2 . School Activities for Kids and Teens

July is a month of fun-filled activities for kids and teens as long as you know where to find them. When you want some fun activities for July, consider these ideas happening this month.

3 . The Last Greatest Magician in the World

In this book, we can learn about the wonderworker Howard Thurston. During his life, Thurston successfully made changes in entertainment. His magic show is regarded as the one that inspires our memories.

Author: Jim Stein Meyer Length: 384 pages Publication Date: Feb. 3, 2011

Beholders: A World Without Heroes

Jason Walker lives a peaceful life until one day he falls through a hole and ends up in a new foreign world. In Lydian, the people dress and behave differently, living in fear of their Emperor Surratt. But during Jason’s search for a way home, he learns of a magical word that could kill Surratt and becomes the hero he has never imagined.

Author: Brandon Mull Length: 464 pages Publication Date: Feb. 15, 2011

Life

With his honesty, Keith Richards brings us the story of a life we all have longed to know more of. Its hard to imagine a famous persons biography is as easy to drink in as Keith Richards life. The books content agrees with the rhythm of his voice so much that reading his tale is like sharing a cup of beer with an old friend.

Author: Keith Richards Length: 576 pages Publication Date: Oct. 26, 2010

The Monkey and the Monk

The famous translation of The Journey to the West is popular with English-speaking audiences. The book shows the novels most exciting and meaningful parts without taking anything away from their true spirit. Moreover, with a new form, this translation is sure to attract more fans.

Author: Anthony C. Yu Length: 528 pages Publication Date: Nov. 15, 2006

4 . The world’s craziest festivals

Crazy festivals all over the world are out there just waiting to be celebrated. Join Cornelia Kumfert on a trip to the most unusual events taking place around the globe.

Burning Man Festival

Every year in Nevada (US) there is artwork and cunosities galore to marvel at when the Black Rock Desert changes into a mammoth art exhibition.

In August and September, some 70,00 people come here to celetrate the Burning Man Festival.

San Diego Comic Con

Surely superheroes don’t queue? Well, at San Diego’s Comic Convention they do. Each July hey open their dos to fans of Superman and other comic figures. More than 100,000 annual visitors have paid homage to their mythical heroes.

Crying Baby Festival, Tokyo

At the Crying Baby Festival in Tokyo (Japan), sumo wrestlers do what they can to bring babies to tears.

Sadists run riot? Certainly not! It’s a 400-year-old tradition based on a Japanese proverb, which says that crying babies grow fastest and parents believe the event brings good health to their children.

Palio Contest, Siena

Fame and honour await the winner of the Palio contest in Siena (Italy).

In July and August, ten inhabitants of different districts of the city jockey for first place in a spectacular horse race.

The trophy goes to the contestant whose horse crosses the finishing line first—whether he’s still in the saddle or not.

5 . An augmented-reality (增强现实的) helmet that gives cyclists a 360-degree view of the road could help prevent accidents.

Unlike cars, bicycles don't come with rear view mirrors (后视镜), which is why British product design firm DCA created the Optic helmet. The helmet has front and rear cameras and a drop-down visor (面罩) that can display road conditions in real-time from the rear camera onto a rider's field of view. The visor can show warnings. If a vehicle is overtaking (超过) the rider, it can warn the rider by combining data from the cameras on the front and back of the helmet. In addition, the Optic helmet can provide GPS navigation information for riders who want to track their performance. The design is now just a concept, but it won the “Best of the Best” Red Dot Design Award recently.

Richard Price, a designer at DCA and the brains behind the project, said the helmet is aimed at reducing cycling accidents. Because the helmet is just a concept design, some of the details have yet to be decided, such as the exact method for projecting video onto the visor. However, Price said Google Glass has already shown that this is practical. The Optic helmet will be able to connect to a smartphone via Bluetooth to allow maps and routing information to be updated, but actual navigation will be carried out by the helmet using its onboard (自身携带的) GPS unit. It can be controlled either by a touchpad next to the visor or by using gestures picked up by the front camera.

“Users can order what is shown in the visor to suit their needs and to make sure the display doesn't distract them.” Price said. Since the designs were made public, Price said the design firm has received plenty of positive feedback from cyclists and cycling companies. But actually, putting the device into production will require lots of money, so it is unclear when or if the helmet will be available to consumers.

6 . The biggest misconception that I've ever heard of is that in order for us to find success in anything, we must be willing to give up something else.    1    .

Over the years, I've come to realize that isn't true. As I grow, I find several things are truly stopping us from living a more fulfilling life. Below are some.

Place limitations on yourself

On the surface, limitations are the things that stop you from achieving something.    2    . You'll keep facing the same problems, forced to make the same choices, and perform the same actions repeatedly. They define your current circumstances and to that extent define your quality of life.

