10月12日午间双语播报：疫情期间鸟类叫声更低？

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Playing games improves memory

儿时玩电玩提升认知力

A number of studies have shown playing video games can lead to structural changes in the brain, including increasing the size of some regions, or to functional changes, such as activating areas responsible for attention or visual-spatial skills. New research from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya has gone further, showing how cognitive changes can take place even years after people stop playing. 
大量研究表明，玩电子游戏会导致脑结构变化，包括增加某些区域的大小，或导致大脑产生功能性改变，如激活负责注意力或视觉空间技能的区域。加泰罗尼亚欧贝塔大学的最新研究进一步表明，即使不玩游戏好多年后，其导致的认知变化也会发生。

This is one of the conclusions of the article, published in "Frontiers in Human Neuroscience". According to Marc Palaus, the author of the study, what most video games have in common are elements that make people want to continue playing, and that they gradually get harder and present a constant challenge. "These two things are enough to make it an attractive and motivating activity, which, in turn, requires constant and intense use of our brain's resources. Video games are a perfect recipe for strengthening our cognitive skills, almost without our noticing," he said.
这是一篇发表在《人类神经科学前沿》上的论文得出的一个结论。论文作者马克•帕劳斯表示，游戏的最大共同点是，它们包含使人们想要玩下去的元素，而且逐渐变得越来越难，并提出了持续的挑战。"这两件事足以使它具有吸引力和激励性，反过来又需要不断地高强度地使用我们的大脑资源。"帕劳斯指出："电子游戏是增强我们认知能力的完美秘诀，潜移默化地发挥着作用。"

重点词汇
1、spatial
英 /ˈspeɪʃl/  美 /ˈspeɪʃl/
adj. 空间的；存在于空间的；受空间条件限制的

2、cognitive
英 /ˈkɒɡnətɪv/  美 /ˈkɑːɡnətɪv/ 
adj. 认知的，认识的

Birds sing softly in pandemic
疫情期间鸟类叫声更低

San Francisco birds started singing differently in the quiet of the coronavirus lockdown, according to a study in Science. Before, the urban white-crowned sparrow's breeding territories were almost three times as loud as rural territories, the study found. But during the pandemic, researchers noted noise levels in urban areas were drastically lower. In fact, they were consistent with traffic flow in the mid-1950s. 
《科学》杂志的一项研究称，旧金山的鸟儿在安静的疫情封锁期间叫声发生了改变。研究发现，之前白冠麻雀在城内繁殖地区的噪音是乡下的三倍。但是在疫情期间，研究人员注意到，城区的噪音大大降低。事实上，这一噪音水平和上世纪50年代中期的交通噪音水平持平。

"We found birds sang more softly when noise levels were lower," researchers said. Even though the birds were singing more softly, the study found communication distances nearly doubled, elevating species fitness and increasing mating potential. "In addition, the signal-to-noise ratio doubled, which helps explain media reports suggesting bird songs sounded louder during the shutdown," the researchers said.
研究人员称："我们发现，当噪音水平降低时，鸟儿叫声更轻柔。"虽然鸟儿用更轻柔的声音唱歌，但研究发现它们的沟通距离几乎翻倍，增强了物种的体力，提高了交配的可能性。研究人员称："此外，信号噪声比的加倍有助于解释媒体关于鸟叫声在封锁期间听起来更嘹亮的报道。"

重点词汇
1、sparrow
英 /ˈspærəʊ/  美 /ˈspæroʊ/
n. 麻雀；矮小的人

2、drastically
英 /ˈdræstɪkli; ˈdrɑːstɪkli/  美 /ˈdræstɪkli/ 
adv. 彻底地；激烈地

3、signal-to-noise
/ˈsɪɡnəl tu nɔɪz/ 
n. 信噪比，讯噪比

Visitor sued over negative review
游客因恶评在泰国被诉

An American has been sued by an island resort in Thailand over a negative TripAdvisor review, authorities said, and could face up to two years in prison if found guilty. A recent visit to the Sea View Resort on Koh Chang Island landed Wesley Barnes in trouble after he wrote unflattering online reviews about his holiday. Barnes was accused of causing "damage to the reputation of the hotel", and of quarrelling with staff over not paying a corkage fee for alcohol brought to the hotel. 
泰国当局近日表示，一名美国人因在猫途鹰旅游网站发表负面评论而被泰国一家岛屿度假酒店起诉，如果罪名成立，他可能面临最高两年的监禁。韦斯利•巴恩斯最近在象岛上的海景度假酒店居住后遇到了麻烦，因为他在网上对这家酒店发表了一些差评。巴恩斯被指控"损害了酒店的声誉"，还因未能支付自带酒水的开瓶费而与员工发生争执。

