Every year, TIME highlights inventions that are making the world better, smarter and even a bit more fun. Here are some select ones that will absolutely blow your kids' mind.
Sphero Indi ($124.99)
Coding is a matter of problem-solving and pattern recognition. Sphero Indi teaches both, no screen required. Instead, kids use different-colored cards to move a robotic car from point A to B — green cards increasing its speed, pink cards telling it to turn left, and so on, "We really wanted to bring these abstract concepts into the physical world," says Jeff Wiencrot, one of the product developers.
Sproutel Purrble ($49.99)
For children who are upset for some reason, Purrble comes to their rescue. An interactive toy equipped with seven sensors that respond to touch, Purrble's heartbeat speeds up when it senses somebody's playing with it. Kids can then comfort their companion with gentle petting, slowing Purrble's rapid heartbeat to a purr (咕噜声)— calming themselves as well in the process.
Thames & Kosmos Mega Cyborg Hand ($39.95)
The effort to get kids interested in science just got a helping hand — a cyborg hand, to be precise. Kids build a robotic arm that copies their hand gestures, while they learn about engineering and robotics. Once assembled (组装) and slipped on like a glove, the device passes forces from the user's fingers to the extended ones of the robotic hand.
Lego recycled brick (Unpriced)
The Lego Group, intending to make all Lego bricks from sustainable sources by 2030, spent the past three years testing different recycled PET plastic materials, and finally developed its first recycled PET brick that is nearly identical to the usual brick. The Danish toy company hopes to integrate the recycled blocks into Lego sets in the next 18 to 24 months.
My husband and I always wanted to go to the Caribbean but didn't know much about the islands or how we were going to afford it. By chance, a friend of ours in Australia mentioned "pet sitting" and that it is something you can do all over the world.
We quickly created an account on a pet sitting website and began searching for options. There were only a couple of sits available in that part of the world, but we tried our luck, sent a request, and to our surprise landed a three-month job in Grenada, so our year was going to be taken up with Caribbean pet sits.
Inspired by a Canadian couple, we decided to start our own travel blog. We began by writing about The Virgin Islands, highlighting the beautiful beaches. However, for every photo album of a beautiful beach, there were 10 photos of trash. It was hard to ignore the plastic pollution issue, especially on such primitive and remote beaches. So, we began to share photos of the trash we saw and how much we could pick up on our daily dog walks.
The more we looked into plastic pollution, the more we realized the severity of the global plastic pollution. From that point, we used our platform to create awareness and highlight ways to say no to plastic and travel plastic-free. We changed our daily routines, our way of living, and even our diets to accommodate more organic foods and little to no plastic packaging.
It's been over three years now and we continue to do what we can. This journey has led us to some amazing places, working with great brands and even organizing a country-wide beach clean-up campaign in Grenada.
Our aim now is to keep on going. We love connecting with like-minded people. It's been amazing few years that was sparked by a conversation about pet sitting. Who would have guessed?
There is nothing quite like enjoying the sights, sounds and culture of a city while tasting a cup of coffee outdoors. But it is not that enjoyable when heat waves sweep the city. An outdoor cooling system produced by Kinonko, an Israeli (以色列的) company, began to be tested in Tel Aviv. The sweltering city is a perfect place to try the new technology.
With global warming heating up the temperature, it will soon be too hot to sit outside in cafes. While outdoor cooling systems have existed for a while, most of them use some sort of water or misting system to cool the air around them, consuming too much water and power. After two years of development, the perfect solution to the problem was found. "We have invented a new generation of air conditioner, " Kinonko CEO Leizer said.
As Leizer introduced, the energy is from the pressure created between liquid nitrogen (氮) and gas nitrogen. When liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees turns into gas, it produces a very strong pressure and the pressure is used to run a mechanical engine. It is that mechanical engine that slowly releases freezing nitrogen gas to cool down the air around it.
The technology is unique and amazing. Beyond the coolness of the concept it also has other advantages. The work unit doesn't need to be power-driven, and doesn't blow out harmful warm air as it works. As for the potential price, it will probably be no more expensive than any other air conditioner. In addition, the liquid nitrogen container will need to be replaced every seven to ten days, depending on usage. This makes it an affordable option for all sorts of businesses. The cooling system is expected to be on the market in 2024.
Have you ever been in mid-conversation with someone, when you look over and find them standing in the same position as you or holding the same facial expression? It may seem like they have consciously (有意识地) copied you, but it is much more likely that it is the chameleon (变色龙) effect at play.
The chameleon effect is the unconscious imitation (模仿) of another person's gestures or behaviour. Just as a chameleon attempts to match any environment's colours, people acquire the behaviour of others to bring them closer together and help make their interactions smooth.
The chameleon effect was confirmed in an experiment by psychologists John Bargh and Tanya Chartrand in 1999. The first part of their experiment included 78 people, who each spoke with an experimenter. During the test, Bargh and Chartrand studied whether participants would copy the actions of someone they hadn't met before, like moving the foot and touching the face. The second part measured the impact that copying someone has on the person being imitated.
