Our Vanishing Nights
If humans were truly at home under the light of the moon and stars, we would go in darkness happily, the midnight world as visible to us as it is to the vast number of nocturnal (夜间活动的) species on this planet. Instead, we are diurnal creatures, with eyes adapted to living in the sun's light. This is a basic evolutionary fact, most of us don't think of ourselves as diurnal beings. Yet it's the only way to explain we've done to the night: We've engineered it to receive us by filling it with light.
The benefits of this kind of engineering come with consequences – called light pollution – whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study. Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design, which allows artificial light to shine outward and upward into the sky, it's not wanted, instead of focusing it downward. III-designed lighting washes out the darkness of night and radically alters the light levels – and light rhythms – many forms of life, including ourselves, have adapted. Wherever human light spills into the natural world, some aspect of life is affected.
Among mammals alone, the number of nocturnal species (be) astonishing. Light is a powerful biological force, and many species it acts as a magnet. The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being "captured" by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms. Migrating at night, birds tend to collide with brightly lit tall buildings. Frogs living near brightly lit highways suffer nocturnal light levels that are as much as a million times brighter than normal, (throw) nearly every aspect of their behavior out of joint, including most other creatures. We do need darkness. Darkness is as essential to our biological welfare, to our internal clockwork, light itself.
Living in a glare of our own making, we have cut off from our evolutionary and cultural patrimony (遗产) — the light of the stars and the rhythms of day and night. In a very real sense, light pollution causes us (forget) the scale of our being, which is best measured against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way — the edge of our galaxy — arching overhead.
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A. alert B. classify C. commit D. delicately E. gentle F. impose G. labels H. moderation I. relieve J. signals K. simply |
Let's say you've decided you want to eat more healthfully. However, you don't have time to carefully plan menus for meals or read food at the supermarket. Since you really yourself to a healthier lifestyle, a little help would come in handy, wouldn't it? This is where a "choice architect" can help some of the burden of doing it all yourself. Choice architects are people who organize the contexts in which customers make decisions. For example, the person who decides the layout of your local supermarket-including which shelf the peanut butter goes on, and how the oranges are piled up—is a choice architect.
Governments don't have to healthier lifestyles through laws, for example, smoking bans. Rather, if given an environment created by a choice architect-one that encourages us to choose what is best-we will do the right things. In other words, there will be designs that gently push customers toward making healthier choices, without removing freedom of choice. This idea combines freedom to choose with hints from choice architects, who aim to help people live longer, healthier, and happier lives.
The British and Swedish governments have introduced a so-called "traffic light system" to foods as healthy or unhealthy. This means that customers can see at a glance how much fat, sugar, and salt each product contains by looking at the lights on the package. A green light that the amounts of the three nutrients are healthy; yellow indicates that the customer should be; and red means that the food is high in at least one of the three nutrients and should be eaten in . The customer is given important health information, but is still free to decide what to choose.
This article is for all of the teenagers out there. Even though1you are years from being fully grown, society regularly expects you to adult. Yes, you are2in many ways many of you drive and do so quite safely, and you handle schedules that would3many adults. But you probably cannot process caffeine（咖啡因）as constantly as your parents can because of your still-growing bodies and brains.
I understand it feels grown-up to be drinking a cup of Starbucks. But all of this caffeine may worsen your anxiety, affect tonight's sleep and tomorrow's school performance,4nutrient absorption and even cause real trouble when mixed with alcohol. The following four aspects may well5the theme of this article.
The power of caffeine
Caffeine is widely considered a drug that is socially acceptable, universally used, even cool, but it still causes6symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and a lack of attention when removed from coffee-addicts' diets
How much is healthy?
Caffeine is by no means a nutrient; you do not need it to be healthy.7, it is a substance that can leave you lacking nutrients because it has been shown to reduce calcium（钙）Caffeine probably causes the body to release water. And the more caffeinated drinks you consume, the less Likely you are to drink water. So experts say that adolescents should consume8amounts of caffeine a day（≤100 mg）.
Caffeine's9
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 65 percent of middle and higher schoolers are10to insufficient sleep on school nights. Some of their sleep problems can be mainly attributed to（归因于）caffeine, which can remain in the body for seven hours after11thus causing teens' worse performance the next day, It is widely assumed that adequate sleep12proper growth and brain development. During childhood and adolescence, the brain goes through a period called synaptic pruning（突触修剪）when unnecessary connections are promoted.
