Custom tattooed fish (纹身鱼) may be big sellers at markets, but an animal expert say it is a cruel and potentially lethal practice.

    In Laitai Flower and Fish Market near the Lufthansa Center in Beijing, four of over 20 fish stores sell marine ornamental fish that are tattooed using laser (激光) guns with beautiful images in order to make them more attractive to customers. Many people just love these kinds of fish, which gives them a unique visual impression. The price of these fish ranges from 50-100 yuan. Some customers are willing to pay an additional 100 yuan to have Chinese characters tattooed on to the fish. The most popular characters are “zhaocai” (attracting fortune) and “fu” (blessing). The color of tattooed fish won't fade away, and the fish can be cared for as regular fishes:

    But Ye Zhenjiang, a professor from the Ocean University of China, said “the practice would damage a fish's mackerel scale, which is its protective layer. Although I haven't done any research on the impact of the laser on mackerel scale, it is obvious that the mackerel scale may be infected or even destroyed under the exposure of laser,” Ye said. “It's like tattooing a human being's body, and it breaks the physiological balance of the fish and damages: the skin's protective surface, It may even cause death among fishes which have thin mackerel scale.”

    A specialist in aquatic(永生的) animal study surnamed Xu, from the Beijing Fisheries Research Institute, said, “We have no specific regulations to prevent fish from being tattooed. An official surnamed Bai from the Fishery Surveillance and Administration Bureau(FSAB), said there is no study showing that the laser threatened a fish's health. He said a regulation on small animal protection, to be passed in the near future, doesn't include regular aquatic animals. He said the institution is only responsible for aquatic animals that are on the verge of extinction. He said tattooed fish are mainly from south China's Guangdong province because Beijing does not have the laser technology to tattoo a fish.

    “It's too brutal to tattoo pictures or characters on fishes, even if it makes them more beautiful,” many tropical fish buyers told METRO yesterday. “We would never buy fish like that and we prefer them with natural beauty.”

    My elder cousin Ted liked complaining almost about everything. When he faced a problem, he always chose to complain about it instead of finding a way to solve it. That was not right. Ted was healthy and had received a good education. He should and could find a good job and work hard to feed himself, but he just complained all day, drifting from one job to another. One day, I read about a farmer called Chris and told Ted about the farmer.

    Chris works hard, performs many jobs around the farm. But Chris is not exactly like other farmers. What makes him different is that he was born without arms or legs. But this has not stopped him from working hard and getting things done.

    Now, you may ask, is this possible? Like many other amazing people who have no arms or legs, Chris does not focus on what he can't do, but rather on what he can do. And he can do a lot! He drives farm vehicles and looks after crops. Once you see Chris in action, you will think there is nothing he could not do.

    Chris is a great example of a person who is making the most of his gifts. His positive attitude and courage make him a true inspiration.

    After I told Ted about Chris, he became silent. Compared with Chris, Ted was much luckier. Then luckily, I saw Ted's change.

    Do you like complaining? If you do, think about Chris. Such a man chooses to stay positive. Why don't we?

    If you thought pilots dimmed（调暗）the lights before takeoff to give you some shuteye, think again. Believe it or not, the dim lighting could actually help save your life in case of a plane emergency.

    The dimmed lights before taking off the runway and landing are a flight precaution used to help passengers' eyes adjust quicker during an emergency escape. “Going from a brightly lit environment to one that's completely dark would require some time for our eyes to focus and see the escape slide,” Alice Theriault, service director for Air Canada wrote in a press statement. “Since we need to have all the seconds on our side in the event of an emergency, dimming the lights is one of many steps we take to ensure the safety of our customers.”

    The phenomenon that your eyes see those strange speckles (小斑点) as your sight adjusts to a dark place after being in a light place is called dark adaptation. It normally takes our eyes about 20 to 30 seconds to see best in a dark room. The brighter the lights, the longer it takes for our eyes to adjust, which is why dimming the plane lights could shorten your “dark adaptation” time since you haven't been sitting under fluorescent bulbs (荧光灯) all flight.

    Not only does dimming lights add valuable time to the escape process, but it reduces the tension on your eyes if you need to look outside, or see the emergency lighting along the passage. “It helps keep you in the right direction.” Patrick Smith, an airline pilot and author of Cockpit Confidential told The Telegraph. “It also makes it easier for flight attendants to assess any outside risks, such as fire or debris, that might affect an escape.” So next time a pilot dims the lights, just know it's for your safety, even though it creates a gentle atmosphere for your takeoff into the sky.

