Do you often listen to music at loud volume? Over one billion young people are at risk of hearing loss because of listening to loud noise for long periods of time. Listening to music or watching a TV show at loud volume is harmful to your hearing.

The United Nations has standards for safe listening. It is not safe to listen to sounds that are louder than 85 dB (分贝) for eight hours or 100 dB for 15 minutes. The sound of a busy road is about 85 dB and the sound of a rock concert can be about 100 dB.

Loud noise is harmful to the inner ears. Most of us are born with about 16,000 hair cell (听毛细胞) in our inner ears. These cells notice sounds. However, listening to loud noise for a long time can make these cells work too hard and cause some of them to die. This is what causes hearing loss.

Some people might think that their music isn’t all that loud. But this can depend on where you are. For example, if you are in a noisy place like the subway, you might turn up your music too loud without realising it. Later, when you listen to it at the same volume in a quiet place, you might feel uncomfortable.

The “safe level” for most sound is below 80 dB for up to 40 hours a week. A level of 80 dB is roughly equal to the noise of a subway.

It makes the world go round. It teaches lessons, makes people feel warm, and sometimes causes pain. 【小题1】 That’s right — we’re talking about the knee shaking, palm sweating, heart pounding feeling of love!

There are many types of love. Most people feel love for members of their family—this long-term connection is often called attachment. They may feel this same emotion toward friends or even pets. 【小题2】 These feelings are quite different from those people feel for family and friends. Sometimes, these initial feelings grow into long-term love similar to that felt in families.

Why do people feel love? Many experts believe it’s rooted in survival. After all, most people first feel love for family members or caretakers. 【小题3】 Especially for children, this is a major advantage for survival. Later in life, when people start to love romantic partners, this is driven by similar needs.

【小题4】 It can reduce stress and lower blood pressure. Spending time with loved ones can also lead to a longer lifespan. In fact, close family and community relationships is one factor that may help people live longer.

With all this talk about love, maybe someone, you care about is on your mind. How can you show someone you love them? There are plenty of ways! You can convey love by showing appreciation, giving praises, and being a good listener. Sharing, doing small favors, or giving a hug can also show a person you care. 【小题5】 If you care about someone, tell them so. Making a card or writing them a letter can also be great ways to share love. If you’re not sure what to do, just ask yourself: What actions make you feel loved?

Science experiments don’t always go as planned. 【小题1】. Recently, Australian scientists learned something unexpected about magpies (喜鹊) when they tried to attach trackers to them to learn more about their habits.                                                  

【小题2】. They’re medium-sized black and white birds from the same bird “family” as crows and blue jays. They’re known to be quite clever. They live in groups of up to 12 birds and work together to defend the area they live in.

The researchers were eager to try a new tracker on the magpies. They hoped to learn more about how far the birds flew and what they did during a normal day. But it’s hard to find trackers that work well with small-and medium-sized birds. 【小题3】. The new trackers are light and can be recharged without wires while they are still on the birds.

To keep the trackers on the birds without causing flying problems, the researchers developed a special harness (系带). It was tough, so it wouldn’t come off by accident. 【小题4】. The researchers placed trackers on five magpies. But just ten minutes after setting up the last magpie, they noticed something unusual: an adult female magpie was helping another magpie get free from its harness. A few hours later, most of the other magpies were also freed from their harnesses. By the third day, none of the birds had trackers anymore.

The scientists were disappointed about the trackers. However, they realized that the magpies had taught them something else—【小题5】, even if the bird who is helping doesn’t get a reward.