1 . As data and identity theft becomes more and more common, the market is growing for biometric(生物测量) technologies—like fingerprint scans—to keep others out of private e-spaces. At present, these technologies are still expensive, though.

Researchers from Georgia Tech say that they have come up with a low-cost device(装置) that gets around this problem: a smart keyboard. This smart keyboard precisely measures the cadence(节奏) with which one types and the pressure fingers apply to each key. The keyboard could offer a strong layer of security by analyzing things like the force of a user’s typing and the time between key presses. These patterns are unique to each person. Thus, the keyboard can determine people’s identities, and by extension, whether they should be given access to the computer it’s connected to—regardless of whether someone gets the password right.

It also doesn’t require a new type of technology that people aren’t already familiar with. Everybody uses a keyboard and everybody types differently.

In a study describing the technology, the researchers had 100 volunteers type the word “touch” four times using the smart keyboard. Data collected from the device could be used to recognize different participants based on how they typed, with very low error rates. The researchers say that the keyboard should be pretty straightforward to commercialize and is mostly made of inexpensive, plastic-like parts. The team hopes to make it to market in the near future.

2 . Bacteria are an annoying problem for astronauts. The microorganisms(微生物) from our bodies grow uncontrollably on surfaces of the International Space Station, so astronauts spend hours cleaning them up each week. How is NASA overcoming this very tiny big problem? It’s turning to a bunch of high school kids. But not just any kids. It is depending on NASA HUNCH high school classrooms, like the one science teachers Gene Gordon and Donna Himmelberg lead at Fairport High School in Fairport, New York.

HUNCH is designed to connect high school classrooms with NASA engineers. For the past two years, Gordon’s students have been studying ways to kill bacteria in zero gravity, and they think they’re close to a solution(解决方案). “We don’t give the students any breaks. They have to do it just like NASA engineers,” says Florence Gold, a project manager.

“There are no tests,” Gordon says. “There is no graded homework. There almost are no grades, other than ‘Are you working towards your goal?’ Basically, it’s ‘I’ve got to produce this product and then, at the end of year, present it to NASA.’ Engineers come and really do an in-person review, and...it’s not a very nice thing at times. It’s a hard business review of your product.”

Gordon says the HUNCH program has an impact(影响) on college admissions and practical life skills. “These kids are so absorbed in their studies that I just sit back. I don’t teach.” And that annoying bacteria? Gordon says his students are emailing daily with NASA engineers about the problem, readying a workable solution to test in space.

3 . The jobs of the future have not yet been invented.     1     By helping them develop classic skills that will serve them well no matter what the future holds.

Your children need to be deeply curious.     2     Ask kids, “What ingredients (配料) can we add to make these pancakes even better next time?” and then try them out. Did those ingredients make the pancakes better? What could we try next time?

True creativity is the ability to take something existing and create something new from it.     3     There are a dozen different things you can do with them. Experimenting with materials to create something new can go a long way in helping them develop their creativity.

Understanding how others feel can be a challenge for kids. We know what’s going on inside our own head, but what about others? Being able to read people helps kids from misreading a situation and jumping to false conclusions.     4     “Why do you think she’s crying?” “Can you tell how that man is feeling by looking at his face? If someone were to do that to you, how would you feel?”

    5     There are many ways to express thoughts and ideas — music, acting, drawing, building, photography. You may find that your child is attracted by one more than another.

4 . Have you ever run into a careless cell phone user on the street? Perhaps they were busy talking, texting or checking updates on WeChat without looking at what was going on around them. As the number of this new “species” of human has kept rising, they have been given a new name — phubbers（低头族）.

Recently, a cartoon created by students from China Central Academy of Fine Arts put this group of people under the spotlight. In the short film, phubbers with various social identities(身份) bury themselves in their phones. A doctor plays with his cell phone while letting his patient die, a pretty woman takes selfie in front of a car accident site, and a father loses his child without knowing about it while using his mobile phone. A chain of similar events eventually leads to the destruction of the world.

