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    It has long been thought that elephants rely on their large ears and bathing in rivers to stay cool in hot climates. New research, however, has showed that the world's largest land animals have a secret trick of controlling their body temperatures.

    Scientists have long been puzzled by temperature regulation(调节)in elephants. Generally, animals with large bodies tend to hold more heat because, compared to their size, they have a small surface area for heat to escape from. Elephants, with their heavy­weight frames, would appear to be at a disadvantage in the heat of their African and Asian habitats, especially because they have thick fur to protect them from bushes and trees.

    Scientists thought that these creatures, which weigh up to 13 tons when fully­grown, grow large ears to help them stay cool. The skin on the ears is thinner, so blood which flows into them cools down more easily. But findings by researchers at two universities in Vienna have showed that elephants are also able to cool down by increasing the blood flow to skin patches(斑) in other parts of their bodies.

    The researchers studied six African elephants at Vienna Zoo as they moved between outdoor and indoor environments to see how the temperature on their skin surface would change. They found up to 15 “hot spots” all over an elephant's body surface, in addition to large patches on the ears. The study shows how these patches expand as the air temperature increases and more blood flows nearer to the skin surface. Other experiments show that elephants in the wild use the same “windows” to control their body temperature.

    Elephants have two additional ways to stay cool: flapping(拍打)the ears and bathing. Together with these tricks, the skin hot spots allow the animals to keep their body temperature always at about 36 degrees—one degree less than humans'.

    Are you an optimist? Do you look at your glass and see it as half full? Do you believe that every cloud has a silver lining and that generally things turn out for the best? Do you believe that if something is meant to be, it will be? If you reply "yes" to all of these questions, then you are an optimist. You probably are enthusiastic, cheerful and outgoing. You may well be successful at work and in love.

    But you may be misguided because things don't turn out for the best. You may believe that when one door closes another one opens (For example, you may fail to land a new job, but another chance will come around soon). Wrong. When one door closes, another door slams in your face. That's bitter reality.

    Now a book has been published which confirms what we pessimists(悲观者) have suspected all along. It's called The Positive Power of Defensive Pessimism. Its author argues that defensive pessimism can lead to positive results. Defensive pessimism is a strategy used to manage fear, anxiety and worry. Defensive pessimists prepare for things by setting low outcomes for themselves. They carefully consider everything that may go wrong and plan for ways to handle these problems. And this gives them a sense of control. Lawrence Sanno, a psychology professor, says, "What's interesting about defensive pessimists is that they tend to be very successful people, so their low opinion of the situation's outcomes is not realistic. They use it to motivate themselves to perform better."

    So far, so good. This is not rocket science. Defensive pessimists prepare carefully and consider what might go wrong, whether at work, on a date or even in a sports game. It makes sense to have a backup plan. There are many sayings in English urging caution. For example, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket", and "Don't count your chickens until they hatch." To have a confident and optimistic approach to life's problems is good. But listen to what Woody Alien, the American comedian says, "Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem."

    There are pros and cons to being an optimist and a pessimist. Don't feel bad if you see the glass half empty. You are a realist. But lighten up and hook up with someone who sees the same glass half full.

    At schools across the United States, students often sit down to cafeteria lunches made from processed foods that are high in fat, sodium, and sugar. But kids at Public School(P. S. )216 in Brooklyn have a different dining experience. Principal Donna Neglia reports that her students love eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

    P. S. 216 participated in the Edible Schoolyard Project, a nonprofit program founded by Chef Alice Waters in 1995. The program that Waters created helps public schools across the country start on-site gardens and weave principles of healthy eating into the curriculum. Students grow and maintain crops, harvesting the fruits and vegetables for cafeteria meals.

    Waters expressed her passion for the principles of the farm-to-table movement. She advised schools to connect with the farmers in their area and change their buying practices when planning meals for students.

    Waters has long been inspiring people to care about where their food comes from. In 1993, she put forward the idea of a White House vegetable garden. It was not until 2009 that Michelle Obama started the garden in the backyard of the White House. She and members of the kitchen staff spent hours tending to the garden, often with help from local school children.

