学进去

A group of blue-faced birds step through the grass shoulder to shoulder, red eyes looking around. They look like middle schoolers seeking a cafeteria table at lunchtime. Perhaps they’re not so different.

A new study, led by Damien Farine, an ornithologist who studies collective behaviour, shows that the vulturine guineafowl of eastern Africa, like humans, have multilevel societies. In the past, scientists assumed such social structures required a lot of brainpower. But the pea-brained guineafowl are revealing the faults in that assumption.

These large birds wander across the landscape in packs, often walking so closely that their bodies touch. They may fight each other to maintain their strict hierarchies (等级制度), but at other times they engage in friendly behaviours like sharing food.

Suspecting the guineafowl might have a social structure, Dr. Farine and his colleagues began a thorough study of their society. For a whole year, they made daily observations of 441 birds. Coloured leg bands in unique combinations let researchers tell the black-and-blue birds apart. They also attached GPS devices to the backs of 58 birds, which let them see exactly where every group went, 24 hours a day.

The findings of the research suggest that the vulturine guineafowl have a multilevel society. There are groups within groups within the population as a whole. There even seem to be groups of friends within the small groups. This is the first time anyone has observed such a society in a bird.

And Dr. Farine emphasizes this particular bird’s tiny brain size: “They don’t only have small brains relative to mammals (哺乳动物), they also have quite small brains relative to other birds,” he said.

According to him, living in this kind of society might actually make it easier to keep track of the social order. For example, if groups are stable and a bird can identify just one or two individuals within a group, it knows which group it’s looking at — no need for a brain that can recognize every single animal. Multilevel societies also let animals adjust their group sizes based on whatever challenges they’re facing. Depending on what enemies or resources are around, it might make sense to travel in a combined group rather than a smaller one.

“Having a multilevel structure may not require having a large brain,” Dr. Farine said. There may be more birds and other animals out there that, although small-brained, have societies as many-leveled as our own.

Your teeth may be part of your smile, 1．they have a more important job — they are the first step in the process of digestion. You have three 2．(kind) of teeth. In the very front of your mouth are eight flat, thin teeth called incisors. They are used for cutting and biting food. Next to these are pointed teeth called canines, 3． also help you tear food. The remaining teeth are molars. These teeth have flat tops for crushing and grinding the food.

At my first class in the Forks High School, Mr. Banner, my English teacher sent me to an empty desk at the back without1． (introduce) me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates 2．(stare) at me in the back, but somehow, they managed. I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher 3．(give) me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I’d already read everything. That was comforting and boring.

Why Boundaries at Work Are Essential

What is a boundary, you ask? A boundary is a limit defining you in relation to someone or something. 1． If you have informed someone that this is your office space, your desk, or your chair, you have attempted to set physical boundaries.

Letting co-workers know you are not comfortable shaking their hands or hugging them at a holiday party, especially with Covid at this time, is another example of setting a physical boundary. It is often easier to understand a physical boundary. Emotional or mental boundaries may be subtler (更微妙的). 2．

Emotional boundaries are related to our feelings and how something or someone’s behavior affects us. For example, if a boss treats you disrespectfully by yelling at you or a colleague frequently interrupts you in meetings, you are likely to feel hurt, embarrassed, and perhaps angry. Understandably, by having a courageous conversation with both your boss and co-worker about their behavior, the impact it has on you, and your expectations regarding future behavior, you are setting healthy emotional boundaries for yourself at work.

Sometimes we set a boundary that is a combination of both a physical and emotional one. 3． One example of this is being repeatedly asked to work late during the week/weekends or while on vacation. Another example is being required to see too many clients or patients to the point we feel tired at the end of the day and exhausted by Friday. Often, the above workplace demands lead to increased stress and a high potential for burnout (倦怠) over time.

Mental boundaries are related to our beliefs, values, cultural norms, ethics (道德), and standards. For example, you value a workplace culture that treats employees and clients with respect and dignity and acts ethically. After six months, you realize that company leaders are repeatedly behaving in ways not consistent with this. 4． Over time, this may lead to significant stress and physical symptoms within.

