Phillip Island is a small island and nature reserve off the coast of South Australia, about 140 km from Melbourne. On the island you can see koalas, kangaroos and the main attraction, the Penguin Parade（归巢）on Summerland Beach.

    As dusk was approaching, we made our way down to the beach, as did everyone else. On the beach was a stone grandstand, rather cold on the behind, so bring a coat or blanket to sit on. As it got darker, people talked less, keeping an eye out on the beach to see the arrival of that first penguin.

    Suddenly there was movement at the edge of the surf and all heads turned as one. There, standing by the edge of the water was the smallest penguin we had ever seen. He looked left, then right, as if he was considering crossing a busy road and then he ran quickly across to the sand dunes and the penguin holes.

    He must have been the scout(侦查员), because after him, there came groups of penguins, some consisted of two or three penguins, and some had about ten or fifteen, but they all made the same mad dash across the sand into the holes, as if they couldn't get there fast enough. The groups started to lessen and finally no more penguins emerged from the sea.

    We sat on the grandstand for a while, not talking, just feeling awed(敬畏的) at what we'd just seen. Neither of us had ever seen penguins in the wild before, only in zoos and it was an amazing feeling.

    You could see the penguins here every evening and morning, but they weren't in cages or in small pools. The sea was their playground and it is a sight we would definitely recommend to anyone.

    You weren't allowed to take flash photographs as it scared them. After the penguins had gone to their holes, you could walk along boardwalks and see them there. That's got to be worth a look.

The Truth About the Environment

    For many environmentalists, the world seems to be getting worse. They have developed a hit-list of our main fears: that natural resources are running out, that the population is ever growing, leaving less and less to eat, that species are becoming disappeared in huge numbers, and that the planet's air and water are becoming ever more polluted.

    But a quick look at the facts shows a different picture. First, energy and other natural resources have become more abundant, not less so. Second, more food is now produced per head of the world's population than at any time in history. Fewer people are starving. Third, although species are indeed becoming disappeared, only about 0.7% of them are dying out in the next 50 years, not 25-50%, as has so often been predicted. And finally, most forms of environmental pollution either appear to have been best cured not by limiting economic growth, but by accelerating it.

    Yet public opinion surveys suggest that many people hold the belief that environmental standards are declining and four factors seem to cause this gap between what they know and what the reality is.

    One is the unbalanced budget for scientific research. Scientific funding goes mainly to areas with many problems. That may be wise policy, but it will also create an impression that many more potential problems exist than is the case.

    Secondly, environmental groups need to be noticed by the mass media. They also need to keep the money rolling in. Understandably, perhaps, they sometimes overstate their arguments. In 1997, for example, the World Wide Fund for Nature issued a press release entitled: „Two thirds of the world's forests lost forever'. The truth turns out to be nearer 20%.

    A third source of confusion is the attitude of the media. People are extremely more curious about bad news than good. Newspapers and broadcasters are there to provide what the public wants: That, however, can lead to significant misunderstanding. An example was that America came across EI Nino(厄尔尼诺) in 1997 and 1998. This climatic phenomenon was accused of breaking tourism, causing allergies, melting the ski-slopes, and causing 22 deaths. However, according to an article in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, the damage was estimated at $4 billion but the benefits amounted to some $19 billion.

    The fourth factor is poor individual knowledge. People worry that the endless rise in the amount of things everyone throws away will cause the world to run out of places to dispose of waste. Yet, even if America's trash output continues to rise as it has done in the past, and even if the American population doubles by 2100, all the rubbish America produces through the entire 21st century will still take up only one 12,000th of the area of the entire United States.

    It is extremely important that we look at the facts if we want to make the best possible decisions for the future. It may be costly to be overly optimistic, but more costly still to be too pessimistic.

    A so-called “smart drug” intended to improve people's cognitive (认知的) function to protect the brain from altitude sickness.

    Visiting high-altitude sites for work, spot, religious pilgrimages and military can result in cognitive effects, including memory loss and attention difficulties. There's little you can do to prevent these symptoms except acclimatize -but this takes time and doesn't always work. A drug called oxiracetam might be the answer.

    ShengLi Hu at the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China and her colleagues studied the performance of male military personnel at altitude. All lived in towns around 1,800 meters above sea level, During the study, they spent eight days at this altitude and then climbed for three days to reach 4,000 meters, where they stayed for up to a month.