    “That gave people a sense that she cared about children and cared about where our food comes from,” Waters said, praising the former First Lady's concern for young people's health. “We are just building this movement, and it is very exciting. ”

    “Through the Edible Schoolyard Project, students also learn about the benefits of healthy eating in the classroom.” Neglia said. “P. S. 216 is teaching kids about careers in the food industry—such as farming and agriculture, nutrition, food safety, and the restaurant business.”

    Similar classes are taking place around the country. So far, the Edible Schoolyard Project has reached more than 1 million students in more than 367 schools. “I'm thinking about the future of the planet,” Waters said. “I'm doing this for our generation.”

    Climate change, pollution, overuse of water and development are killing some of the world's most famous rivers including China's Yangtze. India's Ganges and Africa's Nile. WWF said on Tuesday. At the global launch of its report "World's Top 10 Rivers at Risk", the group said many rivers could dry out. affecting hundreds of millions of people and killing unique aquatic (水生的) life.

    "If these rivers die, millions will lose their livelihoods, biodiversity (生物多样性) will be destroyed on a massive scale, there will be less fresh water and agriculture, resulting in less food security, "said. Rayi Singh, secretary—general of WWF—India. The report, launched ahead of "World Water Day" today, also cited the Rio Grande in. the United States, the Mekong and Indus in Asia, Europe's Danube, La Plata in South America and Australia's Murray—Darling as in need of greater protection.

    Rivers are the world's main source of fresh water and WWF says about half of the available supply is already being used up. Dams have destroyed habitats and cut rivers off from their flood plains, while climate change could affect the seasonal water flows that feed them, the report said. Fish populations, the top source of protein and overall life support for hundreds of thousands of communities worldwide, are also being threatened, it found. The Yangtze basin is one of the most polluted rivers in the world because of decades of heavy industrialization, damming and huge influxes (流入) of sediment (积淀) from land conversion.

    Climate change, including higher temperatures, also means serious consequences for fishery productivity, water supply and political security in Africa's arid Nile basin. Tributaries (支流) flowing into the Ganges are drying up because of irrigation, WWF said.

    Idioms are one of the hardest parts of learning a language. For those of you who don't know, an idiom is a phrase which has a meaning, but the meaning is not clear from the words themselves. If you translate an idiom word for word, it sometimes makes no sense at all. They are like puzzles and even native speakers can get confused when someone uses a phrase that they've never heard of.

With that in mind, here are five common English idioms that you can use in a variety of Situations.

⒈Get your act together (Meaning: you need to improve your behaviour/work)

    This might be something your teacher says to you if you score badly in an exam or if you misbehave in class. You can also use it to talk about people in general. For example, if your friend is being mean or nasty for no reason, then you can tell them that they need to get their act together.

⒉Pull yourself together (Meaning: calm down)

    This is a somewhat impolite way of telling someone that they are overreacting and that they need to relax. Only use this if you think the person you are speaking to is getting upset over something insignificant. If your friend tells you that their close relative has died, it is NOT the time to tell them to pull themselves together.

⒊I'm feeling under the weather (Meaning: I'm sick)

    Yes, it's longer and more difficult to say than 'I'm sick', but if your English teacher asks you why you haven't done your homework, he or she is more likely to forgive you if you say that you were feeling under the weather. You may not have done your English homework, but your teacher might be impressed that you know how to make eloquent excuses in a foreign language.

⒋It's a piece of cake (Meaning: it's easy)

    I don't know why this means what it does, but sometimes you just have to accept that English people use weird phrases.

⒌Break a leg (Meaning: good luck!)

    This is perhaps one of the most confusing yet well-known English idioms. If someone says this to you, do not take offence or think they are threatening you; they are just wishing you luck. It is most often used for people wishing success to actors and actresses before they perform on the stage, but it can be said in other situations, too.

    All in all, learning a new language can be challenging. It's definitely not a piece of cake, especially when there are so many confusing idioms. However, with enough hard work and interest, you will succeed in no time. Break a leg!