You're probably aware of the basictrends. The financial rewards to education have increased over the past few decades, but men fail to benefit.

    In elementary and high school, male academic performance is lagging. Boys earn three-quarters of the D's and F's. By college, men are clearly behind. Only 40 percent of bachelor's degree go tomen, along with 40 percent of master's degree.

    Thanks to their lower skills, men are dropping out of the labor force. In 1954, 96 percent of the American men between the ages of 25 and 54 worked. Today, that number is down to 80 percent. In Friday's jobs report, male labor force participation reached an all-time low.

    Millions of men are collecting disability benefits. Even many of those who do have a job are doing poorly. According to Michael Greenstone of the Hamilton Project, annual earnings foraverage prime-age males have dropped by 28 percent over the past 40 years.

    Men still dominate (主宰) the top of the corporate ladder because many women take time off to raise children,but women lead or are gaining nearly everywhere else. Women in their 20 soutearn men in their 20s. Twelve out of the 15 fastest-growing professions are dominated by women.

    Over the years, many of us have employeda certain theory to explain men's economic decline. It is that the information-age economy rewards qualities that women are more likely topossess.

    To succeed today, you have to be able tosit still and focus attention in school at an early age. You have to beemotionally sensitive and aware of context. You have to communicate smoothly. For genetic and cultural reasons, many men are not good at these.

    But, in her fascinating new book, TheEnd of Men, Hanna Rosin suggests a different theory. It has to do with adaptability. Women, Rosin argues, are like immigrants (移民) who have moved to a new country. They see a new social context, and they flexibly adapt to new circumstances. Men are like immigrants who have physically moved to a new country but who have kept their minds in the old one. They speak the old language. They follow the old customs. Men are more likely to be rigid; women are more fluid.

    This theory has less to do with born qualities and more to do with social position. When there's big social change, the people who were on the top of the old order are bound to stick to the old ways. The people who were on the bottom are bound to experience a burst of energy. They are going to explore their new surroundings more enthusiastically.

    Rosin reports from working-class Alabama. The women she meets are flooding into new jobs and new opportunities —going back to college, pursuing new careers. The men are waiting around for the jobs left and are never coming back. They are strangely immune (免疫的）to new options. In the Auburn-Opelika region, the average female income is 140 percent of the average male income.

    Rosin is not saying that women are winners in a global gender (性别) war or that they are doing supersimply because men are doing worse. She's just saying women are adapting to today's economy more flexibly than men. There's a lot of evidence to supporther case.

A study by the National Federation of Independent Business found that small businesses owned by women outperformed male-owned small business during the last recession (衰退). Infinance, women who switch firms are more likely to see their performanceimprove, whereas men are likely to see theirs decline. There's even evidencethat women are better able to adjust to divorce. Today, more women than men seetheir incomes rise by 25 percent after a marital breakup.

    Forty years ago, men and women stuck tocertain theory, what it meant to be a man or a woman. Young women today, Rosinargues, have abandoned both feminist (女权主义者）and prefeminist preconceptions. Men still stick to the masculinity (大男子主义的）rules, which limit their visionand their movement.

   If she's right, then men will have toacknowledge that they are strangers in a strange land.

    Breakthroughs in science and technology are paving the way for modern cities to support bigger populations. Now, we see the most exciting urban innovations to show you exactly how they'll improve your city's infrastructure(基础设施).

Lighting Up The Night

    Anthony Di Mari dreamed up an electric tree to help irrigate public parks and light them at night. These electric trees contain a special infill (填充物) that collects water from rainfall. The water is then distributed through a shallow underground irrigation system with the help from the trees' swaying movement. An electric motor turns energy from the waving of the artificial trees into electricity, which is used to light up the trees' outer LEDs.

Thinking Outside The Box

    As more people flock to urban areas, city planners will need to get increasingly creative about how to satisfy residents' health and transportation needs within decreasing available space. One way to achieve this is by updating infrastructure to support biking and walking by building suspended(悬浮的) roundabouts like hovering in the Netherlands. By lifting bicycle and pedestrian traffic above busy roadways, cities can significantly decrease over-crowded traffic condition.

Waving Hello To Clean Energy

    Cities that don't receive enough sunlight may find an attractive alternative in wave power. Since ocean waves rarely experience disruption(中断), electric engines driven by their clockwork push-and-pull can reliably provide power throughout the year. Further, thanks to advances in wave power technology, engineers have been able to move wave power engines farther offshore, where the waves pack the most punch, making the engines extremely efficient. So in the future, heavily populated coastal cities may use wave to meet their energy needs.

    If you are a teacher, join Youngzine and sign up your class for free today! Youngzine is an online News Magazine for school age children. It provides an educational, entertaining, yet safe way for kids and adults to get the latest news from around the world.

    Many educators have said that Youngzine is a perfect complement to academic material, and can be a great resource for teachers and their classes. Learning through current events not only makes students more aware of what's going on in the world, but also helps absorb concepts better.

    Moreover, Youngzine now provides a safe “blog” environment for classrooms—a constructive, creative and controlled way for teachers to create classroom assignments (任务) and push for discussions on current events!

    Youngzine provides special features just for you. If you sign up as a teacher:

    Each of your classes get a “Classroom Code” that identifies the students in that class. For each class, you get a “Blog” where you can post assignments and have students respond. You can include specific articles and quizzes in each assignment.

