The Owl Count

    Annie slept in the front of the seat with her father drovethrough the darkness. “We're almost there!” Dad announced cheerfully. “Soon we'll be observing and counting owls at the state park.” Yawning, Annie noddedand smiled. The time was 4:30 a.m. Looking out into the darkness, Annie remembered learning in school that most owls are active at night, when they hunt for food. During the day they sleep in hard-to-find spots.

    “Dad, why do you need to count owls?” she asked. “It's importantfor the scientists to have current information about bird populations,” he explained. “We want to know which birds have decreased in number and whether any new kinds of birds are coming into a certain area. You and I will write down the kinds of birds that we see today and keep a record of how many times we see each kind. Then we'll send out a report to a scientific organization that is collecting about birds from people all over the country.”

    Dad pulled into the parking lot of the state park. Then, with flashing in hand, they began their hike into the woods. Annie zipped up hercoat and tried to keep from trembling. She had not expected the morning to beso cold. Luckily her gloves were in her pocket.

    Suddenly Annie's father stopped and gestured for her to bestill. Obeying, Annie did not take another step. She thought she heard a low crying up head. “That's certainly a screech owl,” her father whispered. “Let's get a look at it.” After looking more closely, Annie could see that it was asmall owl. Sensing danger, the owl narrowed its eyes and pulled its feathers tightly against its body. Annie carefully wrote down in her notebook that theyhad seen a screech owl.

    Walking a little farther, they came to a tall oak tree. “Thislooks like a perfect spot to attract owls,” Dad said, “I'm going to play a recording of common call of the barred owl. Maybe we can get one to answer." Annie could hardly believe her ear. The recorded call sounded as if the birdwere asking, “Who cooks for you?” Moments later Annie thought she heard areturn call in the distance. She held her breath and waited. Suddenly a huge bird landed very quietly on a branch above them.

    Annie had long forgotten how cold it was. She stood in wonder, shining her flashlight on the bird and studying it carefully. The barred owl was nearly two feet tall. Grey feathers surrounded its dark eyes. The bird did not stay long, but it did not matter. Annie would never forget the image of the powerful barred owl.

    What can technology do to make your world better?Three young people are starting new businesses to answer that question.

Mateusz Mach

    Eighteen-year-old Mateusz Mach was the youngest person in Poland to receive money from investors to expand his company.He started Five,a mobile messaging application,or app,for deaf people.The app lets deaf people create their own hand signs to communicate with friends.The app now has more than 10,000 deaf users.And Mach thinks there will be about 150,000 more deaf users in the U.S. next year.There are many different sign languages in various parts of the world.Mach will be working with the United Nations in New York.He says,"I love to create.And I think that the creation of things will be my passion to the end of my life."

    William Zhou

    William Zhou is the co-founder and leader of Chalk.com.The education software company helps teachers from the kindergarten level t0 12th grade,or the end of secondary school.Zhou was born in Beijing,China,grew up in the Canadian city of Vancouver and founded his first company when he was still in high school.Zhou sold the company when he was studying computer science at Canada's University of Waterloo.But he strongly wanted to make a change in education,From his dorm room,Zhou created Chalk.It is a group of programs that supports individual teaching and learning.Based in Canada,Chalk is now used in 20,000 schools by more than 100,000 users worldwide. Zhou says building startups is a difficult process because it could last years."It's only worth it if you find something you truly care about—something you're passionate about.Otherwise,you may just end up crashing."

    George Mtemaharji

    George Mtemahanji was born in the African country of Tanzania and moved with his family to Italy in 2002, where he attended the Technical Institute of Alfredo Ferrari in Maranello.There he learned about renewable energy and began thinking that solar energy would be easier to use in Africa than in Europe.After graduation,he returned to Tanzania in 2014 to start his own solar energy company—Sun Sweet Solar—in partnership with his friend Manuel Rolando.He explains that he could not understand why,in a place with bright sunshine,"more than 90 percent of people had no access to electricity.So when I returned to Italy I spoke with Manuel on the huge electricity demand in Tanzania and to the possibility to open a business there."Sun Sweet Solar found early success in rural areas of Tanzania.Since then,the company has been expanding.He hopes to create jobs and help build his country in the process.He understands the process will take time."But I think we are on the right path."

