Scientists from the University of East Anglia have identified four new man-made gases that are contributing to the damage to the ozone(臭氧) layer. Two of the gases are accumulating at a rate that is causing concern among researchers.

    Worries over the growing ozone hole have seen the production of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases restricted since the mid 1980s. But the precise origin of these new, similar substances remains a mystery.

    Lying in the atmosphere, the ozone layer plays a critical role in blocking harmful UV rays, which cause cancers in humans and reproductive problems in animals.

    Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey were the first to discover a huge “hole” in the ozone over Antarctica in 1985. The evidence quickly pointed to CFC gases, which were invented in the 1920s, and were widely used in refrigeration. Extraordinarily, global action was rapidly agreed to deal with CFCs and the Montreal Protocol to limit these substances came into being in 1987. A total global ban on production came into force in 2010.

    Now, the newly discovered four new gases can destroy ozone and are getting into the atmosphere from as yet unidentified sources. Three of the gases are CFCs and one is a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), which can also damage ozone.

    The research has shown that four gases were not around in the atmosphere at all until the 1960s, which suggests they are man-made. The scientists discovered the gases by analyzing polar snow pack. Air from this snow is a natural archive of what was in the atmosphere up to 100 years ago. There searchers also looked at modern air samples, collected at remote Cape Grim in Tasmania.

    They estimate that about 74,000 tonnes of these gases have been released into the atmosphere. Two of the gases are accumulating at significant rates. However, they don't know where the new gases are being released from and this should be investigated. Possible sources include chemicals for insecticide (杀虫剂)production and solvents (溶液) for cleaning electronic components. The three CFCs are being destroyed very slowly in :the atmosphere—so even if emissions (散发)were to stop immediately, they will still be around for many decades to come.

    Of the four species identified, CFC-113a seems the most worrying as there is a very small but growing emission source somewhere, maybe from agricultural insecticides. We should find it and take it out of production.

    Two summers ago I was about to turn fifty and wanted to do something I'd never done before. My daughter Bailey thought skydiving (跳伞) would be perfect for me. I can promise you that of all the things I was thinking of doing, jumping out of an airplane never came close to making the list. As I age, I seem to have developed a growing fear of heights.

    After several requests from my daughter, I finally said yes and she looked almost shocked. I told a friend what we were doing, then we set off. We had a 3-hour drive to the jump site. We drove through some beautiful countryside, but then we passed a small cemetery(墓地). Then we passed another cemetery and another one. I asked if so many people died jumping out of airplanes in this area that they needed to keep building more cemeteries to bury all the bodies!

    As we squeezed into the little plane, I tightly held the right hand of my partner Ronnie. The short ride to altitude was cruel for me. As Bailey stepped to the door, she looked back at me and said “Dad, I'm sure you can do it!” I said yes as she rolled out. I immediately looked behind me and said “RONNIE I AM NOT FEELING GOOD!” He said, “It's going to be great. Besides, it's too late now anyway”, and we jumped out.

    The next five minutes were some of the most amazing of my life. It was so beautiful and peaceful—except for the parts where I was screaming. I prayed to God for the parachute (降落伞) to open, but mostly I told Him how thankful I was for my life and being with me through good and bad.

    A valuable sketch (素描) from World WarⅠhas turned up in a garage sale in Perth. It's a sketch of soldiers playing soccer with a tin can during an unofficial truce (停战) between German and Allied soldiers on the Western Front in 1914. The artwork was drawn by an unnamed German soldier during the war on the Western Front.

    The artwork was given to Private Jack Shelley, a British soldier, when he was defending the town of Frelinghien, France. The sketch is an important historical document, as it provides evidence that the tales of enemy soldiers socializing together are true. But for Private Shelley's descendants(后代) it has even greater value, since it was his prized possession. Jessie Shelley, Jack's great-granddaughter, has fond memories of the old man sharing stories about his experiences in the war when he came to live permanently in Australia in 1930, the family lost track of the artwork after Jack's possessions were moved during the sale of his house when he died in 1984.

    ‘Great-grandpa had a tobacco tin with a dozen or so buttons from the uniforms of men from both sides. He told us all the details of every one of those buttons. To Great-grandpa they represented real people he had known, some of whom hadn't come home from the war. He had at least two buttons from German uniforms that he told us were exchanged between the men involved in the Christmas Day Truce.'

