"I'm going to bed earlier tomorrow!" But no matter how we decide, there are still many chances that we break our promises.
This behavior is called "bedtime procrastination"(睡眠拖延症), and results from being short of self﹣control and our body clock.
Bedtime procrastination is a common problem. According to a study, Among 2, 400 people, 53 percent of them couldn't follow their sleeping time they had planned, delaying(推迟)it at least twice a week. They delayed bedtime not because they liked to stay up late, but they couldn't stop doing some other things.
Accordingly, People who usually have trouble resisting temptations(抵制诱惑) and adhering to their intentions(坚持己见) are more likely to delay going to bed.
However, scientists think being short of self﹣control is not the only problem. Our body clock also lays an important role when it comes to bedtime.
In order to check the influence of the body clock on sleep, scientists studied the sleep patterns (t模式)of 108 people. It was found that those who got up late are more likely to delay their bedtime than those who woke up early every morning.
And more surprisingly, night owls(夜猫子)would go to bed late at the very beginning of the weekday, even though they had to get up early for work and school. It's their special body clock that plays a part in delaying their bedtime.
People always think that bedtime procrastination isn't a big problem, but the choices we make that affect (影响)our sleep could finally be pretty important for our health.
There are a number of animals that glow in some way-including several kinds of insects and fish. Fireflies are a well-known example of glowing. But plants don't glow. Now, scientists are working to change that.
In the past, scientists have created glowing plants by adding DNA from glowing bacteria. But the glowing effect was weak, perhaps because of the huge differences between simple bacteria and plants. The plants are much more complicated. Scientists have also created glowing plants by adding Lucifer in to the plants. But the glow didn't last long and only worked as long as the Lucifer in lasted.
Now, researchers at a Russian company called Planta, working with scientists from the United Kingdom and Austria have come up with a new method of creating glowing plants which last longer. By adding certain parts of the DNA from glowing mushrooms to ordinary plants, the scientists are able to create plants that can glow as long as they are alive.
The glow came from all parts of the plants—leaves, stems, roots, and flowers. The scientists reported that the greenish light was about 10 times brighter than in earlier glowing plants. The glow was strong enough to be easily recorded with an ordinary camera, but it didn't affect the health of the plants.
The researchers believe that glowing plants could help scientists learn more about the way plants work. They point out that the glow seems to change, depending upon what is happening inside the plants.
But the researchers don't think the plants will just be used for science. They think many people may want glowing plants for their beauty. The scientists have shown that several common flowers, such as periwinkles, petunias, and roses can be made to glow.
Planta is working with a company called Light Bio to develop glowing plants for sale.
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a. It didn't affect the health of the plants.
b. The light of glowing plants is colorful.
c. The plants can glow as long as they are alive.
d. The glow was strong enough to be easily recorded with an ordinary camera.
Do you know that the falcon （猎鹰） is among the fastest animals in the world?It can fly at a speed of about 200 miles per hour. You might think a bird that could fly so fast would be safe from most types of danger. Unfortunately, that is not true. By the 1970s
In America, a pesticide, a chemical, called DDT was harming the falcon eggs. Luckily, DDT is no longer used. The number of falcons is rising now.
One unusual thing about falcons is that they like to make their nests （巢） in high places. In nature, they often nest on mountaintops and on the sides of cliffs （悬崖）
They also like to return to the same nesting place every year. Both the mother and father falcons help to raise the babies. The mother stays more time in the nest.
The father hunts and brings back food for her and the babies.
Many people all around the country work very hard to help falcons live to adulthood. There are even video cameras fixed up in many places. This way, people can make sure that the birds and their eggs stay protected. Falcons are lucky to have so many people who keep an eye on them.
The oil paper umbrella is a traditional Chinese handicraft（手工艺品）. It has a history of over 1, 000 years in China. In early Tang Dynasty, it was introduced to Japan and DPR Korea, so it was called the" Tang Umbrella". Later oil paper umbrellas were spread to other Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Thailand and Laos, and each had its own style. However, as steel-ribbed（钢骨的）umbrellas appeared in the last century, the hand-made oil paper umbrellas became less used in daily life. They were turned into decorative artifacts（装饰性工艺品）.
Yuhang in Hangzhou is known for making oil paper umbrellas for more than 230 years. They are mainly made of skin paper, bamboo, and a coating of tung oil（桐油）. They need to take more than 70 steps to make, including making bamboo nibs, pasting papers（糊纸）and painting patterns（图案）. It takes at least a week to make per umbrella. In 2008, these umbrellas were added to Intangible Cultural Heritage List（非物质文化遗产名录）of China.
A young man called Liu Weixue learned the traditional art of making Yuhang oil paper umbrellas from his grandfather. "I want to bring the art to life, "Liu said. He improved the umbrellas to win the hearts of young people. As the traditional paper was easy to break, he started to use a kind of thicker paper. In a test, his umbrellas were opened and closed for 1, 000 times without breaking. He used a kind of lighter bamboo to make the umbrellas weigh less.
Now Liu hopes the art can be passed on. He goes to local schools to teach students. He also goes to events in different places to promote（推广）the art.
