【推荐1】Have you ever seen a solar panel （太阳能电池板）in your neighborhood? Solar panels take energy from the sun and turn it into electricity. Over the past ten years, the price of solar panels has gone down greatly. In many parts of the world, solar energy is now the cheapest form of electricity. More and more people have started using solar energy to power（给……供电）their homes.

However, solar panels also have their problems. They stop working at night and on rainy days. Is it possible to make them produce（生产）electricity all of the time?

Scientists at Suzhou University, China, have invented a new solar panel now. It can produce electricity not only from solar energy but also from falling rain. When a raindrop falls on the solar panel and then rolls（滚动）down, it creates friction （摩擦力）on the surface of the panel, which can then be turned into electricity.

Sun Baoquan is one of the inventors. “Our new invention can produce electricity in any weather during the day,” he says. “It can even produce electricity at night if there is rain.”

The solar panel, however, does not make much electricity from falling rain. So Sun Baoquan is still working hard to improve it. The scientist also wants to make solar panels more flexible, which are as soft as clothing.

The field of solar energy is developing（发展）fast. Scientists around the world have been improving solar panels. Some have been working on ways to join solar panels and wind power together. Some have been trying to use sunlight to produce liquid and gas fuels.（液体和气体燃料）

【推荐2】OpenAI has shocked the world with its latest creation, Sora. The AI tool can produce videos up to one minute long. Many people worry that the tool will put many filmmakers out of business.

Similar worries have been voiced since the appearance of the AI chatbot ChatGPT and text-to-image programs like Dall E. Many are afraid that industries (行业) such as programming, translation, teaching and design will all disappear. It seems we can turn to AI for just about anything we want to do.

Does that mean we no longer need to gain knowledge and skills ourselves? Well, the answer is “No”. Even in the age of AI, knowledge is still powerful. In fact, it may ask you to use your brain more. AI is knowledgeable, but for now, it needs instructions (指令). In other words, you must communicate with it. For example, you want advice on how to get a better return on your savings. If you don’t know anything about finances (经济), you’ll have trouble asking the right questions.

You also need to exercise your imagination more actively. Take the Chinese New Year celebration video for example. You need to be clear about your expectations and use your language skills to describe them in as much detail as possible. Where is the celebration taking place? What performances are going on? What are the performers wearing? You may also need to be a bit professional (专业的). For example, “Throw in a close-up of a dragon dancer.”

And keep in mind that AI can make mistakes. After AI gives you an answer, you need to judge (判断) whether all the information is correct and up to date. To do this, you need at least some basic knowledge about the related (相关的) subjects.

If you think the development of AI has given you the right to be lazy, it’s time to stop day dreaming. Work harder on your studies so that you’ll be able to work with AI.

The world’s longest cross-sea bridge, the 55-km-long Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) opened on Oct. 24, 2018. The Guardian described it as one of the “seven wonders of the modern world” . Construction on the HZMB began in 2009 and cost about 120 billion yuan. The bridge links Hong Kong and Macao to the Chinese mainland city of Zhuhai, CGTN reported.

The HZMB is unique in many ways. It’s designed to have a service life of 120 years, 20 years longer than most bridges. It’ s not just a bridge, but also part tunnel and part island. In one section the bridge turns into a 6.7-km undersea tunnel that passes through two man-made islands. The tunnel is the world’s longest undersea tunnel for road traffic, allowing large ships to continue passing through the sea area above the tunnel.   

The bridge’s engineers had to think of many environmental factors in order to protect the surrounding environment while building the bridge. Chinese white dolphins, an endangered species that lives in the area, were a particular concern.

The HZMB will make it much more convenient to travel between the three areas it connects. It will shorten the travel time from Hong Kong to Zhuhai from four hours to about 45 minutes.

By drawing local cities and regions closer together, the bridge will help in the area’s development. It is expected to drive the economic development of Hong Kong, Macao and nine Guangdong cities, South China Morning Post noted.

【推荐1】Early on the morning of December 26th, my friend Eric and I went down to the beach in Sri Lanka for the first time. We noticed that the sea had gone a long way out but this did not mean anything to us. We had been to Mombassa several times and at times the sea had gone right out to the reef (樵). We also knew that it was a full moon and thought it may influence (影响) the sea. We didn’t realize how many more Sri Lankan families would be killed because it was a holiday and they were on the beach.

I left Eric on the beach and went for a walk down by the sea. I must have gone about a quarter of a mile when I met a fisherman. He warned me that there was something wrong with the sea, I told him that I knew the waves were strong and I didn’t want to go swimming. He said, “No, madam, no — there is something wrong with the sea.” He walked with me until we reached his village. As we reached it, a huge surge (波涛汹涌) of water almost knocked me over. He held me fast with one arm and held on to a tree with the other. The villagers were all crying loudly as furniture and other things floated (漂浮) from their houses. They all started running back across the railway lines directly behind.

The fisherman took me back to the railway lines and we sturmbled (蹒跚而行) along there until we came up behind Eric. I shouted that there was something wrong but Eric just did not believe me and thought I was out of my mind.

