英语每日一听 | 每天少于5分钟

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a new program to identify smart devices that are better equipped to resist internet attacks. The effort is designed to help the public decide which devices in the marketplace carry the best protection against possible cyberattacks. The program will issue a “U.S. Cyber Trust Mark” to the most protected devices, the administration said in...

The idea that there might be a so-called Planet X moving in the distant reaches of the Solar System has been debated for more than 100 years. It's fallen in and out of vogue. 关于太阳系遥远地区可能存在一颗所谓的 X 行星的想法已经争论了 100 多年。 它时而流行，时而过时。 The latest claim is based on an analysis of the movements of objects in a band of icy material orbiting more than 3bn miles away kn...

After a long winter, the arrival of spring can be a welcome relief. The days grow longer, the temperatures increase, and the natural world around us comes to life again. But when the seasons change, our sleep patterns change with them. 经过漫长的冬天，春天的到来可以让人感到欣慰。 白天变长，气温升高，我们周围的自然世界又恢复了生机。 但当季节变化时，我们的睡眠模式也会随之改变。 New research suggests...

U.S. officials on Monday approved the first long-acting drug to protect babies and young children against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. RSV sends tens of thousands of American children to the hospital each year. The virus is a cold-like disease for most healthy people. But it can be life-threatening in the very young and very old. Last year, a large increase in RSV cases crowded U...

New research suggests humans lived in South America at the same time as giant sloths, big animals that disappeared thousands of years ago. The findings support evidence that people arrived in the Americas thousands of years earlier than once thought. Scientists looked at small pendants made of bony material from the sloths. The pendants have round holes in them and look polished. The team of resea...

Another experimental Alzheimer’s drug has been shown to slow patients’ worsening conditions, researchers reported Monday. The American drug company Eli Lilly said it is seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the drug donanemab. If approved, it would be the second Alzheimer’s treatment for delaying the disease. Alzheimer’s affects the brain and causes memory loss and dementia....

For more than five decades scientists have been trying to draw an accurate map of what lies under the Antarctic ice sheet, which is more than 2.5 miles thick in places. Only a couple of regions remain unexplored, what the experts refer to as the 'Poles of Ignorance'. 五十多年来，科学家们一直试图绘制南极冰盖下的准确地图，该冰盖的某些地方厚度超过 2.5 英里。 只有几个地区仍未被探索，专家们将其称为“无...

Since the middle of the 20th century, humans have had a very strong effect on planet Earth. These effects have included climate change, species loss and pollution. Humanity’s impact has been so strong that scientists say a new geological epoch began then. The scientists call it the Anthropocene epoch. The word comes from the Greek terms for “human” and “new.” This epoch started sometime between 19...

Artificial intelligence technology is developing quickly. A new handbook aims to help technology developers make the best ethical decisions for the public. The new handbook is called Ethics in the Age of Disruptive Technologies: An Operational Roadmap. It promises to give guidance on concerns related to the ethical use of AI technology such as ChatGPT. The handbook has been in the works for a few...

The American Southwest is experiencing extremely high temperatures and that has health officials concerned. Along the U.S.-Mexico border, federal agents reported 10 deaths in early July. Another 45 people had to be rescued from the heat. The city of Phoenix, Arizona may be on its way to breaking a record for most back-to-back days with a high temperature over 43 degrees Celsius. The current record...

Do you know anyone who has gone backpacking? It's a type of travel that is low-cost and independent, often meaning no fixed plans regarding accommodation or destination. The word 'backpacking' comes from 'backpack', a type of bag that you carry on your back. Travellers typically fill a backpack with life essentials, like clothing, plus anything extra needed for adventure. The stereotypical view of...

A non-profit group that studies the history of video games estimates that about 87 percent of classic games have been lost over time. The estimate was recently published in a study by the Video Game History Foundation. The foundation aims to “preserve, celebrate and teach” the history of video games. It also leads public events to raise awareness about historical classic games. The study suggests...

Action for Children questioned 2,000 parents and found that almost a quarter struggled to restrict their children's screen time. In comparison, only about a fifth said they found it difficult to persuade children to eat healthily or go to bed on time. Homework was a problem for only one in ten parents. 儿童行动组织询问了 2,000 名家长，发现近四分之一的家长难以限制孩子看电视的时间。 相比之下，只有约...

