【推荐2】Computer games can sometimes be very helpful to scientists! A team of scientists in Australia played Age of Empires, a war game, to study ants. They tried to find ways to help local ants live better.

Argentinian ants are newcomers in Australia. When they meet with local ants, the two ant types fight. And usually, Argentinian ants win. This is dangerous. When local ants die and the new ants grow in number, the new ants may eat a lot of plants and harm the local environment.

Scientists want to help local ants win. They built two characters in the game: Knights (骑士) stand for the local ants, and they are bigger in size but smaller in number. Swordsmen (剑客) stand for the new ants. They are smaller in size but bigger in number. When the game starts, the two groups start fighting with each other just like the two ant types do in real life.

They had two games. In the first game, nine Knights lost to 50 Swordsmen on the flat ground. But in the second game, 70 Swordsmen lost to the same team of Knights in an uphill (上坡的) environment. It showed that the local ants could do better in complex (复杂的) environments. The scientists also did tests with real ants. The results were the same.

The team believes that cities can put more lower plants under trees. This way, there will be more complex environments, and it is hopeful for the local ants to win the “wars” against new ants.

【推荐3】Is there a connection between music and language? According to recent studies, the answer is yes:     1     . Here, we look at two examples.

A recent study by researcher Kraus shows that playing a musical instrument can improve a person's hearing ability.     2     The people in the first group were musicians, while those in the second group had no musical training. The musicians were able to hear the talking person more clearly.

    3     . Think about violinists in an orchestra (管弦乐团). When the violinists play in the orchestra, they hear their own instrument and many others, too. But the violinists must listen closely to what they are playing and pay no attention to the other sounds. In this way, musicians are able to focus on (专注于) certain sounds, even in a room with lots of noise. Schlaug, a doctor at Harvard Medical School, works with stroke (中风) patients. Because of their illness, these people cannot say their names, addresses, or other information normally. However, they can still sing.     4     Why does this work? Schlaug isn’t sure. Music seems to be able to make different parts of the brain active, including the damaged (受损的) parts. This might help patients to use those parts of the brain again.

    5     . Music improves concentration (注意力), memory, listening skills, and our overall language abilities. It can even help sick people get better. Playing an instrument or singing can help us do better in school and keep our brains sharp (灵敏的) as we get older.

【推荐1】Look at your computer keyboard. Have you ever wondered why the letters are not in alphabetical (按字母顺序的) order?

To answer this question, let’s turn the clock back. About 150 years ago, all letters and papers were written by hand. Things were slow and in a mess.

    1     They were big, heavy and worked like a piano.

Have you ever seen the inside of a piano? You press a key and some levers (杠杆) hit the right string (弦) to make a sound.     2     They had many levers. At the end of each lever, there was a letter. Press the “A” key and the A lever would hit the paper and type A. The paper then moved a bit to the left. Press more keys and you could type a word or even a book.

    3     There was a problem: If you pressed two keys quickly, the levers would easily stop together.

    4     American inventor Christopher Sholes invented the QWERTY keyboard. It turned out to be a great success. People around the world learned to use the keyboard.

Many other keyboards have been tried. Some are said to be faster to use.     5     It is also very difficult to get people to change to any other keyboard.

【推荐1】Have you ever seen a car without a driver? It sounds crazy, but these computer-driven driverless cars will soon be filling roads near you.    1    

So how? The cars have sensors（感应器）all around which can find other cars and objects in the road. Road signs are read by cameras, and satellite navigation systems（卫星导航系统）are used so the car knows how to get where you want to go.     2    .Finally, a central computer system takes in all the information that it receives from the sensors and cameras and works out when to speed up, stop and turn.

Sound like your idea of heaven（天堂）? Sitting back, looking out of the windows and even watching a film or reading a book while ‘driving’ would be possible with this new technology. You wouldn’t have to worry about remembering directions to where you’re going.    3     they would obey the rules and have quicker action times when in dangerous situations.

    4    .Computers would have difficulties making ethical（道德的）decisions: if a child ran into the road, would the computer choose to hit the child or turn suddenly in the risk of   killing   car’s passengers? Moreover, I personally find driving fun 一I’d miss   driving a car myself.     5    . Should children, or drunk people, be allowed in a driverless car by themselves? Or would there need to be a person with a driving license in the car at all times?

I’m not certain I’d want a driverless car 一 but it’s only a matter of time before they’ll become more affordable and popular on our roads.

