Computer technology is still developing rapidly. The computer of the future will continue to increase in value and performance while decreasing in cost. It will become smaller, but faster and more powerful.

    It is possible to make some guesses about what the future of the computer will look like, based upon the types of technologies that are being developed now. A lot of progress has already been made in some of these new technologies, but some are still in their earliest stages and may not be ready for use for years. Two of the most interesting areas of computing that are currently being developed are quantum computing (量子计算) and nanotechnology (纳米技术).

    Quantum computing is one possibility for the future of the computer that could make computers run far faster than even the quickest computers do today. Quantum computers could be able to do what modern supercomputers are unable to do by using transistors that are able to take on many states at the same time.

    Nanotechnology could also change the face of computing, by creating computers that could be very powerful, though they are tiny in size. These computers could be incorporated (并入) into everyday objects, including electrical appliances (电器), clothes and even the human body. We will be able to use computers in new and unimaginable ways. They will become a part of our lives rather than simply being a box that is used only for specific purposes, such as work.

    Quantum computing and nanotechnology will be able to play new roles, which will make us live greener lives, as well as enjoy better health and happier lives.

    Most heroes are not super. They don't appear in comic books, on television, or in movies. They just do what they believe needs to be done to make their world a better place. Bike Batman is one of them.

    Bike Batman is a 30-year-old married engineer who lives in Seattle, Washington. He's a cyclist who also buys and sells bikes as a hobby.

    About three years ago, he was looking for a bike for his wife. He found one on Craigslist, a website where people list things they want to sell. As he often does, he also looked at Bike Index, a popular website that allows users to register their bikes and post reports when they're taken. The bike, which he was considering purchasing, clearly matched one reported stolen on Bike Index. Then he called the person who claimed to be the bike's owner and arranged to meet him— supposedly to complete the sale. When the two men met, Bike Batman told the thief, "You've got two options. You can wait until a police officer gets here, or you can just get out of here." You can imagine what the thief did.

    After that first success, Bike Batman developed a safer routine. When he sees questionable bike ads on Craigslist, he cross-references the image with bikes reported on Bike Index. Once he has confirmed it with the owner, he arranges a meet-up with the thief and will call the Seattle police department so that officers can participate in the action. In more than half of the 22 cases in which he has got back and returned bikes, the thieves have been arrested. In one case, Bike Batman even helped a family recover a wide range of prized possessions that suspects had stolen during a home burglary.

    His nickname came from a discussion with a police officer who suggested he be called "Robin Hood". Since he wasn't exactly stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, "Batman" seemed a better fit. The idea of a superhero punishing criminals feels pretty silly to him, but the main reason he continues his work is to keep up Seattle's reputation as a friendly city.

    I was in the seventh grade, and we had moved to New Jersey in November. By then, everyone already had had their own friends, and no one wanted to talk to a new girl. To make things worse, they put me in "Section L". I found out later that everyone called Section L "Loserville". It was sort of an open secret that it was the section for troublemakers and not-so-smart kids. When I found out, I wanted to scream. I had always been a good student and had amazing friends, and now everyone thought I was a loser!

    I did text my friends in Illinois almost every night, especially my best friend, Ana. At first my friends wanted to hear all about it. But then some stopped texting back once I said something about how miserable I was. One night when I was texting with Ana, I complained about another friend who had just done that.

    Ana's texts came really fast for the next few minutes and they surprised me. She said that she was tired of hearing about how bad everything was in New Jersey, too. She said she did not want to hurt my feelings but that I needed to stop feeling so sorry for myself all the time, I had to try to make things better.

    The next day, I thought a lot about what Ana had said. She was right!

    I wish I could say that everything changed overnight after that, but it didn't. I was still stuck in "Loserville", and some people were still mean to me, even though I tried to just stay out of their way.

    But what did change was me—I stopped feeling so sorry for myself and did something about making friends. I signed up to make sets for the school play. I met a lot of new people there, and suddenly I had friends to say hi to in the halls!

    I still miss Illinois sometimes  but life in New Jersey isn't so hard anymore. Even though I couldn't change my situation, I could change my attitude—and that made all the difference.

Joy Adamson (Jan, 20, 1910-Jan. 3, 1980) was a popular wildlife conservationist of the 1960s and an author, best known for her book, Born Free, which described her experiences in saving the life of a lioness, Elsa.

