Six volunteers are about to find out what it would be like to live on Mars without ever leaving the Earth. Three men and three women will spend eight months living in a special place on the side of a volcano in Hawaii. They are part of an experiment that is designed to mimic（模仿）life on Mars. Their mission began on October 15, 2014. NASA says it could send astronauts to Mars as early as the 2030s. The mission would take more than two years, so NASA needs to know how people would react to living in a small group, isolated from the rest of the world, for such a long time. Some people may become depressed or bored living under those conditions. By studying people living in similar conditions here on Eares NASA hopes to learn how to choose the most suitable people for a space mission, and how to help them get along.

    They will live in a two-story building. The ground floor is about 86 square meters, roughly the size of a small two-bedroom apartment. It includes shared areas like kitchen, dining room, bathroom, laboratory and an exercise room. The upstairs is less than half the size of the downstairs. It contains another bathroom and six small bedrooms. The building is located in an abandoned quarry（采石场）about 2,400 meters up the side of Mauna Loa, the second biggest volcano in the world. It is constantly monitored for signs of volcanic activity. NASA chose the location because the appearance looks very similar to Mars.

    To make it more like being on Mars in the future, they are only able to communicate by email during the experiment. Meanwhile, there will be a 20-minute delay between the time when a message is sent and that when it is received. When they go outside, they will have to suit up in full spacesuits, just as if they were on Mars.

    The commander is Martha Lenio, a 34-year-old Canadian. During the mission, she will run experiments on growing food. The other members have backgrounds in physics and so on. None of them are astronauts.

    We can have conflicts with our important persons like friends, relatives, workmates, etc. But the conflict doesn't necessarily mean that the relationship will be destroyed. In fact, sometimes conflict helps people to let out their silent feelings, allowing them to free their suppressed emotions. However, when in a conflict, we usually get angry and say or do things which aren't linked to the problem at hand. Therefore, it is important that we should try to avoid conflicts through effective communication.

    In a heated argument, we usually say things that aren't related to the real problem, and even use rude words to make sure we gain an advantage over the other persons. Then the whole situation goes badly. So we should not separate(隔离) the root cause of the problem and build our discussion around it. This ensures that there are no rude remarks and the situation moves in a positive direction.

    It's easy for us to think we're right and if something isn't working out, it surely must be someone else's fault. However, if you aim to solve a conflict, first of all, you should show some respect and allow the other persons to express themselves. Using remarks like, "I understand your concern on this "or "I know you're right at your end", would make the other persons feel more appreciated.

    Sometimes some people get too excited and may behave in the wrong way or say something others may not appreciate. This can cause a worse situation. Actually, they should control their emotions and keep calm. This has to be learned through self-control and observing behavior of other people.

    The tips mentioned above are useful for most situations. However, we don't rule out the possibility that there are some people who always want to create some sort of trouble for others. You can tell them from others, and putting in an effort to resolve a conflict with them may just not be a wise idea. The best way to deal with these people is to forget them. A famous saying can help you and that is: "You should never fight with a pig; you both get dirty and only the pig likes it."

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    It was once common to regard Britain as a society with class distinction. Each class had unique characteristics.

    In recent years, many writers have begun to speak of the 'decline of class ' and 'classless society ' in Britain. And in modern day consumer society everyone is considered to be middle class.

    But pronouncing the death of class is too early. A recent wide-ranging study of pubic opinion found 90 percent of people still placing themselves in a particular class; 73 percent agreeed that class was still a vital part of British society.; and 52 percent thought there were still sharp class differences. Thus, class may not be culturally and politically obvious, yet it remains an imprtant part of British society. Britain seems to have a love of stratification.

    One unchanging aspect of a British person's class position is accent. The words a person speaks tell her or his class. A study of British accents during the 1970s found that a voice sounding like a BBC newsreader was viewed as the most attractive voice. Most people said this accent sounds 'educated ' and 'soft '. The accents placed at the bottom in this study, on the other hand, were regional(地区的) city accents. These accents were seen as 'common ' and 'ugly '. However, a similar study of British accents in the US turned these results upside down and placed some regional accents as the most attractive and BBC English as the least. This suggests that British attitudes towards accent have deep roots and are based on class prejudice.

