Sally Lightfoot Crab' Race Against Hunters A Sally Lightfoot crab, one of thousands of shore crabs just waiting for their moment. Every day, they gather on the tropical shores of Brazil, waiting for the tide to go out, which exposes their feeding grounds — seaweed-covered rocks, 100 metres from the shore. 一只红石蟹，成千上万只等待时机的滨蟹之一。每天，它们聚集在巴西的热带海岸，等待潮水退去，露出它们的觅食地——覆盖着海藻的岩石，距离海岸100米。 Getting there is a race against the tide. They leap from rock to rock. 到达那里是一场与潮水的赛跑。它们在岩石间跳跃前行。 These crabs seem to be afraid of the water. And for good reason. A moray eel. The chain moray is a specialist crab-hunter. Its blunt teeth can easily grip and crush a crab shell. It's the crabs' deadliest enemy. 这些螃蟹似乎很怕水。理由很充分。海鳗。尤其链蛇鳗，是捕蟹专家。它的钝牙可以轻易咬碎蟹壳。它是螃蟹最致命的敌人。 But the crabs' feeding grounds are still a long way off. They must press on. Halfway. But their enemy has other ideas. Crossing the land to reset the ambush. 但螃蟹离觅食地还很遥远。它们必须继续前进。还有一半。但是它们的敌人另有打算。即穿越陆地，重置埋伏。 To feed, the crabs must keep going. But nowhere is safe. An octopus. Also a crab killer. The crabs make a dash for it. Made it! 为了进食，螃蟹必须继续前进。但没有地方是安全的。章鱼。也是螃蟹杀手。螃蟹飞奔逃跑。成功了！ Risking life and limb to graze on these seaweed pastures. But in two hours' time, when the tide starts to turn, they will have to run the gauntlet all over again. 螃蟹冒着生命危险来到这些海藻牧场觅食。但在两小时后，当潮水开始上涨时，它们将不得不再次经受一次考验。 词汇表 Sally Lightfoot crab 红石蟹，萨莉轻足蟹：生活在潮间带岩石上，以鲜亮的红蓝色外壳和敏捷的移动能力闻名，以藻类和小型无脊椎动物为食。 shore crab 滨蟹（生活在海滨潮间带的小型蟹类） feeding ground 觅食地 seaweed-covered rock 覆盖海藻的岩石 moray eel 海鳗（栖于热带水域岩礁间的鳗类） chain moray 链蛇鳝：体型修长，带有黄色的链状线条，具有用于压碎蟹壳的钝圆形牙齿。 specialist 专家 blunt teeth 钝牙 grip and crush 咬碎，咬住并压碎 press on （不顾困难地）继续前进 reset the ambush 重置埋伏 octopus 章鱼 make a dash 飞奔，匆忙离开 risk life and limb 冒着生命危险 graze 觅食，吃草 pasture 牧场，草地（指覆盖海藻的岩石） run the gauntlet 经受考验，接受挑战（原指受夹道鞭笞的刑罚） 🌟 视频版见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Whale threats from fishing gear 'underestimated' Getting caught up in fishing ropes or nets is one of the biggest threats to whales. The animals can suffocate or starve after becoming trapped. Reports of very large whales getting entangled in fishing gear are rare compared with smaller species, leading to the assumption that the biggest whales might largely avoid such threats. 被渔绳或渔网缠住是鲸鱼面临的最大威胁之一。它们在被困住后可能会窒息或挨饿。与体型较小的鲸鱼相比，关于大型鲸鱼被渔具缠住的报道很少，因此产生了一种假设，即最大的鲸鱼可能在很大程度上避免了这个威胁。 A new study, led by experts at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, cast doubt on this idea. The researchers analysed images taken by drones of blue and fin whales in Canada's Gulf of St Lawrence – an important summer feeding ground for whales. 由苏格兰圣安德鲁斯大学的专家牵头的一项新研究对这一观点提出了质疑。研究人员们分析了无人机在加拿大圣劳伦斯湾拍摄的蓝鲸和长须鲸的照片，圣劳伦斯湾是鲸鱼夏季的重要觅食地。 Scars seen on the bodies of the whales suggest that 60% of blue whales studied, and about half of fin whales, had been entangled in nets at some point in their life. 鲸鱼身上的伤疤表明，被研究的60%的蓝鲸和大约半数的长须鲸曾在它们生命中的某个时刻被渔网缠住。 The researchers say death from entanglement could tip some whale populations into decline. The blue and fin whale are the two largest species in the oceans. Both are endangered, though the blue whale's starting to make a comeback in Antarctic waters. 研究人员表示，鲸鱼被缠住致死可能会导致一些鲸鱼数量下降。蓝鲸和长须鲸是海洋中体型最大的两个物种。尽管蓝鲸的数量在南极水域有所增加，但这两种鲸鱼均为濒危物种。 词汇表 caught up 被缠住 suffocate 窒息 starve 挨饿 trapped 被困住 entangled 被缠在一起 gear 用具，装备 cast doubt on… 对…怀有疑虑 blue whales 蓝鲸 fin whales 长须鲸 feeding ground 觅食地 scars 伤疤 endangered 濒临灭绝的 make a comeback 重新增长 🌟 更多英语听力见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

What is flexitarian? What kind of food do you eat? Are you conscious of the types of food you consume or do you stuff yourself silly with whatever is available? Today, we are constantly bombarded with media reports about research on the right diet to follow to help us maintain a healthy lifestyle or lose weight - but it's hard to know which one to pick and, once chosen, it's harder still to stick to it. And now there's another choice to get our teeth into. 你吃什么样的食物？你是有意识地选择食物种类，还是有什么吃什么，填饱肚子就行？如今，我们不断被媒体报道的关于正确饮食的研究轰炸，这些研究可以帮助我们保持健康的生活方式或减肥，但我们很难知道该选择哪一种，一旦选择了，坚持下去就更难了。 现在，我们又有了新的选择。 