【推荐1】What opinion did famous people have about movements and transportation in history? Take a look.

【推荐2】Scientists will put some robot fish into the sea near Spain this year. These robot fish will help people find out the pollution (污染)in the water. If the robot fish are able to finish their work successfully, the scientists hope the fish will be used in rivers, lakes and seas around the world.

The robot fish are about 1.5 metres long. There will be a detector (探测器) in each fish’s body. It can find the pollution in the water, and then the robot fish will eat part of it.

Unlike other robots, the robot fish don't need to be operated (操作) by people far away. The robots all have a big battery (电池) that can last for about eight hours. They can “swim” in the sea freely and send back information to people on the beach. After their batteries run down, they will go back to the beach by themselves.

There are five robot fish altogether. Each costs about 29,000 dollars. They are part of a three—year project by the joint effort of the engineering company BMT Group and University of Essex in England.

【推荐3】To us, it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But in fact the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain. Its first use was as a sunshade (遮阳伞).

Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient time. Probably the Chinese were the first to use it, back in the 11th century BC.

We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing that connected with its use: it was a symbol of honor and power. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in the upper class or by royal people such as kings or queens.

In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. The umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece, but it is believed that the first people in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans. During the Middle Ages in Europe, the use of the umbrella almost disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late 16th century. And again it became a symbol of power.

The umbrella has not changed much in style during all the time, though it has become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the umbrellas for women began to be made in all kinds of colors.

You might use your mobile phones to take photos. But what about making films? The Golden Globe-nominated (提名的) director Lalu Wang has tried this. She made a short film on her phone to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Her film Nian (《阿年》) is about a well-known Chinese folk (民间) story. A young girl wants to find a beast (野兽) called Nian. But when she meets him, she finds that Nian isn’t bad at all. They build a beautiful friendship together.

Making films on a phone is much cheaper than making on a professional movie camera. This lets young filmmakers (电影制作人) to start making their own movies. Wang said that another good thing about making on phones is that it lets filmmakers to be more mobile and free. After all, phones are easy to carry and use.

“We try to find out where else we can put our phones so we can get movies that are just a little bit more special,” Wang said. “We thought, ‘Oh, why don’t we just put the phone inside of Nian’s mouth?’” .

It’s much like what photographer (摄影家) Chase Jarvis once said, “The best camera is the one that’s with you.”

【推荐2】Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be a hot topic these days. In which ways has it already changed or will change our lives? A Forbes (福布斯) article has explained AI trends (趋势) for next year.

“Frank, get up! It is seven o’clock, September 25th, 2298. Time to get up and go to school,” says the clock robot.

Then the kitchen-robot gives him some bread and eggs. Frank doesn’t like them, so the kitchen-robot gives him a hamburger. After Frank eats the hamburger, the clothes-robot gives him his clothes and dresses him very fast. Then Frank goes to school.

When Frank goes outside, he sees a car waiting for him. The car says, “Hello, I will drive you to school. Your name is Frank, isn’t it?” “Right,” Frank answers. “Now would you please show your school ID card?” says the car. Frank shows the car his school ID card. “Get in,” says the car. So Frank gets in.

When they get to the school, Frank says to the car, “Goodbye, see you later.” The car says to Frank, “I will meet you after school. Good luck in your school.”

【推荐3】What might the future be like? Here are some predictions(预言).

Returning home during the Spring Festival is difficult for many Chinese people. More than 2 billion people travel at the same time, making buying travel tickets and the journey difficult. But in the future, Spring Festival travel may not be a problem at all. China plans to build more railways and a fast transportation network that will serve nine out of ten of the population by 2020. And because most of China will be cities, people will not have to go to other places to find a job, so it will no longer be a problem.

Oil is running out faster than expected. But scientists have found something else for oil as fuel(燃料). Coal, natural gas, sun power, nuclear power(核能) and even water can take the place of oil as energy.

Schools will go electronic. Computers will be important and popular among the students. Everything will be in the computer and students will not need to bring books to school. They will find information on the Internet. A computer will be the students' library, schoolbag and connection to the outside world. There will be robot teachers. They will check homework on computers and communicate with the students' parents through e-mail. And school buses will be like spaceships, comfortable and safe.

【推荐1】Students who get tired of looking at the four walls of a classroom might like to take the nature course being offered by Carvel College again this summer. Groups of about a dozen students each, led by an experienced guide, will go on ten-day camping trips to the mountains to study the plants and animals that grow and live there.

Students carry their own things which include sleeping bags, warm clothing, food and water, and other useful tools. And what do the students do all day? Well, as soon as the sun comes up, they eat breakfast and start climbing up the mountain trail（小路）to the next campground, which is five to ten miles away. The students take notes when the guide points out different plants and animals alongside the trail. The climb is usually over by early afternoon, so the group spends the rest of the day resting or swimming in a mountain lake. Before dinner each night, they all come together and discuss the day’s activities.

At the end of the course, the students write reports using the information they have collected. But they don’t mind at all. What they do mind is leaving the beauty of the wilderness（荒地）and the good friends they’ve made to return to their normal lives in the city.

【推荐3】This morning my parents and I are in a big store. Lots of things are on sale. There are all kinds of(各种各样的) skirts in many colors. I like the white skirt. It’s only ¥ 49. My mother wants a hat. The hats are in white, blue, black and yellow for only ¥ 18 each. She likes the blue one. My father doesn’t like clothes. He wants a computer. A computer is on sale in the store. It’s only ¥ 3, 999. It’s very cheap. He decides(决定) to buy it. Finally(最后) we take the white skirt, the blue hat and the computer. They are ¥ 4, 066.