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The English oak is one of Britain's most iconic trees. Broad and majestic, this tree supports more species than any other native tree in the UK, from blackbirds, to squirrels to butterflies. For centuries it has stood watching the landscapes change and our societies evolve. The question is, can a tree remember, learn and adapt to new environments within its lifetime? Does wisdom lie within its boughs? 英国橡树是英国最具标志性的树木之一。 这棵树宽阔而雄伟，比英国任何其他本土树木都支持更多的物种，从黑鸟、松鼠到蝴蝶。 几个世纪以来，它一直见证着景观的变化和我们社会的演变。 问题是，一棵树在其一生中能否记忆、学习和适应新环境？ 智慧就在它的枝干里吗？ Trees provide a physical record of their life experiences in their growth rings. Dendrochronologists take samples from a tree trunk and are able to see whether a tree has been through a forest fire, periods of drought or a rainy season. But these markings are more than just battle scars. An organisation called Membra studies a number of UK tree species to see how they 'remember' and respond to environmental stress. Their research shows that environmental events do not change the tree's genetic code, but they can change how its genes react, which helps the tree adapt and defend itself against future drought, disease or climate extremes. So, trees don't have conscious memories of events like humans do – they remember through biological, structural changes.树木的年轮提供了它们生命经历的物理记录。 树木年代学家从树干上采集样本，能够判断一棵树是否经历过森林火灾、干旱期或雨季。 但这些标记不仅仅是战斗伤痕。 一个名为 Membra 的组织研究了一些英国树种，以了解它们如何“记忆”并应对环境压力。 他们的研究表明，环境事件不会改变树木的遗传密码，但可以改变其基因的反应方式，这有助于树木适应并防御未来的干旱、疾病或极端气候。 因此，树木不像人类那样对事件有意识的记忆——它们通过生物、结构的变化来记忆。That's a tree's defence in its own lifespan, but can their memories be passed down to future generations? Membra's research found that seedlings were more tolerant to drought when their parents had experienced repeated drought. And in one of the world's largest climate change experiments, published in Nature Climate Change by Richard Norby and colleagues, they pumped extra CO2 into an oak forest. Not only did the trees absorb more CO2, but the offspring of those trees also grew faster and were more resistant to disease, suggesting that tough conditions might make trees' offspring more resilient.那是一棵树在其生命周期中的防御，但它们的记忆能遗传给后代吗？ 曼布拉的研究发现，当父母经历过反复干旱时，幼苗对干旱的耐受性更强。 在理查德·诺比及其同事在《自然气候变化》杂志上发表的世界上最大的气候变化实验之一中，他们向橡树林中注入了额外的二氧化碳。 这些树木不仅吸收了更多的二氧化碳，而且这些树木的后代也生长得更快，对疾病的抵抗力也更强，这表明恶劣的条件可能会让树木的后代更有弹性。What does this all mean? There has been a wave of tree planting schemes throughout the UK, with aims to improve biodiversity and our defence against climate change. Fast-growing and short-lived tree species are often favoured in these schemes to quickly increase tree numbers. But trees that live longer, like oaks, which have a greater memory and resilience, could be a better choice. 这一切意味着什么？ 英国各地掀起了一波植树计划，旨在改善生物多样性和抵御气候变化。 这些计划通常倾向于生长快速且寿命短的树种，以快速增加树木数量。 但寿命较长的树木，如橡树，具有更强的记忆力和恢复力，可能是更好的选择。

4,000 brain scans of people up to the age of 90 have revealed our brains go through five distinct eras. The first is childhood. This is when the brain is rapidly growing but getting less efficient over time.对 4000 名最大年龄为 90 岁的人的脑部扫描显示出我们的大脑会经历五个不同的阶段。首先是童年期。在这个阶段中，大脑会快速地生长，但效率会逐渐降低。Then, a surprisingly long period of adolescence kicks in, starting at the age of nine and lasting until you're 32 when the brain peaks. You then get the longest stage, adulthood, which lasts three decades.在这之后，一段漫长到令人有些惊讶的青春期就会开始，这段时期从九岁开始一直持续到 32 岁，那时你的大脑会达到最佳状态。然后你会迎来最长的成年期阶段，持续约三十年。Then comes 66 and early ageing. The effects are subtle, but the brain is beginning to fragment as smaller regions work tightly together – it's like a band starting their own solo projects. At 83, this accelerates as we enter the final phase.然后在 66 岁时进入早期衰老阶段。这个阶段的影响并不明显，但大脑会开始逐渐碎片化，更小的区域会开始紧密合作，就像一个乐队中的成员开始推出他们的个人作品一样。到 83 岁时，这个现象会开始加速，大脑进入最后的晚期阶段。