Caffeine labeling
Caffeine is not listed on the Nutrition Facts column on food labels because it is not a13. It may be listed as an ingredient, but the amount is not required, Caffeine is now added to foods such as gum, candy and water, along with makeup and beauty products that14to reduce swelling（肿块）.
Taste preferences and eating habits are often cultivated in childhood and adolescence, so teens, when you consume sweet, caffeinated drinks every time you feel sluggish（无精打采的）, you are creating a pattern that may be hard to break as an adult. It is advisable to come up with other15ways to boost energy so that you can master adulating better than many adults.
When it comes to the most famous 20th century painters of the United States, Grandma Moses should be mentioned, although she did not start painting until she was in her late seventies. As she once said to herself: "I would never sit back in a rocking chair, waiting for someone to help me". No one could have had a more active old age.
She was born on a farm in New York State, one of five boys and five girls. At 12 she left home and was in domestic service until at 27 she married Thomas Moses, the hired hand of one of her employers. They farmed most of their lives, first in Virginia and then in New York State, at Eagle Bridge. She had ten children, of whom five survived; her husband died in 1927.
Grandma Moses painted a little as a child and made embroidery (刺绣) pictures as a hobby, but only changed to oils in old age because her hands became too stiff (僵硬的) to sew and she still wanted to keep busy and pass the time. Her pictures were first sold at the local drugstore and at a market and were soon noticed by a businessman who bought all that she painted. Three of the pictures were exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, and in 1940 she had her first exhibition in New York. Between the 1930's and her death, she produced some 2,000 pictures: careful and lively portrayals of the country life she had known for so long, with a wonderful sense of color and form. "I think really hard till I think of something really pretty, and then I paint it" she said.
Washington, D. C. Bicycle Tours
Cherry Blossom Bike Tour in Washington, D. C.
Duration: 3 hours
This small group bike tour is a fantastic way to see a world-famous cherry trees with beautiful flowers of Washington, D. C. Your guide will provide a history lesson about the trees and the famous monuments where they blossom. Reserve your spot before availability-the cherry blossoms-disappear！
Washington Capital Monuments Bicycle Tour
Duration: 3 hours （4 miles）
Join a guided bike tour and view some of the most popular monuments in Washington, D. C. Explore the monuments and memorials on the National Mall as your guide shares unique facts and history at each stop. Guided tour includes bike, helmet, cookies and bottled water.
Capital City Bike Tour In Washington, D. C.
Duration: 3 hours
Morning or Afternoon, this bike tour is the perfect tour for D. C. newcomers and locals looking to experience Washington, D. C. in a healthy way with minimum effort. Knowledgeable guides will entertain you with the most, interesting stories about Presidents, Congress, memorials, and parks. Comfortable bikes and smooth tour route（路线）make cycling between the sites fun and relaxing.
Washington Capital Sites at Night Bicycle Tour
Duration: 3 hours（7miles）
Join a small group bike tour for an evening of exploration in the heart of Washington, D.C. Get up close to the monuments and memorials as you bike the sites of Capitol Hill and the National Mall. Frequent stops are made for photo taking as your guide offers unique facts and history. Tour includes bike, helmet, and bottled water. All riders are equipped with reflective vests and safety lights.
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A. Practice more! B. Watch how others do it. C. But self-belief is often an even bigger factor. D. Now, the record is 37 packs-in just one hour. E. Experiment with a range of creative memory techniques. F. People always limit their abilities for lack of confidence. |
Expect More from Your Memory
How many African countries can you remember? Try to say as many as you can before reading on
There are 54 countries in Africa. If you got them all, well done! Hardly anyone does, of course. But most people could have gotten more than they did. Motivation is a big part of memory. Be honest: if there had been a big prize of this task, wouldn't you have pushed yourself a bit more? And, since most people don't expect much from their memory, they limit their chances of success from the word go.
Not everyone, though. When people get competitive about memory, they do amazing things. Back in the 1980s, I broke a world record by memorizing six packs of playing cards. Psychologist Carol Dweck popularized the "growth mindset" -the belief that you can keep improving your abilities, with commitment. Here are four ways to use that approach.
Step 1: Admit what you're good at. Think about the things that you remember with ease. There's no reason why your memory can't work that well all the time.
Step 2: Notice people who seem to have a clever trick for names, or manage to hold their to-do list in their head. See if you can spot some of their secrets.
Step 3: Find ways to get better. Any information can be made more memorable by organizing it effectively, and using your imagination.
Step 4: Practise: Take every opportunity to use your memory. Stretch it a little each day by setting yourself challenges.
Now, go back to the challenge at the beginning. Push yourself to do better, and really believe that you can.
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