The oddness of life in space never quite goes away. Here are some examples.

    First consider something as simple as sleep. Its position presents its own challenges. The main question is whether you want your arms inside or outside the sleeping bag. If you leave your arms out, they float free in zero gravity, often giving a sleeping astronaut the look of a funny balled （芭蕾）dancer. “I'm an inside guy,” Mike Hopkins says, who returned from a six-month tour on the International Space Station. “I like to be wrapped up.”

    On the station, the ordinary becomes strange. The exercise bike for the American astronauts has no handlebars. It also has no seat. With no gravity, it's just as easy to pedal violently. You can watch a movie while you pedal by floating a microcomputer anywhere you want. But station residents have to be careful about staying in one place too long. Without gravity to help circulate air, the carbon dioxide you exhale (呼气) has a tendency to form an invisible （隐形的）cloud around you head. You can end up with what astronauts call a carbon-dioxide headache.

    Leroy Chiao, 54, an American retired astronaut after four flights, describes what happens even before you float out of your seat,”Your inner ear thinks your're falling . Meanwhile your eyes are telling you you're standing straight. That can be annoying—that's why some people feel sick.” Within a couple days —truly terrible days for some —astronauts' brains learn to ignore the panicky signals from the inner ear, and space sickness disappears.

    Space travel can be so delightful but at the same time invisibly dangerous. For instance, astronauts lose bone mass. That's why exercise is considered so vital that National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) puts it right on the workday schedule. The focus on fitness is as much about science and the future as it is about keeping any individual astronauts return home, and, more importantly, how to maintain strength and fitness for the two and a half years or more that it would take to make a round-trip to Mars.

    We've all experienced the feeling that comes when your phone makes a sound to tell you that its battery level is low. It often comes at the worst times—when you're out on a trip and don't have a charger（充电器）, or when you're expecting an important phone call.

    Indeed, this feeling is so common that South Korean electronics manufacturer LG has given it a name: low battery anxiety（低电量焦虑）.

    According to a survey of 2,000 US adults conducted by the company last year, 90 percent of respondents said that they panic if their battery level reaches 20 percent or lower. And last month, UK telecommunications service provider found that around 15. 5 million Britons live in “constant fear” of their mobile phones running out of power, according to a survey by the company.

    “The problem is not about being unable to make calls, but is rooted in the fact that smartphones are now where we store digital memories,” noted the Daily Mail, However, battery worries don't just affect smartphone lovers. Many owners of electric vehicles also suffer from so-called “range anxiety”. This refers to the concern that the vehicle may not make it to its destination before the power runs out. Meanwhile, it isn't just low power that people worry about. A study carried out by South Korea's Sungkyunkwan University and China's City University of Hong Kong found that many of us also worry about not having constant access to our phone.

    This condition is known as homophobia, short for “ no mobile phone phobia（恐惧症）”. Symptoms include feeling uncomfortable when access to one's phone isn't possible, being unable to turn off your phone, and constantly topping up the battery to make sure it never dies.

    So, why do so many people treat their smartphone with such importance? The reason may be that they keep us connected to the people around us, and if we're unable to use our phone, we feel like we're cut off from our social life.

    With products with bigger batteries being released all the time-such as Xiaomi's Mi Max smartphone range or Tesla's Model S cars-battery anxiety may hopefully soon be a thing of the past.

    For decades, research has shown that children's book not only provide great pleasure to readers , but they can also play an important role in children's academic（学业上的）and social success. In 1974, researchers reported that sixth-grade children who had been read to form an early age developed into better readers and valued reading more than did sixth graders who had not been to, and they expected to continue reading throughout their lives. Others have determined that the more time children spend reading literature（文学作品）, the better their reading and writing abilities become. Significant increases have been found in young children's comprehension and vocabulary skills, their understanding of sentence structure and story structure as a result of their being read to form an early age, either at home or in school. Children who have access to literature and stories in their homes have been found to learn to read more quickly, and have better attitudes toward reading. Teachers who provide time for continuous silent reading, who share books and discuss book authors with children during the school day, positively those children's reading outside school. And the National Assessment of Educational Progress that children who frequently read for enjoyment out of school are better readers.

