Off the coast of Hawaii's Big Island swim masses of colorful tropical fish. Some of these fish will be caught and sold, ending up in aquariums around the world. Is the industry putting populations of the fish at risk?

    Scientists who have studied the Big Island fishery say it is well managed. Rules put in place more than 15 years ago have helped to protect the fish. Along 35% of the coastline, for example, fish collecting is banned. Two years ago, the state cut the number of fish species for the aquarium trade from hundreds to just 40.

    Conservationist Robert Wintner objects to the findings. Wintner, who owns snorkel shops across Hawaii, started the Snorkel Bob Foundation to protect the island's coral reefs(珊瑚礁). He says he simply doesn't see yellow tang(刺尾鱼)in the protected areas. “There should be millions of them,” he says. “Where are they?”

    Wintner says people believe the numbers in reports. But few people have actually dived into the coral reefs to see for themselves how many fish can be found there. According to Wintner, the coral reefs along the coast should be filled with yellow tang, but they are “virtually empty”. Empty reefs are not good for tourism, Wintner points out, which brings out $800 million yearly. By contrast, the aquarium-fish trade brings out just $2 million yearly.

    For teenagers, it's great fun to explore new places and it feels like an adventure, even when you know you're not the first to have been there. But to make sure not to get lost or waste time going round in circles, the following tips may be helpful.

    Do the map reading if you're being driven somewhere. It'll be easier if you keep the map following the direction you are traveling in. Keep looking ahead so that you can give the driver lots of warning before having to make a turn, or you'll have to move to the back seat.

    Get a group of friends together and go exploring. You'll need a good map, a compass , a raincoat, a cell phone to call for help in case you get lost, and a bit of spare cash for emergencies .Tell someone where you're going before you set out and let them know what time you expect to be back. The purpose of the activity is in not getting lost, not in seeing how fast you can go, so always stick together, waiting for slower friends to catch up.

    See if your school or a club organizes orienteering（越野识途比赛）activities, in which you need a map and a compass to find your way. This can be done as a sport, with teams trying to find the way from A to B(and B to C, etc. ) in the fastest time, or simply as a spare-time activity. It enables you to be familiar with the use of maps and compass and gain some special skills. In some way, it's not only good fun, but also a great way to keep fit.

    It's 2035. You have a job, a family and you're about 40 years old. Welcome to our future life.

    Getting ready for work, you pause in front of the mirror. “Turn red,” you say. Your shirt changes from sky blue to deep red. Tiny preprogrammed electronics (智能电子元件) are rearranged in your shirt to change its color. Looking into the mirror, you find it hard to believe you're 40. You look much younger. With amazing advances in medicine, people in your generation may live to be 150 years old. You're not even middle aged!

    As you go into the kitchen and prepare to pour your breakfast cereal（谷物） into a bowl, you hear, “To lose weight, you shouldn't eat that,” from your shoes. They read the tiny electronic code on the cereal box to find out the nutrition details. You decide to listen to your shoes. “Kitchen, what can I have for breakfast?” A list of possible foods appears on the counter as the kitchen cheeks its food supplies.

“Ready for your trip to space,” you ask your son and daughter. In 2005 only specially-trained astronauts went into space—and very few of them. Today anyone can go to space for daytrips or longer vacations. Your best friend even works in space. Handing your children three strawberries each, you add, “The doctor said you need these for space travel.” Thanks to medical advances, vaccination shots (防疫针) are a thing of the past. Ordinary foods contain specific vaccines(疫苗). With the strawberries in their mouths, the kids head for the front door.

    It's time for you to go to work. Your car checks your fingerprints and unlocks the doors. “My office, autopilot,” you command. Your car drives itself down the road and move smoothly into traffic on the highway. You sit back and unroll your e-newspaper. The latest news downloads and fills the viewer. Looking through the pages, you watch the news as video film rather than read it.

Libraries

    Public libraries

    Most towns in Britain have a public library. A library usually has a large selection of books and other resources, which library members can use and borrow for free.