    For each of your classes, you get to see a foil report of each student's activities just by going to your classroom tab (标签): their comments, assignment, responses, points and quiz results.

    If you are a teacher of homeschool, when you and your students share a computer, it requires each of you to log in/out separately. If it is inconvenient, you can use a single account in your class on Youngzine.

    It only takes 2 minutes to get started:

    JOIN YOUNGZINE (if you haven't already done so) and SIGN UP YOUR CLASS!

    If you have any questions or comments, let us know—we'd love to make this work for your class.

    Check out our tsunami (海啸) facts and lean some interesting information related to these great walls of water that can cause so much destruction. Find out what causes tsunamis and read about some notable recent examples of tsunamis that have occurred around the globe.

    Tsunamis are huge waves of water that are usually caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

    As a tsunami approaches the shore, water may move back from the coast. If it is shallow enough, the water may be pulled back hundreds of meters. If you are in the area, observing this is a good indication that a tsunami is on the way.

    Regions in tsunami danger zones often have warning systems in place to give people as much time to evacuate (撤离) as possible.

    When tsunamis hit shallow water (often near the coast), they slow down but increase in height.

    An earthquake in the Indian Ocean off Indonesia in December 2004 caused a tsunami that killed over 200, 000 people in 14 countries.

    In March 2011, the Tohoku earthquake off the eastern coast of Japan caused a tsunami that was a major factor in the death of over 15, 000 people.

    The tsunami waves created by the Tohoku earthquake reached heights of over 40 metres (131feet) in mine areas, wiping out coastal towns and causing a number of nuclear accidents.

    The Japanese word "tsunami" literally means "harbour wave".

    Tsunamis are sometimes referred to as tidal waves but this term has fallen out of favour because tsunamis are not related to tides.

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

—at Piedmont Middle School's celebration of kites!

    Come and learn how to build all sorts of kites, from the simplest diamond-shaped kites to the most complex(复杂的) box kites. Stay as long as you like and build as many kites as you want. Once you have finished a kite, get advice on flying techniques from kite expert Lorena Hallsberg. The celebration will be at Piedmont Middle School, 151 Piedmont School Drive.

    The Piedmont Middle School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) has organized a refreshment(茶点) tent. All profits(收益) will benefit future PTO activities. Take a break from kite flying and drink some lemonade! While you are doing so, why not join the PTO? Membership is free; you just donate(捐赠) your time. Show your support for Piedmont Middle School by joining the PTO this Saturday!

    When: Saturday, April 11, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

    Where: Piedmont Middle School

    Why: For fun!

    Cost: Free, thanks to a generous gift from Bizarco Kite Company!

    Schedule

    9:00 am: Kite-building booths open. All materials are supplied for kites.

    10:00 am: Kite-building shows by Lorena Hallsberg in the courtyard. Come by and learn how to build box kites and kites that look and fly like butterflies.

    11:00 am: Kite-flying shows on the school track. Learn all the most important skills.

    12:00 pm: Kite-flying competitions on the school track.

    1:00 pm: Presentation by Dr. Brian Lehrman in the show tent: "The History of Kites".

    2:00 pm: Best Kite competitions and judging in the show tent. Come see the most artistic kites and the most interesting theme kites.

    3:00 pm: Presentation by Dr. Lehrman in the show tent: "Kites and Science".

    3:30 pm: Awards(颁奖) ceremony conducted(主持) by Headmaster Seward on the football field. The results of the day's judging will be announced, with awards such as Best of Show, Most Artistic, Highest Flyer, and others. Winners will receive gifts from the Bizarco Kite Company!

    4:00-5:00 pm: Let's all go fly a kite! Everyone flies kites at the same time, creating a wonderful sight for all to enjoy.

    Come to the kite celebration, enjoy yourself and learn more.

Discovering the beauty of the science and maths that shape our everyday lives, an experience in Wonderlab will fuel your imagination and inspire you to see the world around you in new and exciting ways. Come and enjoy yourself!

What to see

Spread across seven different zones, there're loads of opportunities to get hands on with real scientific phenomena. Observe live experiments at our Chemistry Bar, see lightning strike before your eyes, play with forces on giant slides or travel through space under a canopy (苍穹)of stars. You can also take part in explosive science demonstrations led by our talented team of explainers. With 50 mind-blowing wonders of science to enjoy, Wonderlab is an experience unlike any other. Besides, a selection of shows will be performed daily in Wonderlab's beautiful new show space. They are free of charge and last 20 minutes.

Tickets

♦ Day pass:  £ 6 per person.

This ticket gives you day-long access to Wonderlab, perfect whether you're planning a special trip to the Museum or simply passing through London and want to feed your curiosity.

♦ Annual pass:  £ 10 per person.

For less than the price of two visits, give yourself a year packed full of wonder, curiosity and breathtaking experiences.

Opening times

Open seven days a week, 10:00 — 18:00 (last entry 17:15). Wonderlab will be closed on December 24，25 and 26 and will be open as usual from December 27.

During school holidays our opening hours are 10:00 — 19:00 (last entry 18:15). Please note that in peak periods (from midday onwards) we are experiencing long queues due to the gallery's popularity.