    On Christmas Day of 1914, the soldiers came out of their trenches(战壕) into no-man's-land and shared food, drinks and cigarettes. Some even exchanged small gifts. The men even played football games together. Later, this spirit of cooperation continued in unofficial agreements between the sides to stop shooting at mealtimes and even at times when soldiers were working in the open.

    This fascinating image of peace and humanity during the war has continued through the years. The sketch is a symbol of the potential for humanity, hope and kindness to exist in even the most violent circumstances.

    In 2019, a big revolutionary technology shift will finally occur, which is called 5g. It is a once-in a-decade upgrade(升级)to our wireless systems that will start reaching mobile phone users in a matter of months. This new times will leap ahead of current wireless known as 4g by offering mobile internet speeds that will let people download an entire 120-minute movie within a second

    But this is not only about faster smart phones, but also will affect many other kinds of devices, including industrial robots, security cameras, drones(无人机), automatic cars, video games, sports, shopping and traffic data. With 5g technology, a clearer and truer 3D images will be formed and it can be off-loaded to other machines wirelessly, freeing users to move and making it easier to develop goggles(目镜)the size of eyeglasses. People can point a smart phone camera to a football game and see both live video on the display and player statistics or other data. Moreover 5g powerful effects extend to remote medical surgery and other fields that increasingly rely on high-speed connections.

    Officials in the United States and China regard 5g networks as a heated competitive edge. It can help spread the use of artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies. Meanwhile, to get the benefits of 5g, users will have to buy new phones, while carriers will need to install new communication services, which will create a huge future market. In order to occupy it first, the famous world wireless service providers such as AT&T, Verizon, Samsung, Huawei have already declared that they will enter 5g business and showed their 5g new smart phones.

    However, in the United States, Verizon and AT&T will offer their 5g service with first use of high frequencies known as millimeter waves that can pump data at high speeds, but their signals don't travel as far. Instead Sprint and T-Mobile plan to start with lower frequencies, whose result may be somewhat slower initial speed, but wider range, although they all claim that they have mastered 5g technology. Thus they only first target the areas with large population. So 5g's full benefit to all are not expected until the main US key carriers upgrade their key switching equipment, which may happen in late 2019 or early 2020.

    Babies born in summer are more likely to become short-sighted in late life, a study has shown.

    As many as a quarter of all cases of short-sightedness are caused by too great an exposure to sunlight in the first weeks of life, say eye experts.

    They are advising all parents to put sunglasses on their babies during the first weeks.

    Scientists had already established that over-exposure to sunlight caused shortsightedness in animals.

    Researchers who compared the months in which babies were born with whether they needed glasses later on say the principle also applies to humans.

    A study of almost 300, 000 young adults-the largest of its kind-showed that those born in June and July had a 25 per cent greater chance of becoming severely short-sighted than those born in December or January.

    Research leader Professor Michael Belkin, of Tel Aviv University, said it was because prolonged illumination(光照) causes the eyeball to lengthen-causing short-sightedness.

    Hence the more light a newborn is exposed to, the more the eyeball lengthens and the worse the short-sightedness will be.

    The mechanism which lengthens the eyeball is associated with levels of melatonin(褪黑激素), a pigment (色素) which protects the skin against harmful rays of the sun.

    In young babies not enough melatonin is released as protection, meaning they are more vulnerable to sunburn and changes to eyeball shape.

    Sight expert Professor Daniel O'Leary, of Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, said "At the moment we don't know the precise cause of why light exposure affects sight, but the evidence seems to prove that it is one of the reasons for people becoming shortsighted."

    Now, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long-hours work culture to make more money to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting is one of them.

    Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year. One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs, leaving their two children with a nanny(保姆). Most evenings Daniel wouldn't get home until eight or nine o'clock, and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings

    They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.

    Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales, I always wanted to have a farm here, says Daniel, "and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It's taken some getting used to, but it's been worth it. We have to think twice now about spending money in car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it's made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier."

    Liz, however, is not quite sure. "I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I'm not really a country girl, but I suppose I'm gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all."