    Britain's First Public Library

    The first public library in Britain opened in Manchester in1852. It's first librarian was a man called Edward Edwards, Edwards attended the library's opening ceremony and two famous writers called Charles Dickens and William Thackeray were there too.

    How to Join a Library

    To join a library, go to your local library and fill in a form. You'll receive a library card which is needed when using library services.

    Mobile Libraries

    Not everyone can get a library. Some people live far away from towns and cities. Other people find it difficult to go out because they have an illness or a disability. Thanks to mobile libraries, these people can still borrow books.

    Unlike most libraries, which store books in buildings, mobile libraries usually keep their books in a mini-bus. The back of the mini-bus has shelves for the books, and it is big enough for borrowers to step inside and look around. A driver takes the mini-bus to a certain place at a certain time, so people know when to expect it. They can then return their books and borrow some more.

    All Aboard the Library!

    A school in London didn't have space for a library inside the building. However, everybody agreed that it was still important to have a school library. So the head of the school, Graham Blake decided to park an old bus on the school car park and changed it into a library. Pupils helped to paint the bus, and after eight months, the new library was ready.

Smart Kids Festival Events

    Smart Kids is a collection of one hundred events scheduled in October. This year, it is experimenting with Pay What You Decide (PWYD). That is, you can decide to pay what you want to or can afford, after you have attended an event. You can pre-book events without paying for a ticket in advance. Here are some of the director's picks.

    Walk on the Wild Side

    Not ticketed, Free

    Join storyteller Sarah Law to hear science stories about animals. Along the way you'll meet all sorts of beautiful creatures and discover life cycles and food chains. Best suited to children aged 5-9. Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult.

    Introduction to Waves

    Pre-book, PWYD

    Subjects range from sound waves to gravity waves, and from waves of light to crashing waves on the ocean. Mike Goldsmith explores the fundamental features shared by all waves in the natural world.

    Science in the Field

    Not ticketed, Free

    This storytelling night features a scientist sharing his favourite memories of gathering first-hand data on various field trips. Come along for inspiring and informative stories straight from the scientist's mouth. Join Mark Samuels to find out more in this fun-filled workshop.

    Festival Dinner

    Pre-book, £25 per person

    Whether you want to explore more about food, or just fancy a talk over a meal, join us to mark the first science festival in London. Which foods should you eat to trick your brain into thinking that you are full? Find out more from Tom Crawford.

When you take to the seas on a cruise(游船度假), you usually think you are leaving solid ground behind, but the Celebrity Solstice brings a whole new experience to its passengers. Aboard the 317m-long ship is a half-acre lawn(草坪). The Celebrity Solstice is the first cruise ship ever to house live grass.

Nikolas Asproudas, the ship's environmental officer told New Zealand Neus, It was a crazy idea to start with. For five years now, they have been saying that this lawn is the most walked lawn in the world. It's a symbol of honor, particularly because the lawn on the top deck of the ship has special challenges with growth at sea, including "burns" from the salt water, which must be washed off immediately and clearance checks before the ship can pull in to shore.

The lawn is grown in silica(二氧化硅)sand rather than soil, which not only reduces weight, helping the ship's stability, but also agrees with restrictions and helps control pests that may otherwise stay on the grass.

Asproudas sends the Captain of the ship a weekly report on the status of the lawn. "We know that the Australian and New Zealand, authorities are very strict with the grass, and of course, they have to check before we come if, everything's OK," said the Captain.

The lawn is a source of pride for Asproudas, so. when there are problems with it, he says, "It brings me some sad feelings, but I need to be strong, because I know that it will recover within one week." All of the crew's hard work to maintain the "backyard" is appreciated by its many guests, including some that say the: Celebrity Solstice's lawn is better than theirs at home. Two recent passengers aboard said, "We're having a drought at home so…it was brilliant!"

Though the option of walking barefoot through a grassy field on a moving cruise ship seems terrific, there are many other ships that are trying to outdo one another with even more surprising guest options.