At that point, from my higher point I could see the sea rising in its bed. It just continued to rise and came towards us. Eric moved quickly with great difficulty and we escaped the third and final wave. We heard later that not one tourist at Yale Safari lodge (小屋) remained alive to tell the story.

Although we were anxious (焦虑的) to make our families know that we were OK, leaving Sri Lanka was one of the hardest things we had ever done.

【推荐2】An 11－year－old boy Frank loved to read ghost(鬼) stories. Every time he paid a visit to the library and got back a horror story. And he liked playing scary tricks on his friends.

One day, Frank's friend Pavan asked him to come over to his house after school. Frank played there until very late. He walked along the road in the quiet wood. How dark it was!

Then he heard a noise that came from behind. “Guess what I can do with my long bony fingers and my long sharp teeth?” It was a human voice.

Hearing the terrible voice, Frank started to run, but the terrible voice still went after him.

Out of breath, he stopped, nervous. In a trembling(发抖的) voice, he asked, “Who's there?”

But all he heard was the voice saying: “Guess what I can do with my long bony fingers and my long sharp teeth?”

Frank started running again. When Frank arrived home, he gathered his last bit of courage and turned to ask, “Who are you and what can you do with your long bony fingers and your long sharp teeth?”

“Aha! Frank! Didn't you find that I was running after you all the time?” said his dad.

“Daddy? It's you? You mean the voice came from you? But why?” asked Frank.

“Well, I thought I would give you a scare for a change, just like you do to others after reading one of your stories!” said Frank's dad.

Frank looked at his father for a long time. And then they went inside the house together.

【推荐3】When I arrived, it was early morning and it was raining. I looked to the east—the sky was becoming grey. I got out of the car, went through a gate and walked along a dark path. There was nothing to see, but I knew it was there.

After about a mile, a stranger appeared beside the path. “Am I going the right way?” I asked. He knew where I was going. “Yes,” he replied, “you’ll get there in five minutes,” Finally, I came to some rocks and stopped. I looked over them, but it was silent and there was no sign of it.

Suddenly, the rain stopped and the clouds cleared. The sun rose behind me and shone on the rocks. Far below me, the ground fell away and down to a river. I was looking across one of the wonders of the natural world—the Grand Canyon.

I looked down to the Colorado River, a silver stream nearly one mile below me. If you put the two tallest buildings in the world on top of each other at the bottom of the canyon, they still would not reach the top. Then I looked across to the other side of the canyon. It was about fifteen miles away, maybe more. Finally, I looked to my left and to my right, and on both sides the canyon went far away for more than 200 miles. The Grand Canyon was not just big. It was huge!

I remained by the canyon for about half an hour, and I asked myself. “Is the Grand Canyon the greatest wonder of the natural world?” I certainly know the answer. What do you think?

On 25 July, 1909, a Frenchman, Louis Blériot, became the first man to complete an air journey. He flew from Calais, in the north of France, to Dover, in the south of England. Blériot 's flight surprised the whole Europe. People thought that such a journey was impossible.

The flight wasn't easy. Mr. Blériot, an engineer, couldn't swim, so he couldn't come down in the water. He couldn't walk very well because there was something wrong with his leg. And he didn't have a compass.

On the early morning of the 25th, he took off at about 4:30. It took him 37 minutes to complete the 22-mile journey. The plane flew at a height of 250 feet.

Everything went well until he flew into the fog. “I continued flying for ten minutes, but I couldn't see the land, only the sky and the sea. It was the most dangerous part of the flight. I wasn't worried about the machine. It flew beautifully. Finally, I saw the land," he told reporters.

When he got to Dover, he saw a French reporter waving a flag. He cut the engine at 60 feet and landed safely on a field. The news quickly went around the world, and Mr. Blériot's flight was celebrated in London and Paris.

In the 20th century, progress in flight was rather amazing. There are just 60 years between the first flight and the first man on the Moon.

【推荐3】Now, in the 21st century, there are lots of great inventions.     1     However, while we are enjoying that, we should never forget those who devoted themselves to (献身于) making people's life better in the 20th century.

    2     Like many other famous inventors, they had failed many times. However, they never gave up—even though almost no one was interested in what they were doing. For many times, they risked their lives to test their airplane. Finally, after lots of calculations and improvements, they succeeded.

    3     The invention led to a quanturn leap (飞跃) in human history. From then on, better and safer airplanes have been invented and long flights have become increasingly convenient and comfortable. Round-the-world trips have become a reality. Without the Wright brothers, we might still have to spend days, weeks or even months travelling to distant places today.

The Wright brothers have also inspired generations of people to make great achievements in their own chosen fields. China, for example, had to depend on the West for its large passenger aircraft.     4     With the same adventurous spirit as that of the Wright brothers, Chinese people kept trying and made great progress. Today, China has its own large passenger aircraft. That's an important step forward.

Thanks to the Wright brothers, humans realized the dream of flying. Till today, their experiences still have a great influence on young people.     5     I think they are among the greatest people of the 20^th century.