The history of the universe Our Universe was created about 13.8 billion years ago in the Big Bang. At first, it was very simple, consisting of little more than hydrogen and helium and lots of energy. There were no stars or galaxies, no planets and certainly no living creatures. Then, gradually, more complex things appeared. 我们的宇宙产生于大约138亿年前的大爆炸。起初，它非常简单，仅由氢和氦以及大量能量组成。没有恒星或星系，没有行星，当然也没有生物。然后，渐渐的，更复杂的事物出现了。 The first stars and galaxies probably appeared within about 200 million years of the Big Bang. As big stars lived and died, they blew up and created new elements. Those new elements allowed the creation of new materials such as the dust and ice and rocks and minerals from which planets are made. 第一批恒星和星系可能出现在宇宙大爆炸后的大约 2 亿年内。随着大恒星的生灭，它们爆炸并产生了新元素。这些新元素产生了新的物质，如尘埃、冰、岩石和矿物，行星就是由这些物质构成的。 Our Sun and solar system appeared about 4.5 billion years ago, and by 4 billion years ago, it's likely that life had emerged on Earth. Life evolved and diversified but most of it consisted of tiny, single-celled organisms until, about 1 billion years ago, the first many-celled organisms appeared. From about five hundred million years ago, big creatures became much more common, from trilobites to trees to tyrannosaurus rex. 我们的太阳和太阳系大约在45亿年前出现，到40亿年前，地球上很可能已经出现了生命。生命不断进化和多样化，但其中大部分由微小的单细胞生物组成，直到大约10亿年前，第一批多细胞生物出现。从大约五亿年前开始，从三叶虫到树木再到霸王龙，大型生物变得更加普遍。 The first humans evolved very recently, just about 200,000 years ago. Though it wasn't obvious at the time, the appearance of humans turned out to be hugely important because humans were able to share ideas and information better than any other species that ever existed. Using that ability, our ancestors gradually built up stores of information that allowed them to control their environments more and more powerfully. 第一批人类进化得非常晚，大约20万年前。尽管当时并不明显，但人类的出现被证明是非常重要的，因为人类能够比任何其他物种更好地分享思想和信息。利用这种能力，我们的祖先逐渐建立起信息储存库，使他们能够越来越有力地掌控环境。 The process accelerated until, in just the last 100 years, we have become so powerful that what we do in the next few decades will determine the future of the oceans, the climate, and of most other species on Earth, including our own descendants. Many scholars believe that this represents a new geological epoch. The Anthropocene. In the last 50 years, we humans have begun to control energy and resources on such a vast scale that we are transforming the land, the seas and the atmosphere of the Earth. 这个过程不断加速，直到在过去的短短 100 年里，我们变得如此强大，以至于我们在未来几十年的所作所为将决定海洋、气候和地球上大多数其他物种（包括我们自己的后代）的未来。许多学者认为，这代表了一个新的地质时代。人类世。在过去的 50 年里，我们人类开始大规模地控制能源和资源，我们正在改变地球的陆地、海洋和大气。 So, planet Earth is at a turning point in its history. Humans, now the dominant species, will either lead the biosphere towards a flourishing future, or to catastrophe. Perhaps triggered by nuclear wars that could ruin swathes of the planet in just a few hours, or caused more slowly by the continued release of greenhouse gases until the land is flooded and global climates are too hot to grow enough food. This is a very, very big deal. Never before has a single species determined the future of the entire biosphere. 因此，地球正处于其历史的转折点。人类，这个现在占主导地位的物种，要么带领生物圈走向繁荣的未来，要么走向灾难。也许核战争会在几小时内毁掉地球上的大片土地，也许温室气体的持续释放会导致更缓慢的灾难，直到土地被淹没，以及全球气候太热，无法种植足够的食物。 这是一个非常非常大的问题。在此之前，从来没有一个物种能决定整个生物圈的未来。 The good news is that we understand the science, and we already have many of the technologies needed to build a sustainable future. What's missing now is the political technology. How can governments and peoples be encouraged to see the challenges that they all share, rather than simply defending their own local and immediate interests? Only by collaboration can we avoid the many dangers we face today. Can we steer planet Earth towards a prosperous future in which humans and all the other organisms on which we depend can flourish for thousands, even perhaps, for millions of years into the future? 好消息是，我们了解科学，我们已经拥有了许多建立可持续未来所需的技术。现在缺少的是政治技术。怎样才能鼓励政府和人民看到他们共同面临的挑战，而不仅仅是捍卫自己的地方和眼前利益？只有通过合作，我们才能避免我们今天面临的许多风险。我们能否引导地球走向一个繁荣的未来，使人类和我们赖以生存的所有其他生物在未来几千年，甚至几百万年里都能繁荣昌盛? 词汇表 Big Bang 宇宙起源的大爆炸(学说) hydrogen and helium 氢和氦：为宇宙最早元素，为恒星核聚变之源。 galaxy, star and planet 星系，恒星，行星 single-celled organisms 单细胞生物：包括细菌、藻类和原生动物等。 blow up 爆炸，爆发 trilobite [古生物] 三叶虫 tyrannosaurus rex 暴龙，霸王龙 stores of information 信息库，信息存储 geological epoch 地质时代：通常是数百万年到数千万年的时间跨度，用于描述地球历史上的重要事件和生物演化。 Anthropocene 人类世：人类自工业革命以来的活动对环境的影响可成立一个新地质时代的理论 on a vast scale 大幅度地，大规模地 dominant species 优势物种：通常对其他物种具有主导影响力或占据更多的生物量。 