The ocean can be a great place to swim and play, it may also be useful in another way. Some scientists think that waves could help make electricity.
   “Have you ever been on a surfboard or boat and felt yourself being lifted up by a wave?” asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group in Scotland. “There is certainly a lot of energy in waves.”
   Scientists are working on using that energy to make electricity. The United States and a few other countries have started doing research on wave energy, and it is already being used in Scotland.
   Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean. “The winds start out by making little ripples (波纹) in the water, but if they keep on blowing, those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves,” Taylor said. “Waves are one of nature's ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey.”
   When waves come towards the coast, people can set up dams(大坝) to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine(涡轮). The turbine can then power an electrical generator(发电机).
   We will never run out of wave power. Besides, wave energy does not create the same pollution as oil and coal do.
   Oceans cover three quarters of the earth's surface. That would make wave power seem perfect for creating energy around the world. But there are some disadvantages that need us to pay more attention to.
   Jamie Taylor said that wave power still cost too much money. He said that its influence on animals in the sea is still unknown. Besides, wave power would get in the way of fishing and boat traffic.
   With more research, “Many of these problems might be solved,” Taylor said. “Finding more energy sources(资源) is very important, for traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may run out some day.”
   In the future, when you turn on a light button, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity!

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We've all heard of mermaids. They are the beautiful half-human, half-fish creatures(生物). They have the head and body of a human and the tail of a fish. We also know that mermaids only exist in fairy tales. But where did all the stories about these creatures come from? If you have ever seen a manatee, then you might have an idea.
Manatees, which are also called sea cows, are mammals(哺乳动物) that live in the sea. Since they are mammals, they have to swim up to the surface to breathe air. Many people believe that the story of the mermaid began with the ancient sailors who saw the manatees putting their heads out of the water to breathe. Because manatees are upright when they do this, it looks like they are standing. If a sailor saw a manatee doing this from far away across the sea, it is possible that the sailor would mistake the manatee for a creature that is half-human, half-fish.
Mermaids are described as having very long hair. This is probably because manatees like to swim up to the surface of the water in areas where there is sea grass. Manatees eat all kinds of plants in the sea, including sea grass. The sea grass around the manatee's head when they eat could create a picture of long hair.

Manatees also have powerful tails that are very similar to the fish-like tail of a mermaid. The sailors probably watched manatees come up for air and then swim back below the surface, using their paddle-shaped tails. This would explain why the sailors thought mermaids had fish-like tails.

    Do you know a kind of bird called tawny owl? Where does it come from? It comes from Finland (芬兰). What color is it? It is brown. Are all the tawny owls brown? No. Tawny owls come in two colors: pale gray and brown. And in Finland, it often snowed in winter. Many tawny owls were pale gray. But as the Finnish (芬兰的)winters get warmer, there are more brown ones. Why is that?

    The University of Helsinki team tries to study tawny owls. They find that tawny owls get the color from their parents. The gray owls could get food easily in the snow in the past. But now the winter is warmer. There is little snow so the brown owls can live well, too. The number of the owls is getting bigger.

    The leader of the team, Dr Patrick Karell, said that the birds change their color to meet the weather. We are sure the weather change can do something to the animals.

    Coloring is an activity that children worldwide have long enjoyed. With a picture already made for them, kids simply chose a crayon, pencil or marker of their favorite color and fill it in. Today, it also becomes more and more popular among teenagers and even adults, who are enjoying relaxing hours of coloring. In December, five of the top ten best-selling books in the United States were coloring books.

    They are fun, but are coloring books good for you?

    The good feedback(反馈)from customers is encouraging. Trina Lucida, a popular artist creating coloring books, says that many of her customers are buying the coloring books for others who are sick or going through a hard time. She adds that the "big idea" behind her latest book is to encourage people to do something creative.

    Lucida is right, according to Allan Rohan, a psychology(心理学)professor. "Many customers think of coloring books as a new creative stage," he said in an interview, "but what's more important is that people spend time coloring in order to reduce stress after a long day." Research shows that coloring can reduce stress by guiding people to focus on(专注)one simple task. When a person is filling in a flower with a light purple color, he focuses on the flower and forgets about all his troubles in life.

    Experts add that coloring may relieve a certain kind of pain. Doing the coloring helps people relax their mind and calm down. Also, coloring helps people's brain in a healthy way. The shape of the drawing makes one side of the brain active, while the color of the drawing improves the other. Coloring can bring out your imagination and take you back to your childhood. Interesting, isn't it?

    "It's very relaxing," said Susan Jackson, a big fan of Lucida's coloring books. "Coloring frees my mind. And it's not just to try to fill blank(空白的)pages. The pictures make me happy and there is just something about them. So I'm saving the pictures I like best to the very end."