Dear Editor,

Recently, I have experienced constant problems in the computer room. Many students also had the same   (1)  . Therefore, I’m writing to you to express my views.

The computers are old and slow, and sometimes they even do not   (2)   at all. In my opinion, we should have new computers. We need   (3)   computers with better memories. Also, we need to buy   (4)   keyboards, mousse, and monitors, because many of the   (5)  have letters missing and some mousse and monitors are not working properly. Last Sunday, I had to spend 4 hours doing my homework, all because of problems with the computer I was using. I tried other computers   (6)   they were in worse conditions. At last, I finished my homework, but then I had another   (7)   — the computer did not work! After I   (8)  the “print” button, nothing happened. I had to find a senior student to help me. It took half an hour to fix it.

It is very important to our future and even to the   (9)   of our nation for us to learn how to use information technology, so we really need to   (10)   the computers and other equipment.

                                                             Yours,

                                                         Gao Ying

Hiro walked up to the microphone. He looked out at the huge crowd and felt a heaviness in the pit of his stomach. They were all__（1）___ at him, waiting.

      “Uh, hi，” Hiro said into the microphone. For a moment, his mind went _（2）_. Then he saw Tadashi’s face in the audience. He was smiling and giving Hiro a thumbs-up.

     Hiro smiled back and took a __（3）_ . “Sorry. My name is Hiro Hamada, and I’ve been working on something I think is pretty cool. I hope you like it.”

     Hiro put on a headset and reached into his hoodie(连帽衫). He __（4）_ a small object no bigger than a paper clip. “This is a microbot.” The small object in his hand took a bow. “It doesn’t look like much but when it links up with the rest of its fellows, things get a little more interesting.”

     The crowd didn’t seem __（5）_ . Then a murmur rose as the audience noticed waves of tiny mircrobots twisting across the floor. The single microbot flew from Hiro’s  __（6）_ and joined a towering column of microbots that had now formed onstage.

    Hiro smiled and tapped his headset. “The microbots are __（7）___ with this neural transmitter(神经传导器).” He took the headset off and the microbots collapsed to the floor. They reformed into a column as soon as Hiro put the headset back on.

     “I think of what I want them to do,” Hiro said, “and they do it!” The microbots took the  __（8）_  of a hand waving. Everyone in the audience smiled and waved back. “The  __（9）_   of this tech are limitless. Take construction.”

     Hiro stared at the microbots, and with a wave of his hand, they picked up cinder(煤渣）blocks and assembled them into a tower. “ _（10）_  used to take teams of people working by hand for months or years can now be __（11）_   by one person!”

     “And that’s just the __（12）__”Hiro said as he jumped off the tower. Everyone gasped, thinking he was about to _（13）_ , but the microbots rose and __（14）_  him midair. Hiro smiled. He could see Tadashi giving him another __（15）_  .

    “How about __（16）_ ?”Hiro asked. The microbots transformed into a set of legs that __（17）_Hiro through the audience. “Microbots can move anything, anywhere, __（18）_ . ”

     As they approached the stage, the microbots formed a set of （19）_     so Hiro could climb backup to it. “If you can think it, the microbots can do it!” Hiro said.

     The audience was with him now. The moment belonged to Hiro, and he was on a roll. “The only limit is your （20）_! Microbots!” he exclaimed, and the audience burst into applause.

In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The    (1)   is that countries around the world have growing mountains of    (2)    because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

   How did we    (3)   a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to    (4)     an object than to spend time and money to repair it.      (5)     modern manufacturing (制造业) and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and     (6)     .

  Another cause is our     (7)    of disposable (一次性的) products. As    (8)    people, we are always looking for    (9)    to save time and make our lives easier. Companies     (10)   thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

   Our appetite for new products also    (11)    to the problem. We are    (12)    buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that     (13)    is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we     (14)     useful possessions to make room for new ones.

   All around the world, we can see the    (15)    of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To    (16)    the amount of rubbish and to protect the    (17)     , more governments are requiring people to recycle materials.     (18)   , this is not enough to solve our problem.

   Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions   (19)   throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about      (20)   . Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

Many people associate crying with weakness. If a person easily breaks down, it gives the  

  (1)   that the person is soft and can easily be overpowered. But many do not know that tears have a purpose. It has a   (2)   after-effect on a person that can give comfort and strength to   (3)   any negative feeling or depression.