biosphere 生物界，生物圈 flourishing/prosperous 繁荣昌盛的，蓬勃发展的 catastrophe 大灾难，打灾祸 swathes of 大片的，大量的 immediate interests 切身利益，眼前利益 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Roadrunner's Race Against Time The great American deserts cover over two-and-a-half million square kilometres. Here, roasted by the sun and blasted by the wind, the rocks disintegrate and mountains, particle by particle, are reduced to sand. 美洲大沙漠的面积超过 250 万平方公里。在这里，经过太阳的炙烤和狂风的吹袭，岩石崩裂，山峦化为了一粒一粒的沙土。 These pillars are all that remain of a plateau where dinosaurs once roamed. Few animals can now survive here. In summer, as in all deserts, the enemy is heat. And it returns every day. At seven in the morning, the temperature is already 25 degrees Celsius. 这些石柱是恐龙曾经出没的高原仅存的遗迹。现在很少有动物能在这里生存。在夏天，就像在所有的沙漠一样，炎热是敌人。且每天往复。早上7点，气温已经达到25摄氏度。 The clock is ticking for one unusual descendant of the dinosaurs. A roadrunner, found only in the deserts of North America. Built for a life on the ground. He can run at over 30km an hour, but the prey he seeks are one step ahead. 对于一种不寻常的恐龙后代来说，时间正在流逝。他是走鹃，只能在北美的沙漠中找到。在地面上生活。他能以每小时超过30公里的速度奔跑，但他寻找的猎物却领先一步。 The roadrunner's challenge is picking the right target. A Gila Monster — too big. By mid-morning, it will be 40 degrees Celsius. Even the smallest lizards will soon head for cover. A centipede, slim pickings for a morning's work. 走鹃的挑战是选择正确的目标。毒蜥对他来说太大了。到上午10点左右，气温将达到40摄氏度。即使是最小的蜥蜴也会迅速寻找阴蔽之处。忙活一上午，也只收获了一只蜈蚣。 Hunting should get easier and prey will stay out longer once the summer's peak begins to fade. 一旦夏季的高温开始消退，狩猎应该会变得更容易，猎物也会停留更长时间。 词汇表 great American desert 美洲大沙漠：旧地理名称，原指北美、包括大平原地区在内的广袤半干旱地域。 roast 炙烤，暴露在太阳下使受热发烫 blast 吹袭， 喷射 (水流或气流) disintegrate 破裂，粉碎，瓦解 remain 遗迹，剩余物 plateau 高原 roam 出没，漫步，闲逛 clock is ticking 时间紧迫，时间流逝 descendant 后代，子孙 roadrunner 走鹃（杜鹃属，见于北美） prey 猎物，捕获物 one step ahead 领先一步，保持稍弱优势 Gila Monster 毒蜥（多出现在美国西南部沙漠） slim pickings 收获甚微，选择很少 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Streetlights linked to insect decline There’s growing alarm over plunging insect populations with climate change, habitat destruction and pesticides all thought to play a role. But now, scientists say there’s another culprit: artificial streetlights. 人们对昆虫数量的锐减愈发感到担忧，气候变化、栖息地被破坏和杀虫剂的使用都被认为是造成这一现状的因素。但现在，科学家指出还有另一个原因——人造路灯。 Researchers from the charity Butterfly Conservation counted caterpillars at the sides of brightly lit roads. Compared with similar stretches of unlit roads, caterpillar numbers were reduced by half, suggesting streetlights can affect the abundance of insects – at least on a local scale. 慈善机构蝴蝶保护委员会的研究人员在灯光明亮的道路两旁清点了毛虫的数量。与没有照明的类似路段相比，毛虫数量少了一半，这表明路灯可以影响昆虫数量是否充足，至少在当地范围内是如此。 The scientists say with insects in trouble, we should be doing all we can to reduce negative influences. But there are practical solutions such as dimming streetlights in the early hours, installing motion sensors, or using colour filters to modify the light. 科学家指出，由于昆虫陷入了生存困境，我们应竭尽所能减少对它们的负面影响。但同时，也存在一些切实可行的解决方案，比如在凌晨调暗路灯的灯光、安装运动传感器或使用彩色滤光片来改变光线。 词汇表 plunging 锐减 culprit 起因，罪魁祸首 artificial 人造的 streetlights 路灯，街灯 caterpillars 毛虫，蝶或蛾类昆虫的幼虫 stretches 路段 unlit 没有灯的，灯没有开的 abundance 大量，充足 dimming 调暗 installing 安装 motion sensors 运动传感器 filters 过滤器，此处指滤光片 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Is listening to a book better than reading it? Picture yourself sitting at home in a quiet reading nook, ignoring the world around you, engrossed in a tale. You read the blurb, instantly became intrigued and now you're in the middle of an absolute page-turner. But, there's a hot debate – physical books vs. e-books vs. audiobooks. Does the device you're using to read affect your reaction to the book? 想象一下，你坐在家中安静的阅读角落，无视周围的世界，全神贯注地阅读着一个故事。你看了简介，立刻就被吸引住了，现在你正沉浸在一个绝对令人目不暇接的故事中。但是，现在有一个热门话题——实体书与电子书、有声书之争。你使用的阅读设备会影响你对书的反应吗？ Generally, reading uses several areas of the brain. There's attention span, reasoning, reading fluency, memory and language comprehension. Reading is known to strengthen communicative ability, vocabulary and increase emotional intelligence and social perception. So, whichever way you're reading, there are definitely benefits. 一般来说，阅读会用到大脑的多个区域。包括注意力、推理能力、阅读流畅性、记忆力和语言理解能力。众所周知，阅读可以增强交流能力、词汇量，提高情商和社会感知力。因此，无论你以哪种方式阅读，肯定都有好处。 But, let's look at the pros to reading with your eyes – that's physical books and e-books. They can help to retain information better. This is because when you can actually see the words, your attention is held more closely. Add to this the fact that with physical books you can go back and find any part you missed, especially if your mind wanders, which it likely will at some point or other. 但是，让我们看看用眼睛阅读的好处——那就是实体书和电子书。它们可以帮助更好地保留信息。这是因为当你真正看到单词时，你的注意力会被更牢牢地抓住。此外，对于实体书来说，你还可以回过头来查找遗漏的部分，尤其是当你的思绪游离的时候，而这很可能会在某些时候发生。 