If you visit the animal shelter in Salinas, California, you'll see huge wood cutouts(剪下的图形) of a dog and a cat. These signs were placed in front of the building to catch people's attention. The supersized cut outs make people curious and encourage them to visit the shelter— and maybe even adopt(收养) a pet. Each year, the Salinas shelter takes in around 2,000 dogs and 2,000 cats. The animals are either strays or are dropped off by people who couldn't take care of them. Of the 4,000 animals, some of them are finally adopted into new homes. Some animals are moved to other shelters. And, unluckily, some cannot be saved because they are too sick or are considered dangerous.   

   Animal shelters provide food, medicine, and a safe place for animals to sleep. But they are not ideal homes. The shelters are loud, and the animals stay in small cages. The people who work at shelters do their best to care for the animals, but the animals do not always get the attention or exercise they need.  

   To prevent so many animals from becoming homeless, pet owners should take care of their pets. One of the best ways to care for pets is to spray or neuter them. This surgery prevents cats and dogs from having more babies. And that reduces the number of homeless animals that end up in shelters.

    Climbing Mount Qomolangma, the World's highest mountain, has now become more difficult. The government of Nepal asks climbers to come down the mountain with at least 18 pounds of garbage. That's the average amount of garbage a climber leaves behind on Mount Qomolangma.

    Climbers would leave garbage along the way. This helps climbers keep their bags light, so they would have energy to reach the summit.  The garbage problem in Mount Qomolangma is not new. In 2013, climbers carried down a total of four tons of garbage.

    The new rule came into effect in April of 2014. To make sure it is followed, climbers will have to hand in some money to the officials before they climb the mountain. When they climb back down the mountain, the officials will check them to make sure they bring down the 18 pounds of garbage. If they do, their money will be given back to them.  If not, climbers won't get their money back. Also, the officials won't let these people climb the mountain again.

    A new camera made by a company named Netatmo has facial recognition software(面部识别软件). It can tell parents at work that their children have returned from school, or that a package has been taken to their home. It can also tell them if a stranger has entered their home.

    Janina Mattausch is the product marketing manager for Netatmo.

    "The common security(安全)camera at present are not that smart. They can tell if something is moving but they don't necessarily know if it's a human being or, ah, if it's your kids. They don't know the difference, so they will warn you all the time."

    When family members enter a home, the new camera "recognizes(识别)" them and sends information to the owner's smartphone. The owner can choose to see the video then or later. But if an unknown person enters a home, the camera will send the warning that will cause an alarm to sound on the owner's smartphone.

    That is what happened recently to an owner of the smart camera named Damien, He lives in Paris.

    "On a Friday I was at work, attending(出席) a big monthly meeting when my phone warned. At first I told myself, 'Oh, it must be a mistake, maybe I have to set the system again.' But the notice on my phone was telling me that there was a movement in my flat and also a face that the software did not recognize."

    He watched the video and was very surprised by what he saw. "I was watching it live on video. So I felt totally unbelievable and frozen. I asked a workmate to take me back home as fast as possible and I called the police on the way."

    With the help of the video, the police found the intruder(闯A者) later that day.