A flexitarian diet involves eating plant-based foods and only occasionally eating meat and fish. You might think this is a halfway house to being a vegetarian by not completely abstaining from meat. But if vegetarianism is hard to swallow and you fancy chomping on the occasional lean steak, then this could be the choice for you. 弹性素食包括吃植物性食物，只偶尔吃肉和鱼。你可能会认为这是成为素食者的折中办法，因为你不能完全戒除肉类。但是，如果素食主义很难接受，而你又想偶尔吃一块瘦牛排，那么这可能是你的选择。 This eating style allows you to supplement some ingredients that you wouldn't get in a stricter vegan diet – another trend growing in popularity. And like veganism, flexitarianism isn't about eating carefully to help you lose a few pounds - it's something people choose for ethical reasons, to help the planet. And a study into the global food system and how it affects the climate, has found that eating mainly plant-based foods is one of three key steps towards a sustainable future for all by 2050. 这种饮食方式可以让你补充一些在严格的纯素食中无法获得的成分——这也是另一种日益流行的趋势。与纯素食主义一样，弹性素食主义并不是为了减肥而精打细算，而是人们出于道德原因，为了帮助地球而选择的一种饮食方式。一项关于全球食品体系及其如何影响气候的研究发现，主要食用植物性食物是到2050年实现人类可持续未来的三个关键步骤之一。 This research found that food waste will need to be halved and farming practices will also have to improve to achieve this. But without a single solution, a combined approach is needed. Dr Marco Springmann from the University of Oxford was one of the lead authors of the report. He told the BBC "We really found that a combination of measures would be needed to stay within environmental limits and those include changes towards healthier more plant-based diets." 这项研究发现，为了实现这一目标，需要将食物浪费减半，而且还必须改进耕作方法。但是如果没有一个单一的解决方案，就需要一个组合的方法。牛津大学的马可 · 斯普林曼博士是该报告的主要作者之一。他告诉 BBC: “我们确实发现，要想保持在环境限制范围内，需要采取综合措施，其中包括改变饮食习惯，使之更健康，更以植物为基础。” But whereas vegans think it's wrong for animals to be killed for food, flexitarians believe eating meat once in a while is acceptable. And Dr Springmann agrees - as long as we "treat it as a luxury, it's probably OK but you shouldn’t have more than one serving of red meat, which includes beef and pork, per week." And here's another fact to digest: If we moved to this type of diet, the study found that greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture would be cut by more than half. 但是，素食主义者认为杀死动物作为食物是错误的，而弹性素食者则认为偶尔吃肉是可以接受的。斯普林曼博士对此表示赞同——只要我们“把它当作一种奢侈品，这可能没问题，但你每周不应该吃超过一份红肉，包括牛肉和猪肉。还有另一个需要消化的事实：如果我们转向这种饮食方式，研究发现农业的温室气体排放量将减少一半以上。 词汇表 stuff yourself 大吃大喝 diet 日常饮食 get your teeth into something 专注做某事 flexitarian 弹性素食者 plant-based 植物性的，基于植物的 halfway house 折中办法 vegetarian 素食者 abstain 节制 hard to swallow （双关语）难以下咽，令人难以接受 chomp 大声地咀嚼 lean （肉）瘦的 supplement 补充，增加 ingredient （食品的）成分，食材 vegan 纯素食主义者（不食用、不使用任何动物产品） veganism 纯素食主义 flexitarianism 弹性素食主义 ethical 道德的 food waste 食品浪费 serving （饭食的）一份 red meat 红肉（由指牛肉、猪肉、羊肉） digest （双关语）消化，理解 greenhouse gas emissions 温室气体排放 🌟 更多英语听力见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

JADES-GS-z14-0: Earliest and most distant galaxy ever observed It's just a faint red smudge, but the detectors on the James Webb Telescope are in no doubt that this galaxy, a large collection of stars, is at a prodigious distance. 该星系看上去只是一团不清晰的红色印迹，但是詹姆斯·韦伯望远镜上的探测器确信该星系由一大群恒星组成，距离我们异常遥远。 Astronomers say the observatory is seeing the object when the Universe was less than 300 million years old. Put another way, if the cosmos is 13.8 billion years old, James Webb is seeing the galaxy when the Universe was only 2% of its current age. 天文学家们表示，现在通过天文观测台观测到的这个天体的形态不会晚于宇宙诞生后 3 亿年。换句话说，如果宇宙的年龄是 138 亿岁，詹姆斯·韦伯望远镜看到的是宇宙只有当前年龄的 2% 时该星系的模样。 The most interesting aspect of the discovery is not the great distance, however, it's the galaxy's large size and brightness. 但这次发现中最引人注目的部分并不是该星系离我们超乎寻常的距离，而是它的巨大体积跟亮度。 Researchers are struggling to explain the presence of so mature an object, so early in the nascent universe. 研究者们仍难以解释为何如此成熟的天体会在新生宇宙的早期阶段存在。 When space agencies spent 10 billion dollars developing James Webb, they promised it would do remarkable things. Two years into operations, that enormous investment is starting to pay back. 当航天机构花费掉 100 亿美元开发詹姆斯·韦伯望远镜时，他们承诺它会有非凡的表现。望远镜投入使用两年以后，这项巨额投资开始获得回报。 