Looking good can matter a lot when you are a teenager. Of course the budget(财政） matters a lot, too. Luckily, fashion trends (流行趋势) in the UK mean that getting the right image doesn't have to cost the earth. Here's a quick guide to which looks are hot this year.

    For girls, the 70s are back. Wide-legged jeans, platform shoes and skirts that reach the feet are again in fashion among UK teens, topped off with colored, shining eyeshadow. Girls can have fun mixing and matching bright shades. Colors like pink, orange and light yellow-green are all perfectly fit. Shorts and mini-skirts are still popular in cold weather. By wearing a pair of tights underneath ( 在..底下), girls can stay warm as well as fashionable in the winter.

    How about boys? To look lively, fans of skateboards and snowboards can dress in skinny jeans accompanied by a T-shirt topped off with a baseball cap or a woolen hat. Music is often an inspiration for fashion, and hip-hop music fans like to dress in baggy jeans, T-shirts, baseball caps and sneakers. For those who can afford it, designer clothing is a must, especially if the logo is showing.

    Old age may not sound exciting.But recent findings offer good news for older people and for people worried about getting older.Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty.In fact，they say by the age of eighty­five，people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.

    The findings came from a survey of more than three hundred forty thousand adults in the United States.The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008.At that time，the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty­five.The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness，sadness and worry.They also asked about mental or emotional stress.

    Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study.His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty­two and twenty­five.The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.

    The study also showed that men and women have similar feeling patterns as they grow older.However，women at all ages reported more sadness，stress and worry than men.

    Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older.One theory is that，as people grow older，they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their feelings.They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.

    Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world，or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.

    The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children，being unemployed or being single.But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well­being related to age.

    A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, DC. I saw many of our nation's treasures, and I also saw a lot of citizens on the street—unfortunate ones, like beggars and homeless folks.

    Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice ask. “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an old blind woman with her hand extended. In a natural reflex (自然反射), I reached into my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it in her hand without even looking at her. I hated being disturbed by a beggar.

But the blind woman smiled and said: “I don't want your money. I just need help finding the post office.” In an instant, I realized what I had done. I had acted with prejudice (偏见)—I had judged another person simply for what I thought she had to be.

    I hated what I saw in myself. This incident brought back my central belief. It reminded me that I believed in being humble (卑下的), even though I'd lost that belief for a moment.

    The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant (移民). I left Honduras and arrived in the US at the age of 15. I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother, my sister and a strong mother. Through the years, I have been a dish washer, roofer, mechanic, cashier and pizza delivery driver, among many other humble jobs. Eventually, I became a network engineer.

In my own life, I have experienced many acts of prejudice. I remember a time at age 17—I was busboy (餐馆工), and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me. I have also seen the same treatment of family and friends, so I know what it's like, and I should have known better.

    But now, living my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to go. The blind woman cured me of my blindness. She reminded me of my belief in being humble, and to always keep my eyes and heart open.

    By the way, I helped that lady to the post office. And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson she gave me.

    It is becoming increasingly important for researchers to closely monitor our ocean life. However, observing sea creatures up close is almost impossible since human presence scares them. Now, thanks to The Soft Robotic Fish, also known as SoFi, researchers may be able to keep a close eye on the sea creatures.

    Built by MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), the white re- mote-controlled robot resembles the real fish, complete with a tail that waves from side to side. Though not the first autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) created to monitor the ocean, SoFi settles many of the problems that have blocked the usefulness of the previous robot fish.

    Previous AUVs have had to be linked to boats because radio frequency communications don't work well underwater. To overcome the problem, Director of the CSALL Daniela Rus and her team used sound waves. The technology can travel greater distances allowing divers to pilot SoFi from up to 50 feet away.

    Also limiting the usefulness of traditional AUVs is the risk of collision. With the outside made of soft silicone (硅树脂) rubber and flexible plastic that keeps its inbuilt electronics dry, SoFi poses no such danger. "Collision avoidance often leads to unnecessary movement, since the robot has to settle for a collision-free path", says Rus. "In contrast, a SoFi robot is not only more likely to survive a collision but also could use it as information to form a more workable movement plan next time around."

    During test dives, SoFi moved alongside the ocean life at depths of 50 feet for up to 40 minutes at a time, taking photos and making videos. The researchers say sometimes the fish would swim a- longside the strange-looking robot-fish out of curiosity, while at other times they took no notice of its existence.

    While SoFi presently only records video, future versions will include sensors. The researchers also hope to make it more autonomous. "We imagine someday it might help us uncover more secrets from the amazing underwater world that we know so little about," says Rus.

    From early times, man has been interested in art. People have often worked together to collect and save the world's art treasures.

    Fine art treasures from many countries are kept in an art museum called the Louvre (卢浮宫) in Paris, France. The works of art have been collected by the people of France over many centuries. It is the biggest art museum in the world.

    The Louvre has not always been a museum. The first building was a fort (堡垒). In 1190, it was the king's castle with high walls and a round tower. It had a moat (护城河) to keep out the enemies.

    Over the years, the number of buildings around the fort grew. By 1350, the fort was no longer needed and became a palace home for French kings and queens. During times of peace, new treasures were brought in. During days of war, many treasures were stolen, and the buildings were damaged.

    When Francis Ⅰ became King of France in 1515, he brought in many artists from many countries. One of the artists was Leonardo da Vinci from Italy. He worked in Paris. Da Vinci's Mona Lisa is the best-known painting in the museum today.

    In 1793, the Louvre became a public museum, just as it is now. It is a place where art treasures are kept for everyone to enjoy. Every year millions of people from all over the world come to the Louvre to see the master-pieces.

How do you kill your time when you go to work? Most of us stare at our cell phones, and refuse to make eye contact with others. We just read, chat with others online or play games online. Or maybe we're using the time between stops to do our make-up, catch up on emails, or read a few chapters of a book. However, Dina Alfasi takes a very different approach.

Each day she has to travel hours on buses and trains to get to her engineering job at a hospital in Israel. Rather than look at her cell phone in silence, she uses one very special way to have connection with strangers. It is portraits of the people she meets on public transport every day that she is taking. The photographs catch those quiet and personal moments of people readying themselves for the day ahead. Some people lean their heads against the window and go to sleep, some stare into space and have a daydream, and others sit quietly to read their documents or books. Each picture captures one tiny moment in people's lives, ripe with potential for your imagination. It is wonderful for her to look at someone's commute(上下班) and make up an entire story about the rest of their daily existence, from the father travelling with a baby to the woman welcoming a change.

"What inspires me very much are the little moments that happen every day," Dina told My Modern Met. "My work is to tell stories through a single portrait, and it proves that all you need is just to look around and find those magic moments."