While watching movies, it's getting hard to tell what is and isn't real. Thanks to computers, movie makers can now use their full imaginations. There's even a new type of character--made entirely by computers—which is getting more and more screen time.
    Making the impossible look easy has always been a part of movie magic. As far back as 1895, filmmakers used special effects in movies. Over the years, many few techniques（技术） were developed. Then, starting in the 1970s, computers took their place at the center of the process.
    One of the first movies to widely use 3D computer generated（生成的，产生的） imagery (CGI) was Tron(1982). In the following years, more CGI characters were brought to life, one by one. Then, Jurassic park (1993) brought us an island full of man-eating dinosaurs. Shortly afterwards, Toy Story (1995) became the first cartoon made entirely with 3D CGI effects. It was a big hit, and audiences loved the characters.
    By using “motion capture” technology, filmmakers can make the movements of CGI humans even more lifelike. With this technique, a real actor wears sensors（感受器，传感器） on his face and body. The sensors record the actor's movements and send the information to a computer. Then the movements are given to a CGI character. This technique was used to make the creature（生物，有生命的东西） Gollum in the second and third The Lord of the Rings movies (2002, 2003). Other films, like Beowulf (2007), have also used motion capture to help create CGI humans.
    It is still rather easy to tell that a CGI human is not real. But the technology is improving every year. Over time, many problems ( like the teeth and eyes looking fake) will be solved. We will certainly see more CGI animals, monsters, and people in movies and TV shows. The question is – in the future, how many real actors will be put out of work by computer actors?

D

    Research proves that nearly half of the cancers diagnosed(诊断) in the UK each year-over 130, 000 in total- are caused by life choices that include smoking, drinking and eating the wrong things.

    Tobacco(烟草) is the biggest factor, causing 23% for cases in men and 15.6% in women, says the Cancer Research UK report. Next comes a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in men's diets, while for women it is being overweight. Lead author of the report, Professor Max Parkin, said: "Many people believe cancer is related to fate or in the genes(基因), and that it depends on luck whether they get it or not. Looking at all the evidence, it is clear that around 40% of all cancers are caused by things we mostly have the power to change."

    For men, the best advice appears to be: stop smoking, eat more fruit and vegetables and cut down on how much alcohol you drink. For women, again, the best advice is to stop smoking, but also watch your weight.

    In total, 14 lifestyle and environmental factors, such as where you live and the job you do, cause 134, 000 cancers in the UK each year.

    Some risk（风险） factors are well founded, such as smoking's link with lung cancer. But others are less well recognized. For stomach cancer, a fifth of the risk comes from having too much salt in the diet, data suggests. Some cancers, like mouth and throat cancer, are caused almost entirely by lifestyle choices. But others, like gall bladder cancer(胆囊癌), are largely unrelated to lifestyle.

    Public Health Minister, Anne Milton, said: "By making small changes you can cut your risk of serious health problems- giving up smoking, watching you drink, getting more exercise and keeping an eye on your weight."

C

    Do you have brown hair? Are you taller than other kids your age? These characteristics were decided before you were born. You got your traits from your parents. They passed their traits on to you through genes (基因).

    Genes carry codes (代码) for blue eyes or brown eyes. Genes say how tall you will get and what color hair you will have. You got half of your genes from your mother. You got half of your genes from your father. So you have your own set of genes. Each person gets different genes for each body part. That is why you look like but not exactly like your brother or sister.

    A dominant (显性的)  gene shows up most of the time. Brown eyes are dominant over bluc eyes. A recessive (降性的)  gene shows up less often. Light hair comes from a recessive gene. Dark hair is more common. Look at the eye color and hair color of the people around you. You will see that this is true.

    Genes help to make you who you are. But they don't tell the whole story. Your genes may help you to be fast and strong. But you still need to learn how to run or swim or skate well.

    Lockheed Martin, American space system company (空间系统公司) has found a really cool way to inspire the young minds of today to the research fields in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

    It may look like a normal yellow bus, but all the magic happens once you get inside. Meet the “Mars (火星) Experience Bus,” part of Lockheed Martin's new “Generation Beyond” national education program to get the kids joining in studying what goes on outside of our home planet. The bus offers a virtual reality (VR, 虚拟现实) experience making the teenagers feel like they are driving on Mars.

    The VR experience was developed by taking advantage of software (软件) created for today's best video games, so you can imagine the picture shown is top level. The kids do seem really excited to see the bus take a virtual trip on the red planet and search unknown places. It's certainly a great way of learning about the universe by virtual reality working on a common bus.

    The Lockheed Martin's bus will start a tour in the United States to allow kids from different parts of the country to take a ride in it. The Generation Beyond project also includes an iPhone app for iOS providing real-time information about weather reports for Mars, and there's also a free deep space course for middle school teachers and students.

    A "talking kitchen" teaches students how to cook French and speak French. Researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom have developed the French Digital(数字的) Kitchen. Professor Paul Seedhouse led the project.

    "It works like a satellite navigation(导航) system in a car. The system can tell whether you've done what you were asked to do or not. For example, the sensor(传感器) in the knife not only knows that the knife is moving, but it also knows how the knife is moving. So it can discover whether the knife is slicing (切), whether it's scraping (刮) or what. And so it doesn't go on to the next stage of the program unless you've done what it senses(感到)you should have done," said Paul Seedhouse.

    Students can ask the computer to repeat the instructions or translate them into English. There are vocabulary(词汇) lessons before and after the cooking.

    Professor Seedhouse became interested in the idea after he visited a talking kitchen designed for a different purpose. In his opinion the French Digital Kitchen turns the process (过程) of learning language into a real life experience. "Here you're taking it out of the classroom and you're actually using the language to produce something which you can eat at the end of it. It's very enjoyable," he said.

    The system will be available for sale by the end of 2020. Adding the technology to a new kitchen could add about ten to twenty percent to the building costs. The system could also be added to an existing(现存的) kitchen.

    The researchers are also developing a new digital(的呼吸法) kitchen system that is easy to carry or to move. And the European Union has given them money to begin programs in six other languages, including English, Italian and Spanish.