Do you think there is magic in the world? I can remember the day clearly. When I arrived at the Summer Language Camp, something magical happened to me.

My ________ was going to drop me off and left me by myself for a whole week. At the gate, people started talking to me in Norwegian（挪威语）. I didn’t understand any other ________ but English. A few minutes later, I was sent to my room. I was ________ , thinking how to survive the whole week. Then mum had to leave. I was very afraid and nervous because I knew nobody here. But when I arrived at my room, I saw my ________ , Bob, waiting for me with a smile on his face and I began to feel a little ________ .

On the first night, I felt helpless because I had never been away from home alone. Just then Bob’s mum called and said, “Isn’t it exciting to know a group of kids of your age?” So it was! For us, ________ home meant knowing new people and exploring new things. With this thought, the magic began. I found it enjoyable to get along with others. More importantly, I also learned a lot of Norwegian and began to ________ this place. When my mum came to get me, I ran up to her and showed her around all my favorite places ________ . When it was time to say goodbye, I was so ________ to leave that I burst into tears again. I knew that I would come back the next summer.

Now, having been there eight times, I am looking forward to taking my brother to the camp this summer. Maybe someday I will go there to help the kids. I ________ know how they feel as parents to drop them off. And I’m sure some of them will learn to love such experience as I do.

A surprise party is a secretly planned party for someone who is not told about it until he or she arrives. Surprise party is very popular in America. Most of the Americans think it is very exciting to have surprise parties for their friends or family members. And it is quite easy to plan a surprise party. Do you want to know what a surprise party is really like? Look at the following example.

It’s a Saturday night. Bob’s wife asks him to go to the kitchen and bring her a glass of milk. Bob walks to the kitchen and opens the door. There’s no sound or light there. Suddenly, he hears a strange sound and then sees a bear standing in front of him! Bob is very scared and falls backwards. Just then the bear takes off his costurme. It’s Bob’s friend, Charles! There are also some other people behind him, including his wife. All of them say to Bob, “Surprise!” Bob is puzzled because he does not know what it is until his friends say “Happy birthday!” to him.

In fact, there are many kinds of surprise parties. A successful surprise party always makes people feel surprised and excited. Everyone enjoys themselves at the party.

Two hundred and forty-seven students from Fudan University have volunteered to teach children in Xihaigu region（地区）of Ningxia for the past 22 years. The region used to be poor because of its terrible natural environment. “We expect to make a difference to the children’s life by sharing our knowledge in different fields,” one of the volunteers says.

To meet different needs of the children, the volunteers have used different teaching methods to help them develop good study habits. “Local children had never learned English before, so we started with basic knowledge like English letters and pronunciation,” says Li Lianshuo, a Fudan volunteer. The volunteers help the students remember English words, read articles and deal with their study problems.

“We visit the students’ homes in our free time. We communicate with their parents so that we help the parents know the importance of children’s education, because the parents didn’t care much about it years ago,” explains Yang Hao, who was the leader of the volunteer team in 2019. According to Yang, the parents give their children a lot of support in their studies now.

The volunteers have helped the local children with their studies. They have also set up football clubs and held many games to make the children’s life colorful. What’s more, Fudan University has given away more than 10 million yuan to the region to build playgrounds and other buildings over the past 22 years.

“Thanks to my volunteer teacher, my life has been changed a lot. I will study hard and become an excellent person like her,” Li Sumei, a local student, says excitedly.

What’s going to happen in the future? Here are some things that scientists say are most likely to happen 10 to 30 years later from now.

1. Digital money

We used to pay with cash（现金）for everything we bought. In fact, we are already using one kind of digital money when we swipe（刷）our bus pass or use a credit card（信用卡）to shop online. You have to admit that using a card is much easier than searching your pocket for change. It is also safer than carrying a lot of cash with you. People in Sweden all stopped using cash last year and the US might be the next.

2.Bionic（仿生）Eye

People who are blind may have a chance to get their sight back---by wearing bionic eyes. A blind eye can no longer sense light, but a bionic eye can use a camera to “see” the environment and send the message into brain. Although the bionic eye now only allow patients to see lights and unclear shapes, a better and clearer bionic eye could be just a few years away.

3.Self-driving car

Unlike a human driver, a self-driving car won’t lose attention because of a phone call, a radio or something outside the window. Sensors（探测器）and cameras on the car would allow it to keep strictly to the rules of the road and keep a safe distance from other cars. This would greatly reduce the number of road accidents. Many companies are now planning self-driving cars. By 2045, driverless cars will be the main transport on the road.

Lanterns（灯笼）have been part of Chinese culture for centuries and played an important part in many celebrations. In ancient times, there were mainly three kinds of lanterns:

Palace lantern

When making palace lanterns, fine wood was used. The palace lanterns were covered with silk or glass. Different kinds of pictures were drawn on the covers.     36     These lanterns were used not only to make the palaces bright, but also to make them beautiful.

Gauze（纱）lantern

Less expensive bamboo and gauze were used to cover the lantern. Red gauze was used when making them.     37     So red lanterns are always hung on important festivals such as Lantern Festival, Spring Festival and National Day in parks along main streets. In some famous Chinatowns abroad, you can see red lanterns all the year round.     38    

Shadow-picture lantern（走马灯）

It was usually used for fun.     39     But there were two layers（层）of covers and pictures were drawn on the inside layer. When the candle was lit, the heat caused a paper wheel inside the lantern to turn around, so that moving pictures appeared on the outside cover.

Now more kinds of lanterns appear in festivals besides the traditional ones. More modern technology is used to make lanterns.     40