    A shopping center is a place where many different shops and stores are collected under one roof. You can buy everything there and there are also banks, restaurants and, sometimes, a post office.

    There are other places in the United States which are called five-and–ten-cent stores because they used to sell things for 5 to 10 cents. Today they sell almost anything and some of the things cost several dollars. Supermarkets are found in all the cities. They sell food and many other goods. You walk around the supermarket, choose the things you want, put them into a special basket prepared by the store and pay for them all together at the door. Supermarkets often stay open later than other stores.

    Stores are usually open every day of the week except on Sunday. Some close on Saturdays in July and August.

    The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sad before a huge pile of troublesome stuff that were called “books”. I was going to have my exam the next day. "When can I go to bed?" I asked myself. I didn't answer; as a matter of fact, I dared not.

    The clock struck twelve. "Oh, dear!" I cried, "five more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the poorest in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.

    The clock struck one. I was quite hopeless now. I forgot all I had learnt. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God! Please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.

    A great woman once said, “Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others. “These are the words of US pilot Amelia Earhart（1897- 1937）, a pioneer in aviation（航空领域）, who was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean

    Her story ended in mystery when she disappeared without a trace（踪迹）during a flight over the Pacific Ocean. Theories about what happened to Earhart were proposed, but nothing was ever confirmed—until now. A study published in March conducted by Richard Jantz from the University of Tennessee, US, determined that bones found in 1940 on a remote Pacific island belonged to Earhart. Following the discovery, the world's memories of the legendary female pilot were brought back to life.

    Earhart was born in 1897. When she was young, she was very interested in stories about women who were successful in male-dominated（男性为主的）professions, such as engineering and law. But in 1920, Earhart's life changed after her first experience of being a plane passenger. As soon as the plane left the ground, Earhart knew that she loved flying, so she found herself a teacher and started to learn how to fly for herself. To pay for the lessons and buy a plane of her own, she took all sorts of jobs.

    In 1932, Earhart flew solo（独自地）across the Atlantic, becoming the first woman ever to do so. She also designed a flying suit for women and went on to design other clothes for women who led active lives. When she was nearly 40, Earhart was ready for a final challenge—to be the first woman to fly around the world. Her first attempt was unsuccessful but she tried again in 1937 with her navigator（领航员）Fred Noonan. But one month later, they disappeared in bad weather in mid-flight.

    Even though it's still not clear how she ended up on the island, we're one step closer to finding the answer. And no matter what, Earhart will be forever remembered as a brave pioneer, both as a pilot and as a woman.

    A study of 27, 000 men showed those skipping (不吃) breakfast were at a greater risk of heart problems. The British Heart Foundation said breakfast helped people resist (抵制) sugary snacks before lunch.

    The men, aged 45-82, were studied for 16 years. During that time there were more than 1, 500 heart attacks or cases of deadly heart failure. However, people who skipped breakfast were 27% more likely to have heart problems than those who started the day with a meal. The researchers took into consideration other lifestyle risk factors (因素) such as smoking and exercise.

    Researcher Dr. Leah Cahill told the BBC: "The take-home message is to eat in the morning when you wake up, preferably within an hour. The results show that something is better than nothing, but it's always better to have something healthy and balanced."

    She said the timing of the meal seemed to be key and waiting until lunch rather than "having breakfast" may be straining (损伤) the body over time. This could be increasing the risk of high blood pressure and fatness which could in turn damage the heart. "Don't skip breakfast," Dr. Cahill suggested.

    Victoria Taylor, an expert with the British Heart Foundation, said: "These researchers only looked at men aged over 45, so we would need to see further research to prove that breakfast has the same effect on the heart health of other groups of people. What we do know is that a healthy breakfast can make that mid-morning biscuit less tempting, as well as giving you another opportunity to widen the variety of foods in your diet. Cereals (谷类食品) with low fat milk are a good way to start the day. Try a banana or dried fruit on top and you'll be on your way to a fine day before you've even left the house."