Cycling or even walking in city areas can be a little dangerous, thanks to the fact that one is sharing the road with vehicles that are increasingly getting larger and heavier. A recent study proves that of the 1.27million people that die in road traffic crashes each year, about half are walkers, motorcyclists and cyclists. Now there may be a solution that could provide at least some help to protect this helpless group—an airbag!

    If you are worried that this safety measure will involve you taking around a heavy package or worse still, wrapping yourself inside an ugly plastic bag, the bag is fitted not on the human, but on the outside of the vehicle. And, while there are several versions of the idea in the works, the one most recently unveiled by Dutch car company TNO, seems to be the most advanced and ready to go into production.

    In the works since 2011, the airbag covers only the lower part of the windshield. This will provide the much needed buffer(缓冲)between the person's head and the pane of glass he/she would otherwise meet.

The chain of events leading to an airbag cause are quite simple—A camera fitted beneath the rear-view mirror monitors the vehicle's closeness to a walker or cyclist. Any contact with either one of them sets off the sensors in the car's bumper and quickly blows up the airbag. In addition to that the sensors also set off the car's automatic brake, reducing the chances if an even worse injury.

    In tests conducted using a model, the success of not getting injured after being hit by a car travelling at about 40km/h was about 50-50! While not perfect, it will still result in reducing the number of deaths by a huge amount.

    With TNO ready to license its technology to car makers and many more companies trying to develop similar concepts, we would not be surprised if outer airbags become a standard feature in every car pretty soon.

    The latest Chinese “god song”(an Internet term to describe pop songs that spread virally through the Internet(像病毒一样传播开来) is still making debates(争论) between those who view it as a milestone for Chinese pop music going global and those who regard it as a bad image of China.

    Last week, Little Apple, written and performed by the Chopsticks Brothers, won the AMA International Song Award and the duo performed the song at the 2014 American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Another Chinese pop singer, Zhang Jie, won the International Artist Award.

    But while fans of these singers are thinking highly of the awards(奖) and the performance by the Chopsticks Brothers at the AMA celebration, there are others who are less excited. They have questioned the value of the awards and what effect it will have on Chinese culture's “going abroad”, saying it may leave foreign audiences with a poor impression(印象) of Chinese pop music, and even Chinese culture.

    The Little Apple phenomenon, both home and abroad, can be more easily understood and judged if we look at it from a business view rather than a cultural view. The professional promoters behind the duo have developed a clear strategy(策略) to promote the duo and their works, not just this particular song. Little Apple was originally released(发行) to promote the duo's film Old Boys: The Way of the Dragon.

    From the very beginning a marketing strategy was used to promote(提升) the song, which immediately went viral on the Internet due to its repetitive rhythm(重复的韵律)，easy-to-remember lyrics(歌词), simple and funny dance and, most importantly, grass roots (草根) nature. The video accumulated(积攒) more than 1 billion bits on China's major video websites.

    Although the song was generally disliked by music professionals who criticized(批评) it as “musical junk food”, Little Apple's popularity nationally paved the way(为…铺平道路) for promoting the duo internationally.

    As is known to us, Washington University in St. Louis became the first college in the United States to ban (禁止) selling bottled water in 2009. Since then, more than a dozen small colleges and schools have done the same. The ban isn't because the schools don't want students to have easy access to water. Instead, the goal is to encourage students to bring reusable bottles to save money and, more importantly, to save the environment.

    Many people believe that producing and using bottled water not only wastes money but also harms the environment. They say that bottled water is unnecessary because public water supplies in the U.S. are among the best in the world. These people believe that water fountains and reusable bottles with easy access to filling stations are a better choice.

    But the makers of bottled water argue that plastic bottles make up a small portion of the nation's total waste. They say it's unfair to single out (单独挑出) their product when so many other items are packaged in plastic containers, and what's more, water is a healthy choice compared to some sodas and juices that are also sold at school.

    What do you think: Should sales of bottled water be banned from schools? We want to hear your opinion. Write a 200-word response. Send it to tfkasks4you@timeforkids.com. Your response may be published in a future issue of Time For Kids. Please include your grade level and contact information for your parent or teacher if you want your response to be published. The deadline (截止时间) for responding is August 31, 2012.

