I believe in the power of science fiction, not just for its capacity to turn dreams into reality, but also for its power to bond together those who share a common view of the future. For me, that's true for my relationship with my dad. Some fathers and sons bond over sports, fishing or hunting, but my dad and I bond over Star Trek. We tried a trip to Disney World, but one of my earliest memories wasn't Mickey, but a Klingon battle cruiser (巡洋舰) on the screen.
Over the years, nearly every setting and situation has become far away for my dad and me. When it's warm at night, we're not driving along some dark streets in Indiana, but going at a slow speed with stars dimly shining. Both of us are thinking of them, without needing to say a word. All these imaginations of other universes have together created a private universe for my dad and me.
Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, once said, "Science fiction is a way of thinking, a way of logic that bypasses (绕过) a lot of nonsense. It allows people to look directly at important subjects." A lifetime of science fiction has influenced more than just my relationship with my dad, but has also helped me shape my own hopes for the future. I'm now a science writer.
Yes, science fiction has made me into a "nerd" (书呆子) and it also has been a source of joy for my family, making me an optimist while enabling me to think critically about the danger of technology. Thank those authors who have shared their visions: the world and my family are better for it. Thank my dad, who is both the best storyteller and the best man I have ever known because he helped me realize the truth of Tennyson's words, "For I dipped into the future, far as human eye could see, saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be."
From the top of Mount Qomolangma to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, plastic continues to pollute the environment, and it creates a significant threat to all life forms on Earth. Despite knowing the effects of plastic pollution, we have not been able to ban the use of plastic products. Now, thanks to the invention of a 17-year-old girl, Arora, we finally have a better choice. This plastic-like material is made from prawn (大虾) shells, and it breaks down 1.5 million times faster than most of the commercial plastic products we use today.
The Australian teen first became aware of the impact of plastic waste on the environment when shopping with her mother. She wondered why her mother had to pay for the plastic bags. When asked, the cashier informed her how plastic hurts the planet and that the additional charge was there to encourage people not to use it. This inspired Arora to create a kind of plastic that would break down faster than the conventional one.
But the journey of inventing "eco-friendly plastic" was not easy. She experimented with a number of organic materials such as cornflour and banana peels, both of which had to be ruled out because of their solubility (溶解性). One night, while having dinner, she noticed that the shells of prawns look plasticky. She immediately went to the lab to research. Later, she would describe that dinner as her "Eureka" moment.
She extracted the material called "chitin" from the shells and then mixed it with an insoluble protein called "fibroin", which is found in silk cocoons. Using the combination of these two organic materials, Arora created a plastic-like material that breaks down completely within just 33 days. Moreover, this plastic releases nitrogen when breaking down, which is why it can be used as plant fertilizer.
Arora's invention has caused a stir, and she has won a number of awards. As an inspiring young woman, Arora wants to make a difference in the world, and she wants to encourage other young people to follow their passion and make a positive difference however they can.
Even as self-driving cars become more and more popular, there's one problem that Silicon Valley hasn't solved: the traffic jam. But Airbus Group, a U.S. aeronautics and space company, thinks that it has a solution. The company's Silicon Valley branch recently announced it's been working on a secret project titled "Vahana", an autonomous flying vehicle that can be used for both passenger and cargo (货物) transport.
Airbus' flying taxi resembles a drone in design, and would use multiple propellers (螺旋桨) to travel medium-length distances. Developers in France and Germany are working on an electrically operated platform that would allow the flying taxi to carry multiple passengers once between city destinations. Currently, no countries allow completely autonomous aerial vehicles, so the vehicle would initially be manned by a pilot.
Flight tests of the first Vahana prototype (原型) are planned, in the hope of bringing the product to consumers quickly. That's about a decade sooner than another future-travel system Hyperloop One.
"I'm no big fan of Star Wars, but it's not crazy to imagine that one day our big cities will have flying cars making their way along roads in the sky," says Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders. "In a not too distant future, we'll use our smartphones to book a fully automated flying taxi that will land outside our front door — without any pilot."
But before you get too excited about beating rush-hour traffic, it's worth noting that the company has a lot of technological kinks to work out before the product is ready to test. The same sensor technology that allows self-driving cars to avoid accidents doesn't exist for aerial vehicles. Airbus Group isn't the only company trying to get in the autonomous air transportation game. There are a number of cargo drone companies on the market and the Ehang 184, a Chinese passenger drone, began flight testing in June.
Books have a beginning, a middle and an end. To properly read a book, you should pay attention to its importance. For non-fiction (纪实文学) books, it is important to read text in its entirety but think about only the major points the author is trying to express.