    In recent years, however, young upper midder-class people in London, have begun to adopt some regional accents, in order to hide their class origins. This is an indication of class becoming unnoticed. However, the 1995 pop song ' Common People ' puts forward the view that though a middle-class person may ' want to live like common people ' they can never appreciate the reality of a working class life.

    The world is a greener place than it was 20 years ago. A study published in the journal “Nature Sustainability” said that recent satellite data reveals a greening pattern that is strikingly prominent in China and India. The study shows that human activity in China and India dominates this greening of the planet, thanks to tree planting and agriculture. The effect comes mostly from ambitious tree-planting programs in China and intensive agriculture in both countries.

    “China and India account for one-third of the greening,” said lead author Chi Chen of Boston University. “ That is a surprising finding, considering the vague idea of land degradation (毁坏) in populous countries from overexploitation,” added Chen.

    China alone accounts for 25 percent of the global net increase in leaf area with only 6.6 percent of global vegetated area. The greening in China is from forests (42 percent) and croplands (32 percent), but in India, it is mostly from croplands (82 percent) with minor contribution from forests (4.4 percent).

    China's outsized contribution to the global greening trend comes in large part from its programs to conserve and expand forests with the goal of preventing land degradation, air pollution, and climate change.

    “Once people realize there is a problem, they tend to fix it,” said Rama Nemani, research scientist and co-author of the study. “In the 1970s and 80s in India and China, the situation around vegetation loss was not good. In the 1990s, people realized it, and today things have improved. Now we see that humans are contributing.”

    Land area used to grow crops is comparable in China and India—more than 770, 000 square miles—and has not changed much since the early 2000s. Yet these regions have greatly increased both their annual total green leaf area and their food production.

    This was achieved through multiple cropping practices, where a field is replanted to produce another harvest several times a year. Production of grains, vegetables, fruits and more have increased by about 35%～40% since 2000 to feed their large populations.

    This year promises to be an exciting one for technology and science. There's a line-up of great products for you to look forward to.

    The Air Board 1.0

    The Air Board 1.0 is a fantastic new way to get around. The board works when you step onto the pressure pads. To turn? All you have to do is move your weight to the left or right. It can travel at the speed of 10 miles an hour and it takes one hour to be fully charged. The power will last for about ten miles.

    The Oculus Rift

    Have you ever wished you could walk through the world of your games, seeing things as your characters would? Well, now you can. This clever headset Rift allows you to see the world of your games in 3-D.

    The Miito

    The Miilo is perfect for all homes, and especially those who like to care for the environment. It has been called "the kettle of the future". The Miito is designed to heat up the water in any container. You can fill a cup with the right amount of water and place it onto the kettle. After placing the rod into the water, the rod would heat up and so would the water. The product doesn't only water. They also save electricity.

    The Click & Grow

    Are you the kind of person who enjoys using herbs and spices (香料) when cooking? The Click A Grow makes sure that you always have fresh and well-grown herbs or other plants whenever you need them. It is self-watering. And it also has an LED light that makes sure the plants grow fast and healthy.

    Wolves are important animals in the traditions and stories of most Native American tribes. To Native Americans, wolves often represent bravery. The animals also are signs of strength, loyalty, and success at hunting. Other cultures--such as the ancient Celtic and Nordic peoples-also placed high value on wolves.

    However, from the wolves in horror films to the wolves in children's stories, wolves get a bum rap(不公正的惩罚) in both literature and English expressions.

    To begin with, there is the term lone wolf. The lone wolf isn't a bad person. But they like to do things on their own. However, the term can mean something less than desirable. Lone wolf makes you think the person doesn't want to be around people because he or she dislikes them.

    Now, let's move on to the home.

    Parents might criticize their children for wolfing down their food. In other words, the child eats very quickly and without care. And if someone says a child was raised by wolves, that child has bad manners and is behaving like a wild animal. A wolf at the door means someone to whom you owe money is waiting just outside your door.

By the way, there are two popular wolf-related expressions that come from Aesop, the ancient Greek storyteller.

    The first is a wolf in sheep's clothing. A wolf in sheep's clothing describes someone who acts and looks nice on the outside but is bad on the inside.

    Aesop's other wolf fable also involves a shepherd, but not a hardworking one. He is known as the boy who cried wolf. People who cry wolf are not trusted. People are so familiar with this story, you simply have to say cry wolf for them to know what you mean.