1 . Mineralizing rivers, desalting oceans, drilling into the ground, there are many different ways to access drinking water in places where it’s in short supply. But with overpopulation, climate change and increasing water shortage, innovators have been on the lookout for a new solution — and some are convinced the answer is up in the air.

SOURCE Global is one of the many companies around the world extracting (提取) water from the air, with the hope of helping unwatered communities. However, its technology has a sustainable change. Its devices, named Hydropanels, are powered by built-in solar panels.

“You’re able to harvest water from the air using solar power and nothing else, no need for electricity, no need for a grid, no need for infrastructure — it’s perfectly self-sufficient,” explains Vahid Fotuhi, the company’s vice president.

Atmospheric water generators (AWGs), like SOURCE’s, are machines that produce drinkable water from surrounding air. These devices have been around for about a decade and traditionally they’re based on condensation — cooling water vapor to collect water. This process, however, can consume a lot of electricity and many of these early technologies only work in places with high air humidity (湿气). These limits are what urged SOURCE to develop a more flexible and sustainable solution.

Its solar panels power a fan that draws in air. Inside the device, the air travels through a sponge-like (海绵样的) material that traps the water vapor. SOURCE has fixed its Hydropanels around the world at hospitals, schools and work sites that have difficulty accessing water. It has also attracted commercial clients — particularly in countries catering to tourists in isolated landscapes, such as the desert.

According to Keith Hays, vice president of Bluefield Research, SOURCE’s design is different from other AWGs because it combines solar-based power supply and water capture mechanism within the same structure, enabling off-network operation. “Other systems usually have a separate panel or connect to the network,” he explains.

3 . It’s never too late to get into science fiction.

While science fiction, or sci-fi, often asks that most powerful question “What if?” —— it also deals with “This, now”: reflecting it, questioning it and satirizing (讽刺) it. Science fiction can act at once as a glimpse into our imaginary future while holding a mirror up to our current state of society.

Indeed, it can act as a warning for the present to avoid a terrifying future or as a blueprint for future technology. Science fiction can inspire us to live better today so that we can live better lives tomorrow. As Scientific Americans noted, “Science fiction can remind us of … wonder and hope. But it also sends us a warning —— to think about the potential influences of our findings, beyond our idealistic dreams.”

Thanks to its brilliant creators, sci-fi becomes the perfect genre to ask the greatest questions that humans dare to ask and broaden the concepts of what is possible in the universe. Who are we and what can we become? Can technology make the world a better place? What will tomorrow bring —— and what can we do today to make that a reality?

The genre of sci-fi can push the boundaries of what we think is possible, like the legendary submarine mentioned in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea far before any such vehicle existed. Or it can warn us of a near-future impacted by biotechnology, as in the MaddAddam trilogy. Sci-fi can even imagine how Earth responds to first contact with aliens, a focus of The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. Sci-fi and its creators know no limits to what can be imagined. Anything is possible.

As science fiction grows in popularity, more books are being written, and more movies and TV shows are adapting these works for the screen. An adaptation of Dune is slated for a 2021 release, and The Three-Body Problem as well as MaddAddam are also in development. The medium of film and television has brought science fiction to life and continues to inspire — or scare — viewers with visions of the future.

5 . A few years back a group of young teachers from another school was spending a day in my class. They were energetic, bright and _______. However, I noticed a key _______in their approach to teaching. Their desire to help kids was so strong that they never allowed the students to get the wrong answer or take a _______.

We were building _______that week. My students were working in groups of four. Each group was _______a small Viking model rocket, instructions, and the materials with which to put it _______. The challenge for each team was to precisely measure, _______, and assemble their project. One group was trying hard but making mistakes in the placement of missile sections. Several of the teachers _______going over to the kids to show them how to build the rocket _______. On a number of occasions I had to politely but firmly ask them to leave the kids alone.

It’s important to remember that we ________individually define the word failure. In my class, a rocket that doesn’t fly is not a failure. Failure ________only when students stop trying to solve a problem. It may he solved in five minutes, or it may take two months, as was the case where my students built an enormous roller coaster and could not create a loop with enough centripetal force to allow the cars to move along the track safely. ________those two months of failed trials were some of the most fascinating and exciting times the kids had in science that year. And when the roller coaster finally ________, the kids could say they did it themselves. They ________the physics of the roller coaster. I did the best teaching during those two months when I decided to ________and leave the kids alone.

