There are many different kinds of disasters around the world. As an adult you know what to do during a disaster, but what about the children? Some adults think it would probably never happen to them, so they don't teach their children what to do. Before it's too late, here are ways to help you prepare your child for a disaster:

    Educate: It is always good to let your child know about possible disasters. This doesn't mean children have to live in fear. When teaching them about disasters, keep the conversation positive（积极的）by telling them there is a solution（解决办法）to the disaster. Keep the conversations short, allow for questions and answer honestly.

    Prepare: Always be prepared, that is the best advice for children. For example, when preparing for bad weather, get the tools you need, like candles, radios, food, water and medicine. Teach your child what is needed in certain disasters so that they know what is available for them, if ever needed.

    Plan: You should always have a plan for you and your child for any dangerous situation. Write out a simple list that they can read. The plan could start with “listen to an adult's advice and/or call 119”.

    Practice: Once you have got the correct safety tools and worked out the right plan, practice every few months. Practicing what to do during a disaster with your child will help them if the time comes.

    Disasters can't be avoidedbut they can be lessened（减轻）once you areprepared and ready for one.

    On June 26th, 2000, two scientists, called Francis Collins and Craig Venter, told the world that they could now read the whole “map” of the human body: DNA. DNA is something that all humans have, and it tells the body what to do. DNA is the reason that we look like our mother and father, because we get some of their DNA to make our own. Now we can read some of this “map”, and so we can find out more about how our bodies work.

    People have been trying to understand the human body for a long time. In 1860, Gregory Mendel discovered that there is a special reason why we look the same as other people in our family. It is because of small things called “genes” that we have in our body. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick made another discovery and found out that those small parts are really messages written in the DNA with a special language.

    In 1961, Marshall Nirenberg and Johann Matthaei found the first “word” that they could understand in that language, showing how DNA tells the cell to build its parts. This meant that one day we would be able to read all the messages that a human body gets from its parents' bodies. Scientists have now found all the words in DNA map, but we still do not understand what they all do. By understanding what just one “word” means, we can help save people from several diseases. So the more we understand, the more doctors will be able to do.

    Most people hope that this will help to make better medicine and help people who are very ill. Other people worry about that when we learn more words and find out lots of other information, we still use it in the wrong way, just to make people more attractive, or stop sick people getting jobs.

    Today people can use the phone to talk with others almost anywhere on the earth. But when you use the phone, you don't see the person you are talking with. That may change in the near future.

    Today some people are using a kind of telephone called the picture phone or vision phone. With it, two people who are talking can see each other.

    Picture phones can be useful when you have something to show the person you're calling.

    They may have other uses in the future. One day you may be able to ring up a library and ask to see a book. Then you'll be able to read the book right over your picture phone. Or you may be able to go shopping through your picture phone. If you see something in the newspaper that you think you want to buy, you'll go to your phone and call the shop. People at the shop will show you the thing you're interested in right over the phone. You'll be able to shop all over the town and never leave your room!

    Technology is everywhere. In fact, almost all of us carry a certain piece of technology with us every time we leave the house. What I always forget, though, is just how useful and powerful technology can be when we want to help others.

    There is not a single room in my house that does not have some electronic devices(设备).Whenever I am at home, I am almost always using at least one electronic device. If you walk into my living room on any given day, you will find that, first, I have the television on. At the same time, I usually have my laptop resting on my knee, or I am using my mobile phone. Even when I'm not at home, I am always using my phone, and at work or in cafes, I sit down and connect to the local wireless network on my laptop.

    I must say that I waste a lot of time on the computer and the time I spend on it could be much better spent if I were to take up a little online volunteering.

    Recently I discovered just how much online volunteering there is to do in the world. From using your language skills to do translations, to developing and managing projects and helping with IT work, there is so much that so many people can do to help people in their own countries and across the world. The United Nations, in fact, has a huge page with "Volunteers Recruited" on its website.

    This work can support the poor and help charities who cannot pay for staff members. Many organizations only require you to work an hour a week, some even less. And the support provided by online volunteers can really help make a difference to those in need.