The idea of being able to walk on water has long interested humans greatly. Sadly, biological facts prevent us ever accomplishing such a thing without artificial aid—we simply weigh too much, and all our mass pushes down through our relatively small feet, resulting in a lot of pressure that makes us sink.

    However, several types of animals can walk on water. One of the most interesting is the common basilisk Basilicus basilicus, a lizard (蜥蜴)native to Central and South America. It can run across water for a distance of several meters, avoiding getting wet by rapidly hitting the water's surface with its feet. The lizard will take as many as 20 steps per second to keep moving forward. For humans to do this, we，d need huge feet that we could bring up to our ears in order to create adequate w hitting.

    But fortunately there is an alternative : cornflour. By adding enough of this common thickening agent to water (and it does take a lot), you can create a “non-Newtonian” liquid that doesn't behave like normal water. Now, if the surface of the water is hit hard enough, particles(粒子）in the water group together for a moment to make the surface hard. Move quickly enough and put enough force into each step, and you really can walk across the surface of an adequately thick Liquid of cornflour.

    Fun though all this may sound, it's still rather messy and better read about in theory than carried out in practice. If you must do it, then keep the water wings handy in case you start to sink--and take a shower afterward!

    On Aug 29, 1988, the University of Wisconsin-Madison juniors Tim Keck and Christopher Johnson published the first-ever issue of The Onion. The two founders claimed it was the “finest news source” in the US. 25 years later, the news has become one of the most established media presences in the US. But don't expect accuracy and timeliness from it, because The Onion only publishes fake news or news satire (讽刺). Its aim is to make readers laugh and see things from a different angle.

    Will Tracy, The Onion's editor-in-chief, told the NPR in an interview. “The stories are presented in that sort of news voice which improves the news to a certain level of importance. The news isn't actually understandable but it has an ability to elegantly locate a problem with concise and plain words.” For example, when George W. Bush became the US president in 2001, The Onion published a satire piece predicting massive debt and a huge growth in military spending. The headline said it all—Bush: “Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over”.

    Traditional media outlets are cautious when reporting sensitive topics such as religion and race. Tracy says/‘Nothing is off limits for The Onion, no matter how uncomfortable they may make some readers.” But editors at The Onion do stand a fine line, as Tracy explains: “What you have to be really careful about is what the target of the joke is. If the target of the joke is wrong, then it doesn't feel right and it also doesn't feel funny.” The Onion made the public outrageous when earlier this year, it tried to make fun of a 9-year-old Oscar-nominated (奥斯卡提名的) actress by using highly impolite language. It later apologized.

    The Internet has opened up a whole new online world for us to meet, chat and go where we've never been before.

    But just as in face-to-face communication, there are some rules of behavior that should be followed when on line. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Imagine how you'd feel if you were in the other person's shoes. For anything you're about to send: ask yourself, "Would I say this to the person's face?" If the answer is no, rewrite and reread.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    If someone in the chat room is rude to you, your instinct (本能) is to fire back in the same manner. But try not to do so. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}If it was caused by a disagreement with another member, try to fix the situation by politely discussing it. Remember to respect the beliefs and opinions of others in the chat room.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Offer advice when asked by newcomers, as they may not be sure what to do or how to communicate. When someone makes a mistake, whether it's a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer, be kind about it. If it's a small mistake, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before saying anything. Having good manners yourself doesn't give you a license to correct everyone else. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}At the same time, if you find you are wrong, be sure to correct yourself and apologize to those that you have offended(冒犯).

    It is not polite to ask others personal questions such as their age, sex and marital status(婚姻地位). Unless you know the person very well, and you are both comfortable with sharing personal information, don't ask such questions.

A. It's natural that there are some people who speak rudely or make mistakes online.

B. Repeat the process(过程) till you feel sure that you'd feel comfortable saying the words to the person's face.

C. Everyone was new to the network once.

D. The basic rule is simple: treat others in the same way you would want to be treated.

E. When you send short messages to a person online, you must say something beautiful to hear.

F. You should either ignore the person, or use your chat software to block their messages.

G. If you do decide to tell someone about a mistake, point it out politely.

    A team of international scientists is due to set off for the world's biggest iceberg in a mission aiming to answer fundamental questions about the impact of climate change in the polar regions. The scientists, led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), are trying to reach a newly revealed ecosystem that had been hidden for 120,000 years below the Larsen C ice shelf.

