Dolphins(海豚) live in a dark underwater world. It's often impossible to see each other or anything else around them, so sound plays an important role in their survival. To communicate with each other, dolphins produce all kinds of sounds.

    Only other dolphins understand what the sounds mean. Scientists haven't uncovered their secret communication, except for one kind of whistle. It might last less than a second, but this whistle is a big deal. Why? Because these whistles are actually names of dolphins - and every dolphin has one. Scientists call these sounds a “signature whistle.” When other dolphins hear the whistle, they know which dolphin is calling.

    Dolphins often hunt by themselves but still need to stay connected to the group. Since they can't always see each other, dolphins use their signature whistles to check in with other dolphins hundreds of yards away. “In coastal areas, dolphins exchange whistles even when they're a third of a mile apart,” says Greg Campbell, who studies animals. That means dolphins shout out to group members that might be nearly five football fields away.

    What's amazing is who names the baby dolphin. Not the mother. Not an auntie dolphin or another group member. Scientists believe the baby dolphin itself comes up with the signature whistle. Like human babies, a baby dolphin plays with sounds throughout its first year. While testing its sound skills, a baby dolphin is doing something amazing. It's creating or figuring out its signature whistle. How or why it chooses its signature whistle is not clear. Studies show that most of the time the signature whistle is nothing like its mother's or group members' whistles.

    When the baby dolphin is about a year old, its signature whistle is set. It repeats it often so the other dolphins learn to recognize it.

    Deciphering(破译) dolphin names is just the beginning of figuring out what dolphins communicate about. Do they chat about sharks? Discuss the tides? Maybe they even have a name for people. Someday scientists are to decipher the rest of dolphins' communication.

    The Bronte sisters were three sisters who became famous novelists． Their lives and works are connected with the lonely moors of Yorkshire, England, where they lived． Patrick Bronte, the sisters' father, was a poor Irishman who became the parish clergyman of the small, isolated town of Haworth, Yorkshire． Bronte was somewhat strange and tended to be strict． His wife died in 1821 and her sister brought up the family out of duty, but with little love or understanding． The sisters went to several boarding schools where they received a better education than usual for girls at that time, but in a bad atmosphere．

Few jobs were available for women at that time, and the Bronte sisters, except for occasional jobs as governesses or schoolteachers, lived their entire lives at home． They were shy, poor, and lonely, and occupied themselves with music, drawing, reading and —above all—writing． Their isolation led to the early development of their imaginations． In 1846, under the male pen names of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, the sisters published a joint volume of poems．Although only two copies were sold, all three sisters soon had their first novels published．

    Charlotte Bronte's most famous novel Jane Eyre （1847） is largely autobiographical ． Through the heroine, Charlotte relived her hated boarding school life and her experiences as a governess in a large house． Rochester, the hero and master of the house, is fictional． Jane Eyre was enormously successful, but many readers were shocked that Rochester, who tried to make Jane his mistress, should be rewarded by marrying her． Some readers were also shocked because Jane wanted to be regarded as a thinking and independent person, rather than as a weak female．

    Charlotte Bronte wrote three other novels． The first one, The Professor, was not published until 1857, after her death． Shirley （1849） is set among the labour riots of the early 1800s． Villette

    Palema Malhotra and her husband Anil Malhotra have spent the last 25 years buying the waste agricultural land and reforesting it, to return the land to a bio – diverse rainforest for elephants, birds and other creatures.

    The couple owns 300 acres of land in Brahmagiri, India. They have spotted more than 300 kinds of birds as well as many rare and threatened animal species. But, this was not the scene in 1991 when Anil and Pamela came to this part of the country. “When I came here, it was a wasteland. The owner wanted to sell because he couldn't grow coffee or anything else,” says Anil who worked in the real estate（房地产）and restaurant business in the US before moving to India. “For me and Pamela, this was what we were looking for all our life.”

    The couple had a love for nature from their childhood. When the Malhotras came to India, the pollution horrified them. “That was when we decided to do something to reclaim（开垦）the forest in India,” says Anil. “We were not looking for money. Early on, we realized that shortage of fresh water will be a concern for India and the rest of the world. Acquisition, protection and reclamation of forested lands and wildlife habitat, where vital water sources have their origin, is the only way to save ourselves,” explains Anil.

    They sold what they owned in America, bought the first 55 acres and began to grow a forest. Soon they bought the land nearby as well. “Many of the farmers considered their holdings 'wasteland' as very little grew on it and were happy to get money,” says Anil.

    Hunting and poaching（偷猎）was a challenge and often the locals did not understand what this couple was doing, so it required a lot of talking to create awareness. They worked with the forest department to set up camera traps and keep poachers away. “There are times I have fought with poachers,” says Pamela.

    Most Europeans want small cars. Many Americans prefer large cars. As a result, European automakers produce a large number of economical, light weight cars, while American automakers build bigger, heavier cars.

    The price of gas has much to do with this. The petrol is expensive in Europe, so Europeans naturally prefer cars that will go a long way on a small amount of fuel. There are other reasons. Many European cities have very narrow streets. In these cities a small car is more practical and easier to handle than a large one.

    Some Americans like powerful engines in their cars. They enjoy having wider cars that are comfortable for large families and long trips. They are prepared to pay higher costs to get these advantages. Other Americans, however, have learned to like the small and smart cars. Many visitors to Europe during and after World War I discovered that small cars were fun to drive and easy to park in small spaces. They were delighted to learn how far small cars could go on a few gallons of gasoline.

    In the 1950s many Americans began buying European cars. In 1957, for the first time, the United States imported more cars than it exported. The best seller among these imported cars was a cool-looking but small car from Germany. Americans immediately gave it another name “ the bug”.

    Today, American car buyers have a wider choice. There are big cars for people who want large room, comfort, and power. And there are small cars, mostly imported but some American-made, for people who want easy parking and economical operation.

Outdoor Science Field Trips!