1 . These days, more and more people go to the gym to work out. But with so many gyms out there, how do you know which one is the right one for you? We find some information about the best gyms in New York City so you can have a better idea of what each gym offers.

New York Sports Club

Initiation Fees: Neighborhood membership, $49.99; Passport membership, $49.99.

Membership Costs: Neighborhood membership, $44.99 a month; Passport membership, $ 99.99 a month.

Additional Fees: Neighborhood membership, $49.99 a year; Passport membership, S 49.99 a year.

Locations: Locations in all five boroughs.

Classes: Studio classes, athletic conditioning, boxing, kickboxing and yoga.

Planet Fitness

Initiation Fees (入会费): Regular membership, $5; Black Card membership, no initiation fee. Membership Costs: Regular membership is $10 a month and includes free fitness training and free wifi. Black Card membership is $ 22.99 a month and includes access to all Planet Fitness locations, free fitness training, free wifi, half-priced cooler drinks and worldwide travel deals.

Additional Fees: $39 membership fee a year.

Locations: Locations in all five boroughs (区).

Classes: None.

Chelsea Piers

Initiation Fees: Call to request.

Membership Costs: For a specific gym, varies by location.

Locations: Chelsea and Brooklyn.

Classes: Strength and conditioning, cycling and yoga.

24 Hour Fitness

Initiation Fees: $0 on select memberships.

Membership Costs: $79.99 for Ultra Sport.

Locations: Midtown and Madison Square Park.

Classes: Studio classes, free weights, group cycling and personal training.

2 . All over the world, animals and plants are in trouble. People are trying their best to help them.     1    .

Donate some money.

Many zoos and wildlife organizations have programs that let kids donate money to help a specific endangered animal.     2    .

Don’t release fish or pets onto the wild.

    3    . Your pet is not native to where you live. Set loose, it might become an invasive species, or it might spread parasites. So keep your fish in their tank, or find them a new home but not the pond.

    4    .

Chemicals used to kill garden weeds and bugs are a big problem for animals. Maybe if you offered to pull up the weeds instead, you could help people to use fewer poisons.

Speak up!

Share what you know and speak up for the animals. Write letters! Powerful people need to know that you care and that you’re keeping an eye on them to make sure they do their jobs right and protect the planet.

Make less trash.

Pollution and plastic trash are bad for animals and nature. How can you help?

Bring drinks from home in a refillable bottle.     5    . Take cloth bags to the store and remind grow-ups of they forget.

5 . Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became record breaker on 17 October of 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.

Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.

So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercise every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.

A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jcanne Calment sends him a card saying: Sorry, I’m still alive!

6 . India, as a country with plenty of resorts (旅游胜地), is popular with different kinds of travelers. If you’re planning to visit the country, the followings are the places that may interest you.

Delhi is a perfect place for those who love history, and there are plenty of attractions here to keep tourists of all interests entertained. It’s often the first city that many tourists visit on a trip around India. There are many resorts including India Gate, the Lotus Temple, Qutub Minar, and Humayun’s Tomb.

Agra is most well known for the Taj Mahal, which draws a large number of tourists to the city. Built in the 1600s, the Taj Mahal is still standing strong today and is admired by tourists as an important part of India’s heritage (遗产).

Kashmir is one of the most beautiful cities in India. With flower gardens, amazing water-falls, and snow-topped peaks, it’s a simply unforgettable place that tourists want to return to time and time again. Kashmir is especially popular with honeymooners and loved-up couples, because a lot of romantic trips are on sale in Kashmir.

Though Goa is small in size, it’s one of the top resorts for young tourists and those who love taking beach vacations. The golden sands and coconut palm trees are the charm (吸引力) here, and the sunrises and sunsets are so gorgeous that you’ll never forget them.

7 . I still remember that busy autumn evening as I hurried with my eldest daughter, Athena, to get to her classroom on time for the parent-teacher night. We walked in and all eyes were on me. A few adults quickly quieted their kids’ whispers. A classmate yelled to my daughter, “What’s wrong with your mom’s face?” Shocked, I started to explain my condition, but my six-year-old daughter looked at him and said, “It’s my mom’s birthmark! Don’t be rude!” I was extremely proud of how she handled that situation.

I was quite young when I realized I looked different because of my large facial birthmark. I always thought I would be alone because of it. Being compared to Batman’s evil Two-Face made me believe I could never find love. But I was lucky enough to meet my husband, who saw me for who I am inside. When I had my first daughter, I was overjoyed, but I began to worry if the world would judge my children. I always worried I might pass my condition onto my children; I didn’t want them to grow up feeling judged. Unfortunately, my facial difference has impacted my children. My daughters get disinvited from birthday parties or sleepovers, or I learn certain kids are no longer friends with mine after their parents saw me at school.

