So you want to be a citizen scientist? The National Science Foundation (NSF) has got you covered. NSF supports citizen science across all areas of science, whether your passion is to scan the night sky, or explore your own backyard.

Join a flock of birders

    eBird is an online platform that allows bird-watchers to go online and record their sightings to a database. With more than 100,000 active users, eBird's system is a treasure of information on bird population, distribution and habitat, which users can explore in real time.

Count every drop

    The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is the largest provider of daily precipitation observations in the United States. Volunteers set up rain gauges and record data every time a rain, snow or hail storm passes over. Data is organized and shared on the CoCoRaHS website, and used by scientists, farmers and more.

Search for stars with your computer

    Einstein@Home uses your computer's idle time to search for space signals. The project has already had major successes: Volunteers discovered about 50 stars, using data from Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory and Australia's Parkes Observatory. Einstein@Home also searches for gravitational-wave signals using data from NSF's Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory.

Be part of a supercomputer

    To link all those home computers, Einstien@Home uses software called the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, better known as BOINC. The software choreographs(安排，筹划) the technical aspect of volunteer computing and helps you use radio telescope signals to search for alien life.

Join the plankton party

    Without plankton, life in the ocean would not exist. These tiny organisms form the base of the food chain, and play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Plankton Portal enlists citizen scientists to identify images of plankton, snapped by the In Situ Icthyoplankton Imaging System (ISIIS), an underwater robot engineered at the University of Miami. ISIIS has taken millions of images in oceans around the world and upload them into a database; classifying the images helps researchers understand plankton diversity, habitat and behavior.

    Dazha Crabs from Yangcheng Lake

    With the Mid-Autumn Festival coming, the time for crabs is around the corner! Dazha Crabs from Yangcheng Lake in China are believed to be the best freshwater crabs.

    “They are delicious, because the bottom of Yangcheng Lake is hard and the crabs grow strong by walking on such a hard surface,” said one sales manager in Suzhou.

    Li Lei, a crab lover from Beijing, said “It's very delicious! But there are too many fake Yangcheng Lake Dazha Crabs”.

    “Maybe the crabs from other regions can appear to be glistening green back, white belly after people wash them, but the golden fine hair on crab claws is still a point of pride and is exclusive to Dazha Crabs from Yangcheng Lake,” said the manager.

    The best time for enjoying them is during September and October of Chinese lunar calendar. “When the season for crabs arrives, the Dazha Crabs from Yangcheng Lake are flown to various cities so that people's appetites can be satisfied,” said the sales manager. “They are really expensive here, sometimes more than 320RMB/500g, 10% of my salary!” said Li Lei.

    Dazha Crabs are usually steamed or boiled for within 20 minutes before they come on the dinner table. They are often enjoyed with vinegar mixed with minced ginger to add flavor and get rid of the cold. People who are particular about how they eat crabs also need to have high-grade Shaoxing rice wine to warm their stomachs.

    There is much work required to eat crabs. So much shell!Most people use both hands and teeth while eating Dazha Crabs. “The eating way is not graceful or elegant,” said Huck. “However, some professionals of eating crabs can use tools to take all the meat out of the crab without damaging a single bite and the crab can be restored to its original shape if the empty shells are pieced together!” said Han Mei, another Dazha crab lover.

    Dyslexia(失读症) is a learning disorder, it interferes with the ability to recognise words, and for some readers to understand what they have read.

    Experts say dyslexia affects about five to ten percent of the population of the United State. Researchers have long known that people with dyslexia write or read words and letters backwards in the wrong order.

    But a new study shows that people with dyslexia may have trouble redirecting(重新传入) their attention between senses, from seeing something to hearing something. The study suggests something that might help dyslexic people learn more quickly — play video games.

    Vanessa Harrar of Britain's University of Oxford led the study. She reported the findings in the journal Current Biology. The study suggests that dyslexic people may have trouble moving quickly from what they read to what they hear. Doctor Harrar calls this a "sluggish shifting of attention across the senses."

    "So, if you are trying to read something and then trying to listen to somebody who's reading aloud and you're trying to follow along with what they are reading -- they have to switch their attention from hearing what they are saying to looking at the piece of paper and back again. So we found they have quite sluggish shifting of attention across the senses," said Harrar.

    In the study, Doctor Harrar tested 17 people with dyslexia, and 19 others without reading problems. The volunteers were asked to push a button as quickly as possible when they heard a sound, saw a light or experienced both together. Doctor Harrar compared the speed of their reactions.

    She found that people with dyslexia were just as fast as the others when they saw only a picture or heard only a sound. But the dyslexics had a slower reaction time when they heard a sound and saw a picture at the same time.

    Doctor Harrar feels like playing action video games could help dyslexic people shift from seeing to hearing more quickly. She adds that images in video games force the eyes to move and focus quickly.

