Polar bears are one of the most popular animals for people. Polar bears are different from every other bear in the world. This is because polar bears have white fur. However, there are many facts about polar bears that people might not be aware of .

    The skin of polar bears is black, which according to thinkquest.org allows them to absorb more heat from the sun. Polar bear fur is transparent , because it is made up of hollow guard hairs. Loc.gov explains that the reason polar bears display white fur is that when the sun hits the fur ,the hollow spaces in the hair scatter the light. Since none of the light is absorbed, the light reflected back appears white to human eyes.

    Polar bears' conservation status is considered close to extinction. Global warming is considered the main cause of the decline in polar population. Polar bears use ice floats to hunt for their food. However, these ice floats are melting so polar bears are starting to drown in the search for food, and the food is becoming more difficult to get. Contrary to popular belief, polar bears do not eat penguins, because polar bears are not found in the Antarctic region of the world. Polar bears are only found around the Arctic Circle. Polar bears do not drink water. They get all the water they need from the prey they eat.

    FES. Gov specifies that polar bears are considered the largest land carnivores(食肉动物) in the world. The polar bear weight ranges between 700--1,500 pounds. Since the polar bear habitat is melting away, their main evolutionary advantages are fading. Polar bears are not able to use their camouflage(伪装) to find prey in habitats not covered with snow. Polar bears do not hibernate(冬眠). However, when the weather gets uncomfortable, or mothers give birth, polar bears will dig themselves a hidden home.

    What can we do to help save the polar bears? We can donate to organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, reduce our carbon footprint, and send letters to politicians explaining to them that we need to set up more preserves to help save the polar bear habitat.

    Most birds produce short, simple calls, but songbirds also have the ability of many complex vocal (发声的) patterns that help them attract mates, defend territory (领地), and strengthen their social bonds. Each songbird species has its own unique song patterns, some with characteristic regional dialects. Experienced listeners can even distinguish individual birds by their unique songs.

    A lot of what scientists know about bird song comes from studying zebra finches. A baby male zebra finch typically learns to sing from its father or other males, starting while it's still a baby bird in the nest. First comes the sensory learning stage, when the baby finch hears the songs sung around it and commits them to memory. The bird starts to vocalize during the motor learning stage, practicing until it can match the song it memorized. As the bird learns, hearing the tutor's song over and over again is helpful — up to a point. If it hears the song too many times, the imitation (模仿) becomes worse -- and the source matters. If the song is played through a loudspeaker, he can't pick it up as easily. But hide the same loudspeaker inside a toy painted to look like a zebra finch, and his learning improves.

    What if the baby never hears another zebra finch's song? Interestingly enough, it'll sing anyway. Isolated finches still produce what are called innate songs or isolate songs. A specific tune might be taught, but the instinct to sing seems to exist in a songbird's brain. Innate songs sound different from the “cultured” songs learned from other finches - at first. If isolate zebra finches start a new colony, the young birds pick up the isolate song from their fathers. But the song changes from generation to generation. And after a few generations, the melody actually starts to resemble the cultured songs sung by zebra finches in the wild.

My First Marathon

    A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

    I remember back to my 7^th year in school. In my first P.E class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn't do either well. He later told me that I was "not athletic".

    The idea that I was "not athletic" stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!

    The night before the marathon, I dreamt that I couldn't even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

    Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces became loose. So I stopped to readjust(调整). Not the start I wanted!

    At mile 3, I passed a sign: "GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!"

    By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

    By mile 21, I was hungry!

    As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.

    I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

    Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels(世俗标签), I can now call myself a "marathon winner".

    It was already dark when an old man came to a small town. He found an inn and wanted to stay there for the night. After he had gone to his room, the owner said to his wife, "Look at his bag, dear. I'm sure there are lots of valuable things in it. I want to steal it when he is asleep."

    "No, no," said the woman. "He must look for his bag tomorrow morning. Then he'll take you before the judge." They thought and at last the woman had an idea. "We have forgetful grass," said the woman, "Why not put some into his food? If he has the food, he will forget to take his bag away." "How clever you are!" said the owner, "Don't forget it when you prepare supper for him."

    The old man had the food with the forgetful grass and went to bed. The next morning, when the owner got up, he found the door was open and the old man had left with his bag. He woke his wife up and said angrily, "What a fool! Your forgetful grass isn't useful at all."

    "No, no," said the woman. "I don't think so. He must forget something."

    "Oh, I've remembered!" The owner cried out suddenly, "He forgot…"

    Josh Katz works at the New York Times. His common job is to use information to tell interesting stories. In December 2013, Katz built a quiz on the Times website. It asked people about the words they used to describe things and events. It also asked how they pronounced common words. The quiz then used people's answers to decide where in the United States they were from.

    The quiz got more than 350, 000 results. Katz turned the results into a book. In Speaking American, he studies regional differences in how Americans talk.

"A lot of people's language shows who they are and where they are from, in a very personal way", Katz said.

Katz says people are often surprised to learn that the way they talk can show where they grew up. Most Americans don't realize they use regionalisms — or words and phrases specific to a particular part of the country. But just about everyone does. Almost every major U.S. city has a few unique terms. For example, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the night before Halloween is known as Mischief Night. Anyone who calls it that is likely to be connected to the city.

    Katz himself was surprised by how many common words are regional. "There are a lot of words I use that I just thought were standard words," he says. "Then I found out some of these words were actually a product of my upbringing."

    For example, he says, "I thought everyone said 'sneakers' (运动鞋) and not 'tennis shoes'." But it turns out "sneakers" is connected mostly to the Northeast. That's where Katz is from.

    Some scholars think that language in the U.S. is growing more homogeneous (同类的). But Katz disagrees. "These regional differences are here to stay." he says.

    Not only are people still using common regionalisms, but there are new ones appearing all the time, according to Katz. There's no way to predict how language will change in the future. But Katz sees more changes coming. "The only sure thing about language is that it's going to keep moving." he says.

A good story. That's what influences our choice to buy a book the most. Right? Some of the biggest-selling novels of all time just so happened to be attached to major publishers. Indeed, any reading lover will be familiar with the countless publishing houses that have brought brilliant works to the market. So in theory, perhaps a publisher does matter. 

Every time you read a book that you enjoy, you likely look at the publisher attached to it. That name is a signal that they will produce other content that fits with that same style. It makes a lot of sense to continue to purchase texts from a company that is telling the kinds of stories that you enjoy the most. Consumer habits are thus based on trust that a publisher will be consistent in the books they deliver and that investing time in them is more reliable than an untested source.

The strength of the author themselves can also play into that. After all, well-liked authors are often signed to a book deal with a select few publishers, strengthening the brand further. 

Of course, a publisher would be nothing without its logo, which is a major call-to-arms for all fans of the brand. The top publishers in the world instantly recognizable imagery, which catch the attention while summing up the name of a brand in an instant. That thus builds our association with a given name. The fun penguin shape of Penguin Random House is so iconic, for example, that it could not be confused with any other publishing business.

There might be a place for those indie (独立经营的) book companies, with occasional stories breaking through and forcing people to take notice. In truth that's far less common than you expect. Expert Cassandra Davis, however, provides a hopeful insight. "Indie bookshops are more likely to stock an indie publisher's books, especially if the author is local to the bookshop." She says. Therefore, supporting local bookshops is a vital way to keep the indie industry alive and change these trends.