词汇表 smudge 模糊的印迹、污痕 detector 探测器 prodigious 异常的，不寻常的 observatory 天文观测台 the cosmos 宇宙 nascent 新生的，刚开始发展的 remarkable 非凡的，引人注目的 operation 运行，工作 🌟 更多英语听力见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Is there a friend for life? Who do you count as your friends? From our BFF to a work mate, it's good to have someone to chew the fat with or offer comfort and support. But when it comes to friendship, is it more important to have quantity or quality? 谁是你的朋友？从我们最好的朋友到工作伙伴，有人可以闲聊或提供安慰和支持是很好的。但是对于友谊来说，是数量更重要还是质量更重要呢? The recent isolation we have endured due to the coronavirus pandemic has made some of us question our friendships. We've fallen out of touch with friends and acquaintances, and it may feel awkward, but do we actually have to rekindle every relationship we once had? It might be time to take stock and think about who you kept in touch with, who you missed talking to, and who you didn't. In short, maybe it's time to reset your list of real mates. 由于最近冠状病毒大流行导致的隔离，我们中的一些人开始质疑我们的友谊。我们与朋友和熟人失去了联系，这可能会让人感到尴尬，但我们真的需要重新点燃我们曾经拥有的每一段关系吗？也许是时候反思一下，思考你与谁保持了联系，你想念与谁交谈，以及你忽略了与谁交谈。简而言之，也许是时候重新审视你的真正朋友名单了。 There's no obligation to stay friends, and writing for BBC Worklife, Bryan Lufkin says: "While people have known for years that friendships are unquestionably good for your health, experts say it's only natural for acquaintances and even friends to fall by the wayside as time goes on – and it's nothing to feel guilty about." 我们没有保持朋友关系的义务，布莱恩·卢夫金在BBC《工作生活》上写道:“虽然人们多年前就知道友谊无疑对健康有好处，但专家们表示，随着时间的推移，熟人甚至朋友都不再熟络是很自然的事情，没什么好内疚的。” Of course, it can be hard to choose who's in your friendship circle. This is what Suzanne Degges-White, professor of counselling at Northern Illinois University, calls our ‘friendscape'. She says, "in life, as we go through certain stages and ages, our attention shifts, and we want to be around people who are like us." 当然，选择谁在你的交友圈是很难的。这就是北伊利诺伊大学心理咨询教授苏珊娜·德格斯-怀特所说的“朋友圈”。她说:“在生活中，随着我们经历特定的阶段和年龄，我们的注意力会发生转移，我们希望身边的人和我们一样。” So, changing friends is normal, but we still need those special pals who've known us long term. These are friendships we invest time in. According to Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford, these are your inner circle of friends – your "shoulders to cry on" – and you have to see them at least once a week to keep them in that circle. He adds that the friends that do drift are mostly "friendships of convenience". But the advice for maintaining a good friendship is to share how you feel with someone you trust – this can help strengthen your friendship as well as giving you both a chance to support each other. 所以，换朋友是正常的，但是我们仍然需要那些认识我们很久的特别的朋友。这些是我们投入时间的友谊。根据牛津大学进化心理学教授罗宾·邓巴的说法，这些是你的核心朋友圈——你的“哭泣肩膀”——你必须每周至少见他们一次，才能让他们留在那个圈子里。他补充说，那些疏远的朋友大多是“便利友谊”。但是，保持良好友谊的建议是，与你信任的人分享你的感受，这有助于巩固你们的友谊，也给你们双方一个相互支持的机会。 词汇表 BFF (best friend forever) 最好的朋友 work mate 同事，工友 chew the fat 闲聊 comfort 安慰 friendship 友谊 out of touch 不常联系，疏远 acquaintance 泛泛之交，相识的人 rekindle 重新燃起（一段关系、感情） relationship 关系 take stock 反思，仔细考虑 mate 伙伴，朋友 fall by the wayside 中途放弃，不再熟络 friendship circle 交友圈 friendscape 朋友圈 pal 好友 inner circle 核心（朋友）圈 a shoulder to cry on 可以倾诉的对象 drift 渐渐疏远 friendship of convenience 便利友谊，由于便利而结成的友谊 strengthen 增强，巩固 🌟 更多英语听力见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Crowd Psychology: Unity and Chaos There was a huge crowd of people waiting at the train station this morning, Neil. When the train finally arrived, everyone rushed in and I couldn't find a seat! I hate crowds!-- But you love going to the football match on Saturday.--Ah, that's different –more like a big group of friends. Well, whether it's sporting events, train stations or political protests, crowds – that's large groups of people who gather together for a shared activity, are a feature of life. For some, crowds create feelings of excitement and a sense of community, while for others they feel uncomfortable, confusing, or even dangerous. So why is that? In this programme, we'll be discussing the role of crowds in modern life, asking why they evoke different reactions in people. And, as usual, we'll be learning some new vocabulary as well. But first, I have a question for you, Neil. The biggest crowd in history happened in 2019 when over 200 million people gathered in the northern Indian city of Allahabad. But what did so many people come together for? Was it: a) a cricket match, b) a religious festival