Being in nature has benefits for our physical and mental health, so wouldn't it be good if instead of giving you a bottle of pills, your doctor recommended spending time in nature? That's an interesting idea, Neil. Being outdoors always makes me feel better, and in Japan there's even a word for it - shinrin-yoku – translated into English as forest bathing. Forest bathing is a type of relaxation that involves being calm and quiet amongst the trees and using all your senses to observe nature around you, whilst breathing deeply. It sounds wonderful, Beth! In this programme, we'll be hearing how one of the world's oldest building materials, wood, is being used in new ways to build a greener future. And, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well. Great, but first I have a question for you, Neil. Like many other countries, Britain used to be covered in trees. In Roman times, it's estimated that as much as 40% of the land was forest. Trees provided wood, the building material needed for many things including buildings, furniture, and ships. So how many trees do you think were needed to build the HMS Victory, So how many trees do you think were needed to build the HMS Victory, Nelson's famous ship at the Battle in 1805? Was it: a) 4,000 trees? b) 5,000 trees? or, c) 6,000 trees? Well, I have no idea. But I'll guess it was 5,000 trees. OK, Neil, I'll reveal the correct answer at the end of the programme. Throughout history, buildings in Britain have been made of timber, trees that are grown so their wood can be used as a building material. But in modern times, this has mostly been done by man-made materials - brick, concrete and steel. One of those arguing for a return to wood is architect, Michael Ramage, talking here to BBC Radio 4 programme, Rare Earth: There is some compelling evidence to show that children in schools made of wood learn better… they have greater concentration, lower stress, lower heartbeats. And there's compelling evidence to show that patients in hospitals recover better in both rooms made of wood or other natural materials, and also in rooms that have views of nature out the window. Michael believes there is compelling evidence for the health benefits of wood. If something is compelling, it's so convincing that you believe it. As evidence, he gives examples - that wooden schools help children learn. But there's another compelling reason to build with wood – the carbon which wood captures helps combat climate change. It's why many governments around the world want to replace the carbon intensive production of concrete and steel with bio-based materials like wood. Here's architect, Michael Ramage, again, describing the possibilities of wooden buildings to BBC Radio 4's, Rare Earth: We look at the possibilities of building with wood and other materials we can grow – bamboo, hemp, flax… and how we can use them intelligently as replacements for steel and concrete in the world that we create around us. And we've looked at skyscrapers, we've looked at housing, we've looked at schools, and there's a whole range of buildings that we can build if we use wood well. Michael builds with natural materials which can be sustainably grown, including bamboo and hemp – a family of plants which are used to make many products such as rope and cloth. He thinks these natural, bio-based materials will work if they are used intelligently – in a clever, intelligent way. A good example of this is plywood, the first new material in construction since the invention of reinforced concrete 100 years ago. Tests prove that plywood made from layers of pine, which are laid crossways and then glued together, is as strong as steel. It's already been used to build skyscrapers, the very tall modern buildings you often see in cities – an 85 metre high skyscraper in Norway, and an even taller one, at 87 metres the world's tallest, in Milwaukee, USA. Strong, relaxing and eco-friendly – it seems that building with wood is good for the future as well as the past, which reminds me of my question, Neil. Yes, you asked me how many trees were used as timber for Nelson's famous warship, HMS Victory, and I guessed it was 5,000… Which was close, but the wrong answer, I'm afraid. It was even more, around 6,000 trees, most of which were oak, with some timbers over half a metre thick! OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned in this programme starting with forest bathing, being in nature and immersing your senses in the experience for its physical and mental health benefits. Timber is trees grown so the wood can be used for building houses. If an argument or evidence is compelling, it's strong, convincing and believable. The adverb intelligently means done in a way showing intelligence and skill. Hemp is a family of plants, some of which are used to make rope and strong cloth. And finally, a skyscraper is a very tall modern building, usually in a city. ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

