Last night's meteor(流星) shower left many people in Emerald Valley dissatisfied. They gathered in the suburbs of the city with heavy telescopes，expecting to watch the brightly burning meteors passing through the sky. However, what they found was a sky so brightened by the city's lights that it darkened the light of the meteors passing overhead.

    “My family was so frustrated，” admitted town resident Duane Cosby, “We wanted to make this an unforgettable family outing，but it turned out to be a huge disappointment.”

    Astronomers—scientists who study stars and planets—have been complaining about this problem for many years. They say that light pollution prevents them from seeing objects in the sky that they could see quite easily in the past. They call on people and the government to take measures to fight against it.

    Besides professional and amateur(业余的) star observers, there is yet a population that suffers even more from light pollution. This population consists of birds，bats, frogs, and snakes etc. For example, outdoor lighting severely affects migrating(迁徙的)birds. According to the International Dark­Sky Association, “100 million birds a year throughout North America die in crashes with lighted buildings and towers. ”

    Countless animals injuries and deaths result from the use of artificial lighting. Clearly, people enjoy the benefits of lighting their evenings, but some scientists think it can be harmful to humans, too. They worry that exposure to light while sleeping can increase people's chances of getting cancer.

    Emerald Valley is only one community that is becoming aware of the negative effects of light pollution. For years, Flagstaff, Arizona has enforced lighting rules in its city in order to help astronomers with their observations. Similar efforts have been made worldwide, and a movement is underway to remind us to turn off lights when we are not using them, so that other creatures can share the night.

    Many businesses today use conferences as a means of discussing new plans of the company. As people are paying more attention to the environment and green problems, more businesses are looking for ways to reduce their negative effect on the environment. Many businesses do this by using Web conferencing.

    Web conferencing is a technology that allows people to communicate more effectively over the Internet. It's an easy way of hosting and attending conferences without having to leave the office. Each of the people involved in a web conference will be posted an invitation to the conference with the time and date of the Web conference on it. When the conference is ready to begin, all participants must sit at their computers and they will be connected over the Internet.

    With Web conferencing all participants attend conference from the comfort of their own desks. Obviously, in doing this no fuel is used in traveling to and from a conference, and less work is taken up in attending a conference.

    Any material to be used during Web conference is simply e-mailed to all the participants before the conference. Participants can then either choose to print material or read it on screen.

This not only saves paper but also greatly reduces mailing costs for the business.

    As a conference hall or business center isn't being used, it means that the only power that is used is the power that is used by the participants' personal computers. Similarly, conference organizers don't have to arrange for food or overnight accommodation. All this means that less energy is used.

    Often in business some companies actively choose to do business with other companies that do many things to reduce their negative impact on the environment. And Web conferencing helps you show other businesses that you are willing to work hard for the green cause.

    So Web conferencing is much cheaper and greener and more people are willing to host and attend a web conference.

    What is it?

    KindSpring has created a series of 21-Day Challenges designed to help individuals and groups grow in values that help create positive change. Regardless of profession, age, culture or geography, when we try to cultivate(培养) certain values we create a ripple effect(连锁反应) that has the power to transform our lives and the world for the better. When we practice these values together over and over again, our efforts encourage and strengthen each other in remarkable ways. Each of our 21-Day Challenges focuses on a specific value — from kindness to mindfulness. Click here for more information.

    How does it work?

    A small daily commitment + a daily prompt(提示)+ a process for communication. Each 21-Day Challenge invites participants to carry out one small daily action related to the main theme. Every day for three weeks a unique idea is emailed out that serves as a prompt. Participants are encouraged to carry out the act and share stories of their experiences in both online and offline spaces. You can sign up to participate as an individual or you can “host” a challenge for a group you belong to. The challenges were developed for workplace, school/college and family environments, but are broadly usable. Any group is more than welcome to take them on. At the end of 21 days, you may continue the practice with your group, take on a new challenge, or even design your own. There is no charge for any of our services. All the challenges are offered as a gift. Five steps to host a challenge.

    Why should we do it?

    The 21-Day Challenges are all designed to fit the pace of modern day life. They are not very time-consuming（耗时的）, and in most cases demand less than five minutes a day. Twenty-one days certainly can't change everything, but it can begin a new way of being. You are invited to bring these practices to your company, school, community center, or family. Get started with joining a challenge or hosting one here. Let us know if you have questions—we're delighted to help any way we can!