People cry for a reason. You may cry because you are too happy or too sad or very angry. Letting your tears flow freely gives you a sense of   (4)   to be true to your feelings and to yourself. It is a surrender (屈服) to your emotions that   (5)   you that you are human and you have the right to your emotions,   (6)   they are pleasant or not.

Just like water that washes off filth (污物), tears slowly wash off the   (7)   thoughts and feelings. That is why when you are in pain or in sorrow, do not   (8)   and let your tears roll down naturally. After a while you will   (9)   feel a bit better. Your tears become a form of   (10)   when problems become too much for us to bear.

In my opinion, people who are not afraid to cry   (11)   are stronger than those who control the tears for later. If the reason for crying is   (12)   and your emotions are very strong, you have no reason to be ashamed.

Tears can make you stronger in a way. When faced with a problem, people who control their tears   (13)   to constantly worry and stress about the problem and fail to see the   (14)   right away. This makes them more prone (易于…的) to weakness and to more mistakes. These people may   (15)   strong because they hide what they truly feel. But the truth is, all the pretensions make them a weaker person.

On the other hand, people who openly   (16)   themselves to cry release their emotions much sooner. After crying, these people feel more   (17)   and can then begin to think straight.   (18)   the negative thoughts and emotions have been reduced, they can   (19)   think of ways to solve the problem.

As the saying goes, “The truth shall set you free.” Tears show others your true emotions. Your true strength is using your tears to easily   (20)   your moment of suffering. That is the power of tears.

Your car is a necessary part of your life. You use it every day. Of course, you want to hold on to it so you make sure it has the latest alarm and immobilizer (汽车防盗器). But despite all these, cars like yours are still stolen every day. In fact, in this country, one car is stolen almost every minute! And if your car is stolen, you only have a 50:50 chance of seeing it again.

Each year, car crime costs nearly £3 billion. Of course, if you’re insured, you won’t lose out, or will you? Firstly, you will have to pay extra insurance later on, and then you may not be offered the full amount by the agent. You will probably have to hire a car and you will also lose the value of the contents and accessories (配件) in the car.

Now comes the solution. An RAC Trackstar system, hidden in one of 47 possible secret locations (位置) in your car, is the key of our system. If your car is stolen, radio signals are sent at twenty-second intervals from the car to the RAC Trackstar National Control Center, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, will immediately inform the police in the area where the car is located. Because the police receive information every twenty seconds, they will always know the vehicle’s location. Once the thief has been arrested, your car will be returned to you.

RAC Trackstar is unique in being able to provide the National Control Center with details of the exact location of your car, its speed and speed and direction. And speed is the key to successful recovery of a stolen vehicle. RAC Trackstar Control will immediately tell the police if you report your car stolen and under the 24- hour Guardian Option. It will also tell you if your car has been stolen. RAC Trackstar’s constant updates mean the police are kept informed of the car’s location. All these greatly improve your chances of seeing your car again.

 We live in a digital world now, and a student’s  technology needs have changed. For the early years, say when you are in primary school, you can get by with no technology at all. Even if you have a computer, it’s a good idea to get familiar with libraries.

As you get closer to middle school, a computer with Internet access becomes more of a necessity. Teachers will often give assignments that require a student to use the Internet for research. After a computer, technology choices for students become more difficult to make － especially when it comes to cellphones. Kids will beg their parents for cellphones, especially in middle school. For many parents, it’s a safety issue: they want to know that their kids can reach them quickly if necessary. For teachers, cellphones can be used to record lessons when students are absent. But many teachers dislike cellphones. Some kids send messages or have talks in the class. Sending messages also raises the problem of cheating on exams. More and more schools are now forbidding the use of cellphones.

Many kids see iPods as necessary things to have. IPods are great for music, but do they do anything good for your children’s education? Maybe they do.That is the opinion of Doug Johnson, an educator for 30 years. Johnson says that educators should accept all new forms of technology in the classroom, including iPods. “Some do more with  their cellphones  than we can do with our laptops，” he jokes. “I don’t think we should be afraid. The truth is that it’s easier to change the way we teach than to change the technology habits of an entire generation.”

In 1996, John Tierney suggested in a New York Times Magazine article that “recycling is garbage.” He wrote, “The money spent on recycling programs should have been spent on real social and environmental problems. Recycling programs not only increase energy use and pollution, but also cost more money than the disposal (处理) of plain old garbage. Recycling may be the most wasteful activity in modern America.”