What does it mean to be a feminist? The word feminism was coined in the 19th century by French philosopher and socialist Charles Fourier. But while feminists all seek equality between the sexes across political, social and cultural spheres, there is no one type of feminism. The author Rebecca West wrote in 1913 "I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat". “女权主义”一词是19世纪由法国哲学家和社会主义者查尔斯·傅立叶创造的。但是，尽管女权主义者都在政治、社会和文化领域寻求男女平等，但并不存在单一类型的女权主义。作家丽贝卡·韦斯特在 1913 年写道：“我自己从未能准确地了解什么是女权主义。我只知道，每当我表达不同于那些逆来顺受的可怜虫的观点时，人们就称我为女权主义者”。 The first wave of feminists fought for women to be able to vote and own property. Until these gains were made, largely in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, women often needed male guardians to transact business on their behalf, which was particularly galling if your guardian was an idiot. 第一波女权主义者为妇女争取选举权和财产权。在取得这些成就之前，主要是在 19 世纪末和 20 世纪初，妇女往往需要男性监护人来代表她们处理事务，如果你的监护人是个白痴，那就尤其令人讨厌了。 In 1949 the brilliant French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir published The second sex. She argued that one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. This was good news for those who felt constrained by the expectation that women should be quiet and nice. Beauvoir's critics, and feminism's critics, have often said that anger is not very ladylike. This is no bad thing. Who wouldn't rather be a woman than a lady? 1949 年，杰出的法国哲学家西蒙娜·德·波伏娃出版了《第二性》一书。她认为，女人不是天生的，而是后天形成的。这对于那些认为女性应该文静乖巧的人来说是个好消息。波伏娃的批评者和女权主义的批评者经常说，愤怒者并不够淑女。可这并非坏事。相比淑女，大多数人更愿意成为女人。 Feminism has gradually shifted for women around the world to advocate many different kinds of change like equal pay and reproductive freedom. Most recently, social media has become a crucial tool for raising awareness and encouraging debate. Feminist campaigns to combat female genital mutilation, to acknowledge the contributions made by women in the past and to speak out against sexual abuse in all its forms have filtered into mainstream cultural discourse. 女权主义逐渐转向世界各地的女性，倡导许多不同类型的变革，如同工同酬和生育自由。最近，社交媒体已成为提高认识和鼓励辩论的重要工具。反对切割女性生殖器官、承认妇女过去所作贡献和大声疾呼反对一切形式的性虐待的女权主义运动已经渗透到主流文化话语中。 At the end of 2017, Time magazine named women who had broken their silence on sexual assaults as its Person of the Year. There is still a long way to go before men and women have full equality all over the world and resistance to this idea has not disappeared. Perhaps feminism boils down to the words of Dorothy Parker who once said: my idea is that all of us, men as well as women, whoever we are, should be considered as human beings. 2017年年底，《时代》杂志将对性侵事件发声的女性评为年度人物。要在全世界实现男女完全平等，还有很长的路要走，对这一理念的抵触情绪并未消失。也许女权主义可以归结为多萝西·帕克曾经说过的一句话：我的想法是，我们所有人，无论男女，无论我们是谁，都应被视为人类。 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Traffic noise impairs songbirds' abilities Rather than studying birds in the wild, these researchers brought recordings of traffic noise from the nearby road into their lab and put captive zebra finches to the test. 这些研究人员并没有在野外研究鸟类，而是将在附近道路上录好的交通噪音带进他们的实验室，并对圈养的珍珠鸟进行测试。 The scientists designed tasks to mimic the problem-solving the birds have to do to find food – flipping over leaf-like lids to reveal a treat and working out how to reach a food reward that's hidden inside a cylinder. 科学家们设计了一些任务来模拟鸟儿觅食时必须解决的问题。例如，翻开叶子状的盖子发现食物，并想办法获得藏在圆筒中的食物奖励。 In a quiet laboratory, birds were twice as likely to succeed, and to find the food, than when traffic recordings were being played. 在一个安静的实验室里，鸟儿成功找到食物的可能性是播放交通噪音录音时的两倍。 The discovery adds to mounting evidence that the sound we put into the environment has unexpected negative impacts on wildlife. 这一发现进一步证明，人为噪音对野生动物产生了意想不到的负面影响。 Studies have shown that noise can affect insect behaviour, and noise pollution in the ocean has even been linked with whale strandings. 有研究已经表明，噪音会影响昆虫的行为，海洋中的噪音污染甚至与鲸鱼搁浅有关。 But these researchers say that with clever engineering of tyres and road surfaces, there is scope to insulate the natural world from at least some of our noise. 但这些研究人员表示，通过对轮胎和路面进行的巧妙设计，至少有希望将一些人为噪音隔离在自然界之外。 词汇表 recordings 录音 captive 圈养的 zebra finches 珍珠鸟，斑胸草雀（学名） mimic 模仿，仿效 flipping over 翻开 lids 盖子 treat （奖励性的）食物 reward 奖励 mounting 越来越多的 strandings 搁浅 engineering 设计，建造 tyres 轮胎 road surfaces 路面 insulate 使隔音，使隔离 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