or c) an election? --Well, I know Indians love cricket, but I doubt 200 million people would fit into a stadium! So I'll guess it's c) an election. --OK, Neil. We'll find out the answer later in the programme. People gathering for a cricket match, or a music concert are usually happy events. But crowds can have a darker side as well – they can become out of control and sometimes even violent. Here's, psychologist, Professor John Drury, discussing this idea with, Anand Jagatia, presenter of the BBC World Service programme, appropriately named, CrowdScience. When people get together in a crowd, they regress psychologically, their thinking is more primitive, they become more gullible, and that's also associated with the supposed tendency towards violence as well. But according to John, the idea of mob mentality, that people in crowds are irrational and prone to destructive behaviour, just isn't backed up by research. One view is that when people get together in a crowd, they become irrational. Psychologically speaking they regress – they return to a less advanced, more primitive way of behaving. They may also become more gullible, an adjective meaning easily tricked or willing to believe everything someone says. Connected to this is the phrase mob mentality - the tendency of people in a group to behave in the same way as others in the group rather than as individuals. In crowds, people may do things they would never do alone, like steal or use violence. But according to Professor Drury, in reality it's not mob mentality and violence, but rather feelings of safety and togetherness that actually characterise crowds. And according to Dr Anne Templeton, another expert on crowd psychology from the University of Edinburgh, that's especially true when you identify with the other people in a crowd. Here is Dr Templeton explaining more to BBC World Service programme, CrowdScience. The more people feel like they are part of a group with others in the crowd, the more enjoyable experience they have. There's a correlation between having that social identification and feeling safer. So often if we feel like we are in a group with others, we expect them to look after us. The flip side of that is when you don't feel as much part of the group, and you're not having a positive experience. Dr Templeton thinks there is a correlation – that's a connection, or a link – between being among people who share your values, and feeling safe. Football fans cheer their team on by wearing the same colours, and singing the same songs, and this works as a kind of glue, bonding the crowd together and making them feel safe. The disadvantage of this, however, is when you don't feel part of the crowd you're with. Dr Templeton calls this the flip side - the opposite, less good or less pleasant aspects of something. In today's world, crowds are important because of the feeling of power they give us. It's one thing sitting alone shouting at the news on television, but it's something else altogether to march on a political protest with hundreds of demonstrators, feeling that together you could change the world. Maybe that's what everyone was doing in 2019, Sam? Right, in my quiz question I asked you why 200 million people gathered in the Indian city of Allahabad in 2019. --I guessed it was to vote in an election. Was I right? --You were wrong, I'm afraid, Neil! In fact, the biggest crowd in history had gathered for a Hindu religious festival, the Kumbh Mela, which 220 million people attended over fifty days. 🌟 字数限制，完整文本和翻译见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

