Many people know that rubbish is a big problem on planet Earth. What many people don't know is that junk(垃圾)has become a problem in outer space too.
According to BBC News, there are more than 22, 000 pieces of space junk floating around the earth. And these are just the things that we can see from the surface of the earth by telescopes (望远镜). There are also millions of smaller pieces of junk that we can't see.
Objects, like bits of old space rockets or satellites, move around the planet at very high speeds fast that even a very small piece can break important satellites or become dangerous to astronauts. If the tiniest piece of junk crashed into a spaceship, it could damage the vehicle.
To make things worse, when two objects in space crash, they break into many smaller pieces. For example, when a U.S. satellite hit an old Russian rocket in 2009, it broke into more than 2,000 pieces, increasing the amount of space junk.
To reduce additional space junk, countries have agreed that all new space tools can only stay in space for 25 years at most. Each tool must be built to fall safely into the earth's atmosphere after that time. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, it will burn up.
Many scientists also suggesting different ways to clean up space junk. In England scientists are testing a metal net that can be fired into space junk. The net catches the junk and then pulls it into the earth's atmosphere to burn up. The Germans are building robots that can collect pieces of space junk and bring them back to Earth to be safely destroyed.
The problem is becoming more challenging because we're sending more objects into space to help people use their mobile phones and computers,” says Marco Castronuovo, an Italian space Researcher.
“The time to act is now. The longer we leave the problem, the bigger it will become,” he says.
C
The 14th Chinese Language Competition attracted about 1,100 children from kindergarten kids to high school students. The children from different languages and cultural backgrounds met in San Francisco and competed in events like Chinese Calligraphy（书法）, drawing and Chinese poetry recital（背诵）.
Thomson, an 11th-grade boy from Justin-Siena High School in Napa city of California, has studied Chinese language for three years. It was hard for him to learn Chinese at the beginning, because it was one of the most difficult languages in the world. However, the writing of Chinese characters is a form of art, which made him feel different. "It's amazing to see how attractive Chinese culture is." he said.
Julie, a 12th-grade girl shared her similar experience of learning Chinese for four years. When recalling her trip in Beijing and Shanghai, she expressed huge interest in shared bikes. "The shared bike is known as one of the new 'Great Inventions' of China, along with China's Express Railway and Alipay online payment system. They amaze the whole world as part of China's rapid rise."
According to the hosting organization, the Confucius Institute at San Francisco State University, the competition was mainly for American and overseas Chinese kids. It aimed to set a platform to present （展示）their Chinese language and culture talents. It also helped to deepen the understanding of young Americans about the Chinese culture and history.
E
Artificial intelligence（人工智能）, or AI in short, is the science of giving computers and machines ability to think and work like humans. AI scientists and engineers have made a lot of cool technologies.
AI is rapidly catching up with the human ability to read faces. As a result, facial recognition（识别）is used a lot in the world. Chinese police use this technology to identify criminals（罪犯）.Once they caught a criminal when he attended a concert. It also checks the ID of ride-hailing（网约车）drivers and lets people pay for things with a smile.
AI is also used in self-driving cars, which are believed to be the future of driving. Most drivers may wave or nod at passers-by to let them cross the street, but self-driving cars don't have this ability. Carmakers are testing a light signal system to help them "speak" to humans. The system can show what self-driving cars will do. For example, if a driverless car is yielding（让路）, it will flash two white lights side to side. A rapidly flashing light tells passers-by that the car is about to speed up.
Service Robots also show you know powerful AI is. Imagine this—you come back home from school and your robot housekeeper is waiting for you at the door. After dinner, he teaches you to play the piano, just like a real music teacher. Such thoughts will soon happen in the real world. In the future, more and more service robots will become good home helpers.
AI is so powerful that it can help human beings and even replace us in many jobs.
A
When you go on a vacation, the hotel you choose and the room you stay in are important. There are many cool theme（主题）hotel rooms around the world. Here are some of them.
The Harry Potter Room The George Castle Hotel in England gives its guests the experience of staying in Harry Potter's world. This 19th-century castle hotel is beside Harry Potter tour bus stop. The bus will take you to the Making Of Harry Potter studio tour. | Ice Theme Room An ice theme can be found at Hotel de Glace in Canada. In winter, you can get a fireplace and a private spa in the rooms. The ice hotel has new rooms each year. This winter, it will build a room with the theme of Disney's movie Frozen. |
Pirate（海盗）Theme Room If you want a more attractive theme room, the Adventure Island Hotel in America is the best choice. In their pirate theme rooms, you'll feel like you're on a pirate ship in a world of sea adventures. | Night at the Movies Room At the Wensley Hotel in Australia, guests are crazy about the Night at the Movies Room. There they can see different things of Hollywood, such as Hollywood signs over the door, and hand-painted actors' pictures above the bed. |
For his eleventh birthday, Lin was given a gift that would shape his life. On that day his father took him to the Children's Activity Centre and said he could choose any course that interested him. There was just one requirement: Lin would have to promise to study it for at least one year.
To that point Lin had had many hobbies, but none kept his interest for more than a week or two. His mum once gave him a bag of stamps to encourage stamp collecting. That hobby lasted a week. Then his father got him some paints hoping that Lin's artistic side would shine through. Those paints were now under his bed, still unopened. This time Lin's parents would let him decide.
Lin's eyes moved down the noticeboard that listed all the courses on offer. He stopped at "Photography". He liked the idea of taking beautiful pictures but the notice said that each student needed their own camera. Although Lin's family weren't poor, they weren't rich either, and a camera cost a lot of money. He continued looking.
The next course to catch his eye was "Language Art". He didn't even know what that meant. His father explained that it taught people how to make public speeches. Lin, a shy boy, could think of nothing worse.