On the other hand, there's the audiobook. Headphones in, you're switched off from life and the story really comes alive, almost like watching a film – in your head. From a scientific perspective, listening to an audiobook is likely to help you develop a greater sense of empathy as you hear the emotion of the narrator. We can more easily understand inflection and intonation. Hearing the story engages different parts of the brain, heightening the intensity and imagery, making you enjoy it more. Yet, going back to attention span, with an audiobook it's true that it's much harder to go back and listen again. 另一方面，还有有声读物。戴上耳机，你就会从生活中解脱出来，故事也就真正鲜活起来，就像在脑海中看电影一样。从科学的角度来看，听有声读物很可能会让你产生更多的共鸣，因为你能听到讲述者的情感。我们可以更容易地理解语气和语调。听故事可以调动大脑的不同部分，增强故事的强度和想象力，让你更喜欢听故事。然而，回到注意力集中的问题上，有声读物确实更难让人回过头来再听一遍。 All in all, it seems that there are advantages to both physical books and audiobooks. Perhaps, next time you find yourself browsing bookshop shelves, also consider the format. It may just change your whole literary experience. 总而言之，实体书和有声读物似乎都有优势。也许，下次你发现自己浏览书店的书架时，也要考虑一下阅读格式。它可能只是改变了你的整个文学体验。 词汇表 reading nook 读书角 engrossed 全神贯注的，专心致志的 tale 故事 blurb 简介 page-turner 令人爱不释手的书 e-book 电子书籍 audiobook 有声读物 attention span 注意力的持续时间，注意广度 fluency 流畅度 emotional intelligence 情商 social perception 社会知觉 retain 记住 attention is held 注意力集中 wander 走神，开小差 come alive 变得有趣，显得逼真 narrator 讲述者 inflection 音调变化 intonation 语调 imagery 意象，比喻 browse 随意看，浏览 bookshop shelves 书店的书架 literary 文学的 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Culture Johnson 文艺版块 约翰逊专栏 Talk with the hand 用手交谈 A new book shows that gestures are a subtle and vital form of communication. 一本新书展现手势是一种微妙而重要的交流方式。 "Tie an italian's hands behind his back," runs an old joke, "and he'll be speechless." The gag rests on a national stereotype: Italians are voluble and emotional, and all that arm-waggling supposedly goes to prove it. Susan Goldin-Meadow of the University of Chicago has a rather different view. Emotions come out in lots of ways: facial expressions, posture, tone of voice and so on. But people are doing something different when they use gestures with speech, which she sums up in the title of her new book, "Thinking With Your Hands". It is a masterly tour through a lifetime's research. “把一个意大利人的手绑在背后,”一个老笑话这样说道，“他会说不出话来的。”这个笑话基于一个国家的刻板印象: 意大利人口若悬河，情绪化，所有这些摇摆手臂的举动都可以证明这一点。芝加哥大学的苏珊·戈尔丁-梅多有不同的看法。表达情绪的方式有很多: 面部表情、姿势、语调等等。但当人们在说话时使用手势时，他们做的事情是不同的，她在新书《用手思考》的书名中总结了这一点。这本书是她毕生研究成果的精湛之作。 Virtually everyone gestures, not just Italians. Experimental subjects, told after a research session that they were being watched for gestures, apologise for not having made any-but were doing so the entire time. Conference interpreters gesture in their little booths, though no one is looking. People born blind gesture when they speak, including to each other. A woman born without arms but with "phantom limb syndrome" describes how she uses her phantom arms when she talks-but not when she walks. All this suggests that cognition is, to some extent, "embodied"; thinking is not all done in your head. The gesture under discussion here is mostly the "co-speech" kind. It is much more abstract than mime (in which exaggerated acting tells a story). Nor are these "emblematic" gestures like a thumbs-up or a finger over the lips for "Silence!" Like words, those are fixed within cultures (but vary between them). Instead, gestures that accompany speech are a second channel of information. Subjects watch a film in which a cat runs but are told to lie and say it jumped. They do so in words-while their hands make a running motion. People who say they believe in sexual equality but gesture with their hands lower when talking about women are not indicating women's shorter stature; they can be shown to have biases of which they may be unaware. Gesture is also not sign language. Sign languages have clearly defined words and grammar, and differ from place to place just as spoken ones do. Professor Goldin-Meadow spends a lot of time on homesign-systems of signs typically developed by deaf children in hearing families who are not exposed to (and so never learn) a conventional sign language. Such children are essentially inventing rough but rich languages out of nothing, with features such as fixed word order and hierarchical grammatical structures much like those in fully fledged languages. Such homesign systems far outstrip their parents' gestures; a parent's raised finger meaning "Wait" may be adopted by a child to connote events in the future. Returning to conventional gesture, the author keeps her focus on child development. Some students who fail at a tricky mathematics problem may gesture in a way that indicates they are on the verge of