Elephants might be the most well-known and well-loved animal in African wildlife. But conservation (保护) of the African elephant faces special difficulties. While the elephant population is half of what it was 40 years ago, some areas of Africa have more elephants than populated areas can support. That's why AWF scientists are studying elephant behavior, protecting habitats and finding ways for humans to live peacefully with elephants in Africa.

    Years ago, over hunting and the ivory trade were the biggest threats to elephants survival. Luckily, ivory bans (禁令), hunting rules and protected areas protect elephants from these dangers today.

    The 21st century brings a different challenge to elephant conservation —land-use. Elephants walk across borders and outside parks and other protected areas. So they often destroy crops, causing conflicts (冲突) between local farmers and these big animals.

    Successful conservation strategies (策略) must allow elephants to walk freely in their natural habitats while reducing conflicts between elephants and local people.

    AWF researchers are searching for a way to give both elephants and people the space they need. The AWF is collecting information on elephant habitats and behavior. The information they gather will help to develop the widest possible space for elephants.

    The AWF is helping elephants by protecting their habitats. And they also work with local farmers to improve their life in order to encourage them to protect rather than destroy elephants.

    Reuel Tolkien (1892 ~ 1973), the British linguist, writer. He created a fantasy novel “The Lord of the Rings”, the well-known trilogy (三部曲).

    Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. When he was 4 years old, his father died and his family moved back to England. Tolkien graduated from Oxford University when he was 23 years old, and participated in the First World War. During the war, Tolkien suffered from “trench fever” and stayed in the hospital until the end of World War I. It was the days in the hospital that he began his writing career first.

    After the war, Tolkien became a linguist. He was an edition of the “New English Dictionary” of 1918 ~ 1920. However, he was more researching to Anglo-Saxon language which makes his extensive contacts in Britain and the Nordic spread all over the folklore and mythology.

    In 1937, Tolkien completed his first work “The Hobbit”. Although this was a fairy tale, it was also suitable for adults to read. Because of good sales, publishers (Allen & Unwin) convinced Tolkien to write its sequel. This encouraged Tolkien to complete his most famous works the epic (史诗) trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”. The works of writing went on for almost a year with the support from his good friend Lewis.

    At the beginning “The Lord of the Rings” was similar works for children, but after that writing style quickly became serious and dark. “The Lord of the Rings” was one of the most popular literary works in the 20th century in terms of sales and readers' evaluation. Tolkien's influence is important, for the success of “TheLord of the Rings” makes the fantasy novels of this literature genre (体裁) developed rapidly.

    Years ago, students applying to colleges and universities had to have their applications and personal essays printed out and then “snail-mailed”. Flash forward to today's world of Facebook, Instagram and WeChat, where photos, videos and mobile phones rule. Fortunately, several new tools are making it easier for college applicants to use technology to show off their personalities, skills and creativity.

    ZEEMEE

    One of the more popular innovations in college applications is ZeeMee, a free mobile app that allows students to upload personal profiles and videos to create visual resumes. More than 220 colleges and universities offer a ZeeMee option as part of the application process. The video can show the unique creative aspects of the applicants.

THE COALITION LOCKER

    Another relatively new tool comes from the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success, now used by more than 110 member colleges and universities. Among the group's stated goals are getting students engaged in college prep early and using technology to create a supportive application process that encourages reflection and self-discovery.

    Students who sign up for the free platform get access to a digital “locker”, which they can use all through high school to save class papers, artwork, newspaper stories, videos and photos to share with colleges when they eventually apply.

    VIDEO — CHAT INTERVIEWS

    At some schools, an interview with an admission officer is an important part of the application process. To make it easier, several virtual interviewing tools have popped up, such as a video-based platform from Kira. More than 140 universities worldwide use Kira's video assessment tool to conduct real-time interviews with prospective students. During the interview, candidates are shown the questions prerecorded by the particular school and must respond in real time by talking into the camera on their laptop or phone. In addition to showing their ability, to speak fluently in English and think on their feet, it helps admission officers determine the “motivation, commitment and drive” of applicants.

