“ Can we go now, Momma?” little Susie asked, pulling on her mom's arm. Her mother did not answer, only stared blankly at the scene below. Crowds of people marched about with what looked like picket(警戒队) signs. Other people gathered around them, shouting angry words that she couldn't make out from this distance. This relatively small town in Missouri had never seen so much action. She and Susie were standing at the top of the only high rise building in town for Susie loved to try to find their house among the rows and rows of little boxes.

    “Momma? ” Susie said in a frightened voice, two seconds before a gun shot went off, making her scream at the top of her lungs. Her mom grabbed her and held her over her shoulder as the tears started pouring. “What was that? I'm scared, Momma!!”

    “Sh Sh Sh,” her momma whispered in a soothing tone, rubbing her daughter's hair. “It's just a bad dream, baby. She said both to herself and Susie.

    Susie looked at her with confused eyes at the same time a fight broke out among some members of each group. The little girl gasped in surprise. “Why are those ants fighting , Momma?”

    “Those aren't ants, sweetie; they're people, or, at least they're supposed to be.”

    “I don't understand what's going on! I'm scared!!” the four-year-old child clung to her momma. “It looks like they're dancing, momma.”

    “Yeah, it sort of does, doesn't it?” her mother said with an air of disbelief. How could the expression of heated anger be so beautiful? It was so wondrously unexpected that it brought soft tears to her eyes.

    “Why are you scared, Momma? It's just bugs dancing,” Susie said with an innocent smile, wiping away her mother's tears.

    The largest campaign of killing rats in history is set to poison millions of rats on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. Scientists say the campaign planned for 2013 and 2014 will restore beautiful South Georgia to the position it once held as the world's most important nesting sites for seabirds.

    It was sailors in the late 18th century who unintentionally introduced rats to what had been a fresh environment. “If we can destroy the rats, at least 100 million birds will return to their home on South Georgia,” says Tony Martin, a biology professor at the University of Dundee who was invited to lead the project.

    South Georgia is by far the largest island to get rid of animals that destroy native wildlife after being introduced deliberately or accidentally by people. Though rats and mice have done the most damage, cats, foxes, goats, deer, rabbits and other species have been targeted in the campaigns around the world.

    South Georgia is seven times the size of New Zealand's Campbell Island, currently the largest area ever killing rats. The successful war against Campbell Island rats was carried out in 2001 with 132 tons of poison dropped from five helicopters.

    “New Zealand pioneered the techniques for ridding islands of rats and in fact our operation on South Georgia is based on New Zealand's technology.” Says Martin. “Some New Zealanders will be helping our campaign, including our chief pilot, Peter Garden, who was also chief pilot for the projects at Campbell Island and Rat Island, in the Aleutian chain of the north Pacific.”

    The second and third stages in 2013 and 2014 will involve dropping as much as 300 tons of poison from the air onto every part of the island where rats might live. It is a huge operation, carried out during the stormy southern autumn when the rats are hungry and the risks of poisoning native wildlife are less than in the spring and summer months. “Ideally we'd do in winter but the weather makes that too risky,” Martin says.

    The ecological payback will be priceless. But Martin says, “The full benefits will take decades to arrive, because some of these birds are slow to hatch.”

Live in Cave

    Kokopelli's Cave Bed &Breakfast, Farmington, New Mexico.

    The idea may seem very stone age, but this lone unit, which was carved into a 65-million-year-old sandstone rock, is filled with modern amenities(便利设施). The Travel Channel says these “cave comforts” include a comfortable bedroom, large fire circle, and rainfall shower. Plus, the views of the La Plata River and nearby mountains are breathtaking.

    $260/ night; bbonline.com

    Sleep below the Surface

    Jules' Undersea Lodge, Key Largo, Florida.

    This hotel, which is named after20,000 Leagues Under the Sea author Jules Verne, is the world's only underwater hotel. Lonely Planet says that this former research station has been turned into a pleasant hotel. Guests must make the 21-foot dive to its two rooms, fully stocked kitchen, and showers. Don't want to cook? The staff will dive and bring your food to you.

    $400/night; jul.com

    Sail into History

    The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California

    Wish you could experience the greatness of a ship like the Titanic? According to CNN Travel, here's your chance. Book a room to get a taste of a bygone time on this ship-turned hotel. You may not be able to sail into the sunset like Kate and Leo, but you can enjoy onboard attractions like original 1930s artwork and tours of strange and mysterious hot spots.

