Online clothes shoppers will be told exactly what size is best for them using new software which combines with their webcam(网络摄像头) or smart phone to form a 3D tape measure.

    Scientists from Surrey University and design experts from the London College of Fashion are developing a program which can take precise waist, hip, chest and other measurements from camera images.

    Using the person's height as a starting point, the software will be able to build up a 3D image and estimate their size at various different points on the body, based on their overall proportions. The result will be a more accurate sizing guide than previous systems based on waist size or a “small/medium/large” scale, which rely on limited measurements and the buyer's perception of their own body size.

    Shoppers and retailers(零售商) who choose to sign up for the project could save millions of pounds a year in postage costs by removing the need to order multiple sizes of the same garment and send back illfitting clothes, researchers claimed. The project, sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council(EPSRC), is expected to be brought to market within two years.

    After choosing an item, the shopper will activate the software, enter their height, stand in front of their webcam or smart phone in their underwear and take a photograph.

    The software will not store or transmit the image to the Internet, but will use it to judge the person's dimensions at various points on their body.

    Philip Delamore of the London College of Fashion said, “The potential benefits for the fashion industry and for shoppers are huge. Currently, it's common for online shoppers to order two or three different sizes of the same item of clothing at the same time, as they're unsure which one will fit best.”

    “Plants were expected to get larger with increased carbon dioxide in atmosphere, but changes in temperature, humidity and nutrient availability seem to trumped the benefits of increased carbon dioxide,” said researchers from the National University of Singapore.

    45 percent of the species studied now reach smaller adult sizes than they did in the past. The researchers pointed out that warmer temperatures and changing habitats, caused by climate change, are possible reasons for shrinking creatures.

    “We do not yet know the mechanisms involved, or why some organism are getting smaller while others are unaffected,” the researchers said. “Until we understand more, we could be risking negative consequences that we can' t yet quantify.”

    The change was big in cold-blooded animals. Only two decades of warmer temperatures were enough to make reptiles smaller. An increase of 1 degree centigrade caused nearly a 10 percent increase in metabolism(新陈代谢). Greater use of energy resulted in tiny tortoises and little lizards. Fish are smaller now too. Though overfishing has played a part in reducing numbers, experiments show that warmer temperatures also stop fish growth. There is a recent report on warmer temperatures' negative effects on plankton, the base of the marine ecosystem.

    Warm-blooded animals weren't immune from the size change caused by climate change. Many birds are now smaller. Mammals have been miniaturized too. Soay sheep are thinner. Red deer are weaker. And polar bears are smaller, compared with historical records.

    This is not the first time this has happened in Earth' s history. 55 million years ago, a warming event similar to the current climate change caused bees, spiders and ants to shrink by 50 to 75 percent over several thousand years. That event happened over a long time than the current climate change.

    The speed of modem climate change could mean organisms may not respond or adapt quickly enough, especially those with long generation times. So, it is likely that more negative influences of climate change will be shown in future.

    A British friend told me he couldn't understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds as a snack so much. “I've met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth; I believe that's from cracking the seeds, ” he said.

    I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware. I realized that whenever I'm watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn't like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.

    When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year's Eve to check out what every household was making.

    I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room , a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds. Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.

    I don't think it's right to criticize one's choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.

    It's not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it's a delicacy, and it's connected to their culture. I think it's a wonderful tradition.

    An Israeli law banning too skinny models went into effect with the start of 2013. The law, approved last March in Israel, requires models to prove they have maintained a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 18.5 for three months before a fashion show. That means a woman who is 68 inches tall can weigh no less than 119 pounds.

    "This law is another step in the war against eating disorders," said physician Adatto. "Underweight models," he explained, "can no longer serve as role models for innocent young people who copy their false image of being skinny."

    But some critics in this country say it is misguided, focusing on weight instead of health. They also say the Israeli ban is bound to fail because of the strong power of the fashion industry. "I think it's an approach that isn't going to work." said eating disorder expert Susan Ice, who worked with an organization which creates a healthy working environment for models.

    But Adatto told the reporter that he began to concern the issue after meeting an ambitious model who looked like she needed to be hospitalized. He said. "I realized that only legislation(立法) can change the situation. There was no time to waste; so many girls were dieting to death."

    However, the efforts to regulate models' weight in Spain and Italy have not resulted in significant changes in part because of difficulties in determining reliable methods of measuring weight and health.

    Still, folks including Ice say there's no denying that images from Hollywood and the fashion industry can be difficult for young women to deal with. "Certainly I don't believe the modeling industry has caused the rise in eating disorders, but it makes it harder," she says. "It's a difficult recovery environment, worshiping thinness as the beauty ideal."

    We all love our children and we all know how competitive the world is these days. What's it going to be like when our children leave school? Will they have the skills they need to stay ahead of the competition?

    All children need two basic skills to succeed. They must be able to read and they must be able to write. And with so much information available to them these days, they must be able to read quickly and accurately. That's why your children need to be able to speed-read.

    It's ironic (讽刺的) that at this time of space-age technology, we've gone back to one of the earliest forms of mass communication—the written word. The Internet has introduced a revival (重新流行) of writing, and if you can't keep up, you'll be left behind. You certainly don't want your children to be left behind.

    You can help to make sure that your children are excellent writers—you can help them to learn how to use their language. Better still, you can learn with them!

    You and your children can spend time together in a worthwhile pursuit (事业)—learning how to write. Forget the theme parks, the computer games, the expensive movies and interesting sports. If you want your children to have treasured memories of time spent with you, learn together.

    For less than you would pay for tickets to a theme park, you can invest in your children's future—help them learn to write well with my six-part writing course.

Don't stand by while your child is left further and further behind.

    Have you ever considered all the English expressions that include words about clothes? Let's have a look.

    People wear pants to cover the lower part of their bodies. We sometimes say that people who are nervous have ants in their pants. Sometimes, people may get caught with their pants down. They are found doing something they should not be doing. And, in every family, one person takes control. Sometimes a wife tells her husband what to do. Then we say she wears the pants in the family.

    Pants usually have pockets to hold things. Money that is likely to be spent quickly can burn a hole in your pocket. Sometimes you need a belt to hold up your pants. If you have less money than usual, you may have to tighten your belt.

    I always praise people who can save their money and not spend too much. I really take my hat off to them. Yet, when it comes to my own money, I spend it at the drop of a hat, which means I instantly spend it.

    Boots are a heavy or strong kind of shoes. People who are too big for their boots think they are more important than they really are. I dislike such people.

    My father is an important person. He runs a big company. He wears a suit and tie, and a shirt with sleeves that cover his arms. Some people who do not know him well think he is too serious and never shows his feelings openly. But I know that my father wears his heart on his sleeve.