Life in the year 3044 is very different from life in the 21^sh century. We still do many of the things you did, but we do them differently. For example, we have e-friends to help us. An e-friend is like a machine (机器) that looks just like a human being (人). It can walk and talk and can do almost everything we human beings do. My e-friend is a lot like me and we have fun together. She helps me do my homework and we often go swimming. She can take care of me if anything happens, so I always feel safe when we are together. She can also send me messages and I can download (下载) information from her memory. It's great to have an e-friend. I am never lonely and I always have someone to talk with.

   I would like to tell you more about life in the year 3044, but I have to send my e-friend to clean up my room. Maybe one day I will be able to travel back in time and visit you.

Waste can be seen everywhere in the school. Some students ask for more food than they can eat and others often forget to turn off the lights when they leave the classroom. They say they can afford these things. But I don’t agree with them.

Waste can bring a lot of problems. Although China is rich in some resources(资源), we are short of(缺乏) others, for example, fresh water(淡水). It is reported that we will have no coal(煤) or oil to use in 100 years. So if we go on wasting our resources, what can we use in the future and where can we move? Think about it. I think we should say no to the

students who waste things every day. Everybody should stop wasting as soon as possible.

In our everyday life, we can do many things to prevent waste from happening, for example, turn off the water taps(水龙头) when we finish washing, turn off the lights when we leave the classroom, try not to order more food than we need, and so on. Little by little, everything will be changed. Waste can be stopped one day, if we do our best.

Different weather makes people feel different. It influences health, intelligence(智力) and feelings.

In August, it is very hot and wet in the southern part of the United States. People there have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems during this month. In the Northeast and the Middle West, it is very hot some times and very cold at other times. People in these states have more heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March.

The weather can also influence intelligence. For example, in a 1983 report by scientists, IQ of a group of students was very high when a very strong wind came, but after the strong wind, their IQ was 10% below. The wind can help people have more intelligence. Very hot weather, on the other hand, can make it lower. Students in many schools of the United States often don’t do very well in exams in the hot months of the year (July and August).

Weather also has a strong influence on people’s feelings. Winter may be a bad time for thin people. They usually feel cold during these months. They might feel unhappy during cold weather. But fat people may have a hard time in hot summer. At about 18℃, people become stronger.

Low air pressure(气压) may make people forgetful. People more possibly leave bags on buses or in shops on low-pressure days. People feel best at a temperature of about 18℃.

Are you feeling sad, tired, forgetful, or unhappy today? It may be the weather’s problem.

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There are many kinds of tigers all over the world, and the largest tiger is Northeast Tiger. Most Northeast Tigers live in the northeast of China, like Heilongjiang Province and Jilin Province. Because there are many forests and mountains, the tigers usually like living there. In the forests and mountains, there are fewer people getting out and coming in. So the tigers are very free. They can run after each other, catch and eat some small animals, like rabbits and deer.

 The Northeast Tiger are different from the ordinary tigers. For example, the Northeast Tigers can swim very well, but can’t climb the trees. The Northeast Tigers’ hearing is the best, and no matter how low the sound is they can hear it.

 As the number of the tigers becomes smaller and smaller, we should protect the tigers as well as we can from now on.

An elephant can’t see anything clearly(清楚地) if it is not close to the things. So you can get very near to them and they won’t find you.

There are mainly(主要地) two kinds of elephants in the world, the Asian elephant and the African elephant. They have different ears and teeth. You can easily catch(捉住) an Asian elephant, but you can’t easily catch an African elephant.

People can easily teach Asian elephants to work after they catch them. So you can often see elephants work for people in some Asian countries such as Thailand and India. They can also dance and carry things for people. The elephants can quickly learn to know man’s voice. They even know when his master(主人) is happy and when he is angry.

In 1605, a scientist took a willow branch(柳枝) and planted it. He didn’t plant it in the ground, however. He planted it in a vase of soil(泥土). For the next five years, the scientist watered that willow carefully.

The willow grew and grew. Where did it get the food for its growth? To most people, this was an easy question. The willow plant, of course, took the food from the soil.

The scientist, however, wanted evidence(证据).If the willow took the food from the soil for its growth, then, as it grew and weighed more, the soil ought to weigh less. He weighed the willow branch before he planted it. It weighed five pounds. Then he weighed the soil. It weighed 200 pounds. After five years, he weighed the plant and the soil again. The willow tree weighed 169 pounds, but the soil weighed almost the same.

The result(结果) was surprising. Where did the 164 pounds come from?

After many investigations(调查), the scientist got the answer. He had given water to the willow, and the willow got its food from the water.

He was right, in a way. Today we know more about the question.

   Tomomasa Sato and others built a “robotic room”. There is a robot in this room, and they let the robot help the people who are in the room. There are also 10 video cameras on the top of the room and walls. The robot can do a lot of work for doctors and nurses with the help of its arms and nine computers. The robot can take things needed by sick persons and nurses.

   In the future, we may have robots in our homes to help with the chores. Many people think these robots should look and move like humans. At Honda Motor Company, people made a robot that has two arms and two legs and can walk freely by itself, just like a human. This robot can walk freely by checking the road, and use its arms to do different things. The robot is 180 centimeters (厘米) tall and weighs 210 kilograms. It not only walks around flat (平的) places but goes up and down stairs (楼梯) as well. It can also do easy things like moving a box. Not too far in the future, robots that look like science fiction movie characters (科幻电影人物) may be lending (借) us a hand in our everyday jobs.

SpongeBob SquarePants (《海绵宝宝》) is a popular US cartoon. It’s about the interesting life of a yellow sponge (海绵) and his friends. What’s it like living under the sea? What kind of things do they like doing?

I am SpongeBob. I live in a pineapple (菠萝) under the sea. I work at a fast food restaurant. My best friend is Patrick Star. We all like catching jellyfish(水母) because they are beautiful.

My name is Squidward Tentacles. In fact, I am an octopus(章鱼). I like playing the clarinet(单簧管) because it makes lovely music.

I am Mr Krabs. I am SpongeBob’s boss(老板). I love nothing but (除了)money. Money makes me feel good.

Imagine the situation. You are driving along a desert or on a mountain. You have no idea where you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your car breaks down. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phone. What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is a device(装置) which uses satellites to find the user’s position. It can find your position to within 20 metres. A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will know where you are.

   GPS, which means Global Positioning System, is a small radio receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. You can hold it in your hand, or put in your pocket. It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone. We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats. Some of these devices have electronic maps, so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street .

There are three parts to the Global Positioning System. The first part is the receiver. You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car, plane, etc. The second part is a group of satellites orbiting the Earth. The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates(计算) its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations. They are all over the world. They control the satellites and make sure they are working well.

   Some people think that in the future the GPS will be as common as the mobile. They are becoming cheaper and more and more accurate(精确的). There are also new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will become like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never be lost again.