New Energy in the Twenty-first Century

Energy from wind

    Wind is a kind of clean energy, and there is lots of it, but, if there's no wind, there is no wind energy.

Energy from the water

    When water from a high place to a lower place, it can make electricity（电） without pollution. However, people have to build dams（水坝） to use this energy, and building dams is very expensive.

Energy from the earth

    There is heat in the rocks under the earth. Scientists use the beat to make geothermal（地热的） energy. This kind of energy is cheap and clean, but it is only possible in a few places in the world.

Energy from the sun

    Solar panels（太阳电池板） on the roofs of house can tum energy from the sun into electricity. Solar power is clean and plentiful（丰富的）. When the weather is bad, it doesn't work.

    A new camera made by a company named Netatmo has facial recognition software(面部识别软件). It can tell parents at work that their children have returned from school, or that a package has been taken to their home. It can also tell them if a stranger has entered their home.

    Janina Mattausch is the product marketing manager for Netatmo.

    "The common security(安全)camera at present are not that smart. They can tell if something is moving but they don't necessarily know if it's a human being or, ah, if it's your kids. They don't know the difference, so they will warn you all the time."

    When family members enter a home, the new camera "recognizes(识别)" them and sends information to the owner's smartphone. The owner can choose to see the video then or later. But if an unknown person enters a home, the camera will send the warning that will cause an alarm to sound on the owner's smartphone.

    That is what happened recently to an owner of the smart camera named Damien, He lives in Paris.

    "On a Friday I was at work, attending(出席) a big monthly meeting when my phone warned. At first I told myself, 'Oh, it must be a mistake, maybe I have to set the system again.' But the notice on my phone was telling me that there was a movement in my flat and also a face that the software did not recognize."

    He watched the video and was very surprised by what he saw. "I was watching it live on video. So I felt totally unbelievable and frozen. I asked a workmate to take me back home as fast as possible and I called the police on the way."

    With the help of the video, the police found the intruder(闯A者) later that day.

    We all know that many inventions have changed our life a lot. They play important roles in our daily life. Here are some interesting inventions.

    Get a lot of letters at this time of year from people complaining (抱怨) that they have a cold and that it won't go away. There are so many ways to cure (治愈) a child. It is often difficult to know what to do. Although (尽管) cold are rarely (很少) dangerous, weak people , such as the elderly or young babies, often catch them. Colds are always uncomfortable and sometimes very unpleasant. Of course, you can buy lots of medicine. This will help to make your cold less unpleasant, but you must remember that nothing can actually cure a cold or make it go away quickly.

    Another thing is that any medicine can be dangerous if you are already taking another type of medicine for some other illness. So always check with your chemist (药剂师) or doctor to see if they are all right for you. Also, remember that they might make you sleepy; please don't try to drive it they do! Lastly, if you want to keep away from colds, don't blindly (盲目地) believe in 'magic' foods or drinks. The best way is to keep strong and healthy –you'll have less chance of catching a cold, and if you do, it shouldn't be so bad!