    The FBI is investigating the disappearance of a visiting Chinese scholar from a central Illinois university town as a kidnapping(绑架) as her whereabouts(下落) have remained unknown since Friday.

    Zhang Yingying, 26, was last seen on June 9 near the north end of the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), wearing a charcoal-colored baseball cap, a pink and white top, jeans and white tennis shoes and carrying a black backpack. She boarded a Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District bus and exited the West Springfield and North Mathews avenues at 1:52 pm local time (1852 GMT), police said.

    The FBI has labeled the case as a kidnapping but isn't ruling out anything, said Campus police spokesman Patrick Wade. The suspect appears to be a white male who was in a car and stopped to talk to Zhang on Friday afternoon, the FBI said. Almost one month into a year long appointment at the UIUC campus, Zhang's friends told police that she was heading to an apartment complex in Urbana to sign a lease(租约).

    Security camera footage(连续镜头) on Monday released by university police showed that Zhang talked to the driver of a black Saturn Astra, about five blocks from where she got off a bus in Urbana on Friday afternoon. She entered the car shortly thereafter. Zhang has not been seen or heard from since then and attempts to contact her by phone remain unsuccessful. Authorities have asked the public to help identify that vehicle.

    A massive search has been launched in Urbana in the US state of Illinois since Zhang's disappearance. Police are interviewing with her colleagues, checking local hospitals and coordinating with ride hailing(打车) companies as part of their investigative efforts.

    In an interview with Xinhua through Wechat on Thursday, Zhang Ronggao, father of the ,missing visiting scholar from china's Fujian Province, expressed gratitude to all the people involved in the search and asked US police to accelerate the search.

    Here is a record of the discussion about AI (artificial intelligence) conducted by several scientists.

    Scientist A: I would say that we are quite a long way off developing the AI, though I do think it will happen within the next thirty or forty years. We will probably remain in control of technology and it will help us solve many of the world's problems. However, no one really knows what will happen if machines become more intelligent than humans. They may help us, ignore us or destroy us. I tend to believe AI will have a positive influence on our future lives, but whether that is true will be partly up to us.

    Scientists B: I have to admit that the potential consequences of creating something that can match or go beyond human intelligence frighten me. Even now, scientists are teaching computers how to learn on their own. At some point in the near future, their intelligence may well take off and develop at an ever-increasing speed. Human beings evolve biologically very slowly and we could be quickly substituted. In the short term, there is the danger that robots will take over millions of human jobs, creating a large underclass of unemployed people. This could mean large-scale poverty and social unrest. In the long term machines might decide the world would be better without humans.

    Scientists C: I'm a member of the campaign to Stop Killer Robots. Forget the movie image of a terrifying Terminator stamping on human skulls and think of what's happening right now: military machines like drones, gun turrets and sentry robots are already being used to kill with very little human input. The next step will be autonomous “murderbots” following orders but finally deciding who to kill on their own. It seems clear to me that this would be extremely dangerous for humans. We need to be very cautious indeed about what we ask machines to do.

    China will green light Internet medical services conducted by medical institutions as part of a broader push to promote Internet Plus Healthcare, those at a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided.

    Medical institutions will be allowed to provide online diagnostic services for some common and chronic diseases in patients' follow-up visits to their doctors. The top levels of hospitals will be encouraged to provide online services, including consultations (会诊), reservations and test result inquiries.

    As China joins the ranks of middle-income countries, the demand for health services has increased accordingly. Internet Plus Healthcare can help reduce the problem of inaccessible and expensive public health services that have long been a big concern for the general public.

    One decision coming out of the meeting says the intelligent review for health insurance will be applied and the one-stop settlement will be advanced. The real-time sharing of prescription and drug retail sales will be explored, as well.

    “We must waste no time in pushing forward the measures once the decisions made.” Li said. “In recent years, top-level hospitals in major cities have seen steady increases in the number of patients. Medical bills have become a heavy burden on families and high-end medical resources still fall short of meeting the growing demand of the public.”

    To solve the problem, a two-pronged (双管齐下的) approach must be taken. One is to establish medical partnerships to strengthen cooperation between major hospitals and community clinics. The other is to bring forward Internet Plus Healthcare to promote the sharing of quality medical resources.

    The government will see to it that long-distance healthcare services cover all county-level hospitals. So more efforts will be made to ensure that high-speed broadband network will be extended to cover medical institutions in urban and rural areas. Dedicated Internet access services will be set up to meet the needs for long-distance healthcare services.