    Because children's literature is so valuable to children, it should also be valuable to their teacher. And so it's unfortunate that something that can play such an important role in children's lives is often moved into a less than important role teacher education.

    This article discusses three important issues about the position of children's literature in teacher﹣preparation programs. They are：⑴Respect for children's literature content in teacher education. ⑵The value of children's literature as a powerful educational tool. ⑶Children's literature as an important literary form.

    When we do the same movements with our bodies over and over again, we overuse some muscles. And that overuse can lead to strain(紧张)and injury. Sometimes those problems can come from doing sports. But exercise experts say they are now seeing another cause for muscle problems: hand-held technology devices(设备).

    Staring down at your phone or tablet for long periods of time puts great tension on your neck and spine(脊椎). Many people who use tech devices also bend their shoulders forward. Experts say this posture(姿势)puts strain on the entire upper body. Muscle strain linked to hand-held technology has become such a common condition that it now has a name: tech neck.

    Kimberly Fielding, an exercise teacher in New York City, explains that constantly looking down at our devices creates an unnatural bend in our spine. This can cause nerve pain and other problems. “A lot of the curves of the neck can change, so instead of the neck spine going inward, the curve can be a little bit different and it causes nerve pain and disc herniation(椎间盘突出)and different muscle tension headaches — different things that really can reduce quality of life.”

    Fielding created a class to directly solve the problem of tech neck. The class uses different exercises to release tension in the upper body and strengthen back and neck muscles. Fielding says these exercises may feel uncomfortable in the beginning because the neck muscles may have become weak.

    However, you don't need to take a class like Fielding's. You can take simple steps to improve tech neck. For a quick fix, hold your phone at eye level. At the same time, take breaks from using your technology by standing up and stretching your legs often. Also, give your eyes a break by closing them throughout the day.

    A company in San Francisco, California, has found a way to turn used plastic bottles into women's shoes.

    Every day, millions of Americans drink water and other liquids from plastic bottles. More than 60 million of them are thrown away each day. Many of the plastic bottles end up in landfills or are burned with other waste products.

    A San Francisco start-up company called Rothy's, however, turns this plastic waste into environmentally friendly shoes. Rothy Martin is the company's co-founder. He explains how they turn plastic into soft material for your feet. They take the plastic, clean it, and break it down into small pieces. Then they press it through a device that makes soft fibers. Those fibers are then combined, or knit together. This is done by a three-dimensional knitting machine. It is designed to reduce waste while making the shoes.

    The knitted fabric and the inner part of the shoes are then attached to the shoes' outer part, called the sole. This outer sole is also made from environmentally friendly material: responsibly sourced no-carbon rubber.

    Rothy's shoes are sold online. They are flat shoes, with either a rounded or pointed toe. They come in different colors and designs. They cost either $125 or $145 per pair, depending on the design.

    After American actress Gwyneth Paltrow discovered them last year, the demand for the shoes grew.

    Martin says there is no shortage of material to fill that demand. “We're not going to run out of water bottles any time soon. So we have an infinite supply of material, and I think that bodes well for our future. ”

    When the environmentally friendly shoes wear out, customers can return them at no cost to a company that uses the recycled materials to make other products.

    For now, the shoes are only available to be shipped in the United States. However, the company says it will add international shipping in the near future.

    Your house may have an effect on your figure. Experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off. You can make your environment work for you instead of against you. Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan.

    Open the curtains and turn up the lights. Dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating, for people are often less self­conscious (难为情) when they're in poorly lit places—and so more likely to eat lots of food. If your home doesn't have enough window light, get more lamps and flood the place with brightness.

    Mind the colors. Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites. In one study, people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room. Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing, while cold colors make us feel less hungry. So when it's time to repaint, go blue.

    Don't forget the clock—or the radio. People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories (卡路里) per meal than those who rush through their meals. Begin keeping track of the time, and try to make dinner last at least 30 minutes. And while you're at it, actually sit down to eat. If you need some help slowing down, turn on relaxing music. It makes you less likely to rush through a meal.

    Downsize the dishes. Big serving bowls and plates can easily make us fat. We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12­inch plate instead of a 10­inch plate. When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one, total intake (摄入) jumps by 14 percent. And we'll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short, wide glass than a tall, skinny glass.