getting it; they should be taught differently from the ones whose gestures suggest that they are entirely at sea. Children who still use only one word at a time may combine a word and a gesture; this successfully predicts that two-word phrases ("Give ball") are just around the corner. And those taught to move their hands about when discussing a moral quandary with several perspectives soon start to see the problem from different points of view. All this is rounded out in a final section offering practical advice. Teachers are encouraged both to use gestures themselves and to observe those their students make. Parents are taught to fill in the word a child is most likely to be missing when they gesture ("That's a dog") rather than adding information ("That's a fluffy one"). Children with language delays caused by brain injuries at or around birth, but who nonetheless gesture as much as their peers, are likely to catch up verbally by the age of about 30 months. Those who gesture less are more likely to need intensive early intervention. Children with Down's syndrome may express themselves better when taught to use a mix of gesture and speech rather than speech alone. Psychotherapists can be trained to look out for gestures hinting that patients are thinking something they are not yet ready to say. In "The Crown", Lady Diana is warned that her hands may betray her real emotions, which could be dangerous; they are tied together so she can learn to speak without gesticulating. No one who reads this book could ever again think that gesturing shows only a lack of control. It is about thinking and communication, and is a sophisticated aid to both. ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

The History of Hip Hop What do Dave, Nicki Minaj and Drake all have in common? They're all considered hip-hop artists, but the groundbreaking genre has been 50 years in the making. But wait, what exactly is hip-hop? Dave、Nicki Minaj 和 Drake 有什么共同点？他们都被认为是嘻哈艺术家，但这种开创性的流派已经酝酿了50年。但是等等，到底什么是嘻哈音乐？ Typically, hip-hop can be characterized as music with artists rapping, talking and sometimes even singing over a beat. Something similar to this. So, we know what it is, but where did it start? Let's go back in time all the way back to the 70s. 通常，嘻哈音乐可以被描述为一种音乐，艺术家们随着节拍说唱、交谈，有时甚至唱歌。类似于这个。我们知道它是什么，但它是什么时候开始的呢？让我们回到70年代。 Wait, where have I ended up? What? America? One of the poorest parts of New York, the Bronx had a lot of problems, including fighting between gangs. People needed an escape and they found it through music and parties. One of these parties in particular is widely thought to be the start of what we now know as hip-hop. 等等，我到哪儿啦？哪一个？美国？布朗克斯是纽约最贫穷的地区之一，问题很多，包括帮派之间的争斗。人们需要逃避，他们通过音乐和派对找到了出路。其中一个派对被广泛认为是 我们现在所知的嘻哈音乐的开端。 This man, called DJ Cool Herc, was playing at a party in building 1520 Sedgwick Avenue on August 11th, 1973. DJs back then used turntables to play music using vinyls, which is like a big CD. DJ Cool Bill Herc was different in that he was one of the first to use two at once and focus on playing the section of songs without words. Having two meant the music, and the party, never stopped. And this became the basis of hip-hop. 1973年8月11日，这个名叫 DJ Cool Herc 的人在塞奇威克大道1520号大楼的一个派对上表演。当时的 DJ 使用唱盘播放音乐，唱盘就像一张大 CD。DJ Cool Bill Herc 的与众不同之处在于，他是第一批同时使用两台唱机并专注于播放无词歌曲的人之一。有了这两台设备，就意味着音乐和派对永不停歇。这也成为嘻哈音乐的基础。 But since then it's grown into a massive multi-billion dollar industry, influencing everything from culture, to language, to fashion. It's also created some pretty big legends. Artists such as Jay-Z and Diddy are considered as hip-hop's first billionaires. Artists like Missy Elliott and Outkast are considered as some of hip-hop's most creative and trailblazing artists. 但从那以后，它已经发展成为一个价值数十亿美元的庞大产业，影响着从文化、语言到时尚的方方面面。它也创造了一些相当大的传奇。像Jay-Z和Diddy这样的艺术家被认为是嘻哈界的第一批亿万富翁。像Missy Elliott和Outkast这样的艺术家被认为是嘻哈界最具创造力和开拓性的艺术家。 But hip-hop is more than just an American scene. The genre has grown so big that it's inspired genres and artists all around the world. Think of your Stormzy's, your Little Sims and even Ed Sheeran. All have been inspired and shaped by hip-hop in some way. And to think, all of this started with a guy and two turntables. Imagine if he had three. 但是，嘻哈音乐不仅仅是美国的一个场景。这一流派已经发展得如此之大，以至于启发了世界各地的流派和艺术家。想想你的Stormzy's、Little Sims）甚至Ed Sheeran。他们都在某种程度上受到了嘻哈音乐的启发和影响。想想看，这一切都源于一个人和两台唱机。想象一下，如果他有三台转台，那将会是怎样的一番景象。 