    Environmental groups were quick to express their disagreement. They wrote reports on how recycling programs in cities can reduce pollution and cost less than regular garbage pickup and disposal. Michael Shapiro, an official of the US Environmental Protection Agency(EPA), said that “recycling can be good value for money, although there’s still room for improvements.”

    But in 2002, New York City, a pioneer of recycling, found that its recycling program was losing money, so it stopped glass and plastic recycling. Other major cities watched closely to see how New York was doing with its remaining program (the city never stopped paper recycling). But then it closed its last landfill (垃圾填埋地), and private companies out of New York raised prices due to the increased workload of carrying away and disposing New York’s garbage. As a result, glass and plastic recycling became profitable for the city again, and New York brought the program back. According to Cecil Adams of The Chicago Reader, the lessons learned by New York are relevant everywhere. He believes that, if managed correctly, recycling programs should cost cities less than garbage disposal.

Even though the benefits of recycling over disposal are many, keep in mind that it better serves the environment to “reduce and reuse” before recycling is even considered as a choice.

B

Can dogs and cats live in perfect harmony in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cats are worried that they will fight. A recent research has found a new recipe of success. According to the study, if the cat is adopted before the dog, and if they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly probable that the two pets will get along swimmingly. Two­thirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog.

However, it wasnˈt all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while aggression and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals aggression, while a dog doing the same signals submission.

In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behavior. They are learning how to talk each otherˈs language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk “dog”，and dogs can learn how to talk “cat”．

Whatˈs interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn to read each otherˈs body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than we previously suspected. Once familiar with each otherˈs presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳理) each other.

The significance of this research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets—to people who donˈt get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers.  If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.

Taking a bath provides a variety of health benefits, for example, keeping your body clean and relaxing, but if we are ever ill in bed and can’t get up, we will be thankful for the nurse who helps us get clean. While I am not a nurse, and have never given anyone a bath, I would imagine that it would take a lot of sympathy and patience to do so.

  Yet those who attended the International Conference on Intelligence Robots and Systems Conference last month were introduced to Cody, a robot that can bathe human beings.

  The robot has a base that can be turned to all directions, two human-like arms, and flexible wrists . It uses a camera and laser range finder to locate parts of the human body. It then uses bath gloves to clean with a little pressure.

  The robot was designed at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Charles Kemp of the Healthcare Robotics Lab is the senior researcher for the project. In a test run, Cody was able to remove 96% of a test subject’s dirt－not bad for a robot.

  But don’t go asking for Cody for Cody yet－he’s still a model. Yet researchers believe that one day Cody may take the place of nurses for this task. Researchers claim that Cody will afford patients increased private information. I suppose that would depend on the patient.

  Even so, I can appreciate the need. We don’t have enough nurses to go around, and those places that are the most short-handed, for example, nursing homes, are those that have the most patients who are unable to bathe themselves. Still, before I get there, I hope they think of a better way to solve the problem.

The expression "a thirst for knowledge" may soon have a new meaning for millions of people who have no way to get clean water. Researchers have developed a book with specially treated pages that can turn dirty water into clean and drinkable water. They say their invention could improve the lives of many in the developing world.

    About 700 million people around the world are at risk of disease or even death because their drinking water is not clean. The water is polluted by harmful bacteria.

    The book contains 25 pages. Each page is about one millimeter thick. The pages contain very small particles(微粒)of silver. The pages can be used as filers(过滤器)to remove harmful microorganisms(微生物)that can pollute drinking water. The filter kills the organisms that pass through it.

    Pictures on the pages show the dangers of dirty water and how to use the book for those unable to read. The pages are made of filter paper. They are designed to be torn from the book. Water can be poured through the paper to be cleaned.

    Ms Dankovich, the inventor, sys each page can treat up to 100 liters of water. She recently presented her invention at the meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, Massachusetts. She was asked whether she had considered adding classic literature on the bookˈs pages.

    "The idea pf classic texts—thatˈs of interest maybe later. We have discussed a little bit more exciting text. But we really havenˈt had the time to go through that part," she says.

    Teri Dankovich and another researcher tested the drinkable book in Bangladesh, Ghana and South Africa. The tests proved to be successful.

    Water for Life, a non-governmental organization, has provided financial support for the project.