What if all humans on Earth disappeared? | BBC Ideas Here's a thought experiment. Every single human on the planet has gone. We don't know how - that doesn't matter. What we'd like to know is what happens next? What would a world without humans be like? 这是一个思想实验。地球上的每一个人都消失了。我们不知道为何如此——但那不重要。我们想知道的是接下来会发生什么？没有人类的世界会是什么样子? Within days, the electricity grid fails as fuel supplies run out and there's nobody to override the powerstation's failsafe mechanisms. Within a week the subways we've built under the water table flood. The 47 million litres of water that was pumped out of the London Underground every day inundates tunnels. Without heating or air conditioning mould flourishes on moist surfaces in homes and offices and ice bursts pipes. Within weeks, plants begin to take over buildings as the strongest species compete for space. No-one's there to cut them back. 没过几天，由于燃料供应耗尽，电网瘫痪，而又没有人能够操作发电站的故障安全机制。一周之内，我们建在地下水位下的地铁将被淹没。每天从伦敦地铁抽出的4700万升水淹没了隧道。在没有暖气或空调的情况下，霉菌在家庭和办公室潮湿的表面滋生，水管结冰爆裂。几周之内，植物开始占据建筑物，因为最强壮的物种在争夺空间。没有人去阻止它们。 Fast forward in time. The lines between city and countryside are blurred. Windows fall out of rotten frames and wildlife recolonises towns. Farmland is blanketed by scrub and then trees, and scattered on the surface are the things that will never degrade. Metals corrode. Plastics start to break down and disperse. But stainless steel pans, stranded granite work tops and billions of car tyres remain. 时光加快推进。城市和乡村的界限变得模糊。窗户从腐烂的框架中脱落，野生动物重新占领城镇。农田被灌木丛和树木覆盖，地表散落着永不会自然分解的东西。金属开始腐蚀。塑料开始分解、消散。但不锈钢平底锅、搁浅的花岗岩台面和数十亿个汽车轮胎依然存在。 Nuclear facilities fail as their fabric degrades. Some explode, irradiating the local ecosystem and causing many animals to die. The radiation leads to mutations in others creating new evolutionary lines. Meanwhile, the tiniest of plants are stubbornly breaking up even the motorways. 随着结构的退化，核设施将失效。一些核设施会爆炸，辐照当地的生态系统，导致许多动物死亡。辐射会导致其他物种发生突变，从而产生新的进化系。与此同时，最微小的植物也在顽强地破坏着高速公路。 Mosquitos are having a great time. They've lost their enemy in us but they've moved on to other animals. And they're busy pollinating plants as they love nectar as well as blood. Endangered animals have a chance and space to multiply again. Lions and elephants could even reach Europe, the strongest swimming across the Suez Canal. 蚊子们过得很愉快。它们失去了我们这个敌人，但它们已经转向其他动物。它们忙着为植物授粉，因为它们既喜欢花蜜，也喜欢鲜血。濒危动物有了再次繁衍的机会和空间，狮子和大象甚至可以到达欧洲 ，最强壮的可以游过苏伊士运河。 Massive whirlpool islands of plastic carry on spinning in our oceans. Each piece of plastic is ground down until microscopic grains of it are everywhere. Bacteria may evolve to digest plastic, but this will take millions of years. Could the Earth ever recover? Atmospheric carbon dioxide is absorbed by the vegetation that carpets the land. Global temperatures and sea levels begin to fall. As chemical pollutants break down and sink into the earth, rivers become cleaner. Animals and plants flourish. Is this a new Eden? Perhaps. 巨大的塑料漩涡岛在我们的海洋中不断旋转。每一块塑料都被磨碎，直到微小的颗粒随处可见。细菌可能会进化出消化塑料的能力，但这需要数百万年的时间。地球还能恢复吗？大气中的二氧化碳被陆地上的植被吸收。全球气温和海平面开始下降。随着化学污染物分解并沉入地下，河流变得更加清洁。动物和植物蓬勃生长。这是新伊甸园吗？也许吧。 The Earth is a breathing organism that has lived with us for a fraction of its life. Our human ingenuity has led to extraordinary changes to the world. The planet would survive, indeed thrive, without us. But it would never be able to forget us. We'd have left our mark. 地球是一个会呼吸的有机体，它与我们共存的时间只占它生命的一小部分。人类的智慧给世界带来了非凡的变化。没有我们，地球也能生存，甚至茁壮成长。但它永远无法忘记我们。我们已经留下了我们的印记。 词汇表 electricity grid 供电系统，电网 fuel supply 燃料供应 override （尤指为改变运作方式而）操控，控制 powerstation 电站，发电厂 failsafe mechanism 故障安全机制（一种设计用于在系统出现故障时自动保护系统的机制） water table 地下水面，潜水面 litre （度量单位）升 pump out 抽出，排出 inundate 泛滥，淹没 mould 霉，霉菌 moist 潮湿的，湿润的 fast forward 快进 blurred 模糊的，难以区分的 recolonise （动植物）回迁，重新占领 blanket / carpet 覆盖，笼罩 scrub 矮树丛，灌木丛 degrade 降解，自然分解 corrode 腐蚀，侵蚀 disperse 扩散，分散 stainless steel pan 不锈钢平底锅 granite work top 花岗岩台面 tyre 轮胎 fabric 结构，构造 irradiate 辐射 mutation 变异，突变 evolutionary line 进化线，演化路径 motorway 高速公路 pollinate plant 给植物授粉 nectar 花蜜，甘露 multiply 繁殖，增生 Suez Canal 苏伊士运河 whirlpool 漩涡，涡流 grind 碾碎，磨碎 microscopic grain 微观颗粒 atmospheric 大气层的 vegetation 植物，植被 Eden 伊甸园，乐土 a fraction of 一小部分 ingenuity 聪明才智，创造力 🌟 视频版见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