    UNIQUE SCHOOL TOOLS

    Some universities have come up with their own ways to allow students to show their skills and personalities. For example, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, encourages applicants to display their technical abilities and creativity by submitting a “Maker Portfolio” —a written or videotaped description of a project that shows creative and problem-solving skills. While a new app would fit the bill, the project could be anything from an origami design to a potato cannon.

    Football, to me, is more than just a game. I have probably learned more valuable lessons from it than from school.

    When I joined the team freshman year, I didn't realize what I was getting into. Even though I had been playing since fourth grade and knew it was hard work, nothing would prepare me for the effort I would put into football that year. We worked all summer in the weight room and ran on the track to get in physical and mental shape before the season.

    See, football is more of a mental sport than anything else, so running on the track wasn't only about getting in shape, we would push our minds by running as hard as we could even if we were going to pass out. At the beginning, I was immature（幼稚）and only thought of myself, sometimes even gave up when I was tired or hurt. Then after the third game I had a season-ending injury. Imagine working all summer and then only being able to play three games! I needed surgery（外科手术）on my arm and at least five months to recover.

    Needless to say, I missed the rest of the season, but this actually helped me realize that since you never know when your last play will be, you should try your hardest in football and life.

    After freshman year I decided that I would always give my best effort. Playing varsity（校队的）football has taught me so much more than just what my assignments are on a particular play or how to block. I have learned to think about others first and realized how important working hard is. Being with all my friends, even sweating and bleeding with them, really made us bond as a group of hard-working young men who I know will succeed in life.

    There is an English saying that says, "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie." It means not bringing up an old problem. Researchers in Hungary have found another reason to let dogs keep on sleeping. It seems the animals are learning while they sleep.

    The Hungarian researchers placed tools on the dogs' heads to know about electrical activity in the brain. The brain activity, called sleep spindles(梭状波), takes place in human begins, and has been connected with learning. The researchers hope to understand how the dogs' ability to learn and remember changes as they get older. The study may help them understand how human brains change as we age.

    The researchers found differences between male and female dogs. Iotchey, a researcher, says the females appeared much better at learning new things. Female dogs have about twice as many spindles per minute as male dogs, they also happen to be the better learners, and they memorize the task much better. But it was harder for all the older dogs to remember things, especially when several things were happening at the same time.

    DoraSzabo also studies sleep spindles. Szabo is a neuroscientist in a university in Budapest. She says the older dogs have fewer spindles and are easily cheated. "If you first hide the reward into one bowl, then in another and in another, they get lost after a while. So their performance is going down, and they are getting poor in solving new problems."

    Researchers hope the study will not only help understanding of learning ability and memory changes in dogs, but also the aging of humans. Senior Researcher EnikoKubinyi adds that the aging dogs suffer from the same problems as humans who are aging. “Among very old dogs, up to two thirds of them show signs of dementia(痴呆), and this dementia is really very similar to that of humans, so we could use dog as a natural model of human aging."

Kids and science seem to be made for each other!

The basic science is a combination of thought and experiment called the scientific method. It's where you start with an idea, create a way to prove or disprove your idea, and show what you learned based on facts. Learning to follow this process helps you think logically (逻辑地) and carefully. These important thinking skills can be used in many areas of study. To give a child practice with these thinking skills is like giving vitamins (维生素) to a developing mind.

One of the greatest things we can teach our children is to love learning. Learning science is a great way to do so. Children are easy to be interested in science. Because much of science is hands-on, it attracts most children. Nothing makes a child sit up and take notice like the "WOW!" of a great science showing.

Science opens doors to many subjects at school. Building love for science can be helpful in other areas of study. For example, one cannot love science for very long without becoming good at its language-math! So science encourages children to study math. An interest in science is an interest in how things were once understood compared to how they are understood now. Thus studying science lends itself easily to studying history. And after you do an experiment, you need to write a lab report. Therefore, writing becomes an important part of science.

Science is the basic thing for much of our life. The science of farming shows how our food is produced; biomedical science keeps us healthy; even our beds these days are designed according to scientific facts. We almost eat, sleep and breathe with the help of science! When we prepare the next generation (一代) of voters, creators and policy makers, it is important to make sure they are not only comfortable but also good at science.