According to the review Barnes posted in July, he encountered "unfriendly staff" who "act like they don't want anyone here". The Resort said legal action was only taken because Barnes penned multiple reviews on different sites over the past few weeks. At least one was posted in June on TripAdvisor accusing the hotel of "modern-day slavery" - which the site removed after a week for violating its guidelines.
今年7月份，巴恩斯在猫途鹰旅游网站发布评论称，他遇到了"不友好的员工"，他们"表现得好像不希望任何客人来"。海景度假酒店表示，之所以采取法律行动，是因为巴恩斯在过去几周内在不同的网站上发表了多篇评论。今年6月，他曾在猫途鹰网站发帖指责这家酒店实行"现代奴隶制"，该网站一周后以违反规定为由将帖子删除。

重点词汇
1、resort 
英 /rɪˈzɔːt/  美 /rɪˈzɔːrt/ 
n. 凭借，手段；度假胜地；常去之地
vi. 求助，诉诸；常去；采取某手段或方法

2、unflattering
英 /ʌnˈflætərɪŋ/  美 /ʌnˈflætərɪŋ/ 
adj. 不吸引人的，不好看的；耿直的；有损形象的，不敢恭维的；不奉承的；贬损的

3、quarrel
英 /ˈkwɒrəl/  美 /ˈkwɑːrəl/ 
n. 吵架，口角；反目，失和；争吵（或抱怨）的原因；方头凿，方头投掷物；方镞箭
v. 吵架，争论；反对；挑剔；抱怨

4、corkage
英 /ˈkɔːkɪdʒ/  美 /ˈkɔːrkɪdʒ/ 
n. 拔瓶塞；开瓶费

5、penned
英 /pen/  美 /pen/ 
n. 钢笔；作家；围栏；(临时圈养牲畜的) 圈
vt. 撰写；写；关 (人或动物)

6、slavery
英 /ˈsleɪvəri/  美 /ˈsleɪvəri/ 
n. 奴役；奴隶制度；奴隶身份

World lost 100M hectares of forest
全球森林减少近亿公顷

The world has lost nearly 100 million hectares of forests in two decades, marking a steady decline though a slower pace than before, a UN agency reported. The proportion of forest to total land area fell from 31.9% in 2000 to 31.2% in 2020, some 4.1 billion hectares according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. 
联合国粮农组织报告称，全球森林面积在20年间减少了近1亿公顷，尽管减少的速度低于以往，但森林面积在稳步下降。根据联合国粮农组织的数据，全球森林面积目前约为41亿公顷，占土地总面积的比例已经从2000年的31.9%降至2020年的31.2%。

Deforestation has hit sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia particularly hard. In contrast, in many parts of Asia, Europe and North America forest area has increased or stayed the same in the last five years, thanks to policies to restore woodlands and allow forests to expand naturally. In China, forests make up 23.3% of land area, up from 22.3% in 2015. In Japan, they account for 68.4%, the same as five years ago.
森林砍伐对撒哈拉以南非洲和东南亚的影响尤为严重。相比之下，在亚洲、欧洲和北美洲的许多地区，由于政策鼓励恢复林地，让森林自然扩张，森林覆盖率在过去五年间上升或持平。在中国，森林覆盖率从2015年的22.3%上升到23.3%。在日本，这一比例为68.4%，与五年前持平。

重点词汇
1、hectare
英 /ˈhekteə(r); ˈhektɑː(r)/  美 /ˈhekter/ 
n. 公顷（等于1万平方米）

2、deforestation
  /ˌdiːˌfɒrɪˈsteɪʃn/  
n. 毁林，采伐森林，森林开伐，烧林

3、account for
（比例）占；对…负有责任；对…做出解释；说明……的原因；导致

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Hi everyone, here are words you should know from today's news.

No.1 cognitive
New research from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya has gone further, showing how cognitive changes can take place even years after people stop playing. 

No.2 penned
The Resort said legal action was only taken because Barnes penned multiple reviews on different sites over the past few weeks.

No.3 deforestation
Deforestation has hit sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia particularly hard. 

No.4 account for
In China, forests make up 23.3% of land area, up from 22.3% in 2015. In Japan, they account for 68.4%, the same as five years ago.

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