【推荐3】There is great excitement and argument（争论）over Artificial Intelligence（AI, 人工智能）. The argument about whether robots will replace teachers in the classroom is very heated. Some people think it is sure to happen in the next ten years. Others think that the value a good teacher brings, not only to the classroom setting. but in developing a child’s confidence and creativity outside lessons, cannot be easily replaced.

AI is not new for us and is already being used successfully in many fields, such as medicine, science and so on. So what does this mean for our future? In my view, AI will help kids to think more freely and creatively. Can AI possibly cut down the teaching work in the future, too? Of course. Our teachers are always busy preparing materials for their lessons, Just imagine how happy they would be if they don’t have to copy hundreds of paper, but instead, have this task or others done by machines.

However, most importantly, I do not believe AI will be able to imitate the human mental condition totally, especially emotional intelligence（情商）. What makes learning unforgettable is shared experience, human interaction（互相作用）, and long-lasting positive relationships. For example, experienced teachers can comfort a student if he has suffered a serious loss. But it hasn’t been proved that robots can imitate this well.

I also believe we need to continue to celebrate our kids’ personality and their ability not only to make decisions but also make the right decisions. These are skills that they can get as they get more life experience and are given the space to experiment.

To what degree can teachers use AI in their classes? You can have all the data（数据）you like with the help of AI, but great teachers will also need to depend on their own feelings.

A．	B．
C．	D．

【推荐1】Today many children wear glasses before going to a middle school. They keep their eyes watching TV or playing computer games for a long time. Eyes are the windows of our hearts（心）. We use our eyes to see everything around us, so we must know how to protect（保护）our eyes. Love our eyes. When we open our eyes every day, we can see the lovely friends and parents, beautiful flowers and green trees. If our eyes don’t work, how can we see the world? In our eyes, everything and everywhere is dark. It’s like a house with no light（光）. How important our eyes are!

Relax our eyes. First, stop to relax 30 minutes when using the computer for an hour or two. Next, remember to do eye exercises every day. Then, looking at green trees also helps a lot. In these ways, our eyes will feel relaxed.

Have good habits. When writing homework and reading, it is important to keep a distance of 30 cm between your eyes and books. Remember to use our eyes in a right way. Don’t read in bed or on a moving bus. Eat something healthy for eyes, such as carrots, fish and eggs.

Follow my advice（建议）and get good habits. It’s time to say goodbye to shortsightedness（近视）.

【推荐2】Happiness is important to everyone. Most people want to be happy but few know how to find happiness. Money and success alone do not bring lasting happiness. Happiness depends on ourselves. In other words, we make our own happiness.

Some people believe that if they are wealthy, they will be able to do anything they want. which means happiness. On the other hand, some people believe that holding a high position in the government is happiness. In this way, you have not only money, but also many other things which can't be bought by money. However, other people believe that having lots of money is not happiness, nor is holding a high position in the government. These people value their beliefs, or their intelligence, or their health. They think these can make them happy.

Here are a few ways to help you be happier.

The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend so, much time thinking about the future, for example, getting into college or getting a good job, that we don't enjoy the present. You should enjoy life's simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends. People who have, close friends usually enjoy happier and healthier lives.

The second secret of happiness is to be active. Many people go dancing or play sports. People can forget about their problems and only think about the activity.

Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. According to studies, people feel   good when they volunteer their time to do many meaningful things for other people. If you want to feel happier, do something nice for someone. You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to get food for an old neighbor, or simply help around the house.

Now maybe you know how to find happiness!

【推荐3】Sometimes the hardest thing about feelings is sharing them with others. Sharing your feelings helps you both when your feelings are good and when they aren’t so good. Sharing also helps you to get closer to people you care about and who care about you.

Before you can share your feelings with someone, you have to know what feelings you have. Making a list of your feelings can help. You can do this in your head or by writing them out on a piece of paper, or even by drawing pictures.

If you’re feeling sad, worried or upset, you’d better tell someone. If you keep such feelings locked inside, they can even make you feel sick! So if you talk with someone who cares about you, like your mom or dad, you will start to feel better. But what if you don’t want to talk with your mom or dad? Then find another trusted (可信赖的) adult. Maybe this person can help you talk with your mom and dad about your problem.

When you have known who you can talk with, you need to pick a time and a place to talk. If you think it’s hard to say what’s in your mind, write it down on a piece of paper. If the person doesn’t understand what you mean, try explaining it in a different way. Is there anything you think could be done to make things better? If so, say it.