    Twenty participants took oxriacetam three times a day for the first 15 days of the study, while another 20 received no intervention. The man did tests of attention and memory at the start and end of the study and 20 days in, by which time they had been at 4,000 meters for nine days.

    While all the participants experienced a drop in cognitive ability at 4,00 meters, those who took oxiracetam showed a much smaller drop than the control group.

    The team found that at high altitude the brain stem, which plays a critical role in supporting basic living functions, received blood at the expense of areas responsible for more advanced cognitive functions. But in people who took oxiracetam, blood flowing throughout the brain rose, thus offering more oxygen to these areas. This may be how the drug seems to lessen cognitive problems like with low oxygen.

    It isn't yet known whether diverting blood in this way could have negative effects in the long run. "The results are striking and imply that oxiracetam may be beneficial for helping to relieve cognitive ability decline caused by altitude." says Timothy Hales at the University of Dundee, UK.

    I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have porridge, eggs or toast. When others had Coke and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. But at least I wasn't alone when I was sad. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

    My mother preferred to know where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. We had to clean clothes and take a bath every day. The other kids got to wear the same clothes for days. We could not lie in bed "sick" in order to miss school.

    The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and get up at eight the next morning. We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept, my mother was brave to break the Child Labour Laws. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook and all kinds of things at home. I believe she lay awake thinking up all things for us to do.

    My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Two of her children received higher education. None of us have ever been taken away by the police or divorced (离婚). She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. I am now trying to raise my three children this way. I am filled with pride when my children call me "mean". Why? Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.

    Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is gaining global popularity. According to a government white paper, TCM has been introduced in 183 countries and regions around the world.

    Westerners' understanding of TCM, however, may be limited to acupundure，cupping and massage (针灸，拔罐和按摩). For instance, the purple, injury-like marks left on US.swimmer Michael Phelps' back from cupping for the purpose of relaxing his muscles and reducing pain became the center of attention during the Rio Olympics in 2016.

    As a matter of fact, Chinese herbs play a more important role in getting rid of diseases and keeping the body in good condition in the TCM treatment system than physical treatment. It is therefore disheartening to know that-while 103 World Health Organization member countries have given approval to the practice of acupuncture，not many recognize Chinese herbal medicine TCM falls far behind Western medicine owing partly to the slow development of Chinese herbs.

    Herbs, are made into pills, powder and soup, and the kind of herbs uscd1 their quality and quantity, and the processing of the ingredients jointly determine the effectiveness of the prescription. Compared with Western medicine, which has standardized drug production processes and treatment methods, TCM lacks standardization, with the chemical composition and functions of its medicines being unclear and their effects being unstable. Fortunately, standardization has improved in recent decades, with an increasing number of factories producing patented TCM drugs.

    Another factor that has prevented the development of TCM prescription drugs is the lack of creativity, While Western medicine-making companies come up with new products every year, TCM drug producers tend to make medicines according to prescriptions handed down from the past. Chinese chemist Tu You your's winning the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research into malaria(疟疾）treatment may drive creativity to some extent in China's TCM industry. However, the current state of affairs cannot be changed within a short time.

What's On?

Electric Underground

7:30 p. m-1:00 a. m. Free at the Cyclops Theatre

Do you know who's playing in your area? We're bringing you an evening of live rock and pop music from the best local hands. Are you interested in becoming a musician and getting a recording contract(合同)? If so, come early to the talk at 7:30 p. m. by Jules Skye, a successful record producer. He's going to talk about how you can find the right person to produce your music.

Gee Whizz

8:30 p. m-10:30 p. m. Comedy at Kaleidoscope

Come and see Gee Whizz perform. He's the funniest stand-up comedian on the comedy scene. This joyful show will please everyone, from the youngest to the oldest. Gee Whizz really knows how to make you laugh! Our bar is open from 7:00 p. m. for drinks and snacks.

Simon's Workshop

5:00 p. m. -7:30 p. m. Wednesdays at Victoria Stage

This is a good chance for anyone who wants to learn how to do comedy. The workshop looks at every kind of comedy, and practices many different ways of making people laugh. Simon is a comedian and actor who has 10 years' experience of teaching comedy. His workshops are exciting and fun. An evening with Simon will give you the confidence to be funny.