. At noon I went to the park. As usual in summer, there were lots of people eating lunch. Some men had ________ their jackets, but they all were wearing long pants. I sat beside a man eating sandwiches. He asked me, “What country are you from?” I told him I was from America.

My ________ surprised him. “I wish I could wear shorts too,” he said. “But all the other men in my office are wearing long pants, so I have no ________ but to follow them.”

After lunch, two young men were pointing at my shorts and ________. I guess some things haven’t ________ since Oscar Wilde.

The next day I wore long pants again.