词汇表 groundbreaking 全新的，开创性的 genre (文艺作品的) 类型，流派 gang （青少年的）帮派，团伙；犯罪团伙 turntable （留声机、电唱机的）转盘，唱盘 trailblazing 开创性的，开拓性的 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Ecotourism: good or bad? Nowadays, the word 'safari' is often used negatively. For many people, the idea of killing animals for sport is unacceptable. As the popularity of hunting declines, safaris are swapping their guns for cameras, offering tourists the chance to photograph wild animals in their natural habitat. In recent years, nature and wildlife tourism, also called ecotourism, has grown massively. But the story is complex. While money from ecotourism is supposed to support threatened wildlife and traditional local cultures, the reality is sometimes different. In this programme, we'll be asking: is ecotourism good or bad? And, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well. Most tourists on safari are looking for 'the big five', the name given to Africa's most iconic large animals. But which animals are 'the big five'? Is it: a) the lion, leopard, giraffe, baboon and buffalo; b) the lion, leopard, tiger, elephant and buffalo or c) the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and buffalo? I guess it's a) the lion, leopard, giraffe, baboon and buffalo. The balance between the good and bad things ecotourism can bring is well understood by Vicky Smith, whose website, Earth Changes, matches ecotourists with environmentally-friendly travel companies. Here is Vicky talking with BBC Radio 4 programme, Costing the Earth. Just because tourism is nature-based, it doesn't mean to say it's necessarily responsible or sustainable. So, there's a lot of animal activities in tourism that we know which are, you know, highly irresponsible and unsustainable, like a performing whale and dolphin shows, or swimming with dolphins, elephant-riding, tiger selfies where the tigers are drugged. Genuine ecotourism is sustainable – designed to continue at a steady level which does not damage the environment. Not every travel company which calls themselves eco-friendly acts sustainably, and may still advertise irresponsible tourist activities, including tiger selfies – having your photo taken with a captive wild tiger. There are two requirements travel companies should meet to qualify as genuine ecotourism. First, tourists' main motivation should be to appreciate and observe the natural world without interfering, and second, the money they spend should support traditional communities. Clearly, having your photograph taken with a chained and drugged tiger does not meet these requirements. But not all companies claiming to be ecotourism behave so irresponsibly. According to Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent, who runs small scale wildlife expeditions to some of the most remote places on Earth, it's possible to put travel companies on a sliding scale from good to bad. On BBC Radio 4's programme, Costing the Earth, Antonia discussed her work in Tajikistan, a country where ecotourism is making a positive impact on both animal and human communities. At the other end of the scale is Tajikistan, where I work a lot, which gets less than two dozen wildlife tourists a year, and the money these visitors bring is essential to the conservation work that grassroots NGOs are doing. So those few tourists… their money goes a very long way and the animals people are looking at… snow leopards, rare mountain ungulates like Bukharan markhor, they are being observed from a distance, their behaviour is not being affected in any way, and the local communities are genuinely benefiting. Antonia uses the phrase at the other end of the scale as a way of contrasting irresponsible tourist companies with what's happening in Tajikistan. There, animals including snow leopards and mountain ungulates, are being protected by ecotourist projects run by non-governmental organisations, or NGOs - organizations trying to achieve environmental or social aims outside of government control. These NGOs are grassroots organisations meaning that they are run from the bottom up, by ordinary people rather than leaders. Despite getting very few ecotourists a year, the money they spend in Tajikistan goes a long way, in other words, the money is an important factor in achieving their goals, which in Tajikistan at least, means protecting rare wild animals. Ecotourism – travel to places of natural beauty where the tourists' motivation is to appreciate nature and support the local culture. The adjective sustainable describes actions designed to continue at a steady level so as not to damage the environment. A tiger selfie means having your photo taken with a captive wild tiger, not something to be advised! The phrase at the other end of the scale is similar in meaning to the phrase, 'by contrast'. A grassroots NGO is a non-governmental organisation which tries to achieve its aims through the actions of local ordinary people rather than leaders. And finally, if something goes a long way towards a certain goal, it's an important factor in achieving that goal. ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Could our society survive without the state? Could we survive without rulers? Without the state? 没有统治者、没有国家，我们能生存吗？ We have survived for centuries despite them and they're destructive wars and stifling oppression. Crippling taxes suck half our wealth away, sprinkling just a fraction back. 尽管统治者和国家已存在几个世纪，我们仍然身处破坏性的战争和令人窒息的压迫中。沉重的税收吸走了我们一半的财富，只剩下一小部分。 It has been done before. Archaeology shows some of our ancestors living in peace for a few thousand years before armed rulers appear on the scene. Not in caves, but in cities with tens of thousands enjoying civilisation we would recognise. 以前也有人这样做过。考古学表明，在武装统治者出现之前，我们的一些祖先和平地生活了几千年。不是在洞穴里，而是在城市里，成千上万的人享受着我们所认识的文明。 What would life be like without the state? Less complicated, divisive and confusing for a start. Poverty would be slashed with half our wealth back in circulation and none wasted on wars and political schemes. Enterprise and innovation flourish without the regulation that favours large corporations. 如果没有国家，生活会变成什么样？首先，没有那么复杂、分裂和混乱。我们的财富将有一半重新回到流通领域，不会再浪费在战争和政治计划上，从而减少贫困。没有偏袒大公司的监管，企业和创新将蓬勃发展。 We do things voluntarily, never because we are threatened with damage for non-compliance. It is a climate in which our cooperative and charitable nature can flourish. When join up in a free system we find effective ways to meet our community's needs. We develop systems in which cream rises to the top, instead of scum. Online vendors value their reputations. 我们是自愿做事的，从来不会因为不遵守规定而面临受损的威胁。在这种氛围中，我们的合作和慈善天性得以释放开来。当我们在一个自由的系统中联合起来时，我们就能找到满足社会需求的有效方法。我们开发的系统中，精英辈出，而不是人渣横行。网上销售商也会重视自己的声誉。 The states only vital function is protecting us from other versions of itself. Everything else we could do ourselves. We could even develop a less rigid justice system with no victimless offenses, that benefits from a reduction in crime and fear. We could deter, punish and protect with levels of digital exile tailored to the offense. Jails are just so last century. 国家唯一重要的功能就是保护我们不受国家之外其他版本的伤害。其他一切我们都可以自己来做。我们甚至可以建立一个不那么僵化的司法系统，不存在无受害人犯罪，并从减少犯罪和恐惧。我们可以根据违法行为的不同程度进行数字流放，从而起到威慑、惩罚和保护的作用。那样监狱就是上个世纪的事了。 Civilisation developed through the connection and cooperation of people. We are more connected now than at any time in human history. We have the tools to develop structures that self-govern from the bottom up, evolving as times change. Could we survive a crash of the global banking system and the nation states they underwrite? We could survive and eventually thrive! 文明的发展离不开人与人之间的联系与合作。我们现在比人类历史上任何时候都更加紧密地联系在一起。我们拥有各种工具来发展自下而上的自治结构，并随着时代的变化而不断发展。如果全球银行体系及其所支持的民族国家崩溃，我们还能生存吗？我们可以生存下来，并最终茁壮成长！ 词汇表 crippling 极有害的，有严重后果的 sprinkle a fraction 撒一点，留下一小部分 armed ruler 武装统治者 divisive 分裂的，造成不合的 slash 大幅削减，劈砍 circulation（货币、消息等的）流通，流传，发行 political schemes 政治阴谋，政治计划 non-compliance （尤指对行业法规的）不服从，不遵守 charitable nature 慈善本性 cream 精英 scum 社会败类，无用之人 vendor 供应商，销售商 rigid 僵硬的，死板的 deter 威慑，使不敢 be tailored to 为……量身定制的 from the bottom up 自下而上的，彻底的 underwrite 提供财力支持，为…承保 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Adorable Seal Pup Starts to Explore He may not be keen to take the plunge. The saltwater is -2°C after all. Pups start with a doggy paddle. Mum stays reassuringly close. 他可能并不热衷于冒险。毕竟海水的温度是零下 2 摄氏度。 小海豹从狗刨开始。妈妈紧紧跟在它身边，让它安心。 Still developing his insulating blubber, a pup is at risk of hypothermia, so needs to rest and warm up. Each day he puts on another two kilos... and practices swimming for just a little longer. 小海豹的隔热脂肪仍在发育，有体温过低的危险，因此需要休息和取暖。每天，它的体重都会增加两公斤......练习游泳的时间也会更长一些。 Since birth, this pup has tripled in weight... and he's now at ease in this curious other world. 12 days gone by... a mother's work is done. Surviving on his fat reserves as his downy fleece is replaced by a sleek coat more suited to swimming. 自出生以来，这只小海豹的体重增加了两倍......现在，他在这个充满好奇的另一个世界里自在地生活着。12 天过去了......母亲的工作完成了。他的绒毛被一件更适合游泳的光滑外皮所取代，靠着他的脂肪储备生存。 But temperatures in the Arctic are now rising faster than ever before. Creating storms that break up the ice floes earlier each spring. Harp seal pups are being tipped into freezing waters before they're ready to endure long periods at sea. In some pupping areas, almost none survive. 但现在北极地区的气温上升速度比以往任何时候都快。每年春天都会出现暴风雪，使浮冰提前碎裂。竖琴海豹幼崽在准备好长期在海上生活之前，就被扔进了冰冷的海水中。在一些海豹幼崽生长区，几乎无一存活。 词汇表 be keen to 热衷于，渴望 take the plunge 冒险，尝试 pup （海豹等的）幼崽 doggy paddle 狗刨式游法 reassuringly 令人心安地 insulating 绝缘的，隔热的，保温的 blubber 鲸脂；多余的脂肪 hypothermia（因持续寒冷而）体温过低 triple （使）成三倍，（使）增加两倍 fat reserves 脂肪储备 downy fleece 绒毛 sleek coat 光滑的外皮 ice floes 浮冰 Harp seal 竖琴海豹：一种北大西洋的海豹，身体颜色通常为变化多样的浅灰色。 