In the first stage, participants increased their face touching by 20% and their foot movement by 50% while in conversation about a photograph with the experimenter. The individuals weren't aware of what they were being studied for, and the photograph was used to catch their attention to ensure unconscious acts. The second stage involved half of the participants being copied, and then rating the likeability of the experimenter. The results showed that those who were imitated scored the experimenter higher. It has shown that when someone copies our behaviour, we develop more positive feelings about them. These interactions could be a person unconsciously willing to be liked, and forming a moment of connection.
The main reasons behind humans' imitation are positive. However, when people carry this chameleon effect to the extreme, they can lose their sense of self. Those who change their entire personalities in different groups often go undetected. But more common signs of the chameleon effect are easier to notice. Next time you are in a social gathering, take a look around and you might just see some chameleons for yourself.
The Science of Risk-Seeking
Sometimes we decide that a little unnecessary danger is worth it because when we weigh the risk and the reward, the risk seems worth taking. Some of us enjoy activities that would surprise and scare the rest of us. Why? Experts say it may have to do with how our brains work?
The reason why any of us take any risks at all might have to do with early humans. Risk-takers were better at hunting, fighting, or exploring. As the quality of risk-taking was passed from one generation to the next, humans ended up with a sense of adventure and a tolerance for risk.
So why aren't we all jumping out of airplanes then? Well, even 200,000 years ago, too much risk-taking could get one killed. A few daring survived, though, along with a few stay-in-the-cave types. As a result, humans developed a range of character types that still exists today. So maybe you love car racing, or maybe you hate it.
No matter where you are on the risk-seeking range, scientists say that your willingness to take risks increases during your teenage years. To help you do that, your brain increases your hunger for new experiences. New experiences often mean taking some risks, so your brain raises your tolerance for risk as well.
For the risk-seekers a part of the brain related to pleasure becomes active, while for the rest of us, a part of the brain related to fear becomes active.
As experts continue to study the science of risk-seeking, we'll continue to hit the mountains, the waves or the shallow end of the pool.
A. It all depends on your character.
B. Those are the risks you should jump to take.
C. Being better at those things meant a greater chance of survival.
D. Thus, these well-equipped people survived because they were the fittest.
E. This is when you start to move away from your family and into the bigger world.
F. However, we are not all using the same reference standard to weigh risks and rewards.
G. New brain research suggests our brains work differently when we face a nervous situation.
When I retired, my wife Peg said "Great! You'll have time to clean the garage!" After 30 years' 1 as director of a radio station, I would finally have more time for housework, but I worried I'd lose the sense of 2 I had felt in my profession.
I pushed at the garage's wooden doors, but they were as 3 as I felt in this new stage of my life. I finally got the doors open and started to empty the shelves. Then my hand hit something 4. It was a common old metal can. I 5 the cover and found a 6 envelope with a postmark of May 13, 1940 inside. 7, I opened it and found some flower seeds in it, " Eighty years old! I wonder if they'll still grow. "
I 8 the seeds in a plastic pot. I checked it every day, but nothing happened. "I guess they're just too 9 to be any good, " I told Peg in 10. I picked up the pot to get rid of it, but something made me 11. I changed my mind and set it aside. Meanwhile, I was keeping 12, buying some books to improve my photography skills and teaching my granddaughters everything I knew about gardening and dogs.
Six weeks later, I was out in the yard when I 13 to notice the pot. A new bit of green--a leaf had 14. I proudly showed it off to my granddaughters. "Look, girls, even something this old can still 15 for its purpose and be pretty cool. Just like your grand- papa!"
Bird-watching, a hobby (favor) by many westerners, has been included in a public benefit program "Park Classes" in Wuhan schools. The program (carry) out over 3,000 activities in Wuhan's thirty urban parks over the past six years, covering all of the city's primary schools and welcomed by over one million students. Buried in books and (have) little access to the outside world, many students don't have the (little) idea of what nature really is. This program is designed to enhance the awareness of environmental protection among school kids, often feel greatly refreshed by appreciating the grace of the adorable creatures through cameras.
Among the selective courses is the restoration of small and micro wetlands. As for this course, is needed is a lot of hands-on practice. Under the (guide) of their teachers, students are required to conduct a research on a 500-square-meter wetland in the city parks. Thanks their efforts, the biodiversity of the wetland has been significantly improved.
"It's very meaningful," said Li Chenliang, eighth grader from this project. "I have learned a lot of knowledge that cannot be (direct) got from books. I should make full use of the city's ecological advantages and get more chances to get closer to nature."
cut off, break down, take into account, make a comment on, get across, to some extent, on the edge of one's seat, keep in touch, cheer up, in one's own right, make an impact on, turn to |
Dear Li Hua,
Recently, Tom, my best friend since when we were in junior high school, has been avoiding me on purpose. I don't know why. I have tried to talk with him several times, but in vain. I don't want to lose him. What should I do?
Yours,
Mike
请你给他写一封回信,内容包括:1.表示理解;2.提出建议;3.表达希望。
注意:1.词数100左右;2.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Mike,
Yours