When some plates(板块)of the Earth move suddenly, an earthquake happens. Many earthquakes begin under the sea. Earthquakes may happen anywhere on the Earth. They often happen near the mountains.

    During an earthquake, the shakings make rocks rise suddenly and even crack(断裂) open. Houses fall down. People are killed or hurt, and sometimes the whole villages or cities are destroyed.

    Can we do something to keep ourselves safe from earthquakes? Scientists have studied earthquakes and made maps that show the “earthquake belt（带）”. In area of these belts, it's possible for earthquakes to happen. In these areas we should build strong houses to fight against earthquakes.

    In the future, Scientists will be able to tell when and where an earthquake will attack before it happens. They can also tell people what to do and how to deal with it.

    Australia's Great Barrier Reef(礁) is the world's largest reef system. It is over 2,600 kilometers long. The reef is home to many animals: fish, birds, turtles, sharks and even whales. Unfortunately, the reef that all these animals call home is in danger.

    Climate(气候)change, over fishing and water pollution are damaging(毁坏)the reef every year. Coral(珊瑚)reef experts at Australian universities say that if we do nothing to stop it, the coral reef could be destroyed before the year 2030.

    Everyday things like driving cars, using electricity and running a factory give out greenhouse gases into the air. These gases make Earth warmer and warmer. This is a problem for the Great Barrier Reef and other reefs around the world.

    Coral is very fragile, and even a 2-degree increase in water temperature is enough to kill it, according to Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, reef researcher at the University of Queensland, Australia. If the water temperature doesn't go down, the coral dies.

    But it's not only the coral that's in danger. One quarter of all sea life lives on coral reefs.

    If air pollution is not slowed down or stopped, then the water will warm by at least 3 degrees in the next 20 years, according to reef experts in a report from University of Queensland. This would spell the end for the Great Barrier Reef and all its sea life.

    A company says it has completed the first 3D-printed home recently. The home was shown to reporters and visitors at a music festival.

    The building company has developed large 3D- printers that build homes with mortar, a hard and strong material. It uses robotics, computer programs and advanced materials to make houses.

    Jason Ballard is the company's chief engineer. "So I'm standing in front of the first 3D-printed home in America. This house was actually printed in high winds, blowing dust and rain." It is important for the printing programmes to operate in bad weather conditions, such as weather disasters. The goal is to print homes in developing countries. So the printer has to be light enough to move from one property to the next.

    Ballard imagines that someday, many 3D-printers will operate around the world to make homes. "It's actually a lot more simple to build a printer than it is to build a house," he said. "We ran this printer at about a quarter speed to print this house, and completed it in about 48 hours of print time."

    The company developed this technology not to make money but to help provide a quick, cheap housing solution for the millions of people who need it most. There are about a billion people that don't have one of life's most basic human needs, and that's safe shelter.

    Ballard says his company already works on housing needs with poor families in different areas. But he says that to really make a difference, the program will need to be greatly improved. He added that since the 3D-printing process is so much faster than traditional homebuilding, a whole community could be built in just a few months. He believes over time, people can get the new home below $4,000 with the help of 3D-printers.

    Thanks to software like Apple's Siri or Microsoft's Cortana, it's easier than ever to do something on our phone or computer. All we have to do is "talk", and our favorite song starts playing a few seconds later. But in the neat" future, asking our phone to play a song by using our voice will seem as old--fashioned. That's because US tech company Microsoft recently applied for a patent* for a "brain control interface"(BCI): meaning that soon, we may be able to control our phone and computer with our thoughts.

    BCI technology works by changing brain signals into computer commands. This technology isn't brand new, however. Last year, for example, it was reported that scientists were able to help a disabled man from the US, 53-year-old Bill Kochevar, to move again. To do this, Kochevar was fitted with BCI technology, as well as equipment to make his muscles move. After a few weeks of getting used to it, Kochevar was able to use his thoughts to "tell" the BCI to move his muscles, meaning he was able to feed himself for the first time in years.

    Apart from helping disabled people, it's hoped that BCI technology will improve the daily lives of other people too. US social networking platform Facebook announced last year that it was working off BCI technology to help people type by using their brain. By 2020, the company hopes to have created a system that will allow people to type up to 100 words per minute just by thinking about them.

    However, many people are worried that technology that tan read our thoughts will create privacy problems, especially if social media companies are included. But Facebook researcher Regina Dugan said at a meeting last year that the company has no interest in reading people's private thoughts. "That might be more than any of us care to "know. And it's not something any of us should have a right to know," she said.

    When a computer runs a group of programs, it can get very Cooling the computer can cost a lot. So some scientist's wonder what will happen if the heat from the computer can be used.

    Large Internet companies (公司) such as Google and Microsoft have thousands of computers. As these computers deal with information, they produce lots of heat, so they need huge cooling systems(系统). These systems send the heat into the air.

    A company in Holland (荷兰) thinks paying to make the computers work and then paying again to cool them are a waste of energy. So the company developed a special device—the e-radiator.

    Boaz Loupe, the head of the company, says the e-radiator works as a heating system and saves money. He explains that the energy is used twice—once to heat the home and once to cool the computer. So the users don't have to pay to cool their computers.

    Five homeowners in Holland are testing the heating system in their homes.

    "We pay for the computer using, so, in that way, homeowners get heating for free," Boaz says.

    Jan Visor is one of the homeowners. "If you use the computer more the e-radiator produces more heat," he says. "It cannot provide enough heat if you don't use your computer often. "But he is ready to try it. It's a great help for his family.

    The company says e-radiators can produce heat at a temperature of 55℃. It says the system can save its users about S 440 a year.