What is the likelihood of you having someone who looks just like you? Would it be a good thing? And if you did have one, would you want to meet them? 遇到和你长得一模一样的人的可能性有多大?这是一件好事吗？如果真有这个人，你会想见见他们吗? Consider how often your facial features are used to identify you. Your passport, ID card and driving licence all bare your face. To enter your workplace, you likely need to be recognisable. You may need your face to unlock your smartphone and possibly even need it to exclude you from being present at a crime scene. 想想你的面部特征被用来识别你的频率。你的护照、身份证和驾驶执照都需露出你的脸。要进入你的工作场所，你可能需要被认出来。你可能需要你的脸来解锁你的智能手机，甚至可能需要它来排除你出现在犯罪现场。 The word 'doppelganger' refers to a person who looks the same as you, essentially sharing your features; those that you thought were unique to you and your identity. Not an identical twin, as a doppelganger has no relation to you. The idea originated in German folklore. A doppelganger was said to be a spirit-double that replicated every human and beast on earth. “二重身”这个词指的是一个和你长得一模一样的人，基本上和你有相同的特征；那些你认为是你和你的身份所独有的特征。二重身不是同卵双胞胎，因为二重身与你没有任何关系。二重身的概念起源于德国民间传说。据说，二重身是一个复制了地球上所有人类和野兽的灵魂替身。 So, let's get real. What are the chances of you having one in the first place? There's said to be a one in 135 chance of an absolute dead ringer for you existing anywhere in the world, so the chances are pretty low, despite folk wisdom promising you otherwise. And the chances of meeting? The mathematical certainty of finding this particular person is supposedly less than one in a trillion! 那么，让我们面对现实吧。首先，你拥有一个二重身的几率有多大？据说在世界上任何地方都只有 135 分之一的几率会出现和你一模一样的人，所以几率非常低，尽管民间智慧不这么认为。那相遇的几率呢？据说找到这个人的数学确定性不到万亿分之一！ That said, these statistics may be a good thing. Historically, having a double hasn't always been a positive. Back in 1999, an innocent American man, indistinguishable from the real criminal, was sent to prison for robbery, where he stayed for 19 years. In the end, it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. In a different case, a woman in New York was accused of trying to poison her doppelganger with deadly cheesecake so that she could steal her identity! 尽管如此，这些数据可能是件好事。从历史上看，有二重身并不总是一件好事。早在 1999 年，一名与真正罪犯毫无区别的无辜美国男子因抢劫罪被送进监狱，在那里一呆就是 19 年。最后，事实证明这是一起认错人的案件。在另一起案件中，纽约的一名妇女被指控试图用致命的芝士蛋糕毒死她的二重身，以便盗用她的身份！ And, why are people interested in finding their possible doppelganger anyway? It may be helpful to look to the past when facial resemblance indicated kinship. Maybe one day you'll meet your lookalike, but we understand that, after this, you possibly don't want to! 那么，人们为什么会对寻找自己可能的二重身感兴趣呢？可能是因为往往，长相相似就意味着亲属关系。也许有一天，你会遇到与你长相相似的人，但我们知道，看了这篇文之后，你可能并不想遇见了！ 词汇表 facial features 面部特征 recognisable 可认出的 exclude 排除…，认为…不可能 unique 独一无二的 identity 身份 identical twin 同卵双胞胎 folklore 民间传说 replicate 复制 a dead ringer 酷似…的人，相像之人/物 mathematical certainty 数学准确性 a double 一模一样的人 indistinguishable 难以分辨的，无法识别的 mistaken identity 认错人，身份错认 resemblance 相似 kinship 亲属关系 lookalike 长得极像…的人 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

How is climate change affecting whales? Delving into the lives of Antarctica's giants. We're with a team of wildlife scientists studying humpback whales up close. (This is so beautiful. This might be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.) The researchers have special permits to check the health of whales in this part of Antarctica. 深入了解南极洲巨鲸的生活。我们和一队野生动物科学家正在近距离研究座头鲸。（太美了，这可能是我见过的最美的东西了。）研究人员有特别许可证，可以在南极洲的这个地方检查鲸鱼的健康状况。 （The climate is shifting in the Antarctic Peninsula faster than anywhere else in Antarctica.） Scientists want to know what impact rising temperatures and other pressures like tourism and fishing have on wildlife here. They have a surprising way of finding that out. (南极半岛的气候变化速度比南极洲其他任何地方都快。)科学家们想知道气温上升、以及旅游和捕鱼等其他压力对这里的野生动物有什么影响。他们有一个惊人的发现方法。 (So is that a weapon? No, it's not a weapon, it's a tool.) That tool allows Natalia to take whale tissue biopsies. A tube on the end of each arrow takes just a tiny nick out of each animal's body. (Well, it clearly didn't bother them very much because they're hanging around the boat.) Analysing this tissue can reveal if a female humpback is pregnant. (In years that we have low sea ice, then the following year you have lower pregnancy rates. And that's as good as it gets in getting to know the environment and getting to know the effects of all these conservation threats on the animals.) （那是武器吗？不，这不是武器，这是一种工具。）这种工具可以让纳塔利娅进行鲸鱼组织活检。每支箭末端的一根管子只从每只动物身上取下一个小缺口。（很明显，这并没有给它们带来太大困扰，因为它们在船上徘徊。）分析这些组织可以揭示雌性座头鲸是否怀孕了。（在海冰较少的年份，次年的怀孕率会较低。这是了解环境以及、所有这些威胁对动物的影响的最好方式。） This is what the whales and many other animals here feed on, Antarctic krill. Swarms of them thrive here because they eat algae that lives in sea ice. So researchers want to know if this crucial marine food supply is decreasing as rising temperatures melt the ice. 