    Last year, part of the Larsen C ice shelf calved (崩解) away, forming a huge iceberg-A68—which is four times bigger than London, and revealing life beneath for the first time. Now scientists say it is a race against time to explore these new ecosystems before they are transformed to the light. Marine biologist Dr Katrin Linse from the BAS is leading the mission.

    "The calving of A68 provides us with a unique opportunity to study marine life as it responds to a huge environment change," she said. "It is important that we get there quickly before the undersea environment changes as sunlight enters the water."

    Professor David Vaughan, science director at the BAs, said, "We need to be bold (大胆的) on this one. Larsen C is a long way south and there's lots of sea ice in the area, but this is important science, so we will try our best to get the team where they need to be. He said climate change had already affected the sea around Antarctica and is warming some coastal waters. "Future warming may make some habitats warm. Where these habitats support unique species that are adapted to love the cold and not the warm, those species are going to either move or die."

    There is growing concern about the possible impact of climate change in the Antarctic. Earlier this month, a report revealed that melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are speeding up the already fast pace of the sea level rise. The research, published by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, said, "At the current rate, the world's ocean will be, on average, at least 60cm higher by the end of the century." However, it found that the process is accelerating, and more than three quarters of the acceleration since 1993 is due to melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, the study shows.

    Thanks to this new hands- free suitcase, carrying around heavy luggage may soon become a thing of the past. Designed by Israeli company NUA Robotics, this "smart" suitcase can follow you everywhere you go.

    The carry­on suitcase, now a prototype(雏形), connects to a smartphone app via bluetooth. It has a built­in camera sensor that can "see" you and follow you around on flat floors. It comes with an anti­theft alarm to prevent someone carrying it away when you're not looking. "It can follow and carry things for people around while communicating with their smartphone, and avoiding bumping into other objects," explained Alex Libman, founder of NUA Robotics. "We're combining sensor network, computer vision, and robotics. So if you download our app(应用), press the 'follow me' button, the luggage recognizes its user and knows to follow and communicate."

    NUA is still testing the products and trying to improve features like speed and customization(客户订制), but they hope to make the suitcase available to customers in a year's time. If it proves successful, they want to use the bluetooth pairing technology to automate(自动化操作)lots of other products, like shopping carts at the supermarket. These products are especially meant to be useful to the physically disabled and elderly. "Any object can be smart and robotic," Libman told Mashable. "We want to bring robots into everyday life."

    The Israeli tech company made it clear that the finished product will look just like a common suitcase. They're planning to partner with a carry­on luggage maker, since the product that makes it "smart" weighs just 2.5 pounds and can be fitted on old­fashion luggage.

    With NUA's smart suitcase, carrying around heavy luggage isn't a burden. But how their invention will handle tough blocks like stairs? It will be interesting to wait.

    If you're looking for ways to increase your income, you might be considering accepting ads for some companies' products on your website. Here are the ways:

    Promote an affiliated (附属) product on your site. Joining a company's affiliated program is one of the simplest ways to start Internet advertising. While affiliated links aren't technically ads, they allow you to make money by promoting someone else's product. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Use targeted advertising with Google AdSense. Google's AdSense program allows you to make money by placing targeted text ads made by Google on your pages. The ads appear in the bottom of a web page with the words "Ads by Google" over the top. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Anyone, even students, can use it. Google does all the work of finding relevant ads for your site, and you just collect the payments.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If your site is already getting lots of trade, try looking for sites that offer more products. Be sure to contact potential Internet advertising partners in a profession manner. Call them on the phone instead of just e-mailing them so your communication is more personal and professional. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The more information you can give them, the more likely they will be to consider your offer.

    Sign up for a blog-specific ad program. If you have a blog, consider signing up to feature blog-specific ads on your site. The key is to consider the kinds of ads your target audience will find valuable. Get advertisers interested in your blog with a link they can use to contact you for rates and requirements. This link can be a simple message saying "Click here to find out how to advertise on this blog!" {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It's easy and free to join.

B. Approach companies directly.

C. Sign up for a context-based ad program.

D. Be ready to supply them with information about your business.

E. Making money from your site isn't a matter of putting up a few ads.

F. Through it, you can earn payments when someone makes a purchase.

G. In that way, anyone is free to discuss advertising opportunities with you.