【推荐1】The Chinese government is putting a limit on how much pay its movie stars get. The government says that actors getting very high salaries is bad for society. Government officials say a lot of actors try to avoid paying tax and their love of money is harmful. They said they want to stop “money worship” in society and in the movie industry because money is not the most important thing in life. The government also wants to try and stop a celebrity culture (名人文化) from developing. It says many young people are “blindly chasing celebrities” and turning them into heroes, which is giving people a false idea about what life is really like. The government said movies should benefit society, not movie stars’ bank accounts.

The government has made a set of rules that tell movie production companies how to pay their movie stars. The salaries of actors will be capped at 40 per cent of the total cost of the movie. Furthermore, leading actors will receive no more than 70 per cent of the total wages for the entire cast (演职员). Many Chinese citizens said they support the new rules. They say it is not good for society that “greedy” actors and celebrities are “showing off” their wealth and “Hollywood lifestyles”. One Chinese citizen wrote on social media: “Society has given them too much and they give nothing back. They do not teach young people about the value and importance of community (和谐关系) in China.”

【推荐2】Here's the nine o'clock news.

Prime Minister Abdul Krim of Syria (叙利亚) has said that the danger of war in the Middle East is greater now than in the past two years. His country does not want war, he says, but the Syrian people have waited too long for an end to the troubles with their neighbours. If war comes, says Mr Krim, Syria will be ready.

Ben Kitson, the writer of stories and plays for children, died at his home in California. Mr Kitson was 82. His most famous book of stories, The Gentleman’s House, sold all over the world, in more than twenty-five languages.

Policemen in New York have stopped work. Their leader, Mr Paulo Angeli, says that they will return to work only when they receive more money for working long hours and doing what Mr Angeli calls “the most dangerous job in the city”.

It has been a good year on the farm. The warm, wet spring and the fine summer have been very good for all kinds of food plants. This means that fruit and vegetables will cost less in the shops this year.And now it's time for“Morning Music”.

【推荐2】Following Christmas dinner, my family was relaxing around the table. We had all enjoyed traditional turkey and sweet potatoes lightly shining with brown sugar. The good cooking smells still filled the air; and the oven remained warm. My sister, our chef, was enjoying the admiration.

My nephew, never one to sit still for long, began dribbling (运球) his basketball around the table. Upon nearing Dad, he stopped — almost uncertainly. With shaking wrinkled hands, Dad had reached out for the ball. The boy, confused, looked up and over at us.

I watched my father closely to see what he would do. The twinkle in his eyes shone brighter than any Christmas lights. Holding the ball and reaching forward with a playful smile, Dad bounced it and then caught it.

This action was repeated. Gently throwing the ball away, Dad began a game of catch. The ball continued to be passed through eager pairs of outstretched hands. Cries of “Over here!” rang through the warm kitchen. Dad’s active participation was remarkable to me, for he had advanced Alzheimer’s disease, which had robbed him of many memories and the recognition ability. Despite this, Dad clearly recognized the ball and what you could do with it.

In my younger years, playing with Dad was rare. To his credit, Dad worked hard and provided for us. He was very private and never showed nor shared much emotion; his game of choice was chess, which he did eventually teach me how to play. As an adult, I had become a caregiver as Dad declined. Connecting moments between father and son had been few and far between before he took the basketball.

I’m not sure how long we played catch. What I do know is that our game ended all too soon, and it was time to face the reality of dirty dishes piled high on countertops. The moment, though, will certainly last forever.

【推荐3】Among the annoying challenges facing the middle class is one that will probably go unmentioned in the next presidential campaign: What happens when the robots come for their jobs?

Don’t dismiss that possibility entirely. About half of U.S.jobs are at high risk of being automated, according to a University of Oxford study, with the middle class disproportionately (不成比例的) squeezed. Lower-income jobs like gardening or day care don’t appeal to robots. But many middle-class occupations — trucking, financial advice, software engineering — have aroused their interest, or soon will. The rich own the robots, so they will be fine.

This isn't to be alarmist (杞人忧天的). Optimists point out that technological upheaval has benefited workers in the past.The Industrial Revolution didn’t go so well for Luddites (反对技术进步分子) whose jobs were displaced by mechanized looms (织布机), but it eventually raised living standards and created more jobs than it destroyed. Likewise, automation should eventually boost productivity, stimulate demand by driving down prices, and free workers from hard, boring work. But in the medium term, middle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting.

