A. High tech with traditional life at Green Bank.

    Over millions of years, penguins（企鹅）have developed a keen sense of where to find food. Once they're old enough, they set off from the shores on which they were hatched for the first time and swim long distances in search of tasty fish like anchovies and sardines. But they don't search directly for the fish themselves.

    For example, when young African penguins head out to sea, they look for areas with low surface temperatures and high chlorophyll(叶绿素) because those conditions signal the presence of phytoplankton（浮游植物）. And lots of phytoplankton means lots of plankton（浮游动物）, which in turn means lots of their favorite fish. Well, that's what it used to mean.

    Climate change plus overfishing have made the penguin feeding grounds a mirage(海市蜃楼). The habitat is indeed plankton-rich—but now it's fish-poor. Researchers call this an “ecological trap.”

    “It's a situation where you have a signal that previously pointed an animal towards good quality habitat. That habitat's been changed, usually by human pressures. The signal stays, but the quality in the environment deteriorates.”

    Richard Sherley, a zoologist at the University of Exeter and his team used satellite imaging to track the African penguins from eight sites along southern Africa. Historically, the birds benefited from tons of fish off the coasts of Angola, Namibia and western South Africa, but now they're going hungry.

    “I was really hoping we'd see them going east, and finding areas where the fish had moved to but it ends up being quite a sad story for the penguins.” said Richard.

    The researchers calculate that by falling into this ecological trap, African penguin populations on South Africa's Western Cape have declined by around 80 percent.

    Some research groups are exploring the idea of moving chicks to a place where they can't get trapped, like the Eastern Cape. But Sherley thinks that a longer-term solution means making and carrying out rules to create more sustainable(可持续的) fishing industry, something that he says needs public support.

Parents and the Young

    It is natural that young people are often uncomfortable being with their parents. They say that their parents don't understand them. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} And they tend to feel that their parents are too serious and too strict with their children, seldom giving their children a free hand.

    Parents often find it difficult to win their children's trust. And they always forget how they themselves felt when young. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is one of their ways to show that they have grown up. But older people worry more easily; most of them plan things ahead.

    Young people often make their parents angry with their choice in clothes, in entertainment and in music. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It is just that they feel cut off from the older people's world, into which they have not yet been accepted. That's why young people want to make a new culture of their own, which makes their parents worried and upset.

    Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents say “yes” to what you do. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It is natural enough, after being a child for so many years, when you were completely under your parents' control.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility, they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do.

A. So how should you understand that?

B. But they do not mean to cause any trouble.

C. All you want is to be left alone and do what you like.

D. If you plan to handle your life, try to win your parents over.

E. They think that their parents don't keep pace with modern ways.

F. You will have better success if you ask before you really start doing it.

G. For example, young people like to act on the spot without much thinking.

    Nowadays science has made great progress in every aspect and more and more really good inventions have changed our daily lives. However, the U.S. Patent Office has issued over 7.5 million patents (专利), and not all of them are quite so celebrated. Some good, some bad, and some crazy! The following lists some of the most unusual ideas that have come along.

    Snake Leash (皮带)

    In 2002, a patent was issued for a snake-walking leash. There are at least two major problems with this idea. 1) Dog leashes fit securely between the head and shoulders. A snake does not have shoulders; so it might slither (蜿蜒滑行) away. 2) Dogs are OK for public places because they are social animals, and people like them. Snakes are not OK for public places because they are not social, and some people are terrified of them.

    Stadium Helmet

    Americans are known for their love of sports. Unfortunately, good tickets to games are expensive, so some fans have to sit in the backward sections. This invention, patented in 2000, is designed for these fans. Featuring a built-in radio, binoculars (望远镜), a cooling fan, and a helmet for falling litter, this design transforms the stadium experience.

    Bacon Alarm Clock

    When you think about it, waking to the dreadful, blaring noise of an alarm clock is a terrible way to start the day. However, this clock could change that. You simply put a piece of frozen bacon in the alarm clock, set the alarm, and go to sleep. The clock gently wakes you up with the mouth watering smell of bacon the next morning, just like waking up on a Sunday morning to the smell of mom cooking breakfast. Who said there's no time to eat breakfast?

