While household robots today do the normal housework, social robots will be much more like companions than mere tools. For example, these robots will be able to distinguish when someone is happy or sad. This allows them to respond more appropriately to the user.

The Jibo robot, arranged to ship later this year, is designed to be a personalized assistant. You can talk to the robot, ask it questions, and make requests for it to perform different tasks. The robot doesn't just deliver general answers to questions; it responds based on what it learns about each individual in the household. It can do things such as reminding an elderly family member to take medicine or taking family photos.

         Social robots are not just finding their way into the home. They have potential applications in everything from education to health care and are already finding their way into some of these spaces.

Fellow Robots is one company bringing social robots to the market. The company's “Oshbot” robot is built to assist customers in a store, which can help the customers find items and help guide them to the product's location in the store. It can also speak different languages and make recommendations for different items based on what the customer is shopping for.

          The more interaction the robot has with humans, the more it learns. But Oshbot, like other social robots, is not intended to replace workers, but to work alongside other employees. “We have technologies to train social robots to do things not for us, but with us,” said Breazeal.

    In the 1600's when the Spanish moved into what later was to become the southwestern United States, they came across the ancestors of the modern-day Pueblo, Hopi, and Zuni peoples. These ancestors, known variously as the basket makers, the Ancient ones, had lived in the area for at least 2000 years. They were an advanced agricultura people who used irrigation to help grow their drops.

    The Anasazi lived in houses constructed of earth and wood. Anasazi houses were originally built underground and were entered from the roof. But around the year 700 A. D., the Anasazi began to build their homes above ground and join them together into multistoried complexes, which the Spanish called villages. Separate underground rooms in these villages—known as kivas or holy places—were set aside for religious ceremonies. Each kiva had a fireplace and a hole that was believed to lead to the underworld. The largest villages had five stories and more than 800 rooms.

    The Anasazi family was ruled by women. The sacred objects of the family were under the control of the oldest female, but the actual ceremonies were conducted by her brother or son. Women owned the rooms in the village and the crops, once they were harvested. While still growing, crops belonged to the men who, in contrast to most other Native American groups, planted them. The women made baskets and pottery; the men wove cloth and made jewelry.

    Each village had two chiefs. The village chief dealt with land arguments and religious affairs. The war chief led the men in fighting during occasional conflicts that broke out with neithboring villages and directed the men in commnity building projects. The political and social organization of the Anasazi made it almost impossible for outer groups to conquer them.

    It is commonly believed that the earliest Chinese paper-cuts appeared during the sixth century. Some scholars believe it was even earlier. Legend has it that during the Western Han Dynasty(206BC-AD24), Emperor Wudi was very sad after one of his favorite concubines, Madame Li, died. A Taoist priest, Li Shaoweng, cut a piece of hemp paper in the shape of Madame Li. When evening fell, the emperor's servants lit candles in his bedroom; the reflection of that paper-cut on the wall made the emperor think about his beloved concubine.

    The Yuxian paper-cut is different from most paper-cuts produced in other regions of China. Paper-cuts from other regions are mostly cut with scissors or knives from single-colored paper, such as red or black paper.

    There are four major procedures to making the Yuxian paper-cut: First, sketch the pattern on the draft paper; second, fasten the draft to the paper to be cut; third, use a knife to carve out the pattern; and fourth, dye (染色) the paper-cut with various colors.

    Precise cutting skills are needed to make a piece of the Yuxian paper-cut, which highlights the craft maker's artistic taste and dyeing skills. That explains the following saying: "The successful making of a Yuxian paper-cut is 30 percent dependent on the maker's cutting skills, and 70 percent on the maker's dyeing skills."

    The traditional Yuxian paper-cut highlights two themes: flowers and characters in Chinese operas. The paper-cut is particularly known for its vivid description of characters in various traditional Chinese operas. In October 2009, the art of Yuxian's paper-cut was added to the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (非物质文化遗产) established by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization).

    Nowadays, parents worry a lot because their children spend hours and hours in front of the TV screen. Because this doesn't happen to only one specific family, many experts warn us that there can be some serious effects of children watching violence on television.

    Children who become addicted(上瘾的) to TV sit down and turn on the TV as soon as they get home. Although they have lots of homework, they become absorbed in TV programs.