5． Boundaries serve many functions. They help protect us, clarify our responsibility, preserve our physical and emotional energy, and live our values and standards. Learning the skill of boundary setting helps empower us to prioritize our values and well-being and better manage our stress. Identifying, setting, and maintaining boundaries are skills — valuable skills that, unfortunately, we are often not taught in school or the workplace.

We’ve heard for years that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But, it actually might be even more important than previously thought, according to a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which examined the effects of skipping meals and meal frequency as related to mortality (死亡率) and heart health.

The study, which was published in August of last year, sought to find out if eating behaviors like meal frequency, meal skipping, and time between meals were associated with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality.

The study consisted of 24,011 adults 40 years or older who participated from 1999 to 2014. Researchers looked at various eating behaviors of participants who self-reported their eating habits every 24 hours. Causes of death were tracked via death records through December 31, 2015.

After examining participants throughout the years, researchers found that certain eating behaviors were in fact linked to higher rates of premature death. Eating only one meal per day was associated with an increased risk of all-cause and CVD mortality while skipping breakfast was linked to an increased risk of CVD mortality, and skipping lunch or dinner was linked to an increased risk of all-cause mortality. Lastly, the study found that having meals too closely together (less than four and half hours apart) was also linked to all-cause premature death.

So, what does this mean for the average person? “At the end of the day what matters is that an individual can meet their nutritional needs for optimal (最佳) health,” explains Keri Gans, author of The Small Change Diet, “and breakfast typically is a good vehicle for nutrients associated with a decrease in cardiovascular risk, such as fiber and vitamins”. “If by eliminating meals they are missing out on important nutrients their body needs, then long term that can be harmful to their health,” leads to a “higher risk for certain cancers and heart disease,” she says.

While this study was large and comprehensive in many ways, there are also many limitations. It was mostly based on a 24-hour, self-reported dietary recall, “which may not always be the best method for dietary assessment,” explains Gans. “The participants may not accurately recall what they ate or honestly report it leading to the potential of misinformation.” Researchers noted that it was impossible to consider the role of sleep in the relationship between food and mortality, as well as a host of other unmeasured factors.

The bottom line is that while these findings about the relationships between meal skipping and mortality are important, there are a lot more factors that go into premature death.

Milo is a rescue dog adopted by 20-year-old Makayla Swift. One morning in November 2021, Swift opened her front door in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Milo _________ running.

Milo ran to the house across the street. He seemed unsatisfied with this house, so he ran to the one next door, Swift on his _________. Milo started scratching on the front door.

Swift was _________, because not everyone wants a strange dog on their property. But as she tried to _________ Milo away, she could hear a sound coming through an open upstairs window.

It was a voice yelling “Help!”

Hours earlier, around 4 a.m., Sherry Starr, 85, had risen from her bed. All of a sudden, standing there between the toilet and the tub, she slipped and fell heavily on the floor. She was _________ between the toilet and the tub and could not move at all. Starr was _________ and thought she was just going to die there.

For the next few hours, Starr practiced yelling: “Help! Help! Hellllp!”

Her voice was very _________ that no one could hear. Luckily, Milo _________ heard Starr the moment Swift opened her own front door.

Swift called the emergency number 911. When the ambulance workers arrived, they thought they’d have to remove the toilet to _________ Starr, but instead, they gave one last pull and out she popped. Though she was black and blue all over, Starr __________ a trip to the hospital.

Swift has known her own share of distress. Two years ago, her mother died. She says that Milo has helped her with her grief. “That dog is a blessing,” she says.

The Book Lady

It was Jennifer Williams's mother who got her hooked on books. A librarian, she read to her three children every day. “Not until we went to kindergarten,” Williams told vadogwood.com, a local news site. “Until we went to college.”

When Williams, now 54, became an elementary school teacher and tutor in Danville, Virginia, she wanted her students to fall in love with reading just as she had. But early on, she realized that some kids had limited access to books.

“It’s very obvious to teachers of young children which kids are read to versus kids who are not,” she said. “It’s obvious at the end of the first day of school.” To Williams, the solution was simple: Give kids books. In 2017, as part of a civic event called Engage Danville, she gave away 900 used children’s books over three days. Most people would be satisfied with that.

