An absolute description of the threat hanging over the world's mammals,reptiles,amphibians and other life forms has been published by the well-known scientific journal,Nature.A special analysis carried out by the journal indicates that an astonishing 41% of all amphibians on the planet now face extinction while 26% of mammal species and 13% of birds are similarly threatened.

    Many species are already critically endangered and close to extinction,including the Sumatran elephant,Amur leopard and mountain gorilla.But also in danger of vanishing（消失）for the wild,it now appears,are animals that are currently rated as merely being endangered.

    In each case,the finger of blame points directly at human activities.The continuing spread of agriculture is destroying millions of hectares of wild habitats every year,leaving animals without homes,while the introduction of newly-come species,often helped by humans,is also damaging native populations.At the same time,pollution and overfishing are destroying ocean ecosystems.

    "Habitat destruction,pollution or overfishing either kill off wild creatures and plants or leaves them badly weakened," said Derek Tittensor,an ocean ecologist at the World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge. "The trouble is that in coming decades,the additional threat of worsening climate change will become more and more common and could then kill off these survivors."

    The problem,according to Nature,is worsened because of the huge gaps in scientists knowledge about the planet's biodiversity.Evaluations of the total number of species of animals and plants alive vary from 2 million to 50 million.In addition,evaluations of current rates of species' disappearances vary from 500 to 36,000 a year. "That is the real problem we face," added Tittensor. "The scale of uncertainty is huge."

    In the end,however,the data indicate that the world is heading cruelly towards a mass extinction-which is defined as one involving a loss of 75% of species or more.This could arrive in less than a hundred years or could take a thousand,depending on extinction rates.

Do you want to get home from work knowing you have made a real difference in someone's life?

If yes, don't care about sex or age! Come and join us, then you'll make it!

    Position: Volunteer Social Care Assistant

     (No Pay with Free Meals)

    Place: Manchester

    Hours: Part Time

We arc now looking for volunteers to support people with learning disabilities to live active lives! Only 4 days left. Don't miss the chance of lending your warm hands to help others!

    Role:

    You will provide people with learning disabilities with all aspects of their daily lives. You will help them to develop new skills. You will help them to protect their rights and their safety. But your primary concern is to let them know they are valued.

    Skills and Experience Required:

You will have the right values and great listening skills. You will be honest and patient. You will have the ability to drive a car and to communicate in fluent written and spoken English since you'll have to help those people with different learning disabilities. Previous care-related experience will be a great advantage for you.

    TRAIL SAFE! is a unique safety training program designed specifically for National Park Service (NPS) Trail Volunteers, but is useful to everyone! It's based upon NPS Operational Leadership Training, where the human factor of safety is explored. TRAIL SAFE! captures (捕捉) the core learning objectives of the 16-hour Operational Leadership course while allowing volunteers to learn from their own homes online.

    The TRAIL SAFE! series includes eight video lessons, each ranging in length from 18 to 40 minutes long. Watch them over the course of multiple days, or "binge watch" the entire series in three hours—it's up to you—but please watch them in order from Lesson 1 through Lesson 8. After viewing the lessons, send your training verification (验证) emails to register your participation. When you have viewed and registered for all eight individual lessons, each participant will receive a TRAIL SAFE! pin and a SPE/GAR card in the mail for use in the field. Thank you for helping to make Sleeping Bear Dunes one of the safest work environments for NPS Trail Volunteers like yourself.

    Ready to start?

    Click on this link to access all TRAIL SAFE! videos: https://www.nps.gov/iatr/trail-safe.htm

    If you require Audio Descriptive versions of TRAIL SAFE! the link to those videos is also available on the Ice Age Trail site.

    Record your participation

    In order to receive credits for your participation, please fill in your answers to the following questions and email to: Matthew mohrmannps.gov.

    Which video lesson did you just complete viewing?

    Name of the Trail where you volunteer.

    Your name and full mailing address, so we may send your course completion materials to you.

    Names and addresses of others if you are viewing this lesson in a group setting.

    Optional: Please let us know any comments or suggestions you have about this lesson.

    Upon registering your completion for the entire eight lesson series, you'll receive your TRAIL SAFE! pin and risk assessment card via mail.

Terrific New Technologies

•A fashionable smart speaker

    The new Amazon Echo smart speaker has the same popular feature as the original-an always listening voice assistant ready to play music and news, set timers, and use third-party apps. Only now it's actually stylish. The $120 speaker comes in different finishes, including fabric and wood.

•A helping hand for parents

    10 Suzy Snooze helps babies and kids sleep so parents can catch up on their own sleep. It's a sound machine and a nightlight. It connects with an app over wi-fi and turns into an audio monitor. If a kid cries at midnight, it'll detect the sound and try to calm him back to sleep. It can also let early risers know when it's OK to get out of bed. Made by Bleep Bleeps, the $249 "smart nightlight" has an adorable little face.

•Safety for ding dongs

    Doorbells used to just ring, ding, and dong. But thanks to modern technology, doorbells can now double as Internet-connected- surveillance(监视) devices. Rings $249 Video Doorbell Pro can record HD video of your front steps, even at night. It includes motion sensors and two-way audio, so you can yell "get off my lawn" from anywhere. You can also use the app to see what's going on in front of your house while you're at work or in the backyard.

•The must-have kitchen gadget

    The Instant Pot makes food fast in one pot. The surprise kitchen hit is a combination of pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker and even yogurt maker. It has sensors and settings to make cooking as safe as possible. Starting at $80, an Instant Pot can make dishes in less time than it typically takes to cook them.

    As computers become more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly depending on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.

    Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more widely spread among university students. Almost all their assignment and essays are typed on a computer.

    All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.

    It's faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that's why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.

    "When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I'm familiar with it."

    "I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper."

    Many students don't feel this is something to worry about. Now that it's more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?

    Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei, headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, "Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer's emotion. Through one's handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them."

    To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory(必修的)and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.

    Banff National Park is Canada's first national park. In 1883, on the Canadian Rocky Mountains, three railway workers discovered a natural hot spring, and from there the park was born. Nowadays, it is one of the world's popular tourist spots with great mountain scenery. Every year, millions of people visit it for its wonderful views.

Banff National Park is part of UNESCO's Canadian Rocky Mountain World Heritage site. Located in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, the park has perfect mountains like those on postcards. They are from 45 to 120 million years old, with the highest in the park, Mount Forbes, coming in at 11,850 feet.

    Banff National Park is 80 miles west of Calgary. Calgary's international airport is serviced by major national and international carriers with many flights arriving daily. Open year­round, it offers amazing wildlife viewing and sightseeing, plus many shopping and dining choices, any time of the year. Summer is popular for hiking, mountain biking and cycling, photography, and climbing. The best time for viewing the seasonal color is fall, when the trees turn yellow.

    In winter, the mountain makes exciting downhill (速降) and cross­country skiing. In fact, three major downhill ski resorts (度假胜地) operate within the park. Lake Louise Ski Resort, Sunshine Village, and Mount Norquay combine to offer a large area for skiing, not to mention the backcountry trails available throughout the park. The ski season, which runs from November to May, is one of the longest in North America. Visitors can also enjoy wildlife tours, ice walks, and dogsleds (雪橇).

    Weather in the Canadian Rockies can change quickly. A single day can have a mix of sunshine, snow, wind, and rain, so you should change your clothes. In summer, temperatures average a high of 70 (21 ℃), and daylight lasts until 11 p. m. Autumn brings cool nights and fresh air. Winters can be very cold. In January, the average temperature is 7 ℃ below zero, but by April it is 9 ℃.