7 . Living on the Florida Emerald Coast, people view a hurricane as a common thing. So it is not unusual for a family to have several full gas cans and bottled water stored in their houses all summer.

Though unwilling to evacuate from a hurricane, on September 15,my family was forced to leave our home for my grandfather's house several miles away. We spent the early part of that evening watching the hurricane draw closer on the Weather Channel. Around nine o'clock, a loud sound shook the house, turned over the roof and carried it off. Soon came an indoor rainstorm.

Realizing the damage, my grandfather began to be afraid. The storm had started, but he still ran out into the heavy rain and wind to see how much of the roof was left. We got him back inside. I had never seen him so scared. Mom finally asked him to lie down in his room.

The leak had progressed rapidly. It soon became a race against time to protect what was saved. Some people may think it necessary to save material things, but I hoped to save those items with emotional value, such as the photos. I still feared the storm, but I more feared the influence it brought.

The next morning, it started to clear up. Thankfully, my family weathered the storm, though the same could not be said for the house. Only the wooden beams remained, but inside many of his things were safe. My mom and I had worked tirelessly through the night.

It was late, but we were still unwilling to go to bed. We discussed the rebuilding of the house. Under the beautiful sky, we suggested looking after my grandfather more often in the future. After this disaster, I realized the truth that the hurricane itself was not so terrible if we loved each other.

8 . To attract more applicants, many schools now offer extra benefits to be enjoyed by all their students.

Michigan Technological University in Houghton

Taking advantage of the cold winter weather, Michigan Technological University sets itself apart with its ski resort (胜地), Mont Ripley, which is accessible (可使用的) and free for all students. Instead of hitting the campus gym, you’ll be able to get your exercise outside.

University of Missouri in Columbia

At the University of Missouri, you can enjoy one of the best campus recreational centers in the country. It features an “indoor beach” complete with a waterfall and a lazy river, as well as a full-service spa.

New York University, Manhattan

If you’re a fan of museums, NYU is the perfect university for you. Not only will you be located in the heart of a city featuring some of the best museums in the world, but the university will provide you with free admission to many of them. These include the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum and the Frick Collection.

Seton Hall University, South Orange

If you’re stressing out about the extra cost of technology when you start college, Seton Hall has something great to offer you: All incoming freshmen are given free computers through the university’s Mobile Computing Program. Then, after two years, they receive new, updated computers designed to carry them through graduation and beyond.

High Point University in High Point

If you see yourself quickly tiring of dining-hall food, the university has a great option: a private steakhouse for students. It’s a first-class restaurant, called 1924 PRIME.

Students are allowed one five-course meal each week, which would normally amount to about $50. The campus also offers free ice cream from a campus ice-cream truck, a free movie theater and a big store.

10 . Do you need a human to create a beautiful perfume? That’s the question being asked as artificial intelligence(AI) starts to enter the perfume industry. Companies are increasingly turning to technology in order to create more best-selling, unique perfumes that can be produced in just minutes.

Last year, Swiss-based perfume developer Givaudan launched Carto, an AI-powered tool to help perfumers. Using a touch screen, the perfumers can choose one from 1,500 ingredients and put it in a bottle without touching them and pull together different perfumes using data from the brands vast library of perfume formulas. A small robot immediately processes the fragrances into perfumes, making it easier for perfumers to test their new perfumes.

One benefit of Carto is that with it, perfume samples are created instantly, giving them a competitive advantage. “We can adjust the perfume almost live with the customer,” says Cal ice Becker, vice president perfumer and director of the Givaudan Perfumery School. “It is a big plus not just because we gain time but there's more closeness when we connect in front of the tool.”

German perfume house Symrise has gone one step further and teamed up with IBM Research to create an AI system called Philyra, which actually studies the perfume formulas and customer data to produce new perfumes. Like Carto, Philyra can’t actually smell anything. Claire Viola, vice president of digital strategy fragrance at Symrise, is the first to agree it hasn't been without weakness. If s machine-learning and sometimes the results are wrongs she says. “You have to qualify every new material, so it understands the difference between different perfumes, for example.”

Margaux Caron, global beauty analyst for colour cosmetics and perfumes at believes artificial intelligence is a powerful tool to create perfumes. “Technology and science are sometimes pictured and considered cold, but the perfume category is displaying a warm, emotional, human approach to it. The partnership between AI and perfumers is anchored in this philosophy,” she said.