tip into 扔进，倾斜或倒下 ★视频版见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Killer whale mothers look after sons for life The sound of a very close bond. A killer whale mother and son surfacing together, because in orca family life, offspring stay by their mother's side into adulthood. 从这段声音中可以听出虎鲸亲密的母子关系。音频中的虎鲸母子一起浮出水面，因为在虎鲸的家庭生活中，后代直至成年之后一直待在母亲身边。 But sons are particularly dependent on their mums. Well into adulthood, males will demand to be fed fish by their mothers, even though they're much larger than females. 然而，雄性虎鲸尤其依赖于它们的母亲。即便早已成年，雄性虎鲸仍会要求母亲给它们喂鱼，尽管它们远大于雌性虎鲸。 But that close family bond comes at a cost. This new study showed that having a son cut by half a mother's chance of reproducing again in the future. The scientists believe that mothers invest so much of their energy and effort in their male offspring because the biggest, oldest ones tend to father most of the new calves in a killer whale pod. 但建立这种亲密的家庭关系是要付出代价的。这项新的研究表明，养育一头雄性虎鲸会使虎鲸母亲未来再次生育的几率减半。科学家们认为，虎鲸母亲将如此多的精力投入到雄性后代身上是因为体型最大、最年长的雄性后代往往会成为虎鲸群中大部分新生幼崽的父亲。 As well as providing an insight into the complex, close-knit lives of these marine mammals, the findings could help us protect them. Understanding how much it costs to raise the next generation of orcas is an insight into what these mammals need to survive. 这些发现不仅能让我们深入了解虎鲸这种海洋哺乳动物复杂而亲密无间的生活，还能帮助我们保护这一物种。了解虎鲸养育下一代所付出的代价让我们更深刻地认识到这类哺乳动物生存的基本所需。 词汇表 bond 关系，纽带 surfacing 浮出水面 offspring 后代 adulthood 成年（期） reproducing 生育，繁殖 close-knit 亲密无间的 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Forever chemicals Almost all of us have them in our body, they accumulate throughout our lives and they may be causing serious health conditions. They've been called 'forever chemicals', but what are they, where do they come from, and what can we do about them? 几乎我们所有人的体内都有它们，它们会在我们的一生中积累，并可能导致严重的健康状况。它们被称为“永久性化学物质”，但它们是什么，它们从哪里来，我们能做些什么？ 'Forever chemicals' take their name from the fact that they contain fluorine-carbon bonds, and because they last, if not forever, for a very long time. These chemical bonds are incredibly difficult to break down, which means that contaminants from these chemicals build up over time in our environment. As well as in our bodies, they've been found in the soil and in drinking water. “永久性化学物质”之所以得名，是因为它们含有氟碳键，而且即使不是永久的，它们也会持续很长时间。这些化学键难以分解，这意味着这些化学物质的污染物会随着时间的推移在我们的环境中积累。它们不仅存在于我们的体内，还存在于土壤和饮用水中。 While some have now been banned, these chemicals have been used in a wide range of consumer products. They have a repellent effect on oil and water and so have been used for stain-proofing furniture and carpets. Forever chemicals have been used to make non-stick pans and grease-proof food packaging. You can find them in waterproof clothing and bicycle lubricants. Particular concern has been raised about their use in cosmetics and other personal care products. These products are often used near mucous membranes, like those in our eyes and mouths, which could make it easier for chemicals to be absorbed into our bodies. 虽然有些现在已经被禁止，但这些化学物质已被用于广泛的消费品中。它们对油和水有排斥作用，因此被用于防污家具和地毯。永久性化学物质被用于制造不粘锅和防油食品包装。你可以在防水衣服和自行车润滑剂中找到它们。人们特别关注它们在化妆品和其他个人护理产品中的使用。这些产品经常用在粘膜附近，像我们眼睛和嘴巴里的粘膜，这使得化学物质更容易被我们的身体吸收。 The exact level of risk is uncertain, but studies have suggested links between these compounds and conditions such as cancer, reproduction problems, developmental problems in children, and reduced immunity to disease. However, the level of exposure at which people become at risk is not yet clear. 确切的风险程度尚不确定，但研究表明，这些化合物与癌症、生殖问题、儿童发育问题和免疫力下降等疾病之间存在联系。然而，人们暴露于何种程度的风险尚不清楚。 It may be impossible to completely avoid these chemicals, but people can take steps to reduce their exposure. Air and water filters, as well as reducing the amount of dust in our living spaces is one way to do this. Another way is to carefully check the ingredients of cosmetics as well as the materials in carpets and furniture before buying them. 要完全避免这些化学物质也许是不可能的，但人们可以采取措施减少接触。空气和水过滤器，以及减少我们生活空间中的灰尘量，就是一种方法。另一种方法是在购买化妆品以及地毯和家具材料之前，仔细检查其成分。 词汇表 accumulate 积聚，堆积 fluorine-carbon bond 氟碳键 break down 分解 contaminant 污染物 build up （逐渐）积累 consumer product 消费品 repellent effect 驱避作用 stain-proof 作防污处理 non-stick （厨具）不粘食物的 grease-proof 防油的 waterproof 防水的 lubricant 润滑油，润滑剂 cosmetics 化妆品 personal care product 个人护理产品 mucous membrane 黏膜 absorb 吸收 compound 化合物 developmental problem 发育问题 immunity 免疫，免疫力 exposure 暴露，接触 filter 过滤器 ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】

