A smart home is a home with a communication network. This network connects devices(装置), such as lights and TV sets, and allows them to be controlled from far away through electrical wiring, mobile phone communication or WiFi over the internet.

    More and more people may start to consider owning a smart home, because it makes life much more convenient. It can help keep your room at a certain temperature. It can record what happens inside the home and send the video to your phone. When you are on vacation abroad, you can use a smart home controller to switch on or off the electricity when necessary. Some smart homes can receive a visitor, allowing him to come in and offering him a drink. They can even feed the cat and water the plants.

    Besides, smart homes are easy to fix. Most smart home technology and devices are wireless and can be set up with a minimum of tools,using only the guiding information. When a problem appears,you can deal with it yourself without paying a professional.

    However, for home-users,the smart home technology is far from perfect.It can be rather expensive to own the technology and the devices. Also, because the smart home system(系统) allow its owner to get home information from anywhere, it leaves the home easy to be attacked by hackers(黑客), who may secretly use or change the information in the system.

Now,many scientists are excited at the future of smart home technology. Imagine being able to get fashion advice from your mirror, or receive food shopping suggestions from your refrigerator. While there are others who worry that those smart devices will make people lazier and lonelier. Whatever it is, one thing is for sure—smart home technology will change the way we live and work.

    Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna Henry noticed a change in their older son: suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door of his room is always closed,” Joanna noted.

    Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. “She used to cuddle up (蜷伏) with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is to find out which time is which.”

Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what's on their minds. “In fact, parents are first on the list,” said Michael Riera, writer of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely changes during the teen years.” Riera explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers，and their parents last.”

Parents who know what's going on in their teenagers' lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental (精神的) break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager(管理者), with their children is a better way to know them.

    Want to be an astronaut?Then“study hard，stay healthy and have perseverance”!

    This is what Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng said in Hong Kong．Fei，Nie and leading engineers of Shenzhou VI visited Hong Kong from November 27 to 30，2010．

    They talked with primary，secondary and college students．Kids were interested in the astronauts' space lives．They asked questions like “Did you see the Great Wall from space?”Fei and Nie said they didn't see the Great Wall．But they felt excited when they passed over China，including Taiwan．The Taiwan Island looks very beautiful，like jade．

    Young people wanted to know how the astronauts developed(发展)their careers(职业)．“How did you decide to be astronauts when China's space industry is still at the beginning?”spoke a young woman．The astronauts said it was because of their love of flight and the need of the nation．They said their love of flight could be seen from their children's names．Nie's daughter is named Nie Tianxiang，which means“flying up high”．Fei's son is called“Fei Di”，which sounds like“Feidie”，meaning UFO．

    American researchers have successfully developed a way to clean waste water without chemicals. The technique uses green plants. The tests were carried out at waste treatment centre. The scientists put plants in narrow containers inside a glass building. One end of each container was a little higher than the other end. Waste water was directed down the containers through the plants' thick roots as we expected. The roots absorbed the waste in the water and used it for food. At the same time the plants produced natural gas. The gas could be collected and sold as fuel(燃料).

    Four places in Florida are already using green plants to clean their waste water.

    In our daily life, robots are often found to do work that is too dangerous, boring, difficult, or dirty. And we often see kids play with toy robots.

    But what exactly is a robot? There are some important characteristics(特征) that a robot must have. These characteristics might help you to decide what is and what is not a robot. It will also help you to decide what you will need to build into a machine before it can be considered as a robot. A robot has these important characteristics.

    Sensing First of all, your robot would have to be able to sense the environment around it. 

    Give your robot sensors (传感器): light sensors( eyes ), touch sensors (hands), chemical sensors(nose), hearing sensors(ears) and taste sensors (tongue).

    Movement A robot needs to be able to move around its environment.  It can move on wheels, walk on legs or be driven by small engines(发动机). A robot can move either the whole body or just parts of it.

    Energy A robot needs to be able to power itself.  Some robots might power itself with sunlight, some might with electricity, while others with the battery(电池). The way your robot gets its energy will depend on what your robot needs to do.

    Intelligence A robot needs some kind of "smarts". A programmer is the person who gives the robot its "smarts". The robot will have to have a certain way to receive the program so that it knows what it is to do.