The Fish That Hunts Pigeons Planet Earth II | BBC Earth Losing its fear of humans has enabled one animal to spread into cities everywhere and in huge numbers. Pigeons are by far the most successful urban bird. 失去对人类的恐惧，使一种动物能够大量地扩散到世界各地的城市。鸽子是迄今为止最成功的城市鸟类。 Here in Albi, in the south of France, the pigeons come to the river to bathe. They need to preen their flight feathers, clean off the city dust and cool themselves down. 在法国南部的阿尔比，鸽子们来到河边沐浴。它们需要梳理自己的飞行羽毛，洗去城市的灰尘，给自己降降温。 But death lies in wait. A predator that has taken advantage of the very thing that has led to the pigeon's success, their lack of fear. As the pigeons bathe, oil from their plumage flows downstream and is detected. 但是死亡正潜伏着。一种捕食者充分利用了鸽子成功之处——它们的无畏。当鸽子沐浴时，它们羽毛上的油流向下游，并被捕食者察觉。 A monstrous wels catfish. Introduced here just forty years ago, they have proliferated, virtually exterminated the local fish stocks, and they've now developed a taste for pigeon. 一条巨大的欧洲鲶鱼。四十年前它们才被引入这里，现在已经大量繁殖，几乎消灭了当地的鱼类种群，现在它们开始喜欢吃鸽子了。 Their eyesight is poor, so they use their barbels to sense the movements of their victims. This is a radical new hunting strategy for what is normally a bottom-dwelling fish. 由于视力不佳，它们依赖触须来感知猎物的动向。对于通常栖息水底的鱼来说，这是一种全新的狩猎策略。 After a thousand years of living in this city, pigeons are now having to learn to avoid a fish. 在这座城市生活了千年之后，鸽子现在不得不学会避开一条鱼。 词汇表 pigeon 鸽子 Albi 阿尔比（法国南部城市） bathe 用水清洗（身体部位）；（到海、河等中）游泳，沐浴 preen （鸟）用喙整理羽毛 clean off the dust 清除灰尘 lie in wait 等待，埋伏着 predator 捕食者，掠夺者 take advantage of 充分利用 plumage （鸟的）羽毛 downstream 顺流地，向下游地 detect 察觉，识别 monstrous 巨大的，可怕的 wels catfish 欧鲶，六须鲶，欧洲巨鲶（欧洲最大的淡水鱼类之一） proliferate 迅速繁殖，激增 exterminate 消灭，灭绝，根除 develop a taste for 逐渐对某物产生喜好或兴趣 barbel (鱼类唇边的)触须 sense the movement 感知动向 radical 全新的，完全的 bottom-dwelling 栖息水底的；底栖生物 🌟 视频版见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Glow-worms under threat due to light pollution from streetlights Glow-worms are beetles that live in gardens, hedgerows, and heathlands. Emitting a bright green light at night, the females climb up plant stems and glow in order to attract males, who have large eyes sensitive to that type of light. Zoologists, though, say the glare of white, artificial lights is putting the females in the comparative shade. 萤火虫是一种生活在花园、灌木树篱和荒野中的甲虫。在夜间发出明亮绿光的雌性萤火虫爬到植物的茎上并发光，以吸引对这种光敏感的大眼睛的雄性。然而，动物学家们表示，刺眼的白色人造光使雌性萤火虫黯然失色。 In order to verify their suspicions, the researchers did a little test – placing male glow-worms in an LED-lit, Y-shaped maze, they gradually made the lights there brighter until the males could no longer find a decoy female. The glow-worms, they believe, were unable to move towards the decoy because they were dazzled. 为了验证他们的猜测，研究人员们做了一个小型试验——将雄性萤火虫放在一个由发光二极管照明的 “Y” 形迷宫中，他们逐渐调亮迷宫里的人造光，直到雄性萤火虫再也找不到发光吸引它们的雌性萤火虫。研究人员们认为，雄性萤火虫之所以无法向起吸引作用的雄性萤火虫移动是因为它们被刺眼的人造光照得眼花缭乱。 The spread of bright lights, then, could have devastating consequences for glow-worm populations around the world. And some studies suggest they're disappearing altogether. And a widespread decline in insects could have serious consequences for agriculture and the ecosystems that depend upon those insects. 那么，愈发常见的明亮人造光可能会对世界各地的萤火虫种群造成毁灭性的后果。有一些研究表明，萤火虫正在成群消失。而昆虫数量的普遍减少可能会对依赖昆虫的农业及生态系统造成严重的后果。 词汇表 glow-worms 萤火虫 beetles 甲虫 hedgerows 灌木树篱 heathlands 荒原，荒野 emitting 发出，散发（光） stems （植物的）茎 glare 刺眼的光芒 put someone in the shade 使某人黯然失色，使某人相形见绌 maze 迷宫 decoy 吸引物，诱惑物 dazzled 被照得眼花缭乱的 widespread 普遍的，广泛的 🌟 更多英语听力见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

What is social jet lag? From Monday to Friday, many of us have an early start and a long day. By the time we've gone to bed and managed to fall asleep, we've been woken up by the alarm to do it all again. Come the weekend, and we're totally exhausted. We sleep in way past our usual wake-up time just to stay in sync enough to start again on Monday. 从周一到周五，我们许多人都早早起床，忙碌一整天。等到我们上床睡觉并好不容易入睡时，又被闹钟叫醒，开始新的一天。到了周末，我们彻底筋疲力尽。我们睡到比平时起床时间晚得多，只是为了保持同步，好在周一时有足够的精力重新开始。 Welcome to social jet lag. That's the term for the disparity between our working-week sleeping pattern, when our sleep times relate to our responsibilities, and the weekend, when we can wake when we choose. And depending on what type of person you are, the difference can be significant. 欢迎来到社交时差。这是指我们的工作周睡眠模式（当我们的睡眠时间与我们的职责相关时）和周末睡眠模式（当我们可以选择何时醒来时）之间的差异。这种差异可能很大，它取决于你是哪种类型的人。 For night owls - those whose natural rhythm is to wake and go to bed later - there can be significant health-related issues, according to a recent study published by Taylor and Francis Group online. The study concludes the further the divergence between working-week and weekend sleep times, the greater the health issues – including a higher risk of heart disease and other metabolic problems. And because so many jobs and tasks start early, night owls are effectively forced into harmonising with the early birds. 