这里的鲸鱼和许多其他动物都以南极磷虾为食。成群的磷虾在这里繁衍生息，因为它们吃的是长在海冰中的藻类。因此，研究人员想知道，随着气温升高，冰层融化，这种重要的海洋食物供应是否会减少。 And they're using another scientific tool. (Oh, this is fantastic.) The social, intelligent giants work together to catch krill inside a net of bubbles. As well as recording their behaviour, scientists use the drone to work out the whale's weight. (Some populations around the world are getting skinny because they're not getting enough to eat because of climate change impacts. ) 它们还使用了另一种科学工具。(哦，这真是太棒了！）这些会社交、有智慧的巨鲸一起在气泡网中捕捉磷虾。除了记录它们的行为，科学家们还用无人机计算鲸鱼的体重。(由于气候变化的影响，鲸鱼吃不饱，因此全球有些鲸鱼种群正越变越瘦。） (Juvie's coming up on the left, mum's pooping.) One quick health check on this environment is to examine what's coming out of the animals that depend on krill. (Liquid gold! Is that what I think it is? It is exactly what you think it is and it smells exactly like you think it would. It's whale poo. Whale poo, yeah. ) (小家伙在左边，妈妈在排便。）要对这一环境进行快速的健康检查，可以检查一下以磷虾为生的动物体内排出了什么。(液体黄金！是我想的那样吗？和你想的一模一样，闻起来也和你想的一样。这是鲸鱼的便便。） By keeping a check on its gigantic residence, researchers hope to understand how to protect this fragile wilderness for all the wildlife here. 研究人员希望通过对其巨大的住所进行检查，了解如何为这里的所有野生动物保护这片脆弱的荒野 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Culture World in a dish 文化的盘中世界 A moveable feast A new book celebrates Chinese food's spread and savour. 流动的盛宴 一本赞美中国菜传播和美味的新书。 About a decade ago, this correspondent attended a banquet in Guangzhou. The bird's nest soup was gentle and slithery, the sea cucumber rich and gelatinous and the fish sparklingly fresh and perfectly steamed. The most memorable dish, however, was the plain white cup of broth served at the end. Made from chicken, probably with ham and dried scallop as well, it was simple, austere and perfect. 大约十年前，记者在广州参加了一个宴会。燕窝汤温和而滑腻，海参丰富而胶状，鱼闪闪发光、新鲜而且蒸得恰到好处。然而，最令人难忘的一道菜是最后端上来的一杯白色的肉汤。由鸡肉制成，可能还有火腿和干扇贝，简单、朴素、完美。 Ending a banquet with soup may seem odd to Westerners, accustomed as they are to sweets at a meal's close. But, as Fuchsia Dunlop, an English food writer, explains in an authoritative new book, stock is a unique, intrinsic expression of a chef's art, much as a voice is for a singer. And the "transparent, almost invisible soup…in its quiet golden, ineffable loveliness" is an ideal conclusion to a banquet, with its opulence and strong flavours. 对于西方人来说，以汤来结束宴会似乎有些奇怪，因为他们习惯于在用餐结束时吃甜食。但是，正如英国美食作家福夏·邓洛普在一本权威新书中解释的那样，高汤是厨艺的一种独特的内在表达，就像声音对于歌手一样。“透明的，几乎看不见的汤…在它安静的金色中，不可言喻的可爱”是一个宴会的理想结尾，有着丰富和浓郁的味道。 "Invitation to a Banquet" is Ms Dunlop's seventh book. Unlike those for which she is best known, including "The Food of Sichuan" and "Revolutionary Kitchen" (about Hunanese cuisine), this is not a cookbook. Instead, she has chosen 30 dishes and used each to illuminate different aspects of Chinese cuisine-and, in turn, Chinese life and history. This is less of a departure for Ms Dunlop than it seems. Like other outsiders who spend their lives focused on a foreign cuisine-as Diana Kennedy, an English food writer, did in Mexico, or Paula Wolfert, an American, did in the Middle East-she is more a gatherer than an inventor of recipes. Ms Dunlop's well-researched cookbooks read as mini-ethnographies. 《宴会的邀请》是邓洛普女士的第七本书。不像她最著名的书，包括《川菜》和《革命厨房》（关于湘菜），这不是一本烹饪书。相反，她选择了30道菜，用每一道菜来展示中国烹饪的不同方面，进而展示中国的生活和历史。对邓洛普来说，这并不像看上去那样是离经叛道的行为。像其他致力于外国美食的外来者一样——如英国美食作家戴安娜·肯尼迪在墨西哥所做的，或美国人保拉·沃尔弗特在中东所做的——与其说她是食谱的发明者，不如说她是收集者。邓洛普女士精心研究的烹饪书读起来像是迷你民族志。 Readers will not learn how to make braised pomelo pith with shrimp eggs but how and why Chinese chefs have long prized unusual (and to Western palates, sometimes off-putting) ingredients, such as the bitter pith of a giant citrus fruit. An apparently humble, but in fact exceptionally laborious, dish of braised carp's tail is a jumping-off point for a discussion of the importance of kougan, or mouth-feel, in Chinese cuisine. 读者将学到的不是如何用虾卵烹制红烧柚子瓤，而是中国厨师如何以及为何长期以来一直珍视不寻常的（对于西方人的味觉来说有时是令人反感的）食材，如巨大柑橘类水果的苦瓤。红烧鲤鱼尾这道菜看似不起眼，实际上却异常费工，它是讨论口感在中国菜中的重要性的切入点。 Westerners, Ms Dunlop argues, "have traditionally assumed that the Chinese eat marginal animal parts out of poverty and desperation", when in fact turning up one's nose at gizzards, cartilage and jellyfish shuts the door on a range of foods that is wonderfully cui ("slippery and crunchy, often in a wet way"). 邓洛普女士认为，西方人“传统上认为中国人吃动物的边缘部分是出于贫穷和绝望”，而事实上，对胗、软骨和海蜇的嗤之以鼻，让人们对一系列奇妙的“脆”食物（"又滑又脆，通常是湿的"）望而却步。 In aggregate, Ms Dunlop makes a compelling case for the superiority of Chinese cuisine, and in a delighted and expansive rather than chauvinistic way. She shows how it has assimilated foreign influences (as other cuisines have, too), how it has changed with China's increasing wealth and how central it is to the country's intellectual and cultural history. 