People who are unhappy with the way businessman Elon Musk has been running Twitter now have a new social media service to consider. 对商人埃隆·马斯克 (Elon Musk) 运营 Twitter 的方式不满意的人们现在可以考虑一项新的社交媒体服务。 Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, launched an  app  called Threads late Wednesday. 拥有 Facebook 和 Instagram 的 Meta 公司周三晚推出了一款名为 T...

U.S. officials gave full approval last week to Leqembi, a drug that moderately slows Alzheimer’s disease. The disease affects the brain causing memory loss and dementia. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval means the government’s health coverage, Medicare, and other health insurance plans will help pay for the drug’s cost. The FDA approved Leqembi for patients with mild dementia and oth...

Scientists say that, for the first time, they have observed gravitational waves caused by black holes and other huge space objects moving through the universe. A group of international scientists using radio telescopes in North America, Europe, China, India and Australia made the observation. The existence of gravitational waves was first predicted more than 100 years ago by physicist Albert Einst...

It's happened to all of us: a song comes on the radio, and we are immediately transported to a time in our past. But what is it that makes music so effective at doing this? There are a few things that link tunes with our memories. Paul Donoghue, writing for ABC News, reminds us that the emotional nature of music helps make it particularly memorable. And Kelly Jakubowski, an assistant professor in...

For more than five decades scientists have been trying to draw an accurate map of what lies under the Antarctic ice sheet, which is more than 2.5 miles thick in places. Only a couple of regions remain unexplored, what the experts refer to as the 'Poles of Ignorance'. 五十多年来，科学家们一直试图绘制南极冰盖下的准确地图，该冰盖的某些地方厚度超过 2.5 英里。 只有几个地区仍未被探索，专家们将...

Action for Children questioned 2,000 parents and found that almost a quarter struggled to restrict their children's screen time. In comparison, only about a fifth said they found it difficult to persuade children to eat healthily or go to bed on time. Homework was a problem for only one in ten parents. 儿童行动组织询问了 2,000 名家长，发现近四分之一的家长难以限制孩子看电视的时间。 相比之下，只有约...

A team at Tokyo University is developing robotic arms that people can wear. The devices could find use in areas from creative expression to search and rescue operations. Masahiko Inami is a professor who develops systems to expand human abilities. Inami’s team at the University of Tokyo is designing the wearable robotic arms. The team is developing a series of technologies rooted in the idea of “j...

Placed among the busy streets of Washington, D.C. is a large public garden that many Americans have never heard of. The U.S. National Arboretum includes a collection of flowering plants called azaleas, a field of native plants called ferns, and flowering trees in the dogwood tree area. Government scientists are in charge of the 183-hectare area. Their main goal is to strengthen the U.S. economy by...

We all know about the benefits of a healthy diet. 'We are what we eat', so some say. But sometimes our busy lives mean our healthy intentions slip, and we end up eating the wrong things. Messaging telling us to eat our 'five-a-day' encourages us to maintain a balanced diet – but is it accurate? 我们都知道健康饮食的好处。有人说，“我们就是我们吃的东西”。但有时我们忙碌的生活意味着我们的健康意图会消失...

The message in a bottle had been lost for more than a century, bobbing along the waves before Marianne Winkler stumbled across it as she was strolling along the beach while on holiday. At first she didn’t realise how old it was and followed the instructions written on the message to break the bottle. Inside she found a postcard written in English, German and Dutch with information to fill in about...

A number of companies have been established to provide a second life for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. But industry experts say such businesses could face major difficulties, even as the EV market continues to grow. Reuters news agency reports nearly 50 startup companies have been launched with the aim of buying used EV batteries and reselling them to be used for new purposes. In...

Wildfire season has begun in many places around the world. The dangerous smoke wildfires produce can spread far and wide. It blocks sunlight, poisons the air, and damages health of people and other living things. Some of those living things could be the plants in your garden, says gardening expert Jessica Damiano. She writes gardening stories for the Associated Press. Damiano lives in New York Cit...