    It's carnival season in Europe, a crazy time for parades, mask, music and dance. No one is sure where the tradition exactly comes from. But while its origin remains a mystery, this does not keep people from joining it.

    The Carnival of Binche, the most famous one that is staged in Belgium, has been announced as a masterpiece (杰作) of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The event usually takes place during a Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, with performers known as "Gilles" dressed in clown-like costumes, dancing and marching along the streets. During parade, the Gilles throw oranges to the crowd as an act of well-washing and it is considered rude to throw them back.

    Venice is said to be the birthplace of carnivals. In the city, the annual carnival starts 58 days before Easter. It features various brightly-colored and well-made masks. Every year, thousands of visitors go to the city to be part of the festive event.

    The Germans, always considered serious-minded, also have their carnivals. The Cologne Carnival is one of the largest, with Rose Monday as the best part. On Rose Monday Parade, lots of gifts are prepared for the people who join it. For this year, 300 tons of candies and more than 300,000 souvenirs were thrown out of the various nicely-decorated floats (花车) to the crowd.

    The Nice Carnival in the southern French city of Nice lasts two or three weeks from February to march every year. It features floats, music, dance, performances and entertainment activities. The parade of lights and the final day carnival parade are the most exciting parts of the entire event. Compared to the Rio Carnival in Brazil and the Winter Carnival in Quebec, Canada, the Nice Carnival has a special artistic touch, and it is one of the three major carnivals around the world.

    Carnivals were first organized in the Middle Ages. They were supposed to be a time of eating and drinking before the Easter fast (斋戒). Nowadays, they have turned into winter tourism attractions of many European cities.

    There was great excitement on the planet of Venus (金星) this week. For the first time Venusian scientists managed to land a satellite on the planet Earth, and it has been sending back signals as well as photographs.

    The satellite was directed into an area known as Manhattan (曼哈顿). Because of excellent weather conditions and extremely strong signals, Venusian scientists were able to get valuable information about the feasibility of a manned flying saucer (飞碟) landing on Earth. A press conference was held at the Venus Institute of Technology.

“We have come to the conclusion, based on last week's satellite landing,” Professor Zog said, “that there is no life on Earth."

    “How do you know this?” the science reporter of the Venus Evening News asked.

    "For one thing, Earth's surface in the area of Manhattan consists of solid concrete (混泥土) and nothing can grow there. For another, the atmosphere is filled with carbon monoxide (一氧化碳) and other deadly gases and nobody could possibly breathe this air and survive.”

    “Are there any other sources of danger that you have discovered in your studies?”

    “Take a look at this photo. You see this dark black cloud staying over the surface of Earth? We don't know what it is made of, but it could give us a lot of trouble and we shall have to make further tests before we send a Venus Being there. Over here you will notice what seems to be a river, but the satellite findings indicates it is polluted and the water is unfit to drink.”

    “Sir, what are all those tiny black spots on the photographs?”

    “We're not certain. They seem to be metal objects that moves along certain roads. They give out gases, make noise and keep crashing into each other.”

    “Professor Zog, why are we spending billions and billions of Zilches to land a flying saucer on Earth when there is no life there?”

    “Because if we Venusians can learn to breathe in the Earth atmosphere, then we can live anywhere.”

    Health insurance can be very expensive. Some working people do not make enough money to pay for it. In the US there is a program called Healthy Families. This program offers people health insurance at a low cost.

    Families are charged about $7.00 a month for every child, and $10.00 for every adult. It costs much less than any other kind of health insurance. Having health insurance is very important. With this insurance, people can see a doctor when they are sick or hurt.

    The program is not expensive at all, but many people are still not enrolling (登记) in it. People say that it still costs too much money. They need all of their money to pay for things like food and rent.

    It would be great if everyone could have health insurance. People are working hard to come up with ways to make this happen. One idea is to make the Healthy Families Program free for some people.

    It is important for people to see a doctor when they need to. The Healthy Families Program makes it possible for more people to do this. Many ideas are being considered. Hopefully some of them will allow even more families to get health insurance.

    The Healthy Families Program is made to help those who don't have welfare (社会保障金) and cannot earn enough to pay for private health insurance. It is an important program, but officials say that too many people are signing up for it and then dropping out (退出) because of the Healthy Families Program's cost.