Plants are flowering faster than scientists predicted（预测）in reaction to climate change, which could have long damaging effects on food chains and ecosystems.

    Global warming is having a great effect on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some living patterns, scientists say.

    Increased carbon dioxide（CO2）in the air from burning coal and oil can have an effect on how plants produce oxygen, while higher temperatures and changeable rainfall patterns can change their patterns of growth.

    “Predicting species' reaction to climate change is a major challenge in ecology,” said the researches of several U.S. universities. They said plants had been the key object of study because their reaction to climate change could have an effect on food chains and ecosystem services.

    The study, published on the Nature website, uses the findings from plant life cycle studies and experiments across four continents and 1,634 species. It found that some experiments had underestimated（低估）the speed of flowering by 8.5 times and leafing by 4 times.

    “Across all species, the experiments under-predicted the speed of the advance — for both leafing and flowering — that results from temperature increases,” the study said.

    The design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change, it said.

    Plants are necessary for life on the Earth. They are the base of the food chain, using photosynthesis（光合作用）to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. They let out oxygen which is needed by nearly every organism on the planet.

    Scientists believe the world's average temperature has risen by about 0.8℃ since 1900, and nearly 0.2℃ every ten years since 1979.

    So far, efforts to cut emissions（排放）of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as enough to prevent the Earth heating up beyond 2℃ this century — a point scientists say will bring the danger of a changeable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels.

    Recently some articles claim the word “selfie” as one of the most annoying words. But I'd like to offer that maybe it isn't not so bad.

    The “selfie” is used to describe the self taken photo, often from a smart phone. Women and men alike adorn their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts with these pictures, sometimes with puckered lips or large smiles. In fact, the selfie has become so widely known that over 31 million photos on Instagram are captioned with the selfie.

    Let's think about it. Someone takes about 10 seizes each time they do, and they only end up posting one or two of those. They pick the one that they feel makes them look the best. Isn't that beautiful? In that one picture, someone has even him or herself confidence.

    Self-image is important. In society today, we are so often consumed with what society tells us is perfect. But maybe, with that one selfie, we feel like we fit that bill. We feel handsome, beautiful, confident, smart, happy and content. For that moment, everything bad or terrible that has ever happened to us is erased, because that smile or that pucker is what gives us the determination to love ourselves.

    I saw a spoken word poem recently and the young man said: If I ask you what you love the answers will most likely roll off your tongue. You love to read. You love to write. You love birds, music, tattoos… Your mom, your brother, your sister, your daughter, your best friend, your dog. How long do you think you could go on and on before you said “I love myself”？

    That statement hit me like a ton of bricks. I've struggled with confidence all of my life. I still do. And in no way am I saying that taking a selfie is a gateway to that confidence. However, the selfie does deserve some credit for allowing individuals to express themselves. Pamela Rutledge agrees, stating, “There are many more photographs available now of real people than models.”

    Ben Lecomte, a French long-distance swimmer, dropped into the water Tuesday at Choshi, Japan, and embarked on his attempt to become the first person to swim across the Pacific Ocean, BBC News reports.

    Six years in the planning, the 5,500-mile effort is expected to take five to six months, with Lecomte swimming eight hours a day and covering an average of 30 miles daily, according to his website.

    His route to San Francisco will take him through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area three times the size of France where large amounts of garbage and plastic waste have collected, CNN reports.

    Lecomte will be accompanied by a specially outfitted support boat named Discoverer. He will take rest periods on the boat, but it will return him to his stopping point each day to make sure he swims the entire distance.

    In addition to accomplishing a first, Lecomte said, he wants to draw attention to the problems of ocean pollution and climate change. A team of scientists plan to conduct research for 12 scientific institutions, including NASA and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, while he is making his swim.

    Lecomte is no stranger to feats of long-distance open-water swimming. In 1998, he swam 4,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. On that swim he encountered sharks and stingrays. This time, he said, he will be wearing a shark-repellent bracelet.

    One of the challenges will be making sure he has enough energy each day, and Lecomte said he intends to consume 8,000 calories daily.

    Visit one of the most outstanding prehistoric sites in the United Kingdom, and enjoy amazing historic English attractions. Please notice that every tour starts and ends in London. Have a tour with visiting Britain.

    Stonehenge Direct Tour

    Visit one of the most outstanding prehistoric sites in England and in the world: Stonehenge.

    Duration：1 day

    Price：Adults ￡29.99，Children ￡28.99

    Stonehenge and Bath Tour

    Enjoy a late breakfast before heading to the Stonehenge site and end your day with an original visit to the Roman Baths.

    Duration：10 hours(departure 10：30 a．m.，return 8：30 p．m.)

    Price：Adults ￡64，Children ￡60

    Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle Tour

    Explore three of England's most popular sites to visit: Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and the Roman Baths.

    Duration：1 day(return 8：30 p．m.)

    Price：Adults ￡64.80, Children ￡61.20

    Stonehenge, Lacock and Bath Tour

    Come and feel the warmth of Bath, see the pleasant village of Lacock, and solve the mystery of Stonehenge.

    Duration：1 day(return 6 p．m.)

    Price：Adults ￡85，Children ￡78

    Stonehenge, Windsor and Oxford Tour

    Choose Stonehenge ，Windsor and Oxford Tour and enjoy ancient mysticism, royal history and illustrious knowledge.

    Duration：1 day

    Price：Adults ￡72, Children ￡68

    Stonehenge, Bath and Stratford Tour

    Take a tour to make the most of the English historic attractions：the Stonehenge site, Bath and Stratford, the birthplace of playwright William Shakespeare.

    Duration：1 day(return 8 p．m.)

    Price：Adults ￡79, Children ￡68

    If you were an exchanged student in New York City, one day your math teacher gave you following questions as your homework, please write down your answers.

    Ⅰ.A company sold a product for α dollars in 1990. The price of the product would increase by 2.5% every year.

    Ⅱ.A man needs to make 3 curtains. The cloth which is used to make curtains sells for $8.00 per meter and can be purchased only by the full（完整的） meter. The length of cloth required for each curtain is 1.6 meters.

    Ⅲ.A pet store sells only dogs and cats. In March, the store sold twice as many dogs as cats. In April, the store sold twice the number of dogs that it sold in March, and three times the number of cats that it sold in March.

Urban Transportation in Canada

Public transportation & Transit passes

    All cities and most major towns in Canada have a public transportation system with one or more modes of transportation (bus, subway, train, etc.). The bus is the most common form of urban transportation in Canada. To use public transportation, you must purchase a ticket or a transit pass. Transit passes allow you unlimited use of public transportation for a specific period (one month or more). They are usually cheaper than buying many tickets if you plan to use public transportation often.

Transportation for people with disabilities

    Public transportation often has features to assist people with disabilities. In many cities and towns, there are also transportation services available specifically for people with limited mobility, such as specially equipped buses. You can find out about these services in the same way you would learn more about other public transportation options.

Etiquette on public transportation

    When taking public transportation such as a bus or train, it is important to understand the unspoken rules of conduct in the shared space. Here are a few things to note:

    ◆ Be polite and respectful to others around you. For example, maintain an appropriate noise level when talking or making a phone call.

    ◆ If you are carrying a backpack or a large shoulder bag in a crowded public transit vehicle, keep it close to you, preferably at your feet to avoid hitting people with it as you walk by.

    ◆ Avoid pushing or touching others in order to make more room for yourself. Sometimes public transit can become very crowded, but it is important to keep calm and give others appropriate personal space.

    ◆ Have your proof of payment accessible in case you are asked to show it.