【推荐1】A clock, a watch or a mobile phone can help us know the time. However, many years ago there were no clocks and knowing the time was not easy. Over the centuries people have developed different ways of telling the time.

About 5, 500 years ago, the Egyptians invented the sun clock. This was a tall stone building. Its shadow showed the movement of the sun. So people were able to know midday. The Egyptians made a sundial（日晷）about 3, 500 years ago. It was smaller than the sun clock. Water clocks were the first clocks not to use the sun. Water flows from one bottle to another. When the water reaches a certain level, it shows the hours. The Egyptians used water clocks about 3,400 years ago. But they failed to make people know the exact time.

In the 13th century, the mechanical clock was invented. This was more exact, but it was expensive to make one. Over the next few centuries it was developed. For example, springs（发条）were added around 1,500. This enabled people to get the correct time and allowed clocks to be smaller.

In 1927, the first quartz clock（石英钟）was developed. Clocks become cheaper to build. It’s also cheaper for people to own a clock.

【推荐2】A lot of people have the habit of reading on the toilet. But in some public restrooms in Shanghai, you won't be able to do that. If you spend more than fifteen minutes on the smart toilet there, a restroom worker will come to check on you.

According to reports, about 150 high-tech restrooms have been built in the city. Each toilet there has a sensor(传感器) that can check when a person sits on the toilet and how long he has spent sitting there. Besides, the sensor can also check the air quality inside the toilet and check the water level to save water. Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are also going to use smart toilets.

"I think it's okay with me because I don't think it's a good idea to read on the toilet," a 22-year-old young man said. However, some people aren't very happy with the smart toilet." This could be embarrassing for me. Since I was a little kid, I've always spent about half an hour on the toilet. It means a restroom worker would check on me twice. This makes me nervous." another person, Mr.Liu said.

In fact, the smart toilet is part of China's effort to use artificial intelligence(AI)(人工智能) in different areas of life. Now technology is being used almost everywhere. More than 700 cities in China have planned or are in the process of building smart infrastructure(基础设施). Our life is becoming much smarter and easier, isn't it?

【推荐1】Jack thinks every day is the same. It is hot before the sun rises. It is hot after the sun falls.

That day, Jack lies on his bed in his bedroom. He lifts a heavy hand and looks at his mobile. This time, Zadie sends a message to Jack. She hopes Jack has a great summer. But Jack thinks he is bored during the summer holiday.

A few days later, he goes to a swimming pool to swim with his friends, but when one of them jumps into the pool, the water splashes (溅到) on him. He is afraid and his friends laugh at him.

Then one evening, Jack is sitting in his room looking out of the window. It is a quiet and cool evening. For once, nobody is playing loud music. Jack can only hear the distant sound of the traffic on the road around Westbourne.

Suddenly there is a noise in the back garden. Nemo, a cat, jumps onto the fence, looks up at the sky, and meows.

“What is he looking at?” Jack thinks.

And then he hears a distant cry. A strange cry. A familiar cry.

A bird is flying in circles across the sky. Its black shape moves above the trees and houses. Jack knows that shape. He knows that cry. It is Falco. He watches it fly, happy and wild and free.

Jack checks his mobile. He has one new message：

—Adapted from Jack’s Endless Summer

【推荐3】Sometimes you meet a common person doing something special.

On a recent trip, I met Normand Gallant. Normand is someone you could pass on the street and never notice but he is a very special person who is worth paying attention to.

Normand lives in the countryside far from the nearest city and the nearest big hospital, so when his wife had cancer several years ago, Normand had to drive four hours to the place where she could be treated. That meant they needed more money for meals, fuel, hotels and so on, but in the end the cancer took his wife away.

Normand was sad because of his wife’s passing but he was also very angry because he realized that other people were facing the same kinds of difficulties. He decided to do something for them. What he did was to throw parties.

He holds a party every three weeks on Saturday evenings at home. Neighbors, friends and relatives come and bring snacks and drinks. They sing and dance. At the party, Normand tells about a family that is having difficulties in supporting a cancer patient. Then a box is passed around and the money is collected for that family. The people at the party have a good time. The family understands that someone helps them a lot.

It seems like such a simple thing but it really works. Normand’s impetus(动力) to help other cancer patients was born out of his sadness, but for the people who have received the money it is an act of love. Normand’s personal action has resulted in an act of kindness that honors the memory of the wife he has lost. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had more people in the world like Normand Gallant? I’m glad I met Normand Gallant. He makes the world a better place.