The streets, sidewalks and roofs of cities all absorb heat during the day, making some urban areas across the United States up to 6 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than rural ones during the day—and 22 degrees F hotter at night. These “urban heat islands”   can also develop underground as the city heat spreads downward, beneath the surface. And basements, subway tunnels and other underground infrastructure also constantly bleed heat into the surrounding earth, creating hotspots. Now the underground heat is building up as the planet warms.

According to a new study of downtown Chicago, underground hotspots may threaten the very same structures that emit the heat in the first place. Such temperature changes make the ground around them expand and contract (收缩) enough to cause potential damage. “Without anyone realizing it, the city of Chicago’s downtown was deforming,” says the study’s author Alessandro F. Rotta Loria, a civil and environmental engineer at Northwestern University.

The findings, published in Communications Engineering, expose a “silent hazard (危险)” to civil infrastructure in cities with soft er ground — especially those near water — Rotta Loria says. “There might have been structural issues caused by this underground climate change that happened, and we didn’t even realize,” he adds. While not an immediate or direct danger to human lives, this previously unknown effect highlights the impacts of a lesser-known component of climate change.

Similar to climate change above the surface, these underground changes occur over long periods of time. “These effects took decades, a century, to develop,” Rotta Loria says, adding that elevated underground temperatures would likewise take a long time to dissipate (逐渐消失) on their own.

But other researchers interviewed for this story all say this wasted energy could also be recycled, presenting an opportunity to both cool the subsurface and save on energy costs. Subway tunnels and basements could be updated with technologies to recapture the heat. For example, water pipes could be installed to run through underground hotspots and pick up some of the heat energy.

Scientists have discovered a new and renewable source of water on the moon for future explorers in lunar samples from a Chinese mission.

Water was stored in tiny glass beads (珠子) in the lunar dirt where meteorite (陨石) impacts occur. These shiny, multicolored glass beads were in samples returned from the moon by China in 2020. The beads range in size from the width of one hair to several hairs; the water content was just a very small part of that, according to Hui HeJiu of Nanjing University, who took part in the study.

Since there are billions if not trillions of these impact beads, that could amount to substantial amounts of water, but mining it would be tough, according to the team. “Yes, it will require lots and lots of glass beads. There are lots and lots of beads on the moon,” said Hui in an email.

“These beads could continually yield water thanks to the constant bombardment by hydrogen in the solar wind. The findings are based on 32 glass beads randomly selected from lunar dirt returned from the Chang’e 5 moon mission. Therefore, more samples will be studied,” said Hui.

These impact beads are everywhere, the result of the cooling of melted material pushed out by incoming space rocks. Water could be got by heating the beads, possibly by future robotic missions. “More studies are needed to determine whether this would be feasible and, if so, whether the water would be safe to drink. This shows water can be recharged on the moon’s surface… a new water reservoir on the moon,” said Hui.

Previous studies found water in glass beads formed by lunar volcanic activities, based on samples returned by the Apollo moonwalkers more than a half-century ago. These, too, could provide water not only for use by future crews, but for rocket fuel.

How to Plan a Surprise Party

●Pick a party theme.     1     They may come up wearing crazy clothes, see everyone else’s, and you will get the chance to use your creativity when it comes to decorations, prizes, and activities. The best part? It can be anything: cartoon-themed, colour-themed or costume-themed.

●Pick a place your guests of honour frequents to avoid suspicion (怀疑). If you tell your party-persons that you’re heading to the nicest restaurant in town, they’ll know that there’s an occasion. However, if you tell them that you’re heading to the same restaurant you go to every Thursday night, suspicion will be kept at a minimum.     2    

●Pick a date before the actual occasion. If this surprise party is for a birthday, holding a party on the day might be a little hard to turn into an awesome surprise.     3     Besides, choose a date when all of their friends are able to go.

●Choose your guests.     4     Here’s what to consider:

A small group. This is easier to manage, people can keep their mouths shut, and it creates a more warm environment. However, it’s less impressive and more people might be upset that they’re not invited.

A large group. This is harder to manage, the word might slip out, it’s harder to get a space, but in the end, your party-persons might be surprised by seeing everyone they love in one room.

●    5     There are three types of people in this world: those that don’t like surprise parties because they always want to be prepared, those that don’t like surprise parties because they think they’re being forgotten, and those that love a good surprise party in their honour. Make sure your party-persons fall into the third category!

It was a winter after noon when I tripped over a high kerb (马路牙子). Suddenly, I was flying through the air. It was only the next morning when I tried to take a photo of some splendid sunlight _________ into my kitchen, that I had to face the reality: I could no longer lift my camera, let alone use it. Later, a hospital appointment _________ my worst fear — the arm needed total rest.

Soon I became impatient. I couldn’t travel much. Surfing online, I _________ the concept of gratitude intervention, a method to boost _________ and well-being by being grateful. I had never been wildly _________ about the concept of counting one’s blessings. However, a Californian psychologist, Sonja Lyubomirsky, has _________ research into something much more creative — using a daily photography _________ as a tool for enhanced gratitude.

Lyubomirsky’s instructions are _________, but not necessarily easy to carry out. Take photographs throughout the day of things central to who you are. Reading how participants assigned to the gratitude interventions _________ experienced enhanced positive emotions, a sense of connectedness, more support, and less __________, I decided to carry on.

Taking a single photo was painful, but the __________ to find anything to feel grateful about, and then to record it, started to greatly __________ both my mood and my images. I began to photograph the __________ of my days. Despite everything, I found I could find magic in the daily routines. Life seems repetitive and __________ when you don’t notice the __________ of each moment and the constant small changes that are going on all around you. Don’t just take my word for it — experience it for yourself.

The latest film Re La Gun Tang, or YOLO in English, which Jia Ling directed and played the lead role in has finally hit the big screen as part of the Spring Festival movies in 2024.

The film    1     (feature) Jia tells a story of an unemployed woman in her thirties who leads an aimless life. It has set off an online argument due to Jia’s significant weight loss,     2     it goes far beyond that. Jia once explained on her Weibo account: “The film is not    3     (relate) to weight loss and even has very little connection with boxing. It tells    4     a kind person finds herself and learns to love herself.”

After a family conflict, Le Ying (played by Jia Ling) decides to leave home    5     she lives with her parents and her divorced younger sister. From then on, she struggles to live an independent life, working at a small restaurant. Her unexpected encounter    6     Hao Kun (played by Lei Jiayin), a boxing coach, brings a glimmer of hope into her gloomy life. However, fate plays another cruel trick on her, further    7     (complicate) her journey. Instead of getting    8     (depress), she turns to boxing and pulls through slowly.

The comedy film    9     (dominate) the box office chart since its debut, pocketing about 2.7 billion yuan in revenue. “It was incredibly moving,” said Cheng Zhangli, a viewer in Beijing. “The heroine’s unwavering persistence and    10     (determine) deeply touched me. I believe everyone should applaud their own journey,” she added.