The Communication of Elephants
Although it may seem that humans are the best at communication since they use languages, animals also communicate in different ways. Elephants are a great example of this. They may seem to move their body parts ( 18 ). However, this is not true. They show their emotions and what they want to do by using body movements such as moving their ears, waving their long noses, and using certain body positions.
Elephants are big animals, but they try to make themselves look even bigger when they face a threat. They do so by spreading their ears and raising their heads. ( 19 ), when they show that they accept the others’ authority, they pull their ears back and put their heads down. Not only do they express their own emotions, but they also feel the emotions of others. For instance, if another elephant is upset, they will gently touch its nose to calm it down.
While some communication tools are easily observed by people, elephants also use a method that people cannot see or hear. That is, they use low sounds because lower sounds can reach farther than higher sounds. By using them, they can send messages to others ( 20 ). They can inform others of the presence of enemies or rival groups and gather friends when they find water or food sources. Mothers can also help their baby elephants feel calm and safe by letting them know where they are from a distance.
Ifugao people live on Luzon Island in the Philippines. The name Ifugao comes from ipugo, which means “from the hill” in the local language. As its name suggests, they live on a steep mountain slope. This means that it is difficult for them to use large areas of land for growing rice and other crops. Due to ( 21 ), they have practiced creative ways. Ifugao people made rice fields on the slopes of the mountain, which looked like stairs.
The idea of ( 22 ) is at the center of the Ifugao people’s traditions. Following this idea, the rice fields are created along the shapes of the mountains. Instead of bringing water for farming from the foot of the mountain, they use water that flows naturally from the top of the mountain. Since machines cannot be used in the stair-like rice fields, planting and harvesting are annual events in which the community helps each other. Through these events, the younger generation learns about the farming traditions in the community.
However, young people from the island recently moved to the city. Helping each other in the community is no longer working well. The people remaining on the island need to make money to support themselves. Some of them cleared forest areas to make their own vegetable fields and took away natural water sources from the rice fields. ( 23 ), a large quantity of the rice fields was damaged because of the lack of workers and water. Therefore, some efforts are being made to keep the rice fields in good condition.
Dear school library staff members,
My name is Jessica Smith, and I am a student here at Mount High School. I attended the reading week event you organized last month. I especially liked the lunchtime event where students introduced books to each other. We seldom talk about reading books in our daily conversations. This event helped me realize that many students were interested in reading, which has encouraged me. I hope the school library holds this kind of event often. I am a member of the Student Council, and we have been discussing how to improve our school life. As part of this project, I would like to know more about the assistance the school library gives students. I would especially like to ask you some questions about the orientation for new students and the study support system linked to each subject. I would also like to know how you plan to encourage library use during long vacations. I have put together several questions in one document and am sending it with this e-mail. Please write your answers on the document and return it to me by e-mail. Once I receive your answers, I would like to invite some of you to one of the council’s meetings. We meet at four in the afternoon in Room 303 every Tuesday. If you could let us know in advance, we can spare half an hour for the discussion.
At the start of the 1900s, Thomas Sullivan, a tea importer from New York, accidentally invented tea bags. He delivered tea leaf samples to his customers in small silk bags. He believed that they would take the leaves out of the bags before use. To his surprise, the customers thought it would be more convenient to pour hot water over the tea leaves while they were still in the bag. His invention had the advantage of making it easier to make a cup of tea, as well as making the process of cleaning the pot easier.
Tea bag materials have changed over time. Sullivan’s first silk bags were replaced with cotton after his customers complained that silk bags were not the best for making tea. As the popularity of tea bags grew, it became impossible for tea bags made by hand to meet the demand. That was why filter paper was introduced. It was cheap and allowed water to pass through while keeping tea leaves inside. It was ideal for large-volume production. Today, in addition to filter paper, nylon tea bags are also common in the market.
The spread of tea bags was first observed in the United States and Canada. It took a while, however, for them to gain popularity in Britain. Using tea bags was considered rude in their culture among some people. This attitude began to change after World War II when people’s lives became busier. In busy lifestyles, their traditional method of using tea leaves that were not in bags became difficult. Tea bags were suitable for the modern, fast-paced life.
Tea bags continue to improve. In the late 1990s, pyramid-shaped tea bags appeared on the market. The shape offers more space for tea leaves to move freely compared to square tea bags. At the same time, there is a movement to go back to using paper, cloth, or silk instead of nylons or materials that include some plastic. This goes with the global trend toward reducing plastic use. These efforts aim to make tea bags, which are usually thrown away after one use, more environmentally friendly.