Although the ending sounds overstated, the damage phubbing can bring is real.

But that’s not all. Being a phubber could also damage your social skills and drive you away from your friends and family. At reunions with family or friends, many people tend to stick to their cell phones while others are chatting happily with each other and this creates a strange atmosphere, Qilu Evening News reported.

It can also cost you your life. There have been lots of reports on phubbers who fell to their death, suffered accidents, and were robbed of their cell phones in broad daylight.

7 . Volunteering means working for free to help someone else. Mrs. Obama says volunteering is very important. "It should be part of everyone's life,"she says.

Many teens agree. They say that helping others feels great and makes a difference. These days, more teensvolunteer than work for pay. Teens clean up parks, walk dogs at animal shelters, visit the elderly, and more.

Some cities— including Seattle, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.— require high school students to volunteer. Students must volunteer in order to graduate.   The student volunteers learn new skills and help their communities( 社区).

Many parents subscribe to the idea they say volunteering helps teens build job skills. But most teens don't want to be forced to volunteer. They say they are busy. And they say volunteering is only fun if it's a choice.

Read both sides of the debate and decide.

Yes

Volunteering can help teens get into college or get a job.

Many cities and towns need help. Volunteers can help keep important programs going.

Not all teens will volunteer if it isn't required. Schools should require students to do all they can to get ready for adult life.

No

Most teens are already very busy with classes, homework, jobs, and sports. Forcing them to do more isn't fair.

It should be up to each person. Helping doesn't feel good if you must do it.

Finding a volunteer job isn't always easy. Students shouldn't be kept from graduating because of something they can't control.

8 . For top students from low-income families, applying to colleges is particularly difficult. One approach makes this whole process easier? Provide an adviser for them.

That's the idea behind CollegePoint, a program to help gifted students go to schools that match their intelligence. When a high school student takes a standardized test—the PSAT, SAT or ACT—and they score in the 90th percentile, and their families make less than $ 80, 000 a year, they get an email from the program offering them a free adviser. The advisers listen, guide and answer students' questions.

Connor Rechtzigel, an adviser in Minnesota, sees the importance of his role, for research shows that low-income students are far more likely to undermatch because they don't think they have what it takes to get in and because many don't even know what schools are out there. He helped high school senior Justice Benjamin, the first in his family to apply to college, thinking about what his ideal learning experience was. Finally, Justice narrowed in on smaller schools where he could study environmental science and made his final choice: Skidmore College in New York.

Figuring out how to pay for college is a major part of what CollegePoint advisers do. Nakhle, an adviser in North Carolina, is working with Hensley, an Ohio high school senior who can't get extra financial help from her family. They spent a lot of time comparing and analyzing her financial-aid award letters, which made her decision much clearer. Finally, the Ohio State University offered an option where she would pay nothing. Staying in-state wasn't her first choice, but it was the best option for her.

9 . Here are a few examples of some things that parents can learn from children if they listen and make the most of their time together.

Technology: Whether it’s programming the DVR, texting or how to adapt to the latest Facebook layout (设计) change, most parents will find their children are at least one step ahead of them.     1    Let your children show you a few things and find common ground that can lead to great discussions.

Trends: Many parents are shocked when they hear about new trends on the nightly news. From cyberbullying (网络欺凌) to teens abusing drugs, it’s important for parents to know what’s going on in the world their children live in. Develop an open and trusting relationship with your children.     2    

Patience:     3    How parents deal with those mistakes will teach both the children and the parents many things. For parents, one of the important skills that can be learned is how to be patient. Work at it and it’ll be worth it!

Forgiveness: When kids make mistakes—and they will—it’s important that parents learn how to forgive and move on in a positive way.     4    But your children will learn from your example and maybe become more patient with you!

Wonder:     5    Let your children’s natural curiosity inspire you to see the world differently. Children can help us pause to appreciate the wonders of our world. Go where they want to go.