Mrs. Adamson was born as Friedericke Victoria Gessner in Troppau. Silesia, Austria-Hungary (now Opava, Czech Republic). In 1937 she moved to Kenya. then a British Colony. In 1944 she married George Adamson, a British game warden in Kenya. and adopted Kenya as her own country, living on the shores of Lake Naivasha. It was with George Adamson, her third husband, that her most crucial and well-known work was done. Their works were pivotal (关键的)for the foundation of modern conservation.

They acquired Elsa, a tame lion cub, in 1956, after George had killed the cub's mother in self-defense. For two years Joy and George trained the animal for a return to the wild, and the subsequent book about Elsa. Born Free (1960), was an international success. Adamson followed the book with Living Free (1961) and Forever Free (1962). These first two books were made into films. In addition to her books about lions, Adamson also wrote two books about Pippa. a cheetah (猎豹) she took on in 1964. as well as numerous other books about her life in Africa. She was also an accomplished artist and many of her paintings are displayed in a museum in Nairobi, Kenya.

Joy and George separated in the 1970s, though they never divorced. On January 3, 1980, Joy was found murdered in a remote region of Kenyn. George was murdered on August 20, 1989, in an isolated region of Nairobi. This was an ironic (讽刺的) end to the lives of two who had lived in such seemingly dangerous circumstances with wild animals; that their deaths were at, the hands of men.

Writing out the same word again and again may bring back bad memories for some, but handwriting can boost connectivity across brain regions, some of which are involved in learning and memory, a new study shows. 

In the study, psychologists Audrey and Ruud, both at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, stuck electrodes（电极）on the participants' heads. They asked the participants to type out or handwrite with a digital pen words that appeared on a computer screen. Sensors in a cap recorded electrical brain activity. Then the psychologists looked for when two brain areas are active with the same frequency of electrical waves at the same time. This result can reveal the connectivity among different regions across the brain. 

With handwriting, the researchers saw increased activity, specifically in low frequency bands, not only in the expected motor areas but also in others associated with learning. These low frequency bands have previously been shown to support memory processes. When the team compared the two tasks, they realized that handwriting—but not typing—increased the connectivity across parietal（顶叶）brain regions, which are involved in sensory and motor processing, and central regions, many of which are involved in memory. "Even when the movements are very similar, the activation seems much, much higher in handwriting," Audrey says. "It shows that there's more involvement of these brain regions when you're handwriting, which might give you some specific advantages."

These findings suggest that there are distinct processes of brain activation happening while a person types or writes. This boost of stimulation of handwriting facilitates learning because these particular waves between these areas are involved in memory formation and encoding（编码）. 

And although handwriting may help with learning processes, typing is often easier, faster and more practical. "Students and teachers alike should therefore consider the task at hand to decide to handwrite or type, "Audrey says. Despite the need for more studies to determine the best learning strategy, experts say that handwriting shouldn't be left behind in the digital age. "Schools need to bring in more writing into curriculum design," Ruud says. 

The language Centers first Trivia Night tested students' knowledge on different languages and their histories last Friday at Douglass commons.

"We have decided to conduct this event when the weather is bad so that students who have nowhere to go and stay on campus can come and find a comfortable shelter during a cold winter day," Language Center Director, Teresa Valdez said. According to Valdez, the idea for Trivia night came a year ago from a junior and team-member called Elizabeth de Los Reyes. The event engaged students' interest in languages and showed the high-quality services that the Language Center provides.

Participants competed in small groups that each represented a different language and country. There were five teams in total: Russia, China, Japan, Spain and France. The competition consisted of four rounds with each round consisting of three questions relating to the following topics literature, language, geography, culture and history.

After a few warm-up questions about how people greet each other in different languages, what continent Turkey is found in, and who is the first man to fly to the moon, the questions became increasingly difficult. Each round offered an increasing amount of points a team could receive. The final question was worth 20 points. If a team did not answer it correctly, the points were taken from the total.

In the meantime, students enjoyed pizza, snacks, and drinks while sharing their linguistic (语言的) interest. Most of the participants knew two or three languages. Others knew more, such as first-year Bartek Jezierski from Poland, who can speak English, Polish, German, Spanish, and Russian.

The winners from first to third place were France, Japan and Russia respectively. All five teams were given some prizes—a blue shopping bag, a cup and stuffed toys. However, students believed the most important prize of the evening was the process of the competition—how students from diverse backgrounds and cultures were able to participate in a friendly competition, and shared their mutual (相互的) love of languages.