The international team of researchers says ultra-processed foods present too great a danger to health to wait any longer to take action against them.一个国际研究团队称，超加工食品对健康的危害太大，所以必须立即采取行动来应对。They say products containing high levels of saturated fat, salt, sugar and additives are displacing fresh food. Examples include processed meats, crisps, mass-produced bread, ready meals and fizzy drinks.研究人员表示，含有大量饱和脂肪、盐、糖和添加剂的食品正在取代新鲜食物，比如加工肉类、炸薯片、批量生产的面包、即食餐和碳酸饮料。The researchers take aim at a handful of massive food corporations, calling for them to face marketing restrictions and extra taxes.研究人员将矛头指向了少数几家大型食品公司，呼吁对它们施加营销限制并征收额外的税费。

Can you imagine waiting ten years to take the perfect photograph? With phones accessible in our pocket, it's easier than ever to take photos of nature and wildlife, providing we can find it. But what skills do the most successful wildlife photographers have? Talent, patience, curiosity and resilience.你能想象为了拍到一张完美的照片而等待十年吗？如今手机随身携带，只要我们能找到拍摄对象，拍摄自然与野生动物从未如此容易。那么，最成功的野生动物摄影师具备哪些能力呢？天赋、耐心、好奇心以及韧性。The winner of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 was South African wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever. His shot depicts a brown hyena lit up in an abandoned mining town in the Namibian desert and was the culmination of ten years' work. So why was it so difficult to capture? The subject is a shy creature, mostly active at night, and the Namib Desert often succumbs to thick fog, while easterly winds can pile sand up to a metre high. "I had one or two years where cameras just got absolutely trashed," he says.2025 年“年度野生动物摄影师”大奖得主是南非野生动物摄影师温·范·登·希弗（Wim van den Heever）。他的作品拍摄的是一只棕鬣狗，在纳米比亚沙漠的一座废弃矿镇中被灯光照亮，这是他十年努力的结晶。那么，为什么这张照片如此难以拍到？拍摄对象性格羞怯，主要在夜间活动；纳米布沙漠又常常被浓雾笼罩，东风还会将沙子堆积到高达一米。“有一两年的时间，相机简直被彻底毁掉了，”他说。The images captured in this competition are not just stunning, they are also powerful glimpses into the fragile, complex and beautiful ecosystems we share. The picture that won Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 is of a longhorn beetle appearing to look out at big logging machinery which is chopping down its habitat. The photographer has cleverly framed the beetle and machinery to be equal in size, which one of the judges commented on. "The photographer has given M. asper authority in this image. It does exactly what a strong photograph should do – it increases our understanding.”本次比赛中的影像不仅令人惊叹，更有力地呈现了我们共同生活其中那些脆弱、复杂而美丽的生态系统。获得 2025 年“年度青年野生动物摄影师”奖的作品，拍摄的是一只长角甲虫，仿佛正注视着正在砍伐其栖息地的大型伐木机械。摄影师巧妙地将甲虫与机械构图成同等大小，这一点得到了评委的评价。“摄影师在这张照片中赋予了 M. asper 一种主导感。这正是优秀摄影作品应有的力量——它加深了我们的理解。”A strong visual can not only provoke the urgency of conservation but can also give us glimpses into the unexpected. This year a Belgian photographer captured a startling image of one of the world's only maritime lions. These big cats moved from their traditional hunting grounds in the Namib Desert in 2017 and have since learnt to hunt fur seals along the Atlantic coast. "The photo shows how resilient these animals are… that they change their habitat to survive," says the photographer, Van Malderen.强有力的视觉影像不仅能唤起人们对自然保护的紧迫感，也能让我们看到意想不到的变化。今年，一位比利时摄影师拍下了一张震撼人心的照片，主角是世界上极少见的海岸狮。这些大型猫科动物于 2017 年离开了它们在纳米布沙漠的传统狩猎地，并逐渐学会沿着大西洋海岸捕食海豹。“这张照片展现了这些动物的顽强生命力……它们为了生存而改变栖息地，”摄影师范·马尔德伦（Van Malderen）说道。What wildlife could you capture? Grab your phone, explore nature and see what you can find.你又能捕捉到怎样的野生动物呢？拿起手机，走进自然，看看你能发现什么。