总之，邓洛普女士为中国菜的优越性提出了令人信服的理由，而且是以一种令人愉悦的、广阔的而非盲目爱国的方式提出的。她展示了中国菜是如何吸收外来影响的（其他菜系也是如此），中国菜是如何随着中国的日益富裕而变化的，以及中国菜在中国的思想和文化历史中是多么重要。 She makes an equally compelling case that what Westerners think of as "Chinese food", meaning what most can find at their local takeaway, is neither inauthentic nor wrong. Instead, it is a diasporic offshoot that reflects local tastes but is about as representative of the cuisine's diversity as a frozen pizza is of Italy's. Immigration and adventurousness have made the real thing more accessible than ever outside China. Eaters should savour that. 她提出了一个同样令人信服的案例，即西方人认为的“中国菜”，即大多数人在他们当地点到的外卖，并没有不正宗和不够意思。相反，它是一个散居的分支，反映了当地的口味，但与意大利的冷冻比萨饼一样代表了美食的多样性。移民和冒险精神使真正的东西比以往任何时候都更容易在中国境外找到。食客们应该好好品尝一下。 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

The school run by kids Welcome to our school. At this school in Thailand, the kids are in charge. From taking assembly at the start of the day to checking uniforms. Many of the kids who come to the Mee Chai Pattana school are from poorer backgrounds. But this school has the environment at the heart of its mission. 欢迎来到我们的学校。在泰国的这所学校里，孩子们说了算。从一天开始的集合到检查校服。Mee Chai Pattana学校的许多孩子来自贫困家庭。但这所学校的使命是保护环境。 The students pay for their education by planting 800 trees a year. They're also responsible for doing 400 hours of community service each year. Smichai Pattana School is also known as the Bamboo School because many of the school buildings are constructed from bamboo, a fast-growing plant that is common in Thailand. We don't have a janitor in our schools, so the work has to be done by the students. 学生们通过每年植树 800 棵来支付学费。此外，他们还负责每年400小时的社区服务。Smichai Pattana 学校也被称为竹子学校，因为许多学校建筑是用竹子建造的，竹子是一种在泰国很常见的快速生长的植物。我们学校没有清洁工，所以工作必须由学生来做。 The idea behind the school is to inspire a future generation of leaders. I really love it here because it's a lot of difference to other schools. It's a boarding school and it teaches me a lot of experience that I never learned before. And I meet new friends, they are all good to me. 学校的理念是激励未来一代的领导者。我非常喜欢这里，因为它与其他学校有很大不同。这是一所寄宿学校，它让我学到了很多以前从未学到过的经验。我还认识了新朋友，他们对我都很好。 So this is English classroom. While teachers are still responsible for leading the lessons, the students choose who teaches them. And decisions about rules and discipline are down to the student council. Even the school dinners are organised by the pupils, while older students serve the meals and everyone is in charge of their own washing up. Any dirt left on your plate and you're sent back to wash it again. I think I'd fit right in. My washing up skills are impeccable. 这就是英语课堂。虽然教师仍然负责授课，但由学生选择授课人。校规和纪律由学生会决定。就连学校的晚餐也是由学生组织的，高年级学生负责盛饭，每个人都负责自己的洗碗工作。如果盘子里有残留污渍，就会被送回去再洗一遍。我觉得我很适合到那里。我的洗碗技术无可挑剔。 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

In every language, there's one word which has special power over us: our name. Our senses, feelings and whole identity are closely linked to our name. Yet strangely, our name isn't usually something we choose – it's given to us by our parents. But what if the name you were given at birth doesn't fit? Maybe you simply don't like it, or maybe there are bigger reasons for wanting to change your name, reasons connected with historical injustices, or unfair events in the past. In this programme, we'll be meeting two people whose family history has caused them to consider changing their name. And, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well. Sounds good, Beth, but first I have a question for you. My name – Neil – is a British name and was given to me at birth. But names change a lot between cultures and religions. Many Muslim boys are named Mohammed, Indian boys are often called Ram or Krishna, and in Mexico, some boys are named Jesus. So according to a recent global survey, what is currently the world's most popular boys' name? Is it: a) Jesus? b) Mohammed? or, c) Noah? Hmm, I guess it's Mohammed. OK Beth, I'll reveal the answer at the end of the programme. In Britain, a person's first name is also called their Christian name, and in Christianity, many names have a religious meaning. The name John, for example, means 'God is good'. Anderson Jeremiah is the Bishop of Edmonton. He was born in South India, but he doesn't have a traditional Indian sounding name. Here, Bishop Jeremiah explains the roots of his name to BBC World Service programme, Heart and Soul: It was the name of one John Anderson. He was the first educational missionary who came and worked and set up several schools in South India, who had very noble ambitions, but also as with any missionaries, he was a big collaborator of the colonial establishment at that point in time, so he has