When my kids were young, I explained how my special purple skin was rare and we talked about acceptance and never judging others on how they look. When my girls kiss my purple-skinned cheek, I feel “normal” around them and their unconditional love. With time going by, both my daughters have become my strongest supporters. Thanks to them, I’ve begun to feel more self-confident as I try to be a good role model.

Their worldviews are similar to mine. We see the world a little differently and with a kinder, more accepting heart. As the saying goes, your daughters will grow up to be your best friends. I know that will be the case for me!

8 . As people become more aware of the importance of eco-friendly power sources, we have devoted much time to inventing creative devices. A newly developed paper battery promises to make a big difference to single-use electronics.

The battery is crafted from sustainable materials, which not only strengthens its eco-friendliness but also makes it cost-effective to produce. This combination of biodegradability (可生物降解) and affordability makes it attractive for a wide range of applications. Another standout feature of this paper battery is its flexibility in terms of shape and size. Unlike traditional batteries that are available in fixed sizes, this paper battery can be tailored to meet diverse requirements.

In reality, the paper battery is enough to power an LCD alarm clock. “While it won’t be charging up your computer anytime soon, there’s lots of potential for low-powered sensors. We present a printed paper battery developed to power single-use disposable electronics and to reduce their environmental impact to the lowest level,” write the researchers in their published paper.

The battery is based on a metal-air electrochemical cell. Made from sodium chloride salt-diffused (氯化钠盐扩散的) paper, it can measure as little as one square centimeter, and is based on printed inks. All that’s needed, then, is a small amount of water, as little as two drops. This dissolves the salts within the paper, and then activates the battery as they travel. The battery starts producing power around 20 seconds after water is added, according to the experiments carried out by the team.

Although the performance decreases over time as the paper dries out, it can be topped up to some extent with more water. The researchers say they want to improve the efficiency of the battery in the future, and get it working for longer. “With a rising awareness of the e-waste problem and the emergence of single-use electronics for applications, there is a growing need for low environmental impact batteries,” write the researchers.

9 . Standing at 4 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 85 pounds, ARTEMIS is a first-of-its-kind robot that University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) mechanical engineers developed, and it is ready for the international soccer competition in France in July.

Using cutting-edge technology, ARTEMIS, which stands for Advanced Robotic Technology for Enhanced Mobility and Improved Stability, can maintain its balance against heavy kicks and pushes, withstand objects being thrown at it and is capable of running. But what sets ARTEMIS apart on top of that is its ability to kick a ball.

“If your robot cannot even play a game of soccer, how would you be able to use these robots for more important things, such as saving people’s lives?” said Dennis Hong, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) at UCLA, “The technologies used for soccer playing robots are also being used for other applications like firefighting and disaster relief.”

While ARTEMIS may not be at the next FIFA World Cup, Hong’s team will be showing its full soccer capabilities at RoboCup in Bordeaux, France, in July.

The robot’s major innovation (创新) is that the engineers custom-designed its actuators (执行器) — devices that produce motion from energy — to behave like human muscles. They are springy and force-controlled, rather than the inflexible, position-controlled actuators that most robots have.

ARTEMIS’ actuators are also unique in that they are electrically driven, rather than controlled by hydraulics (液压系统). The developers said this makes the robot quieter and cleaner running.

RoMeLa student Justin Quan said his personal goal is to engineer robots that improve people’s lives. “Seeing these robots helping push the robot technology to that next level is really rewarding because you’re like, oh, the dream, it gets closer,” he said.

10 . How to Be Creative

Most of us think that creativity is a quality (品质) belonging only to artists, writers, or dancers, rather than ourselves.     1     The following tips are a great beginning for developing our creativity.

Get out of your comfort zone

We eagerly accept the familiar and fear the unknown. Break out of your usual patterns and welcome creativity into your life. As said earlier, the human brain was designed to recognize patterns.     2     In fact, our comfort zone is nothing more than a collection of patterns. As we become more efficient at recognizing and using patterns, we rely less on creativity to find new paths. We should force ourselves out of our comfort zones and open up new possibilities.

Try different things

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. We are creatures of habits and routines, and creativity hates routines (常规). If you usually drive to work, take the subway for a few days.     3       Break your routine, experiment and try something new. New things are often creative, but the same old thing never is.

    4    

Having a great idea is not enough, you must work to make it a reality. Have you ever seen a new product and realized that you thought of the same thing long ago? Yet someone else is making money with “your” idea.     5     The difference between a dreamer and a doer is action. Do whatever it takes to bring your ideas to life. If you can put them into practice, you are well on your way to improving your creativity in all areas of your life.