Here are three of the best inventions of 2021 according to Times Magazine.

Robin the Robot
Robin the Robot is a good choice for the kids. It is designed to cheer up the children in hospital. When a sick girl didn’t eat for two days, the doctor brought the robot into her room. It did work—after 20 minutes of happy playtime, the girl started eating again.
The Learning Passport
Many schools have been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, online lessons become difficult for some students because of the slow internet service. The Learning Passport (LP) program offers classes that do not require a consistent (持续的) internet. Instead, students can download (下载) their lessons when there is internet connection. They can then complete the lessons later, offline.
Blue Jeans Go Green
Jeans are a fashion favorite. Every year more than 4.5 billion pairs are sold around the world. But the production of jeans is harmful to (对有害) the environment. To color them, factories use chemicals that will pollute the water during the dyeing (染色) process. The company Huue has found a solution. They turn the natural sugar into dyeing material—without any harm to the environment.

① Going to the cinema is fun. However, in a time when technology has afforded us home video streaming services such as Netflixhy and Hulu, many people choose to stay at home to have fun. And they believe cinemas are going to have problems. Though those services might have a bad influence on the cinemas, I don’t believe the cinemas are going away anytime soon.

② As we all know, staying at home to watch films can save your money because the tickets for cinemas aren’t cheap. Besides, you can lie comfortably on a big sofa to watch films. And generally you can watch films for as long as you want. And you don’t need to worry that others will be angry when you laugh aloud.

③ But the cinema has the low lighting, the big screen, the surround sound etc. War movies especially benefit from being watched in cinemas. You can experience the war better and more closely. As well as war movies, action movies and superhero movies are also much better when seen on the big screen.

④Besides, you can enjoy the time with your friends and family when going to see a good movie. Therefore, you’d better not just watch a movie at home and then go to bed. you can hang out with your friends and share your latest news face to face based on going to see a movie together.

⑤Anyway, we are lucky enough to live in a time that benefits people who love to go out and those who love to stay at home. Netflix and other services will always be there for those who prefer to stay at home. But going to the cinema offers better experience, and it helps cinemas create more jobs. It’s a win-win. So why not see a cool movie at your local cinemas?

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Sandy boarded a train with her five-year-old daughter Amy. It was her first journey by train. The train was very crowded and it was very difficult to even pass through lanes between seats. When the train started to move, a snack vendor* came through that crowd. He held on to his bag and tried to sell snacks to people on the train. The vendor seemed very poor, covered in ragged* clothes. Passing by Sandy, he held out a packet of snacks toward her, saying, “Only 10 cents. Madam.”

Sandy looked at him with disgust* because of his appearance, then refused and asked him to move on, but her daughter Amy started pulling her hand and said, “Mom, please buy one for me.”

The vendor was still standing there, holding that packet. Sandy looked at him with anger and said, “Go away.”

The vendor left. Amy looked at her mom, sadly, but she said nothing. Sandy was very angry because of all the discomfort she had to go through while traveling on the train and now her daughter was unhappy about not buying that snack.

After some time, the train reached another station. Walking out of the train compartment*, Amy saw that vendor sitting by the train door. The girl smiled and said to her mother, “Mom, can we give him some money? He seems hungry. How poor he is!”

Sandy refused to help and tried to pull her daughter away by saying, “Ignore him. He doesn’t seem to be a good person. Be careful of your bracelet*! That’s your birthday gift.”

Sandy and her daughter got off the train and walked a bit, just then they heard a voice calling them. When Sandy turned back, she saw that vendor was waving his hands toward them and started to walk toward them.

Sandy thought of him as a bad man and started running faster with her daughter, ignoring the shouts from behind. Then Sandy stopped a taxi on the side of the road. She hurriedly pushed her daughter inside the taxi and managed to get herself in just before the vendor could reach them. She closed the taxi door and asked the driver to leave at once.

Her daughter turned to her mom, saying hopefully, “Mom, look! He is running after us. Shall we wait for him?”

“Ignore him, Amy. I have told you that he is not a good person.” Sandy replied.

Just at that moment, Sandy heard a voice coming, “Bracelet, your bracelet...”