a very a strong baggage that goes with it. So, Anderson is my Christian name, and Jeremiah is my dad's name. Bishop Anderson Jeremiah's name comes from another man, John Anderson, a Christian missionary during the British empire. The history of the British empire in India is controversial with many views on all sides. Bishop Jeremiah thinks that some of the empire's missionaries were noble, meaning admirable or morally good. But nevertheless, John Anderson was part of a violent and exploitative empire. Bishop Jeremiah uses the word baggage to describe the beliefs, especially outdated or unhelpful beliefs, which influence how people think. Emotional baggage tends to influence the feelings of one individual, while historical baggage can affect whole societies. In India, names serve an important purpose: to signify social status. Low-status Indians, including Bishop Anderson's grandparents, escaped social discrimination by converting to Christianity and taking another, Christian, name. But elsewhere in the British Empire, names were connected with something completely unchristian: slavery. Black British writer, Professor Robert Beckford, is an activist theologian at the University of Winchester. His surname – Beckford - is a slave name, passed down from his enslaved African ancestors in 18th century Jamaica. Here, Professor Beckford talks to BBC World Service programme, Heart and Soul, about his decision to name his son, Micah: My son is named Micah, Micah Beckford, after one of the prophets, so I do like the idea of people in the Biblical tradition who speak truth to power, who ruffle people's feathers, who challenge the injustice. I haven't thought of giving myself a biblical name. I could never find a name that really resonated with me. The phrase to speak truth to power describes times when people non-violently resist an oppressive force, such as a government or corporation, by telling the truth. And if you ruffle someone's feathers, you upset or annoy them. Maybe it's not so much your name, as what you do with it that counts. Anyway, it's time to reveal the answer to your question, Neil. Yes, I asked you which boys' name is currently the world's most popular, and you guessed Mohammed, which was… the correct answer! Right, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with injustice, a situation lacking fairness or justice. In British English, your Christian name is your first name, the name you were given at birth. The adjective noble means admirable or morally good. Baggage refers to beliefs and feelings, especially outdated or unhelpful ones, which influence how someone thinks. The idiom speak truth to power describes when people non-violently resist an oppressive force, such as a government or corporation, by telling the truth. And finally, to ruffle someone's feathers means to upset or annoy them. Once again, our six minutes are up, but remember to join us again next time for more trending topics and useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English. Goodbye for now! Bye! ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

A brief history to coffee Globally, over two billion cups of coffee are consumed every day. In Britain alone, we need around 95 million cups to keep us going from dawn 'til dusk. But 450 years ago, Western Europe had barely even heard of it. Coffee's roots lie in Ethiopia, where the wild plant grew. People slowly started to realise that the dried fruit, when roasted and ground, could be used to produce a beverage which was curiously addictive, and gave its drinker a bit of a buzz. 全球每天消费的咖啡超过 20 亿杯。仅在英国，我们就需要约 9500 万杯咖啡，才能从清晨一直喝到黄昏。但在 450 年前，西欧甚至还没听说过咖啡。咖啡起源于埃塞俄比亚，那里生长着一种野生植物。人们慢慢开始意识到，这种干果经烘焙和研磨后，可以用来制作一种饮料，这种饮料会让人上瘾，喝了之后还能让人兴奋。 Coffee is, let's face it, an acquired taste. Early Western drinkers were fascinated by it, recognising its potential as a drink which was ideal for business. Wine and beer were great, but they weren't always conducive to delicate negotiations which required a clear head. When Westerners brought the drink back to Britain, reactions were polarised, including one description of it as, "Pluto's diet-drink, that witches tipple out of dead men's skulls." 让我们面对现实吧，咖啡是一种后天养成的嗜好。早期的西方饮者对咖啡情有独钟，他们认识到咖啡作为一种理想的商务饮品的潜力。葡萄酒和啤酒固然不错，但它们并不总是有利于需要清醒头脑的微妙谈判。当西方人把这种饮料带回英国时，人们对它的反应两极分化，有人形容它是“冥王星的减肥饮料，巫师们从死人头骨中提取的小酒。” The first coffee house in the UK opened in Oxford in 1651, followed by London, and they quickly became sort of proto-clubs. There were coffee houses for all sorts - from bankers to merchants, literati to men about town, and they were often heavily politicised. Charles II tried to ban them for encouraging sedition. Many subscribed to journals and newspapers for their clientele and, since a dish of coffee cost only a penny, they became known as the 'penny universities'. They were, however, only for men, and coffee quickly became seen as a masculine drink. Even today, men drink more coffee than women. 