We're talking about the Volkswagen scandal. Yes, well, let's go back to the beginning. How did it all start? Well, Richard, if you think about it, German products, they have a good reputation, don't they? Especially for engineering, yes.我们在谈论大众汽车丑闻。是的，那我们回到事情的起点吧。一切是如何开始的呢？理查德，如果你仔细想想，德国产品的口碑一直很好，对吧？尤其是在工程技术方面，是的。And I think the motor car industry represents the best of all of that. Yes, they're reliable, well-designed, efficient, highly engineered. Who doesn't want to own a BMW? Or a Mercedes.我认为汽车工业正是这些优点的最佳体现。是的，它们可靠、设计精良、高效，而且工程技术含量极高。谁不想拥有一辆宝马？或者一辆奔驰呢？But in terms of being environmentally friendly, diesel cars have a poor reputation, particularly in the US, where very few are sold. So, yes, so when VW said that it had designed cars with a new clean diesel technology that surpassed the strict US regulations, it filled a huge hole in the market. Yes, so there are fewer fumes, Richard, toxic fumes.但是在环保方面，柴油车的名声并不好，尤其是在美国，柴油车的销量非常少。所以，当大众汽车宣称他们设计出了一种新的清洁柴油技术，能够超越美国严格的环保法规时，这正好填补了市场上的一个巨大空白。是的，这意味着废气更少了，理查德，有毒废气更少了。It's mainly... Nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, things like that. OK, but retaining better fuel efficiency and excellent performance. I mean, VW was on to a winner, wasn't it? Sales were soaring.主要是……氮氧化物、一氧化碳之类的东西。好吧，但同时还能保持更好的燃油效率和出色的性能。我的意思是，大众汽车当时似乎找到了制胜法宝，不是吗？销量一路飙升。And, of course, their US advert said, Diesel – it's no longer a dirty word. So, step in John German, a worker for a small, independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to helping reduce vehicle emissions. Yes, he was asked by his European colleague to check the emissions of two diesel VWs because they wanted to carry out on-the-road testing in the US.当然，他们在美国的广告中还说：“柴油——不再是一个肮脏的词。”于是，约翰·杰曼登场了，他在一家小型、独立的非营利组织工作，致力于帮助减少车辆排放。是的，他的一位欧洲同事请他检测两辆大众柴油车的排放情况，因为他们想在美国进行道路实测。So, he took two VW cars and a BMW also for a drive with a probe placed in the exhaust pipe so they could test the vehicle emissions. Yeah, and a portable emission measurement system. And he found out that the VWs massively exceeded the official emissions.于是，他开着两辆大众汽车和一辆宝马上路测试，在排气管中放置了探头，以便检测车辆排放。是的，还使用了一套便携式排放测量系统。结果他发现，大众汽车的排放量远远超过了官方标准。Remembering that we have two German cars here and their reputation for reliability, he thought there was a technical error with his measurement system. So, he did the tests again, he expanded the tests, and this time the cars were driven more than 1,200 miles from San Diego to Seattle. So, what he found was that the VWs, they still exceeded the US standards by up to 35 times.想到这里测试的是两辆德国车，而德国车一向以可靠著称，他以为是自己的测量系统出了技术故障。于是他重新进行了测试，并扩大了测试范围，这一次车辆从圣迭戈一路开到西雅图，行驶了超过1200英里。结果他发现，大众汽车的排放仍然高出美国标准，最高甚至达到了35倍。Although the BMW itself was fine. Was absolutely fine. So, to cut a long story short, we now know that VW had installed a defeat device software that gave inaccurate measurements when the cars were being tested.而宝马本身则完全没有问题，确实是完全合格的。长话短说，我们现在知道，大众汽车安装了一种“作弊装置”软件，在车辆接受检测时会给出不准确的排放数据。But only when they were tested in laboratory conditions, not when they were out on the road. Yeah, somehow the car knows it's being tested, maybe because the steering wheel isn't being turned, or maybe because the outside temperature doesn't change. But once on the road, however, the software doesn't kick in and the true emissions could be detected.但这种情况只发生在实验室条件下的检测中，而不是在实际道路行驶时。是的，不知怎么的，汽车似乎知道自己正在被测试，可能是因为方向盘没有转动，或者因为外界温度没有变化。但一旦上路行驶，这套软件就不会启动，真实的排放情况就暴露出来了。Yeah, so it means for the last two years, there have been far more harmful emissions coming out of these VW cars in America than before. So, VW faces huge fines for breaking the Clear Air Act, plus fines of up to over $37,000 per vehicle in the US. So, is this the end of VW, Richard?是的，这意味着在过去两年里，这些大众汽车在美国排放出了比以前多得多的有害气体。因此，大众汽车因违反《清洁空气法》将面临巨额罚款，而且在美国每辆车的罚款最高可能超过3.7万美元。那么，这会是大众汽车的终结吗，理查德？