Topic Reading-Vol.3381-7/14/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Glass-bottomed panda train debuts in China

Glass-bottomed or see-through structure is on the rise around the world, such as a bridge in Zhangjiajie (China), swimming pool in London, and elevator in New York.

Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, is famous for spicy food and the giant panda. The city has just opened the second international airport after Beijing and Shanghai. It is also scheduled to be connected to Tibet with a bullet train line before 2035. Chengdu is on the move to welcome more tourists from domestic and abroad. Now, they’ve just opened a unique sky train line of 11.5 kilometers in length. It has a glass bottom which allows the riders to see all sides but the top. It is also the first new energy tourism air-rail, using lithium battery power to move the suspended rail train. The train is painted black and white, just like the beloved animal. You may chew bamboo sticks like a giant panda on the train.

Enjoy reading the article and see the photos of this new tourist attraction in Chengdu, China.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/glass-bottom-panda-train-chengdu-china-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3380-7/13/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Thousands thought they were getting the Covid vaccine. They were injected with salt water instead

When people are in desperate need of help, some people try to take advantage of it. India’s coronavirus cases surged between April and early June this year when hundreds of thousands of new cases were reported daily. Naturally, people wanted to get vaccinated as soon as they could. That was when some doctors and even a hospital cheated people by a fake vaccination, which was just saline water. They charged cash to the recipients and issued fake certificates. What a cheap and immoral scam! Even a child can predict that such obvious fake vaccination would be caught soon. Doctors who were involved in the scam now have to pay a substantial price for what they did, which may include their hard-earned doctor’s license.

Read the article and learn about how some educated people do such an inconceivably insensible act like fake vaccination.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/05/india/india-fake-covid-vaccine-scam-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3379-7/12/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

At least 150 people fatally shot in more than 400 shootings over the Fourth of July weekend

The fourth of July is a big holiday for Americans. Fireworks, parades, barbeques, and parties took place all over the country to celebrate the nation’s 245^th birthday. But fireworks weren’t the only one that sounded aloud during the holiday weekend. Firearms made a big bang, too. Sadly, a mass shooting is not unusual anywhere in the USA, in New York, Denver, and even in a small town in Midwest. This year during the 72-hour period between 6:00 pm Friday and 6:00 am Monday, Americans saw over 400 shootings across the country that left at least 150 deaths. For example, four children aged six, 14, and 16 were shot by a 15-year-old boy in Norfolk, Virginia. Also, two boys were killed and three others were wounded at a park in Cincinnati, Ohio, all of whom were teenagers.

Though enough gun violence is being reported, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms. If a firearm is owned and carried, it could be fired at anyone at any time. It is impossible to stop gun violence only by prohibiting gun owners from shooting at people. Human rights seem to include gun ownership in the USA.

Read the article and learn about America’s violent fourth of July.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/05/us/us-shootings-july-fourth-weekend/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3378-7/11/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Four-day week 'an overwhelming success' in Iceland

How long do you work a week? Eight times five, ten times four, or less? In most industrialized countries, a 40-hour workweek has been quite normal at least in the last few decades. But is it too long, too short, or just about right? In some countries like Germany and the Netherlands, the average work-hour or workweek is shorter but their productivities remain higher than most other countries. So, how long is the best or better? Iceland tried a four-day workweek among their public workers between 2015 and 2019 and found that the productivity was not deteriorated by shorter workhours while workers’ well-being improved. They felt less stress and enjoyed a better work-life balance. The 20^th century was the time when the workweek changed from six days to five days. Will we witness another workday reduction in this century? Robots, AI, mobile devices, cloud, work-from-home, and gig-workers. As technologies and workstyle improve productivity, it may not be so surprising to see shorter work hours around the world.

Enjoy reading the article and think about how long or which work style suits you the best to improve your productivity and wellbeing.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57724779

Topic Reading-Vol.3377-7/10/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Solving India's deadly conflict between humans and elephants

While people in India eat food with their hands (Vol.3376-7/9/2021), elephants eat by wrapping its trunk around leaves and grasses. Asian elephants are an endangered species. There are about 30,000 of them live in India whose population is nearly 1.4 billion. Though India has over 100 national parks and 30 elephants’ reserves, many of them live outside these protected areas where humans also inhabit. As more elephants roam around off-protected areas, more conflicts with humans occur. In fact, about 500 people are killed by elephants each year in India. Also, the gigantic animal eats about 150kg of grass, leaves, and bark each day but sugarcane, rice, and bananas are even more enticing to them. Naturally, they try to eat farm crops when they find them, which causes conflicts with farmers. Even though elephants are sacred animals to Hindus and protected in India, such casualties and damages are intolerable. They need to find ways to live with the beloved animal somehow.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about the conflicts with elephants.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/20/asia/human-elephant-conflict-india-krithi-karanth-c2e-spc-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3376-7/9/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

India: The art of eating with your hands 

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. So, when you eat Chinese food, you should use chopsticks, not with a knife and fork. When you eat Japanese miso soup, you should sip it without a spoon. When you eat pizza in Italy, you should use a knife and fork. So, it is quite natural to eat with your right hand when you are in India. It shows respect and appreciation to the food itself and the person who prepared it. Also, licking your fingers is also part of an important etiquette. It expresses the appreciation of the food, too. But how can you eat curry or scoop up gravies without a spoon? You’ll need to mash up the rice with fingers and mix it with other foods on the plate or banana leaf and roll it into a ball, then it becomes like a rice ball. Easy to say, difficult to do.

Enjoy watching the video to learn why you shouldn’t hesitate to eat with your hands in India.

https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p09m7wy7/india-the-art-of-eating-with-your-hands

Topic Reading-Vol.3375-7/8/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Clues to how birds migrate using Earth's magnetic field

You may wonder how birds fly a long distance without visual references to the ground or water. In fact, some birds migrate thousands of kilometers over the sea, where they can only see nothing but water. It is known that birds, sea turtles, fish, and insects sense the Earth's magnetic field to find their way. But it had not been found how and which part of their body navigate their way. Recently, scientists discovered that birds have some chemicals in the eye that senses magnetism. They observed chemical reactions in birds’ retinas that seem to give the bird information about the direction of the magnetic field, just like a compass that tells your which direction is north or south. More researches are needed to find what works exactly how, but which part should be researched has been found to solve the mystery. Now we know that the functions of the eyes aren’t limited to see things visually.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about this landmark discovery to find how birds navigate themselves to reach their destination.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57582451