英国的第一家咖啡馆于 1651 年在牛津开张，随后在伦敦开张，它们很快就成了一种原生态俱乐部。从银行家到商人，从文人雅士到市井小民，各种各样的人都有咖啡馆，而且这些咖啡馆往往被严重政治化。查理二世曾试图以煽动叛乱为由取缔咖啡馆。许多咖啡馆为顾客订阅期刊和报纸，由于一碟咖啡只需一便士，因此被称为“便士大学”。然而，这些大学只为男性开设，咖啡很快就被视为一种男性饮品。时至今日，男性喝咖啡的数量仍多于女性。 The taste still put many people off, but the British habit of drinking it with milk and sugar, like their tea, helped. By the 18th Century it was established as a part of British life, emerging out of coffee houses and into its place as an after-dinner drink. In the 19th Century coffee was still pretty bad, until the Italian invention of the espresso machine which forced pressurised water through a small amount of ground beans - a huge step forward from simply steeping coffee and filtering it, and then keeping it warm for hours until needed. Italian coffee culture, with its futuristic and gleaming coffee machines and aura of effortless cool, spread across the Western world. Their rules, well... ruled - including tenets such as never drink a cappuccino after lunch. 咖啡的味道仍然让很多人望而却步，但是英国人喝茶的习惯是加牛奶和糖，就像他们喝茶一样。到了18世纪，它已经成为英国生活的一部分，走出咖啡馆，成为餐后饮料。在19世纪，咖啡味道仍然很差，直到意大利发明了浓缩咖啡机，高压水注入少量磨碎的咖啡豆--这比简单地浸泡咖啡、过滤咖啡，然后保温数小时直至需要时才饮用的做法向前迈进了一大步。意大利的咖啡文化，以其未来主义和闪闪发光的咖啡机和毫不费力的酷光环，传播到整个西方世界。他们的规矩，呃... 规矩包括午饭后不能喝卡布奇诺。 The last 20 years have seen the rise of new types of coffee - long, flavoured American drinks, along with the Antipodean flat whites. We've also adopted a new way of drinking it. Wandering down the street coffee cup in hand is such a ubiquitous sight now that it's hard to remember this is a recent fad. It's a fundamental part of hipster identity - along with beards and vintage cardis, knowing your cold brew from your nitro is vital. Society - and coffee - have moved on a lot in 450 years. But some things haven't changed. So, here's to coffee, with a side of sedition, sociability and amazing cool. 在过去的20年里，新型咖啡兴起了——时间长、味道浓的美国饮料，还有澳大利亚的扁平白咖啡。我们还采用了一种新的饮用方式。现在，手持咖啡杯漫步街头已成为一种无处不在的景象，很难让人想起这是最近才兴起的时尚。这是潮人身份的一个基本组成部分--与胡子和复古卡其裤一样，了解冷萃氮气咖啡至关重要。450年来，社会和咖啡都发生了很大的变化。但是有些事情并没有改变。所以，为咖啡干杯，它有煽动性、社会性和惊人的酷。 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

New satellite to monitor solar storms The huge solar storm that hit Earth this month was described as the biggest in two decades. The Sun blasted intense radiation, billions of tonnes of matter and strong magnetic fields at our planet. 本月袭击地球的大型太阳风暴堪称近二十年来最大的一次。太阳向地球发射出强烈的辐射，释放出数十亿吨的物质和强磁场。 The coloured lights in the sky were spectacular, but the effects could've been much worse. Such storms can interrupt radio communications and even damage power grids, which is why the UK has been pushing its partners in the European Space Agency to build a new satellite to give earlier warnings. 这让天空中的色彩看上去十分壮观，但后果可能比想象的更严重。这种规模的太阳风暴可能会中断无线电通信，甚至会破坏电网。这就是为什么英国一直在敦促其在欧洲航天局的合作伙伴建造一颗新卫星以发出早期预警。 This spacecraft called 'Vigil' has now been ordered from Airbus UK. It'll be sent millions of miles away so it can see the side of the Sun that's about to rotate into view of the Earth. This'll give forecasters a further three to four days' notice of trouble that could be coming our way. 这艘名为 “Vigil（警戒）” 的航天器现已由空中客车英国公司接单制造。它将被送往数百万英里之外，以便能够看到太阳即将旋转面对地球的那一面。这将使天文预报人员能提前三到四天预知可能要发生的麻烦。 词汇表 solar storm 太阳风暴 blasted （爆炸）发射出 radiation 辐射 matter 物质 magnetic fields 磁场 interrupt 中断、干扰 power grids 电网 spacecraft 航天器 rotate 旋转 forecasters 预报人员 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

​How sponge cities could prevent floods Devastating floods are becoming more and more common around the world. The warming climate is leading to heavier rainfall, but could the way that cities are growing be making things worse? Could we design cities in a different way to reduce the risk of flooding? 毁灭性的洪水在世界各地越来越常见。气候变暖导致降雨量增加，但城市的发展方式是否会使情况变得更糟？我们能否以不同的方式设计城市，以降低洪水风险？ As cities expand, and more and more land is underneath concrete or paving, less water is absorbed and more needs to be channelled away by storm drains and sewerage systems. As they become overwhelmed by the volume of water, the risk of flash flooding increases. Could it be that we've been taking the wrong approach? 随着城市的扩张，越来越多的土地被混凝土或铺路覆盖，吸水能力下降，更多的水需要通过雨水渠和下水道系统排走。当雨水管道和下水道系统不堪水量重负时，山洪暴发的风险就会增加。这会不会是因为我们采取了错误的方法？ Chinese landscape architect Yu Kongjian certainly thinks so. In 2013, he proposed the concept of 'sponge cities', which are designed to soak up water – like a sponge – reducing the risk of sudden floods. Natural solutions are encouraged, using riverside parks and ponds to absorb floodwater. 