Culture Johnson 文艺版块 约翰逊专栏 How to write well 如何写好 A new book lays out the data in favour of sharp, simple writing. 一本新书列出了支持简明写作的数据。 Do you edit text messages carefully before sending them? If so, you may be the kind of person who takes pride in crafting even the simplest message. If you do not, you may see yourself as a go-getter for whom verve and speed outrank care: get it done decently now rather than perfectly later. A new book makes the argument for being the careful kind of writer, even in informal, throwaway messages. Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink are behavioural scientists, both at Harvard. Their "Writing For Busy Readers" is cleverly titled: all readers are busy nowadays. People are bombarded constantly with messages, from the mailbox to the inbox to the text-message alert. (They can also be distracted by TikTok or "Candy Crush" at any moment.) What to read, what to skim and what to ignore are decisions that nearly everyone has to make dozens, or even hundreds, of times a day. The authors present well-established principles that have long been prized in guides to writing including The Economist's style book (which Johnson helped update): cut unnecessary words, choose those that remain from the bedrock vocabulary everyone knows and keep syntax simple. But "Writing for Busy People" brings evidence. Take "less is more". Most books on writing well preach the advice to omit needless words. The authors, however, have tested the notion. For example, in an email to thousands of school-board members asking them to take a survey, cutting the length from 127 to 49 words almost doubled the response rate (from a paltry 2.7% to 4.8%). The researchers found that a longer message makes recipients think the task (such as filling out a survey) will take longer, too. The same applies to text messages. In another experiment, a pandemic-era message to parents first included a few sentences acknowledging the difficulties of home-schooling, then asked them to take a survey. A shorter message inviting them to take the survey got more responses. Writers must sometimes opt for being brusque but effective instead of sympathetic but ignored. Often it is not just what you say but how briskly you say it. The value of brevity applies even when asking people to donate money, such as to political candidates. It is plausible that potential donors would be more likely to open their wallets if they could understand as many reasons as possible to do so. But in an experiment for an American candidate, simply deleting every other paragraph in a fundraising email increased donations by 16% (though it resulted in a disjointed message). Even political obsessives do not want to read endless self-justification. Word-count is not the only thing to cut. Keeping messages to a single idea-or as few as absolutely needed-helps ensure that they will be read, remembered and acted on. Reducing the number of possible actions has the same effect, too: a link in an email (from, appropriately enough, Behavioral Scientist magazine) attracted 50% more clicks when it was solo than when it was sent alongside a second, "bonus" link. Syntax and word-choice matter, too. Short and active sentences, with common words that everyone uses, are best. From Facebook posts to online-travel reviews, even brief, informal pieces of writing that follow these rules get more likes, shares and so on. Serious writers should also take note. A study of the ethics codes of 188 public companies found that those using long sentences and complicated words were seen as less moral and trustworthy. The authors' other points are less about writing than about design and informational packaging. Organisation matters: a redesigned summons issued by New York City police (for small offences on the street) reduced court no-shows by 13%. Bullet points, headings and formatting for emphasis are good-when used judiciously. But mixing up different forms of emphasis like highlighting, bolding and italics are the "equivalent of a peanut butter, ham and Gorgonzola sandwich on banana bread: a combination of ingredients that add up to an unpleasant, off-putting whole". If everyone is a busy reader, everyone is a busy writer, too. That may make it tempting to fire off as many messages as quickly as possible and hope for the best. But from essays to text messages organising dinner plans, devoting time to the needs of readers has provable benefits. If you are so busy that you write an undisciplined message that readers scan, ignore and delete, then you might as well have not written it at all. ✔更多内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复“1”，可进入【打卡交流群】