    Toilet Lock

    In 1969, a patent was issued for a really bad idea the toilet seat lock. First of all, fishing for your keys when you have to go seems very unpleasant. Then there is the possibility of losing the key altogether. What about guests? Just think that you would have to ask permission for the bathroom. Of course, there is the ultimate question: Why would you lock it in the first place?

    Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships. One strength of the human conditions is our possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful(有压力的) conditions. Social support makes up of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily problems. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over types of illnesses, from depression to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.

    Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Taking part in free-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting (转移注意力) us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support — money aid, material resources, and needed services — that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems.

Ways to Fight and Overcome Laziness

    You read productivity tips, you've used a million to­do list apps, and you promise yourself every month that you're going to start being productive, but it never happens. Here's how to break the cycle when you feel like your problem is just laziness.

    Simple things first: It's important to get started with the task you're willing to perform in order to fight laziness. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Doing so will help you to break your inner resistance.

    Step­by­step: {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And it will keep us motivated to perform these tasks one after the other in a relaxed manner. Once you have completed one sub­task you can tell yourself that you're on a roll and that you will soon have finished the next sub­tasks as well.

    Remove distractions: Whatever it is that distracts you (TV, the Internet, etc.), remove it! {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Make sure that once you have started with one of your tasks, you will not get distracted from it by any means.

    Reward yourself: Every time you manage to overcome laziness and successfully complete a task you should reward yourself, as this will give you positive feeling about making efforts to get things done. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Little reward for small efforts and vice versa (反之亦然).

    Don't give up: It's one thing to find your motivation. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Rather than letting difficulties demotivate you, see them for what they are and refuse to be beaten by them. You're not alone and staying focused on working through challenges is one of the best ways to fight them.

A. Turn off distractions and focus on your goals.

B. Just make sure to adapt the reward to the efforts you made.

C. A list of weekly goals will help you stay focused and motivated.

D. A method that helps you do so is to start with the simple things first.

E. Occasional rewards will sweeten the tasks and help keep you on track.

F. But it's quite something else to keep it going when running into difficult problems.

G. Breaking down tasks into smaller tasks helps us to reduce the pressure of deadlines.

On paper, hydrogen (H2) looks like a dream fuel. Coal, oil, and natural gas produce carbon dioxide, which warms the earth when burned, Hydrogen produces pure water. Hydrogen packs more energy into less space than a battery (but certainly less than petrol) . Also, empty tanks (燃料箱) can be refilled with hydrogen much faster than refilling empty batteries with electricity.

While in practice, things are trickier. Storing a meaningful amount of hydrogen gas requires pressing it several hundred-fold. Changing it into the liquid form is another option, but it should be cooled to-253C. Both processes require a heavy and strong tank. While a 700 bar tank is acceptable for a city bus or a truck, adapting it for use in small vehicles is very difficult because the pressure during refilling would be too great.

The solution? Powerpaste.

A German team of researchers, led by Marcus Vogt, have come up with an interesting "powerpaste", which can store hydrogen energy at atmospheric pressure, ready for release when needed. It is so named because it comes in tubes and looks like toothpaste (牙膏) , not in its traditional form of gas.

The main ingredient (原料) of the paste is magnesium hydride, a substance that reacts with water to form hydrogen. The escaped hydrogen can then be directed into a fuel cell, where it reacts with oxygen from the air to produce electric power.

Refueling is very simple, as instead of going to a filling station, drivers and riders can simply replace an empty tube with a new one and refill the water tank.

Given that powerpaste only begins to break down at temperatures of around 250℃ it remains safe even when a vehicle stands in the baking sun for hours.

However, we will have to be patient. Just because researchers have succeeded in developing a new fueling way does not mean that we can expect to see such vehicles on the road anytime soon. It will indeed be several years before this concept is turned into reality.