中国景观设计师俞孔坚当然也这么认为。2013 年，他提出了“海绵城市”的概念。“海绵城市”的设计理念是像海绵一样吸收水分，从而降低突发洪水的风险。他鼓励采用自然解决方案，利用河滨公园和池塘吸收洪水。 Approaches inspired by this have been taken by cities across the world. Auckland, in New Zealand, was named the spongiest city in one study. It has replaced the concrete culverts around the Oakley creek stream with green banks and connected parks. This has reduced flooding in the nearby residential areas as well as the amount of associated contamination which used to be washed into the sea. 受此启发的方法已被世界各地的城市采用。在一项研究中，新西兰的奥克兰被评为“最海绵的城市”。它用绿色的河岸和相连的公园取代了奥克利溪流周围的混凝土暗渠。这减少了附近居民区的洪水，也减少了过去被冲入大海的相关污染物的数量。 Auckland has taken a natural approach, but a much more high-tech method can be seen in Amsterdam. The Dutch city has installed blue-green roofs on a number of buildings. These roofs have a layer of plants on the outside, and then layers underneath which collect and store rainwater. This water can be used by people in the building below to water plants or flush toilets. Sophisticated software can even tell the roofs to release water ahead of upcoming storms to maximise the system's ability to soak up rainwater. It can even identify which areas of the city are at most risk and tailor the response accordingly. 奥克兰采用的是自然方法，但在阿姆斯特丹可以看到更高科技的方法。荷兰阿姆斯特丹市在许多建筑物上安装了蓝绿色屋顶。这些屋顶外面种了一层植物，下面几层则收集和储存雨水。这些水可以被下面建筑中的人们用来浇灌植物或冲洗厕所。先进的软件甚至可以告诉屋顶在暴风雨来临之前提前放水，以最大限度地提高系统吸收雨水的能力。它甚至还能识别城市中哪些地区的风险最大，并据此调整应对措施。 Yu Kongjian describes the sponge city approach as using Tai Chi with nature instead of boxing. Questions have been raised as to whether a natural approach is sufficient when faced with increased rain fall globally. What remains to be seen is whether increased scale and combination with modern technology can help natural methods save many more people from flooding. 俞孔坚将海绵城市的做法描述为用太极与自然的结合，而非拳击。面对全球降雨量的增加，人们不禁要问，自然方法是否足够？增加规模和结合现代技术是否能助力自然方法拯救更多的人免遭洪灾，这仍有待观察。 词汇表 concrete 混凝土 paving 铺路的材料 channel away 疏导，排出 storm drain 雨水渠 sewerage system 下水道系统 overwhelmed 被淹没的 flash flooding 突发性洪水 landscape architect 景观设计师 soak up 吸收，吸掉（液体） absorb （逐渐）吸收 floodwater 内涝积水，洪水 culvert 地下排水管道 bank 堤岸 wash into 冲入 blue-green roof 种有绿色植物、有助于管理雨水的 “蓝绿色屋顶” ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Taylor Swift Eras Tour: Swifties react to 'amazing' Eras Tour concert in Edinburgh Hey Newsrounds, I'm Kyrie and I'm about to watch Taylor Swift! I live in Edinburgh and it's the first time that Taylor Swift has played a show here. Hi Newsrounds! I'm so excited. But first, let's rewind. 嘿，Newsrounds，我是凯里，我即将观看泰勒·斯威夫特的演出！我住在爱丁堡，这是泰勒·斯威夫特第一次在这里演出。嗨，Newsrounds！我太激动了，但首先，让我们倒带。 Hey, come in. To prepare for tonight, I've been camping outside Murrayfield Stadium, listening to her albums all day, trading bracelets with people. These are my favorite bracelets because this one's fearless, and my favorite album's fearless. And this one, I love this one so much because of all the beads, and this one's folklore. Anyway, it's nearly showtime, and I need to make sure I'm ready for it. 嘿，请进。为了准备今晚的演出，我一直在默里菲尔德体育场外露营，整天听她的专辑，和人们交换手镯。这些是我最喜欢的手镯，因为这个是《fearless》，我最喜欢的专辑《fearless》。还有这个，我非常喜欢这个，因为所有的珠子，还有这个的《folklore》。不管怎样，快到演出时间了，我得确保自己准备好了。 But before we head in, I'm speaking to another Swifty who's already been lucky enough to see the Eras Tour. Hey Nina, can you describe the Errors Tour in three words? Incredible, magical and loud. What was your favourite memory from the Eras Tour? Probably actually the very beginning, when you got revealed from this platform in the middle of the stage. It was just great. 但在我们开始之前，我正在与另一位霉粉交谈，她已经有幸观看了时代巡演。嘿，妮娜，你能用三个词来形容时代之旅吗？不可思议，神奇而响亮。在时代巡演中，你最喜欢的记忆是什么？可能实际上是最开始的时候，当你在舞台中间从这个平台上被揭示出来的时候。简直太棒了。 Let's hear what everyone else thought of the show. Did you have a good time? Yeah, it was amazing, I loved it. What was your favourite bit in the Aerostorm? Definitely when she started to sing Torture Poets Department, that's my favourite album. I really loved the reputation. When Taylor played piano. I like piano because I also play piano. Could you tell us a bit more about your bracelet? Yeah, so actually I've made quite a lot for tonight and I've made some lots for care homes too. So I've went to a couple this week and I'm going to some more next week. That's so cool. Would you like to trade bracelets? Of course. Fearless. Thank you so much. Fearless is my favourite album. 让我们听听大家对演出的看法。玩得开心吗？是的，非常棒，我很喜欢。你最喜欢 Aerostorm 的哪一段？肯定是她开始唱《Torture Poets Department》的时候，那是我最喜欢的专辑。我真的很喜欢《reputation》。泰勒弹钢琴的时候。我喜欢钢琴，因为我也弹钢琴。能跟我们说说你的手链吗？是的，实际上我为今晚做了很多，也为护理院做了很多。这周我去了几家，下周还要去几家。太酷了。你想交换手链吗？当然。《fearless》。非常感谢《fearless》是我最喜欢的专辑 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】