Your glasses may someday replace your smartphone, and some New Yorkers are ready for the switch. Some in the city can't wait to try them on and use the maps and GPS that the futuristic eyewear is likely to include.

    “ I'd use it if I were hanging out with friends at 3 a. m. and going to the [bar and wanted to see what was open,” said Walter Choo, 40, of Fort Greene.

    The smartphone-like glasses will likely come out this year and cost between $250 and $600, the Times said, possibly including a variation of augmented(增强的) reality, a technology already available on smartphones and tablets (平板电脑) that overlays information onto the screen about one's surroundings. So, for example, if you were walking down a street, indicators would____showing you the nearest coffee shop or directions could be plotted out and come into view right on the sidewalk in front of you.

    "As far as a mainstream consumer product, this just isn't something anybody needs,” said Sam Biddle, who writes for Gizmodo.com.  “ We're accustomed to having one thing in our pocket to do all these things,” he added, “and the average consumer isn't gonna be able to afford another device (装置) that's hundreds and hundreds of dollars.”9to5Google publisher Seth Weintraub, who has been reporting on the smartphone-like glasses since late last year, said he is confident that this type of wearable device will eventually be as common as smartphones.

    “It's just like smartphones 10 years ago,” Weintraub said. “A few people started getting emails on their phones, and people thought that was crazy. Same kind of thing. We see people bending their heads to look at their smartphones, and it's unnatural,” he said. “ There's gonna be improvements to that, and this a step there.”

    There might be as many as 10 million species of complex life on this planet today —— a huge number. But add up all of the complex species that ever lived and some biologists think the grand total would be about five billion. The estimate leads to an astonishing conclusion: a staggering 99% of species are not around any more. They have been driven to extinction.

    More species are joining the ranks of the extinct every year. Many scientists believe we are living through an episode of remarkably rapid extinction, on a scale that has been seen only five times in the last half a billion years.

    They call this current episode the sixth mass extinction —— a large, global decline in a wide variety of species over a relatively short period of time. And they tend to agree that humans are the main cause.

    Over-hunting, overfishing, and human-driven habitat loss are pushing many species to the brink. In fact, we have changed the planet so much that some geologists are now suggesting that we have entered a new phase in Earth's history; an epoch they call the ＂Anthropocene＂. By 2100, it is expected that humans will have caused the extinction of up to half of the world's current species.

    Because we are living through this extinction, it is relatively easy for us to study the driving forces behind it. But how do we determine what caused other mass die-offs that happened long ago? To do so we have to look at what archaeologists, palaeontologists, geologists and other scientists have concluded from the evidence they have gathered.

    The trouble is, those scientists do not always agree with one another —— even about the most recent extinction event. As well as the five-or six- mass extinctions, there have also been many smaller extinctions.

    One of these mini extinction events happened towards the end of the Pleistocene, a few tens of thousands of years ago. It is sometimes called the ＂megafaunal＂ extinction because many of the species it claimed were particularly large animals, weighing more than 97lb (44kg). However, its cause remains a debate amongst scientists.

Music

    Opera at Music Hall： 1243 Elm Street. The season runs June through August, with additional performances in March and September. The Opera honors Enjoy the Arts membership discounts. Phone: 241 -2742. http://www.cityopera.com

    Chamber Orchestra： The Orchestra plays at Memorial Hall at 106 Elm Street, which offers several conceits from March through June. Call 723-1182 for more information. http://www.chamberorch.com.

    Symphony Orchestra： At Music Hall and Riverbend. For ticket sales, call 381-3300. Regular season runs September through May at Music Hall in summer al Riverbend. http://www.symphony.org/honie.asp.

    College Conservatory Of Music (CCM): Performances are on the main campus of the university, usually at Patricia Cobbett Theater. CCM organizes a variety of events, including performances by the well-known LaSalle Quarter, CMM's Philharmonic Orchesira, and various groups of musicians presenting Baroque through modem music. Students with I.D. cards can attend the events for free. A free schedule of events for each term is available by calling the box office at 556-4183. http://www.ccm. uc.edu/events/calendar.

    Rivebent Music Theater.6295 Kellogg Ave« Large outdoor theater with the closest seats under cover (price difference ). Big name shows all summer long! Phone: 232-6220. http://www.riverbendmusic.com

    People You've Never Heard of Who Changed the World

    It is a fact that most people live their lives unremarked by history. Whether by design or by accident, there are some pioneers whose achievements changed the course of history but whose names are unknown to us.

    James Harrison

    James Harrison has saved the lives of over two million people by donating his blood 1,173 times, a Guinness world record. His blood produces a rare antibody (抗体) which cures the otherwise deadly Rhesus disease in unborn children. It has also been used in the development of a medicine anti-D, which will cure the Rhesus disease in children forever.

    Lewis Latimer

    After helping Alexander Graham Bell obtain his patent for the telephone, Lewis Latimer patented a carbon filament (碳灯丝), which allowed light bulbs to burn for hours before burning out, much more useful than that invented by Thomas Edison. Latimer went on to invent many other useful devices, including a device which cooled and cleaned patients' rooms in hospitals.

    Maurice Hilleman

    Not all achievements require bravery and self-sacrifice. Take Maurice Hilleman for example. He found another way to change the world. He developed the mumps vaccine (疫苗) after his daughter got the illness. And he didn't stop there. In total, he has single-handedly developed over 40 vaccines, including eight commonly given to children. His work has saved millions of lives and prevented serious consequences due to the diseases.

    Nils Bohlin

    In 1959 Nils Bohlin patented a revolutionary design that has saved millions of lives－the three-point safety belt. After the initial resistance from drivers who hated being told what to do, and even for their own good, the three-point belt has become a standard feature in new cars around the world.

When Jenny Benson was eight, her mother took her to soccer practice for the first time.

"She's never played soccer before," Mrs Benson told the coach. "I'm not sure how she'll do. "

Jenny ran onto the field and joined the other players. Over the next hour, Mrs Benson and the coach watched as Jenny outran many of the more experienced players.

"I knew then that soccer would be Jenny's sport. " Mrs Benson recalls. And she was right.

It may have helped that Jenny had spent much of her time trying to keep up with her three brothers. "I wanted to be just like them," Jenny says. "My family has inspired me for my entire life. "

Jenny has retired from the United States women's national soccer team. She started out on her professional career in the Philadelphia Charge, a team in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). Later on, she joined FC Energy Voronezh, and then New Jersey Wildcats.

When the WUSA was being formed, league officials watched many college soccer games, looking for players good enough to join the league. They were very interested in Jenny, who played for the University of Nebraska.

"Throughout that college season, I knew I was being watched," Jenny says, "I knew I couldn't be perfect, so I just tried to be very consistent and have fun. "

As a professional, Jenny relied on her focused but funloving attitude. "In a game, I try never to put too much pressure on myself. The more I concentrate on having fun, the better I play. " She says. "I have good and bad days, just like everyone else, but I know the sun will always come up after a bad day. So all I have to do is to adjust myself, either to the change of my inner feelings or to the change of circumstances. That helps me get through anything. "

Everyone in the Smiths shares the housework. Let's see what they usually do.