When asked how technology might improve the lives of people with vision impairments (视力障碍), Joann Becker presented a misleadingly simple challenge. “Well,” the vision impairments tech specialist recalls saying. “I'd like to be able to find my bus slop through Be My Eyes”.

    Be My Eyes, which went live in 2015, establishes a direct video connection between visually impaired users and sighted volunteers. The assumption is simple: Many people who are blind don't need any actual assistance in completing their daily tasks, but merely need a little help.

    A sighted volunteer might be asked to help identify which of two cans contains tomatoes. In this case, the visually impaired user can cook a meal just fine on his/her own-all he/she needs is a quick confirmation that he/she has the correct can. The model appears to be working; more than 540,000 volunteers and nearly 40,000 people with low vision are registered on the app.

    “An elderly woman can now help a visually impaired technician set up his computer,” says founder Hans Wiberg, who has very low vision. “She doesn't need to know a thing about computers. She only needs to read what is presented on the screen. Then he can do the rest.”

    Early assistive technology centered on dedicated devices (专用设备), because of the niche market (缝隙市场), which sold for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But the smartphone, multipurpose and near-universal, has completely changed the economy of scale.

    “There are larger market forces driving high-powered computation, high-quality engineering and high-quality battery management in the smartphone market than those in a specialty product,” says Aaron Steinfeld, a research professor at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

    “The reality is, most sighted people don't know somebody who is blind.” Becker says. “They think the solutions that a blind person needs arc far more expansive, it turns out, they need to be. I think these apps are enabling sighted people to see that blind people just need some simple clues to help them do any number of things in their lives.”

    Humans have been keeping animals as pets for tens of thousands of years, but Dr Jean-Loup Rault, an animal scientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, believes new companions are coming: robot pets.

    “Technology is moving very fast,” Rault told ABC News, “The Tamagotchi in the early 1990s was really the first robotic pet, and now Sony and other big companies have improved them a lot.”

    This may not sit well with pet lovers. After all, who would choose a plastic toy over a lovely puppy? But Rault argues that the robotic kind has a lot going for it: “You don't have to feed it, you don't have to walk it, it won't make a mess in your house, and you can go on a holiday without feeling guilty.” The technology also benefits those who are allergic to pets, short on space, or fearful of real animals.

    It's not clear whether robot pets can replace real ones. But studies do suggest that we can bond with these smart machines. People give their cars names and kids give their toy animals life stories. It's the same with robots. When Sony stopped its repair service for its robot dog Aibo in March 2014, owners in Japan held funerals.

    As an animal welfare researcher, Rault is concerned about how robotic pets could affect our attitudes towards live animals. “If we become used to a robotic companion that doesn't need food, water or exercises, perhaps it will change how humans care about other living beings,” he said.

    So are dogs and cats a thing of the past, as Rault predicts? For those who grew up with living and breathing pets, the mechanical kind might not do. But for our next generation who are in constant touch with smart technology, a future in which lovely pets needn't have a heartbeat might not be a far-fetched dream.

    An American company has built a new drone（无人机）that could improve the speed of deliveries（送交的货）.

    The drone is very different from other unmanned aircraft.It is made almost completely out of cardboard and has no motor.It can be packed with materials and sealed up with tape.

    Because the drones do not have a motor,they are designed to be dropped from airplanes.Hundreds of drones could be sent out at once.Then they could be automatically guided to where they are supposed to go.The company says these drones could then complete deliveries to different places over an area covering hundreds of kilometers. The drones look bigger than the paper airplanes we used to make as kids.But this light flyer is not a toy.It is aerodynamically designed and equipped with a small computer,a battery and sensors to guide it to the ground.

    The drones are being developed by Otherlab—a technology research company in San Francisco,California.It calls the drone a "Sky Machine."

    The company says it can travel about 150 kilometers at speeds up to 88 kilometers an hour.Now,it can carry materials weighing up to one kilogram,but future models are expected to carry larger loads.

    One of the drone's main advantages is that it does not have a heavy motor or large battery.This allows more room for materials and makes the drone cost less to build and operate.

    The Otherlab development team has called its invention the "Ikea of drones".This is because it is packaged similarly to products from the Swedish furniture maker Ikea.The drone arrives as flat pieces of pre-cut cardboard that can be quickly and easily put together.

    The technology that guides the drone can make it land within 10 meters of its target,according to Otherlab. Unlike other drones,even a crash landing is acceptable.The company says the drones can also be reused.

    Once the drone completes its delivery,it can be thrown away and the cardboard material will likely break down within a few months.

    The company has received money from the U.S. Department of Defense to carry out research on the drones.The money came from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.The agency is attempting to find the best delivery vehicles that can disappear after their missions are complete.The U.S. military has a need for delivery drones.But it wants to simplify and lower the cost of using them.Otherlab's Sky Machines are an attempt to fill that need.

    Military drones can also be stolen and studied by others if found after use.Before they can truly disappear,the electronic materials inside must also somehow disappear.Researchers are still working on ways to get the technology itself to self-destruct.

    Want to find a job? Now read the following advertisement.

    It's carnival season in Europe, a crazy time for parades, mask, music and dance. No one is sure where the tradition exactly comes from. But while its origin remains a mystery, this does not keep people from joining it.

    The Carnival of Binche, the most famous one that is staged in Belgium, has been announced as a masterpiece (杰作) of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The event usually takes place during a Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, with performers known as "Gilles" dressed in clown-like costumes, dancing and marching along the streets. During parade, the Gilles throw oranges to the crowd as an act of well-washing and it is considered rude to throw them back.

    Venice is said to be the birthplace of carnivals. In the city, the annual carnival starts 58 days before Easter. It features various brightly-colored and well-made masks. Every year, thousands of visitors go to the city to be part of the festive event.

    The Germans, always considered serious-minded, also have their carnivals. The Cologne Carnival is one of the largest, with Rose Monday as the best part. On Rose Monday Parade, lots of gifts are prepared for the people who join it. For this year, 300 tons of candies and more than 300,000 souvenirs were thrown out of the various nicely-decorated floats (花车) to the crowd.

    The Nice Carnival in the southern French city of Nice lasts two or three weeks from February to march every year. It features floats, music, dance, performances and entertainment activities. The parade of lights and the final day carnival parade are the most exciting parts of the entire event. Compared to the Rio Carnival in Brazil and the Winter Carnival in Quebec, Canada, the Nice Carnival has a special artistic touch, and it is one of the three major carnivals around the world.

    Carnivals were first organized in the Middle Ages. They were supposed to be a time of eating and drinking before the Easter fast (斋戒). Nowadays, they have turned into winter tourism attractions of many European cities.

    A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world's people may not have enough water by the year 2025.

    A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study. It says more than 335 million people lack enough water now. The people live in 28 countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.

    P-A-I researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025, about 3,000 million people may lack water. At least 18 more countries are expected to have severe water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on the earth stays the same.

    Mr. Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase.

    The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking water is not safe. Mr Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases, such as cholera, which are carried in water. Lack of water may also result in more international conflict. Countries may have to compete for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability of developing to improve their economies. This is because new industries often need a large amount of water when they are beginning.

    The Population Action International study gives several solutions to the water problem. One way, it says, is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third way is to use less water of agriculture.

    The report also says long-term solutions to the water problem must include controls on population growth. It says countries cannot provide clean water unless they slow population growth by limiting the number of children people have.