泰勒和弗朗西斯集团最近在网上发表的一项研究表明，对于夜猫子来说（他们的自然节奏是晚睡晚起），可能会有重大的健康问题。该研究得出的结论是，工作周和周末的睡眠时间差距越大，健康问题就越严重——包括增加患心脏病和其他代谢问题的风险。因为很多工作和任务都是很早就开始的，夜猫子实际上被迫与早起的鸟儿协调一致。 So what can night owls do: force themselves to integrate by sacrificing their lie in? 'It's the worst thing you can do' says Professor Till Roenneberg, professor of chronobiology at the Institute of Medical Psychology at Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich. This is because people's sleep pattern is half determined by genetics. The other half correlates with their age and environment. Getting less sleep is unlikely to realign your genetic tendencies. 那么夜猫子们能做什么：通过牺牲他们的睡眠来迫使自己融入社会吗？慕尼黑路德维希-马克西米利安大学医学心理学研究所的时间生物学教授蒂尔·罗恩伯格说:“这是你能做的最糟糕的事情。”。这是因为人的睡眠模式有一半是由基因决定的。另一半与他们的年龄和环境有关。睡眠不足不太可能重新调整你的遗传倾向。 Our bodies evolved to coordinate with the rise and fall of the Sun. We should feel sleepy as the light dissipates. But modern life, with its artificial light and modern devices, such as computers and smartphones, means we have deviated. Now we are exposed to more light for longer periods of time, keeping our bodies awake longer. For night owls, who already tend to sleep later, this delays things even further. 我们的身体进化得与太阳的起落相协调。当光线散去时，我们应该感到困倦。但现代生活中的人造光和现代设备，如电脑和智能手机，意味着我们已经偏离了这一规律。现在，我们暴露在更多光线下的时间更长，让我们的身体保持清醒的时间也更长。对于本来就睡得比较晚的夜猫子来说，这就进一步推迟了他们的睡眠时间。 One solution, beyond changing society's early-start tendencies, is to reorient our body clock by manipulating our exposure to light By taking more sunlight in the morning and minimising the amount of artificial light we are exposed to in the evening – particularly on electronic devices - we can rebalance our bodies to feel sleepy earlier. It's far from easy, but better that than losing your whole weekend to sleep. 除了改变社会的早起倾向，还有一个解决方案，那就是通过调整我们暴露在阳光下的时间来重新调整我们的生物钟。通过在早上吸收更多的阳光，在晚上尽量减少我们暴露在人工光线下的时间——尤其是在电子设备上——我们可以重新平衡我们的身体，使我们更早地感到困倦。这绝非易事，但总比整个周末都睡不着好。 词汇表 in sync 同步的，协调一致 social jet lag 社交时差， 假后返工时差，社会性时差（一个人在工作日和休息日睡眠时间之间的时间差异） disparity 差异，不一致 sleeping pattern 睡眠模式，睡眠习惯 night owl 夜猫子（晚上熬夜的人） natural rhythm 自然节奏（指人体内在的生物钟和生理节律） divergence 差异 metabolic 新陈代谢的 harmonise 和…保持一致，协调 early bird 早起者，早到者 integrate 融入（某群体） correlate 与…相关，相互关联 realign 重新排列，改组 dissipate （使）消散，散去 deviate 违背规则，偏离 reorient 重新适应，再调整 rebalance 再平衡 🌟 更多英语听力见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Culture Book review 文化板块 书评 The politics of Hollywood Anatomy of a cancellation 好莱坞的政治 撤销的解析 Charlie Chaplin vs America. By Scott Eyman. 《查理·卓别林 VS 美国》斯科特·艾曼著 In today's culture wars, Hollywood has a starring role. Films tend to trigger debates about America's history and values. That has long been the case, as a new book, "Charlie Chaplin vs America", shows. Chaplin, a British citizen, was harassed by the American government, culminating in the revocation of a re-entry permit in 1952. It is a sobering account of cancel culture in action. Indeed, it makes some of the current spats seem toothless by comparison. 在当今的文化战争中，好莱坞是主角。电影往往会引发有关美国历史和价值观的争论。正如一本新书《查理·卓别林vs美国》所述，这种情况一直存在。卓别林是英国公民，曾受到美国政府的侵扰，最终于1952年被撤销了再入境许可。书中对撤销文化的描述令人警醒。事实上，相比之下，它让当前的一些争吵显得无足轻重。 "I don't want to create revolution," Chaplin said. "I just want to create a few more pictures." But the FBI, suspecting Chaplin of communist sympathies, started surveilling the film-maker in 1922. In a paranoid climate, many looked for evidence of Marxism. Those convinced Chaplin was "red" pointed to his screen persona, the Tramp, an embodiment of the beleaguered everyman. They perceived it, too, in "Modern Times" (1936), a dramatisation of workers' plight due to unemployment and automation, and in "The Great Dictator" (1940), which called out America's isolationism. Officials did not take kindly to Chaplin speaking out about politics, especially when he called for a second front in the war to alleviate pressure on Russia. Some took umbrage that Chaplin made his fortune in America and deigned to comment on its policies but refused to become a citizen. None of this was illegal. But the FBI bedevilled him, using political groups and the press to whip up anti-Chaplin sentiment. The