Mica and her little sister got a tree house this year. "I'm Mica! I love my tree house!" This $28,000 tree house is a gift from their parents. Almost three metres above the ground, the platform (平台) was built between two large trees. "One of the things I really wanted was a little door within the big door. If you go up, you'll find that there is a door handle, which is of the kids' height. And there is an adult size door as well. I told the designer to make it feel like a secret hideout (躲藏处)," said Mica's mother Keenan.

    Bala Sundar and his wife came to America 20 years ago. Unlike Keenan and her husband, who bought a tree house for their daughters, the Sundars got one for themselves. "We wanted to have a regular place where we can relax. So we bought it," he said. With beds, tables and windows, it's a welcoming, comfortable space to spend a summer night.

    Both of these amazing tree houses were created by Dan Wright. He's the founder of Tree Top Builders Inc., and has built more than 400 tree houses since he started the company in 2003. "I think the sense of freedom and independence is why Americans can resonate (共鸣) with tree houses. They get people up off the ground and, for kids, their parents can't reach them anymore. They are up looking down, getting a new perspective on life," said Wright.

    People already know a lot about animals. However, there are still some things about animals that may surprise you. Here are some facts about animals you probably didn't know.

    Cows do have best friends and feel stressed when they are separated. Scientists have found that cows are very social animals and a cow always makes friends with other cows. When a cow is with its friends, it feels relaxed, compared with when it is alone.

    During breeding season, a male penguin(企鹅) will offer a small stone to a female penguin as a gift. If she takes it, they will become partners. When the female penguin lays an egg, she and her partner may carry it on their feet, because some penguins don't build nests(鸟巢).

    Crocodiles(鳄鱼) swallow(吞) stones. Crocodiles always swallow their food instead of eating it like other animals. They swallow stones which break the food into very small pieces in their stomachs. These stones may stay in their stomachs all their lives.

    Elephants use plants to treat pain or other illness. Scientists once found a pregnant (怀孕) elephant in Africa who ate a kind of plant which was not part of her normal food. Four days later, she gave birth to a baby elephant. The same plant was used by the local pregnant women.

    Virtual (虚拟的)reality is a way to create a computer-made environment that brings the user into a virtual world. If you ever have put on a VR headset, you would know exactly what I am talking about. From an experiential view we do understand the idea, but what about the technical backend that goes into making it all possible? In this blog, we will understand the technology behind virtual reality and the basic terms about the development of a virtual ecosystem for a VR headset.

    The primary subject of virtual reality is simulating (模拟)the vision. Every headset is to perfect their method to create an immersive (浸人式)3D environment. Each VR headset puts up a screen or two in front of eyes, keeping the user away from any interaction with the real world. Two autofocus lenses (自动对焦镜片)are generally placed between the screen and the eyes that change based on eye movement and positioning. The vision appears on the screen either by using a mobile phone or HDMI line connected to a PC.

    To create a truly immersive virtual reality, there are certain requirements a frame rate (帧 率)of at least 60 fps, a refresh rate and at least 100﹣degree field of view (though 180 degrees is perfect). If either of these doesn't work according to the standards, the user will experience too big of a time difference between their actions and the response from the screen. We need the response to be less than 20 ms (1/1000 second) to fool the brain which is achieved by joining all the above in the right proportion (比例).Another matter that needs to be looked at here is to prevent netsickness because of the differences between the frame rate and refresh rate.

    Apart from the image, there are certain other things that go into creating an immersive VR experience, holding the user's attention completely in the virtual environment. For example, sound effects, when put with the image, can create very attractive effects. By using a headphone and 3D sound effects, the user can totally believe in the virtual environment. While perfecting sound effects, proper care needs to be taken about the consistency (一致)between the pictures and the sound. If you start playing frightening music in the background of a happy scene, it will just put the user off.

    In future, we will see rapid progress in creating a truly immersive digital experience. With leading players like Google, Microsoft, Oculus, and HTC making great efforts to improve the capabilities (性能),we are not far from achieving a virtual reality that would feel so much better than the real world. If you would like to develop a VR app for your business, then feel free to get in touch. With over 10 years of experience in mobile technologies, we can make every dream a reality.

    Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes (基因) decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then maybe you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it.

    But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential (潜力). Getting enough sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the right height.

    No doubt (怀疑) you're wondering how fast you should grow .It depends. There's no perfect or right answer. Kids grow about 2 inches (5 centimeters) a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up). Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. 2 centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through.

    Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt (高峰) during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about II for boys. But it can be earlier or later-between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.

    You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty.