Science Events from New Scientist
Space, Time and Motion with Sean Carroll
Online | October 20, 2023 | 18:00–19:00
"Where, when and how?" are some of the most fundamental questions we can ask, and knowledge of space, time and motion has been central to the biggest discoveries in physics. Join Sean Carroll, an expert in physics, as he explores deep questions about the nature of space, time and motion, and lays out the framework of classical physics from Galileo and Euclid to Newton and Einstein.
Big Thinkers Series 2023
Online | November 10, 2023
The 2023 Big Thinkers series from New Scientist events features eight online talks streamed throughout 2023, covering a wide range of topics, all of which will be brought to you by world-class experts. If you are curious about your brain, your body, our planet or the universe, then this series is your place to hear the latest research.
Memory, the Brain and Who We Are
Online | November 15, 2023 | 18:00–19:00
Psychiatrist Veronica O'Keane will draw examples of the broken memories of psychosis (精神失常) to explain the complex human brain and offer you some expertise (专业知识). How do our brains store and then conjure up (浮现) past experiences to make us who we are? Are there such things as "true" and "false" memories? These examples will offer a new way of thinking about our own personal experiences.
Instant Expert: Understanding Your Brain
The British Library, London | November 19, 2023
At this event, six experts will guide you on a tour of the most attractive object in the known universe. On the way you'll learn how our brains learn languages, how they store memories and why they need to sleep. Hosted by a New Scientist journalist, our one-day masterclass offers the chance to learn all about the brain directly from the experts.
Tired of working in IT and staying the same in Australia, Paulo Cattanco decided to make a change. In 2015 he started a strict budget so he could save up enough money to buy his dream KTM1190 motorbike, a camera, and enough funds to support himself for a few years.
Then he gave up his job, packed his things, and set off on an adventure, travelling the world on his motorbike. Paulo, 39, has spent the last four years biking through Australia. South America, North America, and Europe, riding up to 12 hours a day and spending his nights in his tent under the stars.
"Australia for me was my first experience riding long distance and I was mind-blown by the beauty of the old continent." Paulo wrote on his travel journal, "Traveling through Latin America, I explored the rainforest and learned Spanish and Portuguese. Mexico has some of the best food I ever had and Peru is an interesting place where I can enjoy the unique local Indian culture, also called Inca civilization."
Paulo has managed to keep his travels going by keeping his budget tight, so he hasn't had to get a job for his travels. To keep costs low, he seldom looked for accommodation in hotels and went camping instead. Thankfully, the motorbike, which Paulo bought second hand in Australia, has not required any major repairs since he set off. The journey isn't always easy, but Paulo has never looked back.
Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to his travels in Greece when he traveled around Europe, and Paulo has had to spend the last few months in Italy, his homeland. Once the world is back up and running, he plans to return to life on the road and explore Asia and Africa.
Student team TU/ecomotive at the Eindhoven University of Technology has developed a sustainable electric passenger car that captures more carbon dioxide (CO₂) than it emits while driving. Called ZEM, for zero emission mobility, the two-seater purifies the air through a special filter (过滤器). By storing the captured CO₂ and then dealing with it, ZEM can contribute to reducing global warming. The students will continue to improve the vehicle with the goal of making it carbon-neutral (碳中和) for its entire life cycle.
The car can capture 2 kilograms of CO₂ through a special filter at 20,000 travel miles per year. This means that ten cars can store as much CO₂ as an average tree. That may not seem like much, but the overall payoff is significant if you were to utilize it in every passenger car. After all, there are more than a billion passenger cars driving around the world, which could capture net CO₂ instead of emitting it.
A life cycle analysis with SimaPro software can be used to determine the extent to which the life cycle of the vehicle — from construction to use and afterlife — is carbon-neutral. Several innovations contribute to this goal. Consider the 3D printing techniques used by the students. The body panels are made through 3D printing, resulting in almost no remaining waste. In addition, the student team prints plastics that can be recycled for other projects.
The electric and sustainable four-wheel drive has a sporty look. With the good reason, say the students, because a sporting challenge awaits the automotive industry. After all road transport must become much more sustainable.
Nikki Okkels, external relations manager at TU/ecomotive, says: "We call on the industry to pick up the challenge, and of course we are happy to think along with them. We haven't finished developing yet, but we believe it will eventually hit the road. We warmly invite car makers to come and take a look."
The 31,000-year-old skeleton (骨骼) of a young adult found in Indonesia reveals the oldest known evidence of an amputation (截肢), according to a new study.
"We were exploring a cave in Borneo, in a rainforest region, for some of the earliest rock art in the world, when we came across the burial site and the skeleton, which then excited our curiosity," said Tim Maloney, the study's lead researcher. Though much of the skeleton was complete, it missed its left foot and the lower part of its left leg, he explained. After examining the remains, the researchers concluded the foot bones weren't lost in the site or in an accident — they were carefully removed. The remaining leg bone showed a clean cut.
Researchers believed the find presents a remarkable deed. It's tricky and demanding to prevent infection in amputations, even to this day. Yet more than 30,000 years ago someone was able to handle it. Researchers didn't know what tool was used to cut the body parts, but they assumed a sharp stone tool may have made the cut. What seems certain is that the patient enjoyed great post-operative care for considerable time, for the person appeared to have lived for around six to nine more years after being disabled.
The operation's good end result is not pure chance. It implies that the person who performed the operation had some understanding of antimicrobial (抗菌的) medicine. In this respect, their lifestyle and forest environment might have proved to be advantages. "Given these people lived in an area with many medicinal plants, there is a strong case to guess that adapting to this environment may have boosted the development of advanced medical knowledge," Maloney said.
The surgery rewrites the history of human medical developments. Before this find, the earliest example of amputation had been in a French farmer from almost 7,000 years ago. Researchers had believed advanced medical practice developed around 10,000 years ago, as humans settled down into agricultural societies. But this study adds to evidence that humans started caring for each other's health long before that.
According to a common saying, "Honesty is the best policy." Lying often seems like a good way to impress people or avoid blame for mistakes. Some people lie out of habit, without even realizing they're doing it. But despite all this, honesty really is worth the effort.
One obvious reason for honesty is that lies are difficult to maintain. There's always a chance that the person you lied to will find out the truth.
Lies are also difficult to hide because they are harder to remember than the truth. If you make up a story, you have to remember all the details. But if you commit to telling the truth, you will never have trouble remembering. This saves you effort and makes conversations less stressful for you.
Another obvious reason to avoid lying is that lying can harm others. People who believe your lies might make bad decisions because of them. And a lie about someone else could destroy that person's reputation. On a personal level, if your friends find out you lied to them, their feeling will be hurt. They will question whether they can trust you or wonder whether you care about them. In contrast, if you always tell the truth, you will develop a reputation for honesty. Business deals, friendships, family and romantic relationships all depend on trust.
Sometimes it's best to remain silent if your words might hurt someone else. Honesty means that when you speak, you tell the truth without holding any information back. When you do that, you will feel more relaxed and enjoy stronger relationships.
A. This will help you in every area of your life.
B. But in daily life, honesty can be difficult.
C. Is the gain from lying really worth the risk?
D. We will get others' respect and appreciation if telling the truth.
E. Being honest is a basic principle for us to deal with others.
F. Honesty, however, doesn't mean you have to say everything in your mind.
G. And the more lies you tell, the more stories you have to remember.
When I was in fourth grade, I started stuttering（口吃）. I tried speech therapy（疗法）but it didn't1 . I begged to rid my stutter, but nothing changed. I was very 2 .
I tried to practice singing at home. To my amazement, the words came3 when I sang. My stutter disappeared. After that, I 4 my school team and began learning how to play the guitar. By the summer I was 16, severe anxiety and depression set in. My stutter had become my entire identity, and I was too 5 to talk at all. I didn't tell anyone how I was 6 .
Last year, I started college, where I'm majoring in music production. When I saw the America's Got Talent audition announcement pop up on my computer, I7 . A couple months later, I was standing on that enormous stage in Pasadena, trying to 8 my nerves as I introduced myself to the America's Got Talent judges and 9 . Then I launched into a new song I'd written,10 Back to Life. I tried to focus on the 11 . And just as I'd said, there was no stutter at all.
When I finished, the whole crowd was on its feet, and so were the judges. I couldn't 12 it! Judge Simon Cowell told me I had a pure and beautiful 13 . He and the other judges gave me the four votes I needed to 14 to the next round of the competition. I couldn't hold back my tears. My wildest dreams were coming true, dreams I'd never thought15 .
As a young man full of both passion and endurance, Perce Blackborow had long been dreaming of decent adventure, so he didn't give up when Sir Ernest Shackleton turned down his request to join the expedition. Perce(secret) hid himself in a cupboard, only(find) three days after they set off. He felt fortunate and happy when he was assigned as a steward instead of being sent back home.
The journey was (hard) than expected. The ship got(stick) in the ice as they approached Antarctica and they had to abandon the ship.the guidance of Sir Ernest, they (throw) away nearly everything except necessities and a banjo, kept their spirits up during the journey. They camped on the ice but with spring ( come), the ice began to melt. Ernest left for South Georgia Island in order to find help. It was the genuine (encourage) and concern from Bless Frank Wild that cheered Berce up. Realizing that he shouldn't become selfish just because ofadversity they were faced with, Berce learned to be optimistic and determined.
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。
The young boy saw me, or rather, he saw the car and quickly ran up to me, eager to sell his bunches of bananas and bags of peanuts. Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already known the bitterness of life. "Banana 300 naira. Peanuts 200 naira." He said in a low voice. I bargained (与……讨价还价) him down to 200 total for the fruit and nuts. When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira bill. He didn't have change. So I told him not to worry. He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.
When, two weeks later, I saw the boy again, I was more aware of my position in a society where it's not that uncommon to see a little boy who should be in school standing on the corner selling fruit in the burning sun. My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us.
I pulled over and rolled down my window. He had a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts ready. I waved them away. "What's up?" I asked him. "I ... I don't have money to buy books for school." I reached into my pocket and handed him two fresh 500 naira bills. "Will this help?" I asked. He looked around nervously before taking the money. One thousand naira was a lot of money to someone whose family probably made about 5 ,000 naira or less each year. "Thank you, sir. " he said. "Thank you very much!"
When driving home, I wondered if my little friend actually used the money for schoolbooks. What if he's a cheat? And then I wondered why I did it. Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him? Later, I realized that I didn't know his name or the least bit about him, nor did I think to ask.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
One afternoon in September, I went to a poor community.
Joe led me into his home.