The first step, as Erik Bryn and Andrew McAfee argue in The Second Machine Age, should be rethinking education and job training. Curriculums — from grammar school to college — should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complex communication. Vocational schools (职业学校) should do a better job of fostering problem-solving skills and helping students work alongside robots. Online education can supplement the traditional kind. It could make extra training and instruction affordable. Professionals trying to acquire new skills will be able to do so without going into debt.

The challenge of coping with automation underlines the need for the U.S. to revive its fading business dynamism: Starting new companies must be made easier. In previous eras of drastic technological change, entrepreneurs smoothed the transition by dreaming up ways to combine labor and machines. The best uses of 3D printers and virtual reality haven’t been invented yet. The U.S. needs the new companies that will invent them.

Finally, because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and labor income, taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought. Taxes on low-wage labor need to be cut, and wage subsidies such as the earned income tax credit should be expanded: This would boost incomes, encourage work, reward companies for job creation, and reduce inequality.

Technology will improve society in ways big and small over the next few years, yet this will be little comfort to those who find their lives and careers upended by automation. Destroying the machines that are coming for our jobs would be nuts. But policies to help workers adapt will be indispensable.

【推荐1】After attending another parent meeting about my 7-year-old child’s behavior, I didn’t know what to do. It was the second school we had tried for Nathan and, as always, everything was being done for my child’s needs. It was also having bad influence on Nathan. He would come home and say, “Mom, I hate my life. I do not want to live any more.” I was afraid that my son was beginning to suffer from depression(抑郁) and that I was losing him. We needed help.

By the age of seven, Nathan had already had three surgeries (外科手术) for his ears. He was in great pain, which made it difficult for him to learn or pay attention. Despite Nathan’s bad condition, the staff at two former schools seemed as if they didn’t care. They often forgot to deal with his medication（药剂）. As a result of many times of ear infections (感染), Nathan had hearing loss. To make things worse, Nathan’s speech was not very good. Children would make fun of him and Nathan began to fall behind in study.

When I first set foot into Ripley House Charter School, I knew this was the school for my son. It felt positive from the moment I entered. From the start, Mrs. Elsen and her staff heard my concern over Nathan. Mrs. Elsen dealt with my concern, not with empty words but with action.

That day, Nathan came home from his first day of school saying, “Mom, I love school!” By the end of the week he was saying, “Mom, I like my life. I have a good life.” Ripley House Charter School gave me my son back and saved our lives. Thank you for giving me back what we had lost—HOPE.

【推荐2】Your future in the performing arts doesn't have to be a dream. For over 50 years, AMDA has launched some of the most successful careers in theatre, film and television, AMDA creates industry professionals who don't just wait for life to happen-they stage their own career path. Now it's your turn.

At AMDA,we believe a performer must perform. From the first day, you'll find many performance opportunities in the three core areas of acting, musical theatre and dance, both in and out of the class-room ,as well as individual voice lessons. Over the course of your four semesters, you'll also improve your performance technique through an intensive curriculum (课程) that focuses on both basic and advanced concepts in acting, musical theatre and dance. Finally, through courses in career preparation, you'll learn how to apply all of this training to a successful career on stage and screen.

AMDA is committed to providing a splendid performing arts education to a diverse community of creative artists, AMDA serves as both school and stage, where students are given the support and opportunity to identify their own personal objectives and to develop and improve their own distinctive artistic voices. AMDA tries to create an environment for students to develop the skills, confidence, imagination, and power to contribute to their community as artists, business people, lifelong learners, and hard-working citizens of the world. Above all,，AMDA wants to teach students that commitment and passion are the marks of a successful and joyous career.

【推荐3】Life in 2060

Let us suppose it is now about A.D. 2060. Let’s make believe (假装；虚构) it is about sixty years from now. Of course, things have changed and life is very different.

Voyages to the moon are being made every day. It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe. At a number of scenic spots on the moon, many hotels have been built. The hotels are air-conditioned, naturally. In order that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon, every room has at least one picture window. Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment (娱乐) of young and old.

What are people eating now? People are still eating food. They haven’t yet started to take on heir (继承) supply of energy directly as electrical current or as nuclear power. They may some day. But many foods now come in pill form, and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants.

Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago, most of our planet’s surface has to be filled. The deserts are irrigated with water and crops are no longer destroyed by pests. The harvest is always good.

Farming, of course, is very highly developed. Very few people have to work on the farm. It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then.

People are now largely vegetarians (素食者). You see, as the number of people increases, the number of animal decreases. Therefore, the people have to be vegetarians and we are healthier both in our bodies and in our minds, and we know the causes and cure of disease and pain, and it is possible to get rid of diseases. No one has to be ill any more.

Such would be our life in 2060.