    $129/night;queenmary.com

    Sometimes known as “The Big Apple” or “the City That Never Sleeps”, New York is both the most populous city in the USA and a leading center of business, commerce, finance and media. The city is often referred to as “New York City”, in order to distinguish it from the state it is in. The city is part of a large metropolitan（大都市的）area, and the combined city population exceeds 18.7 million.

    New York City is made up of five boroughs（行政区）and hence another nickname of the city is “The Five Boroughs”. The five boroughs are: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island.

    There are many famous buildings and sights in New York, especially in Manhattan. These include the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building and the United Nations Building. When you visit New York, make sure you see Central Park, Times Square, Chinatown, Little Italy and of course the Statue of Liberty. Additionally, there are many wonderful museums in New York, some truly excellent shops, some of the world's best theaters in the Broadway area, and the neighborhoods of Greenwich Village and SoHo which are well-known for the artists who reside there.

    Getting around New York City is simple—the city's subway network is one of the most comprehensive in the world, connecting all parts of Manhattan in rapid time.

    However, the best way to see New York is undoubtedly on foot. Central Park is an ideal place to start a walking tour of New York City—843 acres of shining ponds and lush greenery attract locals and tourists. And apart from offering breathtaking scenery, it is a centre for recreation. Visitors can listen to music groups, watch performers, walk along the trails and even take a romantic ride in a horse carriage.

    ⒈TrueCar.com

    Top dealers compete for your business by offering lower prices. TrueCar spends a lot of money and resources on making sure the entire car renting experience is simple and straightforward. If you're in the market for a new car, give this site a try first.

TrueCar's network checks many of the prices in your area and gets you the best price for the car you're looking for.

    ⒉Carvoy.com

    It offers more control by allowing you to “build your car” and select your rental plan. The “build your car” option is one of the better options for those looking to add on features to their car. If you're looking for cars with options like a sunroof or navigation (导航), it's Carvoy that makes it very easy to get started with the process.

    ⒊CarsDirect.com

    They have a large collection of new and used cars, and also provide resources for car comparisons. In the business for many years, they are one of the first online car outlets. They have a staff that can usually help you if you give them a call. Their phone support is very good and they are mostly located in the United States.

    ⒋CarRent.com

    It delivers your rental car to the door, which is actually a huge selling point. Many people don't like to go to a dealership or even drive somewhere to pick up a car. Imagine renting a car and having it delivered right to your doorstep, no driving necessary!

    ⒌CostcoAuto.com

    It offers member-only savings, many car selections and an easy sign-up process. The deals through Costco are great and unique. Many times they have deals with General Motors cars like Chevrolet. There are a lot of deals to be done, but the one thing that Costco does not do is negotiate the price.

    Two heads are better than one. After all, when trying to make decisions, it's good to have a second opinion. But what about a third, fourth — even twelfth? What group size is best for making decisions quickly? For ants, four to six heads surpass one and also outperform 12 or 24. That's what Sylvia Zamescu now reports.

    The 18-year-old senior at Catalina Foothills High School in Tucson, Arizona isn't generally into ants. She's interested in decision-making, especially by people. Last summer, Sylvia read that social insects such as ants and bees can be used to model decision-making. Ants, for example, forage for food. When an ant finds it, it takes a bite and heads back to the nest. On the way; the ant leaves a scented trail for other ants to pick up. Back at the nest, the ant vomits up its meal into the mouth of other ants. Those nest-mates then decide with the first ant whether the food is good enough to deserve a trip back for more. If it is, they follow the first ant's scented trail to lunch.

    When there are too few ants, it could take a long time for one ant to spread the word. If there are too many, it's hard to "tell" each about the find. What's the right number for foraging success? Sylvia decided to find out. She contacted professors at the University of Arizona in Tucson to look for someone who would let her study decision-making by ants in their lab. Professor Wulfila Gronenberg answered her email.

    Working with one of Wulfila's graduate students Sylvia set up an experiment. She tested the behavior of one, two, four, six, twelve and twenty-four ants. Each group was placed in a large box al taped "starting line". At the other end of the box were two bricks of sweetened gelatin (动物胶) one contained only 3 per cent sugar, and the other 30 per cent. Sylvia timed how long it took each group of ants to find the food. She also measured how much time they spent around each sweet treat.

    When there were just one or two ants, the discovery was slow. The same was true when she set twelve or twenty-four ants loose. But four to six ants? Perfect! These medium-size groups found the food forest. They also figured out quickly that the sweeter food was better.

    Similar work has been done on bighorn sheep, fish and fruit flies. "It may not be four to six animals, but it's the same principle," Sylvia says. A medium-size group "is optimal". So when faced with a new decision, two heads are better than one. But too many heads are too much. Like the ants, a good decision may just require a happy medium.