每日新闻播报（February 25）

>Cambridge mulls typed exams
剑桥或终结用纸笔答卷
The increasing illegibility of students' handwriting has prompted Cambridge University to consider ending 800 years of tradition by allowing laptops to replace pen and paper for exams. Academics say that students are losing the ability to write by hand en masse because of their reliance on laptops in lectures and elsewhere. Sarah Pearsall, a senior lecturer at Cambridge's history faculty, said: "Fifteen or 20 years ago, students routinely wrote by hand several hours a day, but now they write virtually nothing by hand except exams. ... It is difficult for both the students and the examiners as it is harder and harder to read these scripts." The university has launched a consultation as part of its digital education strategy after piloting an exam typing method in the history and classics departments.
学生的字迹越来越难以辨认，这促使剑桥大学考虑终结考试用纸笔答题这个延续了800年的传统，允许使用笔记本电脑应试。学者称，因为在课堂及其他地方依赖笔记本电脑，学生整体正失去手写的能力。剑桥大学历史系高级讲师莎拉•皮尔索尔表示，15年或20年前，学生通常每天要写上几小时的字，但现在除了考试外他们几乎不写字。……字迹越来越难辨认，这对考官和学生来说都是问题。在历史和古典文学系开展打字答考题试点后，剑桥大学已开始就此征求意见，作为数字教育战略的一部分。

>NASA looks for 'joker'
NASA欲招募'搞笑'宇航员
Astronauts have traditionally been serious, sensible types with the "right stuff" who can be trusted to fly equipment worth billions of pounds. But any mission to Mars will need a "joker" or "class clown" figure to be successful, according to NASA research. A sense of humor will be vital for any team to keep morale high on a two-year trip to Mars. Jeffrey Johnson, professor of anthropology at the University of Florida, is advising NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog. He said: "Groups work best when they have somebody who takes on the role of class clown. These are people that have the ability to pull everyone together, bridge gaps when tensions appear and really boost morale." But he added: "Being funny won't be enough to land somebody the job. They also need to be an excellent scientist and engineer and be able to pass a rigorous training regime."
传统的宇航员是严肃理智的，具备"应有素质"，可以信赖他们驾驶价值数十亿英镑的设备飞行。但根据美国航天局(NASA)的研究，任何去往火星的任务都将需要一名"搞笑分子"或"班级小丑"式的人物才能获得成功。去往火星需要耗时两年，幽默感对任何去往火星的团队维持士气都至关重要。佛罗里达大学人类学教授杰弗里•约翰逊为NASA人类探索研究模拟项目提供建议，他表示："当团队中有人扮演班级小丑的角色时，团队的工作表现最好。这些人有能力团结所有人，当紧张局面出现时能弥合分歧并真正鼓舞士气。"但他也补充说："光是轻松搞笑并不足以胜任这份工作。他们还必须是出色的科学家和工程师，能够通过严格的训练项目。"

>UK mulls 'fast fashion' tax
英国政府拟征'快时尚'税
British MPs are demanding a "fast fashion" tax on retailers such as Boohoo and ASOS to help deal with waste generated by the industry thanks to a throwaway clothes culture. The charge would amount to ￡1 per item and would fund the collection and recycling of the ￡140 million worth of clothes discarded by Britons every year. Politicians also want schools to teach children how to make and repair garments in a return to the "make do and mend" approach from the Second World War. Britons buy around 1.1 million tons of new clothing each year – equating to 26.7 kg per person – in a fast fashion culture fuelled by online retailers which sell dresses for as little as ￡5. Around 430,000 tons are thrown in household bins, most of which goes to landfill, while many fast fashion items are made from plastic and shed billions of polluting particles into sewers, rivers and seas.
英国议员呼吁对Boohoo和ASOS这样的零售商征收"快时尚"税，以帮助应对快消服饰文化带来的时尚垃圾。以后每件衣服或需缴纳1英镑的税，英国人每年丢弃价值1.4亿英镑的的旧衣，这笔钱可以用来收集和回收这些旧衣。政治家们还希望学校倡导二战时期流传下来的"修修补补再用用"精神，教会学生如何制作和修补衣服。在线零售商卖的衣服有时便宜到一件只需5英镑，催生了快时尚文化，英国人每年购买的新衣服达110万吨左右，相当于每人26.7公斤。而英国每年扔掉的衣物约有43万吨，大多数废弃衣物进入了填埋场。但许多快消衣物的制作原料中含有塑料，导致大量污染颗粒进入到下水道、河流和海洋。

>Polar bears invade town
海冰融化致北极熊扰民
Parents in a remote Russian archipelago are scared to send their children to school after a "mass invasion" of polar bears into residential areas, state news agency TASS reported. Novaya Zemlya, located off Russia's northeastern arctic coast, has been swarmed by dozens of polar bears since December. The region's largest settlement, Belushya Guba, with a population of about 2,500 people, has reported more than 50 sightings. Local administrator Alexander Minayev said bears had attacked people and entered buildings. Polar bears are increasingly coming into contact with humans as climate change reduces their sea-ice habitats, forcing them on land for longer periods of time. The World Wildlife Fund has helped set up patrols in some arctic communities to prevent potentially fatal encounters.
据俄罗斯国家通讯社塔斯社报道，由于北极熊"大举入侵"偏远的俄罗斯群岛，岛上居民吓得都不敢送孩子去上学。自去年12月以来，已有数十只北极熊登上俄罗斯东北部北冰洋海岸附近的新地岛。据称，在该地区最大的人类定居点白鲸湾(人口约2500人)，当地人已目击北极熊50多次。当地行政长官亚历山大•米那耶夫说，北极熊袭击了人群，还进入了建筑。气候变化导致北极熊赖以居住的海冰减少，迫使北极熊更长久地停留在陆地上，因此北极熊和人类的接触越来越多。为防止与北极熊发生"致命邂逅"，世界自然基金会已帮助人们在北极圈的一些社区组建了巡逻队。

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