    "Video game types of things pop out of here and there, they move your eyes around the screen quite quickly in response to things quite quickly, and the more you play a video game the faster you get that kind of thing. So, the video game is really training the attention system to move quickly," said Harrar.

    The study also shows that dyslexic people have the most difficulty going between what they saw and what they heard, this may have an effect on how dyslexic children are taught how to read.

    When children learn the alphabet, they usually see the letter first and then hear the sound, or they see and hear the letter at the same time. The study shows that dyslexics might learn more quickly if they hear the sound of a letter or word first before seeing it.

    The summer holidays are coming up. It's time to fill the bookshelves with quality literature for the kids. Here are some great books.

    Josephine Wants to Dance by Jackie French

    Price: $14.99 (for ages 4+)

    Josephine is a kangaroo who loves to dance. Her little brother, Joey, tells her that kangaroos don't dance; they jump. But Josephine continues to point her toes and leap through the air. When a ballet group comes to town and the lead ballerina (芭蕾舞演员) is injured, Josephine is called upon to help save the day. Can she do it, and, more importantly, does it matter that she's a kangaroo?

    House of Secrets by Chris Columbus

    Price: $19.99 (for ages 9+)

    The Walker kids —Caroline, Brendan and Nell—may have saved the world, but they can't save their home and must leave Kristoff House. Things can't get any worse, but then it turns out that the Wind Witch is still alive and planning an attack. To defeat her, the Walkers must return to the book world. The Walkers always help each other, but they must do it alone in their most important mission yet. And this time, if they fail, there's no chance of coming back.

    Edge of Extinction Book 1 by Laura Martin

    Price: $16.00 (for ages 9+)

    If you like The Land of the Dinosaurs, you will love this book. Two hundred years ago, the first dinosaur was successfully cloned (克隆). Soon after, humans realized they'd made a big mistake. Thirteen-year-old Sky Mundy's father suddenly disappeared five years ago. Along with her best friend， Shawn， she steps out into the world above --a world of dinosaurs --to look for him. Then she learns that everything she's been taught has been a lie.

How to Love Your Parents

    Even if you think that your parents are mean-spirited at times, loving your parents is a normal and fulfilling part of life. You love them for the fact that they created you, raised you, and are in part, a source of who you are. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Tell them you love them every morning. A gentle "good morning" and "I love you" will warm a coldest heart. Remember that they brought you into this world. Without your parents, we might still wander at an unknown corner in an unknown world.

    Respect them more and cherish these moments. You can use these moments to learn from them, preparing yourself for when you're off on your own. It's OK to get angry but angry actions don't help you or your parents. Act calmly, cool off, write down your feelings, or talk to a friend. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Obey their requests. It will make your attitude better and earn you more respect from them. It may seem like you are going through hell when you don't get what you want or you have to clean. However, you had better remember they keep a roof over your head when it's cold, raining, snowing, or too hot. Understand that parents are human beings and make mistakes. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Since you can forgive your friends, why not forgive your parents?

    Keep company with them. Do things with your parents like watching TV, or go somewhere with them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Listen to their old stories and learn from them. You will find they are your teachers in this way or another.

    Some people simply may not be able to love their parents. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Seek help if you are being abused（虐待）in anyway. Parents do not have a right to harm you.

A. Parents will in turn express their love to you.

B. Forgiveness is the key.

C. Here are some ways to love your parents.

D. There can be realistic reasons for this, family violence for example.

E. Anyway, spend as much time with them as you can.

F. After this, share your feelings with your parents.

G. Please remember parents are as important as friends.

    Planning before buying something is a good idea. For example, you are going to buy a pet dog, you still have to consider a few things and plan them well before you welcome it in the house. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You will also have to train it well so that it does not misbehave in front of people. You should realize that it is a big responsibility.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Think about whether your pocket can manage the purchase, as well as different items for keeping the dog. If something goes wrong with the health of your pet, you will have to spend some extra money on it.

    The next thing you need to consider is your home, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}You will also have to consider the family members. If your living place is already too crowded with people, getting a dog as an additional member of the house will not be a good idea.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Make sure nobody is allergic(过敏的) to the fur of the dog. Also make sure that you can easily find time to train the dog. Ensure that your family is welcoming to this idea.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When you are bringing this best friend in your house you must make sure everything is right for it. You should make life easier for it, as well as others who are living in your house.

A. Looking after your dog doesn't only mean taking it for a walk or playing with it.

B. A dog is supposed to be man s best friend.

C. Before you think about getting a dog, think about the afford ability(经济承受力).

D. The training should start as soon as the dog is in your care.

E. Once the dog has learned how to sit, you may teach him to shake hands.

F. You will also have to think about any health problems related to your family.

G. A small apartment will not be fit to house a large dog.