bureau fed journalists salacious titbits (which were not in short supply: the man was no stranger to a sex scandal). In the eyes of the public, he became "a louche degenerate with a propensity for young girls and communism", writes the author, Scott Eyman. When Chaplin set off to promote a movie in Europe, the attorney-general took his chance. The film-maker was blocked from returning under a provision that allowed people of questionable "morals, health or insanity" or those "advocating communism or associating with communist or pro-communist organisations" to be kept out. Chaplin was forced to give up his home and studio and move to Switzerland, where the quality of his work suffered. By the time he was exiled from America, the intelligence file had swelled to nearly 2,000 pages. It contained no proof of party ties. Instead, it was filled with "hearsay, rumour [and] bountiful examples of guilt by association". Readers will be shocked by how Chaplin was hounded with so little cause. The author convincingly argues that the auteur was "the most prominent victim of the Red Scare" and paints a portrait of a time when freedom of speech was even more embattled than it is today. 🌟 因存在未知违规字符，翻译见公众号【琐简英语】

The School Using Virtual Reality for Classroom Learning｜BBC Newsround As soon as we put the headsets on it just transports you to like a different world. I really like VR and how it lets us discover different places that we probably ain't discovered before. 一旦我们戴上头显，它就会把你带到一个不同的世界。我真的很喜欢虚拟现实，它让我们发现以前可能没有发现的不同地方。 Pupils at one primary school in Warwickshire are swimming with sharks, visiting the Egyptian pyramids and seeing Vincent van Gogh's famous paintings all without leaving their classrooms. It's thanks to virtual reality headsets which the school first started using during the coronavirus pandemic and they proved so successful that they've decided to keep them permanently. The technology has also helped the school children develop their English vocabulary as they have to describe what they've seen to their classmates. 沃里克郡一所小学的学生们不用离开教室就可以和鲨鱼一起游泳，参观埃及金字塔，欣赏文森特·梵高的名画。这要感谢学校在新冠肺炎疫情期间首次使用的虚拟现实头显，事实证明它们非常成功，所以学校决定永久保留它们。这项技术还帮助学校的孩子们发展他们的英语词汇，因为他们必须向同学描述他们所看到的。 (You're going to have a go at trying to draw what your partner told you they could see.) We're using the VRs to try and really get the children to look at the fine details and work move within the picture so they're able to really think about what it is that's there and be able to describe it in the best way that you can. (你将尝试画出你的同伴告诉你他们能看到的东西）。我们使用虚拟现实来让孩子们观察画面中的小细节，并在画面中移动，这样他们就能真正思考画面中的内容，并用最好的方式来描述它。 It's really fun because you can do a lot of stuff with it, you can do it with art, with ICT, you can do a lot of things with it. I like VR because say we can't go to Disneyland because it would be too expensive, on the VR we could go to that place. 它真的很有趣，因为你可以用它做很多事情，包括艺术、信息和通信技术，你可以用它做很多事情。我喜欢虚拟现实，因为我们因迪斯尼乐园太贵了而不能去，但在虚拟现实里我们可以去那里。 In fact, the school isn't unfamiliar with the idea of being transported to a different world. Reading is something that is very important to everyone at the school and as you walk around the building, each area is themed around a different book. (We have Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, we have The Wizard of Oz, currently at the moment we are standing in Diagon Alley from Harry Potter.) 事实上，学校对穿越到另一个世界的概念并不陌生。阅读对学校的每一个人来说都非常重要，当你在教学楼里漫步时，每个区域都以不同的书为主题。（我们有《查理和巧克力工厂》、《绿野仙踪》，现在我们正站在哈利·波特的对角巷）。 The schools say that the headsets have helped boost the pupils' performance in class and And they're looking forward to helping the children carry on learning through the technology. 学校表示，耳机已帮助学生提升了课堂表现，他们期待着帮助孩子们通过这项技术继续学习。 词汇表 headset 头戴式显示器，头显 transport 运送，使产生身临其境的感觉 virtual reality(VR) 虚拟现实 pupil 学生，小学生 Warwickshire 沃里克郡（英格兰郡名） Egyptian pyramids 埃及金字塔 Vincent van Gogh 文森特·梵高 coronavirus pandemic 新冠肺炎疫情期间 permanently 永久地，持久地 fine details 细微之处 ICT 信息与通信技术（information and communications technology） theme （休闲场所、活动）以……主题 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 查理和巧克力工厂 The Wizard of Oz 绿野仙踪 Diagon Alley 对角巷（霍格沃茨魔法购买学习用品的地方） 🌟 视频版和更多听力见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】