You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world's temperature. But, rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation (撤离) of an island nation — the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.

    During the 20th century, sea level has risen 8～12 inches. As a result, Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country's drinking water.

    Paani Laupepa, a Tuvaluan government official, reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years. Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.

    Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their green house gas emissions (排放), which are a main cause of global warming.“By refusing to sign the agreement, the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years,” Laupepa told the BBC.

    Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries.

    Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable (易受影响的) to rising sea levels. Maumoon Gayoon, president of the Maldives, told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311 000 an“endangered nation”.

    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.

    In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.

    At the same time, the Fringe appeared as a challenge to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.

    Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.

    Today the Fringe, once less recognized, has far out grown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959, with only 19theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.

    A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.

    In his research work, Philosophical Investigations（哲学调查）, Ludwig Wittgenstein tries to clarify（澄清）some of the problems in people's thinking about how the mind works.

    Imagine, he says, that everyone has a small box in which they keep a beetle（甲壳虫）. No one is allowed to look in anyone else's box, only in their own. Over time, people talk about what is in their boxes and the word “beetle” comes to stand for what is in everyone's box. Through this example, Wittgenstein point out that the beetle is very much like an individual's（个体的）mind; no one can know exactly what it is like to be another person or experience things from another's point of view—look in someone else's “box”—but it is general considered that the mental working of another person's mind is very similar to that of our own. However, it does not really matter—he argues—what is in the box or whether everyone indeed has a beetle, since there is no way of checking or comparing. In a sense, the word “beetle” simply means “what is in the box”. From this point of view, the mind is simply “what is in the box”, or rather “what is in your head”.

    Wittgenstein considers language to have meaning because of public usage. In other words, when we talk of having a mind—or a beetle—we are using a term that we have learned through conversation. The concept might be perceived（感知）differently in each of our minds, so the word “mind” cannot be used to refer specifically to some entity（本质）outside of our own conception（概念）, since we cannot see into other people's boxes.

    Ideas of making the first weeks of high school easy

    Frank. aged 21

    I think almost every kid feels both nervous and excited before their first day. You will probably love it. I know I did. You should join some sports or activities that will make your high school experience more enjoyable. Good luck!

    Sharon. aged 22

    The most important thing to keep in mind when going into high school is to be yourself. Besides, I don't know what your middle school was like, but high school teachers will not care about things such as how much homework you already have in one night. It's best to just learn to deal with things and manage your time wisely so you can achieve everything you need to do.

    Eddie. aged 20

    When I started high school, I was really nervous too, especially since I had been home schooled all through middle school and didn't really know anyone. I suppose the best advice would be to just relax. The first couple of days can be a little bit hard, but things will become easier before you know it.

    David. aged 19

    I'm not going to lie. The first day is kind of frightening. But you'll get used to it. Don't be afraid of anyone; upperclassmen will pick on(J E )you more if you let them know you're afraid. Just take it easy. Making some friends and staying with them will greatly help you get used to high school quickly. After the first week it's really not bad at all. Don't worry.

    Not sure what gift to get your loved ones? Think technology! You may even find something special for yourself!

    Mini Quadcopter

    Would you like to have a flying toy, but lack space to fly one? Consider a Mini Quadcopter that is small enough to fit inside your hand. This Mini Quadcopter can be controlled to fly in any direction with its remote control. The Mini Quadcopter is available from Hammacher Schlemmer for $39.95.

    Selfie Toaster

    Does your sweetie like taking selfies and eating toast? Well, why not combine the two with the Selfie Toaster? The Selfie Toaster crates an image on the piece of toast so you can smile at yourself every morning. The Selfie Toaster is available from Etsy for $10.95.

    Amazon Echo

    Give the knowledge of the world with the Amazon Echo.

    The advice can answer questions, tell you about weather conditions, tell jokes, play music and more. The Echo also acts as a Bluetooth speaker so you can connect your phone and listen to your favorite songs. The Echo is available from Amazon for $179.

    Indoor Snowfall Light

    Get into the spirit of the holiday season in your home with the Indoor Snowfall Light. The light shows snowflake shapes in your room to give you the feeling of a winter snowfall. You can control the speed of the snowfall, unlike the real whether. The Indoor Snowfall Light is available from Sharper Image for $59.99.