“I was like, ‘Anybody could do that,’” she said. “I wanted to do something that’s going to stretch my faith, my work ethic, my everything.”

So she set a new goal for herself: Give away one million books. It sounds like an unreachable number, but as Williams posted on Facebook: “Don’t complain in the bleachers if you aren’t willing to work hard out on the field.”

So she got to work, first by roping in friends to donate books or money to buy books. Before long, as news of Williams’s project spread, strangers started leaving piles of books on her front porch. As quickly as the books come in, Williams gives them to local schools — free of charge — and also supplies books to little free libraries around the city of 41,000 just over the North Carolina border. She also hosts a book club for prisoners in the local prison.

In the four years she's been doing all this, the Book Lady, as Williams has come to be known, has given away more than 78,000 books — only 922,000 more to reach her goal! And she’s not slowing down. It’s too important for kids with few options.

“Reading can take you anywhere,” she told CNN. “You can travel in time and space. If you can read, you can learn almost anything.”

Volunteer abroad with the UN

Are you ready to become an international UN Volunteer? You can contribute your time, skills and knowledge through volunteering with the UN. This is an opportunity to create a positive impact and be a significant force for achieving peace and development. Make a difference to the lives of many!

Why volunteer with the UN

•International UN Volunteers promote peace and development in communities around the globe, while upholding the ideals and ambitions of the United Nations.

•International UN Volunteers come from 160 countries, representing many cultures and backgrounds. They bring a wide variety of viewpoints and approaches.

•Your international UN Volunteer assignment will make a lasting impact. It can create a ripple effect that extends far beyond the immediate results of your efforts.

•As an international UN Volunteer, you will learn about different cultures, expand your networks, study foreign languages and gain matchless professional and life experiences.

Requirements

•The minimum requirements to serve as an international UN Volunteer are: 25 years old and older (no upper age limit); university degree or higher technical diploma;

•At least two years of relevant work experience in a professional background; good working knowledge of English, Spanish or French;

•Commitment to the values and principles of volunteerism; ability to work in a multicultural environment; willingness to work with people and local organizations;

•Ability to adjust in difficult living conditions and sometimes remote locations; strong interpersonal and organizational skills.

Conditions of Service

•International UN Volunteer assignments generally run for six to 12 months, with the possibility of extending for one to two years.

•Short-term assignments are also requested by our partners from time to time. International UN Volunteers are entitled to certain allowances.

•Allowances are in no way to be understood as a compensation, reward or salary in exchange for the volunteer work.

•The purpose of allowances for volunteers is to enable them to sustain a secure standard of living in their duty stations.

Do you ever wonder why the bakers can’t help but smile as they cook tasty treats in your home’s kitchen? From pre-heating the oven, mixing the dry and wet ingredients, and up until the satisfying “ding” is heard, the baker can feel the atmosphere lighten up and the mood lifted.

Baking can be a form of treatment and empowerment. At first glance, grasping how baking makes you calm down and acts as a source of joy can seem a bit far-fetched. But bakers can see and feel more while they’re baking. Its process is both a science and art. As they bake, they become more focused and hopeful that the effort they’ve poured paid off. This is the reason for their smiles. The beauty and satisfaction of baking can be further revealed when it is done.

Much like any hobby or a creative outlet, baking allows people to express their emotions and creativity. In every part of the world, cooking for someone is considered as a thoughtful gesture–whether you’re welcoming someone in a home, showing a kind gesture, or expressing your gratitude. The desire to share your food with others is an excellent way to build a connection, showing selflessness and love.

It even becomes more heartfelt if you’re serving the whole family. Nothing beats the happiness of seeing your loved ones enjoy the baked treats you’ve worked hard to prepare.

The Beijing Vanke-Shijinglong Ski Resortis located1．Yanqing District,a national demonstration area for ecological construction. With Longqing Gorge to its east and Guanting Reservoir to its west, it has fresh air and an 2．(impress) environment.3．(build) in 1999, it was the first large ski resort to be built near Beijing.In 2016,a massive renovation project 4．(start) by Vanke, the Beijing Badaling Tourism General Company, and the original Beijing Shijinglong Ski Resort.