Movie fans know that their action hero Superman does not really fly.And, in the movie Superman Returns, another visual trick is played on viewers.The man they see flying is not real.He is what is called a virtual actor.The first step in creating this digital actor is to have a real person stand in a room called a light stage.A computer then captures the outlines and shapes of his face and records how they throw off light .Paul Debevec is with the Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California. "We can light them with very specially computer-controlled illumination and take photos of them from seven different viewpoints with high quality digital still cameras." Mr.Debevec is part of a team working to create computerized images of people, objects and environments that look and act real.The light stage permits actors to be turned into digital versions of themselves much like the blue creatures in the movie Avatar.The real world could soon be using a similar technology.Computer experts at the Institute are developing a 3-D video teleconferencing system.It would send a video image of a person into a meeting room.That image would be able to work with the people in the room, who would see it in 3-D without special eyeglasses.Paul Debevec says: "The person who is being transmitted to a remote location can actually look around at the people in the room and everybody in that room knows who they're looking at .And that's such a fundamental part  of human communication." He believes the business world will begin to use3-D video teleconferencing in the next five years." It's also a medium with which young people today are particularly comfortable," he said.A demonstration of an interaction between an earthquake survivor and students may be possible in a year.In 10 years, we may be able to play 3-D video games without special glasses. What is the author's attitude towards 3D technology? A) Cautious. B) Positive C) Skeptical D) Critical.
B

Winter Travel Adventures "Let it snow, let it snow!" You have found your home for all adventures, icy, snowy and white! Discover breathtaking sights while cross-country skiing and snow mobiling, or uncover new lands for skiing, and find the _ to snowboard. Informative links below will get you on your way to a winter wonderland journey. Seniors Head South for Winter A feature article on the annual migration of Winter Texans and Snow Birds heading to warmer places for the winter. Resources for Texas, Florida, Southern U.S and international destinations are included. Skiing and Snowboarding adventures You either love it or hate it, strapping a pair of boards to your feet and thrusting yourself down a snow-covered mountain at a speed of 60 miles per hour. If downhill running is your adventure game, connect with the best resources for adventures, vacations, ski trips and destinations. Cross-country Skiing Adventures All ages can find pleasure and exercise on a good pair of cross-country skis. Discover the winter back-country on your next adventure. Connect with adventure opportunities, outfitters, equipment sources, destinations and more. Snowmobile Adventures Take to the snow-covered backcountry and discover white adventures where only snowmobiles can take you. You can find information from a resource center about adventure tours, group tours, clubs, equipment, destinations, best trails and more. Snowshoe Adventures Foot power proves to be the ultimate  dependable transportation, and that applies to winter trekking  through the backcountry. A good pair of snowshoes can get you to places when nothing else can. If you wish to spend your winter abroad, which group would you join? A) Seniors Head South For Winter B) Snowmobile Adventures C) Skiing and Snowboarding Adventures D) Cross-Country Skiing Adventures
A

Conservationists have unveiled plans to preserve and protect the world's most important species of coral, in a response to increasing threats that they say will lead to "functional extinction" within decades. Led by scientists at the Zoological Society of London, the Edge Coral Reefs project has identified 10 coral species in most urgent risk of becoming extinct.The scientists say that reefs are under pressure from a variety of threats including rising sea temperatures due to climatic instability, increased acidity , overfishing and pollution. The Edge plan, which focuses on the most evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered species , will take a regional approach to conservation.This means focusing on the "coral triangle" around the Philippines, the West Indian Ocean around the Mozambique channel, and in the Caribbean channel. "Coral reefs are threatened with functional extinction in the next 20-50 years, due predominantly to global climatic instability," said Catherine Head, coordinator of the reefs project."In these regions, we'll be supporting and training in-country conservationists to carry out research and implement targeted conservation actions," she said."Their projects will last initially for two years.We provide them with a whole host of tools to carry out their projects including funding and intensive training." She added. Coral reefs are the planet's most diverse marine ecosystem , known as the rainforests of the oceans.Despite taking up under 0.2% of the ocean floor, they provide food and shelter for almost a third of all sea life.If we lose the ecosystems, we lose not only the biodiversity  , but we also lose the capability of people to obtain income and food from coral reefs. Climatic instability, which leads to rising sea temperatures, causes corals to bleach.Bleaching occurs when sea temperatures rise and this causes the coral tissue to expel their symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae - these are what give the coral their colour.Bleached corals often die if the stress continues.Among... Which of the following statements about the Edge Plan is TRUE? A) The Edge Coral Reefs project was carried out by American scientists. B) The plan concentrates on the channels to protect the endangered species. C) The Conservationists have carried out the Edge plan for many years to protect the corals. D) Ten coral species chosen by the project are at the greatest risk of becoming extinct.

D