Some Greatest Bookstores

Another Country

Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany. Another Country is an English Language second hand bookshop which is mostly used as a library. They have about 20,000 books that you can buy or borrow. Some regular events are held at the shop, such as readings, cultural events, social evenings and film nights.

Atlantis Books

Oia, Santorini, Greece. Atlantis Books is an independent bookshop on the island of Santorini, Greece. It was founded in 2004 by a group of friends from Cyprus, England, and the United States. Throughout the year it has hosted literary festivals, film screenings, book readings, and good old fashioned dance parties.

Bart’s Books

Ojai, California. USA. “The World’s Greatest Outdoor Bookstore”, a bookstore founded by Richard Bartinsdale in 1964. Shelves of books face the street, and regular customers are asked to drop coins into the door’s coin box to pay for any books they take whenever the store is closed.

Adrian Harrington

Since1971. Rare books: rare first editions; leather bound sets and general antiquarian (古玩). Address: 64 a Kensington Church Street, Kensington, London, England, UK.

Corso Como Bookshop

Milan, Italy. Extensive selection of publication on art architecture, design graphics and fashion, along with a strong emphasis on photography. It was founded in 1990 in Milan, Italy, by Carla Sozzamil.

The Bookworm

China. A bookshop, library, bar, restaurant and event space, now with four divisions in three cities — Beijing, Suzhou and Chengdu. The interconnecting rooms with floor-to-ceiling books on every wall are light and airy in summer, yet warm and comfortable in winter.

In 1914, Ernest Shackleton and his team left England in a wooden sailing ship called the Endurance, hoping to become the first to cross Antarctica.

But in 1915, the Endurance became trapped over the Weddell Sea. The ice destroyed the Endurance and later sank it. Shackleton and all of his men abandoned the ship and managed to stay alive. Although they failed to complete the expedition, the tale of their long and difficult return is one of the most famous survival stories of all time.

Much was known about the location of the Endurance. The ship’s captain kept accurate records of the ship’s position. The ship’s photographer even took pictures of it as it went down. But the ship, deep in the icy waters near Antarctica, had never been found.

Now, a search team called “Endurance22” located the ship, which was found 1.87 miles below the ocean’s surface, about four miles south of its last known position. The team reports that the ship is in excellent shape. Even though the ship is made of wood and is over 100 years old, it has survived with little damage. Scientists say that the small worms that normally break down wooden objects underwater don’t live in the cold waters around Antarctica.

The Endurance 22 is led by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust. The team ran the project from an ice­breaking ship. To locate the Endurance, the team used two underwater robots called Sabertooths which can travel by themselves deep under the sea. What makes them unique is that they can travel under the ice and go where the ship can not. Once the ship was located, the Sabertooths used high­quality cameras and scanners to record the Endurance in detail.

The Endurance 22 plans to create a digital 3D model of the wreck site, using the careful scans they made. This will allow scientists to study the ship in detail without disturbing it.

According to new studies, many birds in the Amazon rainforest have become smaller as temperatures have increased. The difference hasn’t been obvious, but it has been significant enough that some scientists have suggested it’s a universal response to climate change.

But new research finds that the body size reductions aren’t happening across the board with some large­brained birds having much less significant changes.

For the study, researchers studied some data on about 70,000 birds that had died when they crashed into buildings in Chicago from 1978 to 2016. They added data on brain volume and lifespan (寿命) for 49 of the 52 species of migratory birds (候鸟) in the original study.

They found that birds with very large brains had reductions in overall body size that were about one­third of the reductions noted in birds with smaller brains. They thought that in birds, the species with big brains are the ones that build tools, manage to survive in tough environments, live longer, invest more time and energy into raising babies, and end up surviving better in the wild.

Researchers aren’t certain exactly how warmer temperatures might lead to decreasing body size in birds, but they are considering two possible explanations, which could even be happening at the same time. First, natural selection might be favoring birds that can dissipate heat better. This is because smaller birds have higher ratios (比例) of surface area to volume, so being small can help birds stay cool. Second, warmer summers might have less food available for birds at the time when they are feeding their babies. In that case, birds might be getting smaller because of decreased food over the years.

The findings don’t suggest that climate change is having zero impact on bigger­brained birds, but researchers believe these findings can inform us of climate change and help set conservation priorities.

You might have ever noticed how some people can effortlessly talk to anyone they meet, no matter how different their backgrounds are. Or you may have seen that one person always offends someone, no matter what the topic of conversation is. These two situations describe how we can differ in our abilities to interact, get along with, and relate to others around us. In the same way that we vary in traditional academic competencies, we can vary in how socially competent we are. After years of academic research and development, this social ability is now commonly referred to as “social intelligence.”

Social intelligence is the ability to understand other people, how they work, what motivates them, and how to work cooperatively with them. It is a relationship­based construct that centers on the way we understand others, interact with others, and present ourselves to others. As an example, you would not speak in the same way toward your 70-­year-­old mother as you would to your 16-­year­old daughter. In our working lives, we come across different social groups including those from different countries, varying age groups and cultural identities. Being able to acknowledge and understand people’s different backgrounds is a key way to connect with them.

Our ability to navigate successfully through our lives relies heavily on our levels of social intelligence. It can affect the relationships we form with our partners and children, the friendship circles that we build, and our ability to progress in our careers and ambitions. Given the importance of social intelligence in multiple aspects of life, it is therefore in our best interest to better understand the concept of social intelligence and take the following ways to improve it.

Green exercise is a term used to describe any type of physical exercise that takes place in a natural environment rather than in a health club or gym.     36    . Instead, it relies on the use of natural means of taking part in activities that improve strength and endurance with as little reliance on equipment as possible.

    37    . For example, some consider a truly natural exercise experience requires that the individual wear clothing only made from natural fibers. Others consider barefoot running or walking with a big arena to be more desirable than running or walking with shoes.

A slightly different approach to green exercise puts more stress on the fresh air, sunshine and involvement with the natural world, rather than the equipment or clothing used during the exercise.     38    . Similarly, climbing a mountain using standard equipment and protective clothing would also be considered a green exercise.

Many consider green exercise helps to reconnect human beings with the natural world. The interaction with nature helps to lower people's blood pressure, refresh their mind, and actually improve their self-esteem.     39    .

Not everyone believes that the green exercise is more beneficial than working out in a health club or gym.     40    . Meanwhile, the use of fitness devices may result in more challenging workouts which help strengthen the heart and lungs in ways that more simplistic exercise in a natural setting would be difficult to manage.