Thousands of years of domestication have left dogs with a remarkable capacity to comprehend human speech, and new research reveals that the brains of our four-legged friends are even able to differentiate between languages. Appearing in the journal Neurolmage, the new study is the first to detect such an ability in any non-human animal.

To conduct their research, the study authors trained 18 pet dogs to lie motionless inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)scanner so that their brain activity could be recorded while they listened to audio recordings of human speech. Two of the dogs involved in the study came from homes that spoke Spanish, while the remaining 16 belonged to Hungarian-speaking families.

While in the scanner, each dog listened to an excerpt（节选）from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince in both Spanish and Hungarian. They also heard scrambled（杂乱的）versions of these recordings that made no sense and sounded completely unnatural.

When examining the responses of the dogs' brains to these recordings, the researchers noted that activity patterns within the animals＇ primary auditory cortex（听觉皮层）differed depending on whether they heard actual speech or scrambled nonsense. This suggests that dogs are indeed able to tell the difference between speech and non-speech, regardless of the language spoken.

The researchers also found that this response to language was more pronounced in older dogs, leading them to conclude that longer exposure to human speech enables pet dogs to improve their language recognition skills.

In a statement, study author Attila Andic explained these findings indicate that "the capacity to learn about the regularities of a language is not uniquely human. "However, it remains to be seen "whether this capacity is dogs' specialty, or general among non-human species. "

"Indeed, it is possible that the brain changes from the tens of thousands of years that dogs have been living with humans have made them better language listeners, but this is not necessarily the case. "

A grey-headed flying fox is back gliding through the night after life-saving surgery on a broken wing. The female flying fox's wing was badly injured when it was twisted in a net placed over fruit trees in Geelong, Victoria. It was rescued and taken to Werribee Open Range Zoo's veterinary hospital where it needed two operations to repair the wing. 

Paul Eden, doctor of the hospital, said, "The flying fox was in a very serious condition when it arrived." Flying foxes are highly dependent on their wings for many purposes. They can fly an astonishing 6,000 km in a year to search for food and pollinate a wide range of plants. They also use their wings to help capture insects, regulate body temperature and attract other flying foxes during mating season, So, it was extremely important that we did everything we could to help this animal make a full recovery. Vets operated to remove some of the flying fox's damaged wing tissue and also gave it antibiotics（抗生素）and pain relief medication. 

Following the successful procedure, the flying fox was transferred to a wildlife carer to prepare it for release back into where it belonged. Dr Eden said, "It is very rewarding to see the flying fox recover fully and safely return home." According to researchers from Werribee Open Range Zoo, flying foxes played a critical role in Australia's ecosystem, not only for the survival of other native animals but also humans. Our ecosystem would be dramatically different without flying foxes. 

Dr Eden noted that there were some simple actions people could take to keep flying foxes safe, including reducing the risk of twisting by using nets with a size no bigger than 5 mm×5 mm when fully stretched over vegetable gardens or fruit trees. "If you encounter a flying fox that is sick or in distress, for the safety of everyone, don't attempt to rescue the animal yourself. Instead, contact Wildlife Victoria who will send a trained officer to rescue the animal," Dr Eden said. 

Known for its Terracotta Warriors, the ancient Chinese city of Xi 'an in Shaanxi Province is also a city with delicious food. Here are some of them.

Yangrou paomo

Yangrou paomo, or pita bread soaked in lamb soup, is another signature food of Xian, The main ingredient in this mouth- watering dish is mutton and pita bread. The hard bread is torn into small pieces and added to a bowl, then topped with stewed and sliced mutton, scallion, coriander and chili, and then the soup is poured over all of it,

Biangbiang noodles

Biangbiang noodles (stewed-pork hand-ripped noodles) are thick, fat and long. Each noodle is three fingers wide, spiraling down into a big bowl. It is served dry, with toppings of chili and pork belly in alternating layers of fat and lean meat. Biangbiang noodles are famous not only for their distinctive taste, but also for the name, the character of which is so complicated that many Chinese don't know how to write it. Biang refers to the sound chefs make when they pull the dough into noodles and bang them against the table.

Dumpling

A visit to Xian is not complete unless you try the dumplings. They are made in different shapes, colors and flavors--sour, sweet or peppery, the dumplings have different fillings. Cooking methods have also expanded, from boiling to frying.

Rougamo

Ancient Chinese called it "Rou jia yu mo zhong", which means the meat is inside the bun(a kind of small bread). The most important part of "Rougamo" is the special sauce meat.

According to the history record, "Rougamo" first found in book is in Qin Dynasty, which was called "Hanmo". "Rougamo" is not only a sign of the ancient city, but also a sign of Chinese traditional foods.