    Since they spend tons of time watching TV, they have less time to enjoy real life activities such as playing with friends, playing outdoor sports, or enjoying other kinds of entertainment.

    There are too many violent scenes on TV. Some experts say there are 25 acts of violence per hour on TV. In addition, there are many experiments by psychologists which show how TV violence influences children. Finally, people worry that children tend to imitate what they watch on TV and may start to behave more violently.

    What should be done? First of all, the government should regulate TV violence. It should also encourage people to invent and develop new technology which can block violent scenes from the programs children watch. For example, with a rating system(分级制度) and the V-chip, unfit scenes of violence and sex can be blocked out. Second, parents should monitor what their children watch. At the same time, they should make their children interested in real life activities. Then when the children start to spend more time playing with friends or reading books, parents can stop their monitoring.

    It is a fact that there is more violence on TV today than there was ten years ago. Moreover, violent incidents occur more frequently in real life. It's time to realize how harmful watching TV violence is, and it's time to keep our children from watching violence.

    Scientists have recreated a 1985 study of birds in Peru that shows climate change is pushing them from their natural environment. Thirty years ago, researchers studied over 400 kinds of birds living on a mountainside in Peru. In 2017, researchers looked again at the bird populations. They found that almost all had moved to higher places in the mountain. Almost all had decreased in size. And, the scientists say at least eight bird groups that started at the higher elevations (高地) had died out completely.

    The researchers say the birds might have moved up the mountain because of temperature changes. Or changes to food sources may have forced them to go higher. The findings were published in a science journal. The 1985 research has documented birds and other animals moving up in elevation (高地) in reaction to warming temperatures. Mark Urban, a biologist at a university, said this recent study was the first to prove that rising temperatures and moving to avoid them can lead to extinction.

    In 2016, Fitzpatrick, director and a co-writer of the study passed his notes, photos and other records to Benjamin Freeman. Freeman has been researching tropical birds for more than 10 years. He set out in August and September of 2017 to copy Fitzpatrick's study. His team used the same methods, searching the same places in the same time of year.

    Freeman's team wanted to see how things had changed for the bird groups since 1985. The average temperatures on the mountain had risen 0.42 degrees Celsius. His team placed 20 sound recording devices on the mountain to record the sounds of birds that might not easily be seen.

    Freeman said that the birds moved an average of 98 meters further up the mountain. He believes that temperature is the main cause of the birds' movement. Fitzpatrick noted that birds used to living in areas with little temperature change may be especially at risk because of climate change. He said, “We should expect that what's happening on this mountain top is happening more generally in the Andes, and other tropical mountain ranges.”

    Marathon fever is sweeping this country. In recent years, China's ever-growing passion for marathons has been triggered by its economic development and health-conscious middle class. A large number of marathon runners are white-collar workers, civil servants and business people that are keen on leading a healthy lifestyle. Government support, social participation and strong marketing by the sports industry have gradually led to the rapid development of the marathon industry, which is currently valued at 70 billion yuan ($10. 77 billion). Due to its large participation and nationwide media report, marathons are considered by local governments an important part of marketing their cities. Thus, many cities list unique routes across local scenic spots and historical attractions, not only to boost people's fitness, but also to promote local tourism.

    For many runners, marathons are a way of life." As we get older, the places and opportunities to meet new people decrease. I find that participating in marathons is a simple way to make friends," said Wu, who made many friends in the Xstop Running Community, a running club with 48, 000 members established by Xtep, one of the leading distributors of sports merchandise in China.

    "The sense of belonging and the mutual encouragement that exists within the running community are very attractive to many people. We easily befriend one another, since we have the same goal: to keep running and never stop," Wu said. Besides, a marathon can be a great way to explore new places. For a runner who also loves traveling, marathons are a solid choice. "Competing in an international marathon is a chance to experience a city or a country you've never visited before," said Meng, an experienced runner from north China's Tianjin Municipality, who often runs in London, New York and Melbourne.

    There's a unique perspective that people get running through the streets of a city, distinct ancient buildings or amazing natural settings, he explained, things that somehow just can't be seen by rushing in a car. In addition, during a race, streets are often closed off so you don't have to battle traffic.