Lack self-control

We all have some aspect about ourselves that we don't like.    3    Maybe you have a large sweet tooth and can't help yourself from eating sweet things. When you have a lack of self-control, those habits are going to remain with you until you find some way to remove them.

    4    

Our ability to come up with creative solutions for our problems comes from our ability to learn and adapt. If you're not learning anything, you're not progressing. Leonardo da Vinci once said, "Learning never exhausts the mind." And I believe it.

Final thoughts

When you get stuck on something, you are never truly stuck    5    . You don't have to be working hard to overcome that barrier, rather change your thinking in how you're approaching the problem. Give it time and keep working at it.

7 . In the struggle to survive the ever hotter deserts of California, there are winners and losers. Among the losers are desert birds, whose populations have fallen among the heat stress of climate change. The winners, it turns out, are small burrowing mammals（穴居哺乳动物）, which take refuge from the sun underground. Researchers noted that the stable mammals populations formed a striking contrast to the extremely bad condition of birds.

But why? Birds had a higher evaporative（蒸发）heat loss. Birds were more exposed to the effects of warming, so they had higher energy costs to maintain their body temperature. However, mammals were able to reduce their body temperature by using burrows during the day.

Temperatures have risen about 4 degrees Fahrenheit on average across the area studied, but the heat affects birds and small mammals differently. As part of the study, scientists modeled each species' body temperature and cooling needs under different desert conditions. To calculate that, they measured the conductivity（传导率）of the animals' fur or feathers, and used information on their heat reducing behaviors.

The models showed that in the fight against climate change, there was not a level playing field for furred and feathered desert animals. Cooling costs—or the resources needed to maintain stable body temperature—were about 3. 3 times higher for birds than they were for small mammals, the study reported.

Small mammals have shown this remarkable stability. It's really quite interesting that, in the same region, with the same level of climate change, these two species have responded very differently to the changes taking place. Insights into the status of different species can help scientists take steps to protect them, such as increasing fire prevention in high desert areas, and enhancing water sources in those areas. The study also demonstrates that climate change is already reshaping the California desert

8 . Database maintenance (数据库维护) is an activity designed to keep a database running smoothly. A number of different systems can be used to build and maintain databases. Databases are used to maintain a library of information in a well-organized, accessible format (格 式).They usually are not static (静态的),because changes are constantly being made as material is added, removed, and moved around. Over time, this can cause the database to start to go wrong. Database maintenance is used to keep the database clean and well-organized so that it will not lose functionality.

One important aspect of maintaining a database is simply backing up the data so that, if anything happens, there will be another copy available. Some database systems actually do this automatically and then send the backup to another location every day, every week, or within any other set period of time. Backups are usually not enough, however.

Database maintenance includes checking for signs of corruption in the database, looking for problem areas, and checking for any detail in the database that might signal a problem. The goal is to keep the database operating smoothly for users, so that ideally they never need to think about maintenance issues. A database that is not maintained can become slow, and people may start to experience problems when trying to access records.

The maintenance of databases is generally performed by people who are comfortable and familiar with the database system and the details of the particular database, although some maintenance tasks can be performed by people who do not have experience. Numerous textbooks are available with information about database management, including how to maintain databases properly. It is also possible to take courses to learn about different database systems and how to care for databases. People can also earn certifications in specific systems which indicate a high level of competence.

9 . The best science fiction books of 2021

We take a look at the most exciting new science-fiction books of 2021. No matter what kind of science fiction fan you are, we're sure you'll find something to add to your reading list.

The Saints of Salvation

By Peter F. Hamilton

The Olyix have laid siege（围攻）to Earth, harvesting people for their god. Cities are ru¬ined by their weapons and millions have either fled to seek refuge in space or are fighting a war that seems unwinnable. As Earth's defeat draws ever closer, a team are sent to enter the Olyix's air-ship secretly. Their plan? This is the final science fiction in Peter F. Hamilton's extremely surprising series The Salvation Sequence.

A Desolation Called Peace

By Arkady Martine

This impressive sequel（续集）to Arkady Martinets Hugo Award-winning science fiction book sees the Teixcalaanli Empire facing an alien threat which could bring about its complete destruction. Fleet captain Nine Hibiscus sends a person to negotiate with the mysterious invaders...

Jack Four

By Neal Asher

Jack Four-one of twenty human clones-has been created to be sold. His purchasers are the aliens and they only want him for their experimentation program. But there is something different about Jack. No clone should possess the knowledge that's been loaded into his mind.

Rabbits

By Terry Miles

Rabbits is a secret, dangerous and sometimes deadly underground game. The rewards for winning are unclear, but there are rumors of money or it might unlock the universe's greatest secrets. Everyone knows that the deeper you get, the more deadly the game becomes-and the body count is rising. Since the game first started, ten rounds have taken place. The eleventh round is about to begin, and what happens in the game, stays in the game...