Choose a well-lit and quiet place to read your book. You are more likely to concentrate on the words on the page if you are not affected by noises or other things.
Decide how much time you want to devote to the reading. You may want to adjust this time allotment (分配) according to how long and difficult the reading material is.
If you own your book, use note-taking symbols in the paragraphs. For example, if you find something that is important, put a star or a few words next to it. If you are unsure of something and it needs more research, put a question mark next to it.
Write answers to questions at the end of your reading and give definitions (定义) of important terms. For every 100 pages of text you should have at least three to five pages of written notes. If you are using a computer to take notes, don't copy and paste text from your reading.
A. Write in your book.
B. Make a detailed plan.
C. Use your own words to answer your questions.
D. As such they should be read from start to finish.
E. Turn off your cell phone and television so that your attention won't be disturbed.
F. Therefore, stop every now and then to think about the structure and main content.
G. For example, spend 4 hours on detailed reading of a 250-page book and 1 hour on note-taking.
Last Monday, to prepare a picnic, I decided to go into a superstore. I parked my car and went into the superstore, which was a 1 one. After 45 minutes of 2 to just get some tomatoes, cheese and 3 toothpicks, I got to the cashier line (收银员线), a bit 3 by the time I spent to get 3 4. I wondered why I did not go to a small local store.
After 15 minutes of waiting in the line, the woman 5 me calls me, "Hey... you only have 3 articles? 6 before me, I have more items than you!"
It wasn't the first time it happened to me. 7 her initiative (主动提议) was disarming, as well as was her 8 (she did not wear any 9, so I could see it). Not knowing what else to do, I accepted her 10. We chitchatted a bit waiting for the 11 ahead of us to finish—she was unbelievably 12. Then I thanked her, giving her back my brightest smile.
Getting back in my car, I rethought about that 13 moment, and realized that she
14 my day. In the meantime, I wondered how to give it back to her. No doubt it was quite 15, so I considered how to pay it forward to someone else.
While 16, I realized that she saved me 10 minutes. And while I was driving at 70 mph, I reduced my 17 to 55 mph. My fuel consumption sharply 18by 35%.
I 19 part of the 10 minutes that the woman offered me, but it was a way to 20 her and do a small thing for the environment.
Trade is a very important way for any country to earn money and create jobs. People and countries have traded for thousands of years, but in today's (globe) economy, information, goods and money can be moved around the world at unbelievable speed. Companies aim to make the best product at the (low) price.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is responsible for (make) international trade agreements. Most rich countries want a free trade system in the prices of goods are determined by the amount that people want to buy and sell. But many people believe such a system favors richer countries like the USA and Japan and want the WTO to be reformed. They argue that world trade must (manage) so the poorest countries benefit more. other words, they want world trade to become "fair trade".
Fair trade is trade that is good for the producer, a system that ensures more of the price consumers pay (go) to the producer. Fair trade staff would be paid a fair wage, have good working (condition) and be allowed (form) trade unions to defend their rights.
Fair trade campaigns, such as the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), have drawn attention to the working conditions of workers all around the world.
Advertising plays a major role in the competitive business world. Many industries take advantage of the power of advertising to attract or to win customers away from their business competitors. The influence of advertising is so huge that it causes many people to buy things that they don't want at the start.
Advertising encourages people to buy things they don't want through misleading ideas. Advertising is proven to be a successful tool to stress the features of their product to the public even though it's regarded undesirable such as cigarettes, drugs, alcohols and so on. For example, Dunhill, a cigarette company which sponsors many football teams, seems to be promoting cigarettes to the public. Without the sponsorship (资助), the company will be less known to the public, resulting in fewer sales of cigarettes.
Besides that, advertising has a large influence on the decisions made by the people in their everyday life. Many businesses use advertising as a form of promoting to create awareness about their product in the market. For instance, in a fast food industry, the introduction of a new flavor of burger needs advertising to reach the public while the other burgers require advertising to increase sales. Children, especially, are easily influenced by advertisements and will have the desire to dine at fast food restaurants after that. Although fast food is bad for health, it has successfully become appealing to the pubic through advertising.
However, advertising plays a part in helping customers to compare a product in terms of price, quality, reliability and so on. Without advertising, it will be very difficult for customers to judge the worthiness of a product. For example, advertisements published by various companies have given the customers the opportunity to choose wisely when purchasing an item. Without the power of advertising, customers will be stuck to a brand which may not offer the best choice.