    Pastime is a bi-monthly magazine for curious young minds. Many of the topics we write about won't be covered in the classroom. All the articles are written in a lively style, and each one is paired with drawings by some of the country's most talented artists.

    History focuses on archaeological (考古的) sites around the world where archaeologists work to unearth important finds.

    World includes stories about daily life, folk tales, and history and traditions of the people and places.

    Sport includes nutrition tips, information about up-and-coming young athletes, and sports events.

    Art stimulates a child's cultural life, from film to theatre through to writing and music.

    On top of all that, Pastime is packed with items to stimulate a youngster's imagination, including pages of puzzles and a step-by-step guide to creating their own impressive-looking drawings.

    In every issue, we review the latest books top authors write for youngsters. There are also short works of fiction written especially for Pastime by some of our best writers.

    We know that children at this age are dealing with many emotions and sometimes difficult feelings, so we have a personal advice page to reply to questions dealing with personal and moral problems.

    Unlike many of today's throwaway comics, Pastime is written and designed to be kept and treasured. We know children love going online — but we also know how much they enjoy holding a printed magazine in their hands, and the excitement they get when each new issue drops through the letterbox personally addressed to them.

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    Pastime is published six times a year. An annual subscription costs just £20 and makes a great gift for any child aged eight to twelve.

    To order by phone: Dial 1-800-821-0156 and use Offer Code WEBSAVE86 for print-only subscriptions.

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    Nola (August 21, 1974 -November 22, 2015) was a northern white rhino who lived at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido, California. At her death, she was one of only four remaining northern white rhinos in the world. The other three lived in Kenya. World Rhino Day, held on September 2, is to raise awareness(意识) of the less than 30,000 other rhinos left on Earth.

    “Rhinos need our help today, not tomorrow,” Nola's lead keeper Jane Kennedy said. “Last year we lost over 1,200 rhinos just in South Africa. If we continue to lose more than 1,000 rhinos a year, in 10 to 20 years all the rhinos on the planet will be gone.”

    “Unfortunately, most animals are in danger of dying out because of humans,” Kennedy says.“ Humans have either poached animals, or because there are over seven billion of us, we've taken up too much of the world's resources”. Poachers illegally hunt rhinos for their horns. They sell the horns for thousands of dollars per pound, to be used for art, jewelry, and decorations. Experts believe that one rhino is poached every eight hours.

    In 1975, the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research started the Frozen Zoo, a program through which researchers have collected cell (细胞) samples from more than 8,000 different types of animals, including the northern white rhino. Scientists hope that by studying the rhino cells, they will get greater understanding of it, and will find ways to increase its numbers.

    Jane Kennedy describes World Rhino Day as “a celebration of rhinos along with an awareness campaign for everybody across the world to know that rhinos need our help.”At the San Diego Zoo, children and adults are welcome to visit and speak with zookeepers to learn about rhinos. But you don't have to live in San Diego to celebrate World Rhino Day. It is observed around the world, with zoos and wildlife parks holding special events and programs to teach people about rhinos, and enable them to see the animals up close. For more information, go to www.worldrhinoday.org.

    In 2001, British Prime Minister, Tony Blair said," We celebrate the diversity(多样性) in our country, get strength from the cultures and the races that go to make up Britain today."

    People from all cultures and races can be found in every corner of Britain and each person in his or her own way has contributed to making Britain the place it is today.

    If you walk down a street in Britain, especially in the bigger cities, you will usually see people with different hair, skin and eye colors. They may have white, brown or black skin and blonde, brown, black or red hair, with blue, black, brown or green eyes. Many of the people you will see will be British people but they all look different because the people of Britain are a mixed race.

    Britain is and has always been a mixed race society. Early in the British history they were invaded by Romans, Saxons, Vikings and Normans armies and later Africans were brought to Britain by force in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as slaves or servants. Over the years, thousands of people have been forced by persecution(迫害) or hunger to leave France, Ireland, Russia, and other countries, and have settled in Britain.

    About 8% of the population of Britain today are people from other cultures and races. That is 4.6 million people. According to a BBC report in September 2005, immigration (移民) made up more than half of Britain's population growth from 1991 to 2001.The Guardian newspaper reported in 2007 that the number of immigrants to the UK was 145,000 a year.

    People moving to Britain have brought their own cultures with them and try to keep them alive. An excellent example of this is the Notting Hill Carnival which celebrates the Caribbean culture and is now a very big part of British life today.