Then he saw it. "Cooking" sounded like something he'd like to do. It was inexpensive and convenient, it could be done alone and it was also creative.
Based on Lin's hobby history, his dad had doubts, but he agreed. Much to his parents' surprise, Lin kept his promise. He studied cooking at the Centre every Saturday, and practised at home, making delicious meals for his family. Everyone looked forward to birthdays, when they could eat his cakes. Lin got great satisfaction from the pleasure his food brought to others.
The months turned to years but his hobby never changed again.
Now Lin is an adult and runs a successful restaurant. When customers say they enjoy his meal, he still gets the same pleasure he did as a child, and remembers the special gift he received all those years ago.
Experts believe that there are more than 8 million restaurants in the world today. So it might surprise you to learn that restaurants, as we know them, have only existed for a few centuries. Before 1765, there were no restaurants. That is, there were no places that provided the restaurant experience. There was nowhere in which a waiter brought you food and drink that you picked from a menu. In fact, there were no menus anywhere.
There were eating places travellers could go to centuries before that. The countryside was full of inns that would serve food. And there were taverns where one could get drinks. The rich could also eat special meals prepared by private cooks. But none of them could be called a “restaurant”.
A man called Boulanger changed that. In 1765, he opened a place in Paris that sold soups(汤). On his sign he used the word "restaurant" to describe what he was selling. At that time, soups were considered something that could help "restore"(恢复)your health- in French the word "restore" is “restaurer”— so he called the soups "restaurants". Soon, people started buying Boulanger's soups even when they were not ill. And over time, people began to use the word "restaurant" to refer to a place selling soup rather than the soup itself. More "restaurants" opened in France, and people began to buy soups more often.
Later, restaurants in Paris began to serve other food besides soup. In the 1790s, menus started to appear. By the mid-1800s, there were many types of restaurants throughout the world. The United States offered coffee shops. Tea houses became popular throughout China. Paris created beautiful restaurants for the rich. The British began to copy the French, and the restaurant idea spread throughout the British Empire.
Today cities are filled with all types of restaurants. Diners have millions of options from which to choose.
Science for Kids This month's most popular books | |
⒈Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky Price $25 We all know the story of Marie Curie and her many scientific achievements. But many other brilliant female scientists are far less well known. This book is a great introduction to the lives and works of some of the most important and up-to-now unknown women in science. Recommended for Ages: 12-15 | Special Offer For this month only, all Bestbooks Book Club members will pay 20% less for every book ordered. Join our club for free and save big money! Delivery We bring every book you order night to our door within three days. For Bestbooks Book Club members this is free. Non-members must pay an extra $2 per book. |
⒉First Big book of How by Jill Esbaum Price $15 An excellent book about sea life for young children. The book is divided into 4 parts, one for each of the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic oceans. It focuses on the different animals found in each of these seas, along with interesting facts and amazing pictures. Ages: 5-10 | |
⒊A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson Price $15 Bill Bryson takes readers on a very funny and educational trip through the history of modern science-from its unexpected successes to its great failures and everything in between. Ages: 14 and over | |
⒋National Geographic's First Big Book of the World by Jan Carn. Price $20 This book is the perfect introduction to the seven continents. It tells young readers about the different animals that live on each of these lands and gives a simple description of the people's history and culture. Ages: 5-12 | |
D
Shenzhen, Jan 1st, 2018—Shenzhen has become the world's first city to make all its public buses, about 16,359, run on electricity. A total of 12,518 taxis, or 62.5 percent of all the taxis in the city are electric ones. "We will replace（替换）the rest of the taxis with electric ones by 2020." said Mr. Chen from the government.
"I have been a driver for twenty years," said Mr. Zhang, a driver who started to drive e-buses a month ago. "We had several rounds of training and passed strict exams before we were allowed to drive the e-buses."
The city has built 8,000 charging poles（充电桩）and 501 bus charging stations. "A bus can be fully charged within two hours and the charging poles can serve 300 buses a day at our station. Since the replacement, the bus station has become quiet, even as the e-buses are entering and exiting the station." said Mr. Guan, the manager of Qinghu Bus Station.
The use of e-buses and e-taxis plays an important role in improving air quality. In a year, the e-buses use 72.9 percent less energy than the traditional ones. The e-taxis save the energy of 119,000 tons of standard coal.
Shenzhen was one of the first 13 cities to take part in the National New-energy Vehicle Program (NNVP). In 2017, the city spent 3.3 billion yuan on e-buses and the charging equipment. The city also encourages people to bus new-energy cars or e-cars by reducing their payment.
B
Last summer, Mac Hollan, a primary school teacher, was cycling to Alaska with two friends. On the way, his friends had to stop for a bicycle repair, but they encouraged Mac to ride on, and they would catch up with him soon.
Mac began to cycle alone. A few minutes later, Mac heard quick and loud breathing behind him. "Man, that's a big dog!" he thought. But when he looked to the side, he saw immediately that it wasn't a dog at all, but a wolf, quickly catching up with him.
Mac's heart jumped. He searched and took out his can of bear spray（防熊喷雾）. With one hand on the bars, he fired the spray at the wolf. A bright red cloud enveloped the animal. To Mac's relief（宽慰）, it fell back, shaking its head. A minute later, however, it was again by his side. It even attacked the back of Mac's bike, tearing open his tent bag. He fired at the wolf a second time, and again, it fell back, only to quickly restart the chase（追赶）.
Mac was riding hard now. He waved and shouted at passing cars without slowing down.
At that moment, Paul and Becky were driving their car on their way to Alaska. They found a dog-like animal running alongside a man on a bike. As they got closer, they realized that the "dog" was a wolf. Mac heard a large car behind him. He kept waving and shouting as the wolf was catching up closer. And the car did stop in front of him at the right time.
