Mobile phones have changed the way we communicate (交流); they have also brought about problems in phone manners (礼仪). Gaik Lira, a Singapore-based advisor, has some advice on phone manners.
C.
When dealing with missed calls, the person being called should return the call. "Calls should be returned as soon as possible, and no later than the following day. Anything later than that, and an apology or a reason for the delay should go with the call. "
D.
Text messages should be kept short and to the point. If they go beyond four or five lines, call or e-mail instead. "The use of short forms should be among family members and friends, never in a business situation. "
E.
Speak in a low voice as if you were talking to someone next to you. If the connection is bad, don’t raise your voice in order to be heard, simply move to another place where the connection may be better. And if that doesn’t work, tell the caller to call you back or offer to call at a later time.
F.
When a conversation is cut off due to a bad connection, the person who started the conversation should call back. "It may be inconvenient for the other person to return the call, especially if it’s an unlisted number, or an overseas call. "
G.
When running late for a date or meeting, it is acceptable to text to inform that you’ll be delayed. Messages should be apologetic. "A message like ’ Sorry. Will be about 30 minutes late due to flight delay’ is considered polite and thoughtful. "
H.
Taking calls during meetings is only acceptable if you have informed the chairperson that you are expecting an urgent (紧急的) call. If you get an unexpected but urgent call, apologize to those present and offer a quick explanation as to why you have to take that call. Then leave the room to continue your phone conversation.
Understanding how nature reacts to climate (气候) change will require checking key life cycle events--flowering, the appearance of leaves, the first frog calls of the spring--all around the world. But ecologists (生态学家) can’t be everywhere, so they’re turning to non-scientists, sometimes called citizen scientists, for help.
B.
A group of scientists and educators set up an organization last year called the National Phenology Network. "Phenology" is what scientists call the study of the timing of events in nature.
C.
One of the group’s first efforts is to ask scientists and non-scientists to collect information about plant flowering and leafing every year. The program, called Project BudBurst, collects life cycle information on a variety of common plants from across the United States. People taking part in the project record their information on the Project BudBurst website.
D.
"People don’t have to be scientists--they just have to look around and see what’s in their neighbourhood," says Jennifer Schwartz, a scientist with the project. "As we collect this information, we’ll be able to know about the changes of plants and animals as the climate changes. "
E.
Not only that, the information also helps scientists learn about how these changes will have an effect on people, Scientists examining lilac (丁香花) flowering in western United States reported that in years when lilacs flowered early--before May 20th-wildfires later in the summer and fall were likely to be larger and more serious. Lilac flowering, then, could serve as an alarm bell.
F.
"The best way for us to increase our knowledge of how plants and animals are reacting to climate change is to increase the count of information we have," Schwartz says. "That’s why we need citizen scientists to get as much information from as many places on as many plants and anireals over as long a time period as we can. \