【推荐2】These days shared bikes are becoming the center of attention in my WeChat friend circle. Many of my friends are sharing photos of themselves riding bikes, especially during the weekend in natural parks, and I can see people logging in (登录) and out of shared bike apps.       

I’m very happy that there are shared bikes on the road. They have saved us a lot of time during special situations, and on beautiful, clear days, people enjoy riding them outside the city.

I tried shared bikes last week, and I didn’t like them very much. I think the first shared bikes without baskets are designed for athletes. They are very hard to ride, and the seats are not comfortable. It makes me wonder whether people really like riding shared bikes or are just saying this to agree with others.

A friend secretly told me she tried the bikes to fit in. She doesn’t like bikes and finds Beijing’s roads too hard for bike riding. But recently, the only way to hang out with her friends is riding out of town together. To join in social activities, she had to pick up bike riding again.

Another friend admitted that he started talking about and sharing photos on shared bikes in order just to appear modern and fashionable to friends. He started paying attention when shared bikes first came into use.

These views will give me something new to think about when I ride these bikes again.

【推荐3】①Over the past forty years, cars have become less polluting. Many people now drive electric cars (e-cars). And there are fewer emissions (排放) from cars. However, cities such as London and Los Angeles are still fighting air pollution. Using cleaner cars is a good step, but is this enough?

②A survey shows that more than 40 percent of the cars only have one person inside. But a car trip takes a lot of electricity (电). In the U.S, more than 60 percent of electricity still comes from fossil fuels (化石燃料). So if all of us were to use e-cars, the emissions would only be cut down by 25 percent.

③And there are other things to be worried about. Roads and other systems for cars need a lot of space. About 24 percent of London’s land (土地) has been used to build these systems. In many U.S. cities, this number can be as high as 40 percent. The World Health Organization advises cities to create at least 9 ㎡ of green space for each person. However, in many fast-growing cities around the world, each gets less than 2 ㎡ because they have to use more land for roads and parking.

④So, using cleaner cars is not enough to make our cities better. In fact, cities need much fewer cars. People should have different ways to get around. Studies show that people will get out of their cars if they have more and better ways to choose. Only then will our cities become faster and greener.

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【推荐2】The Palace Museum also known as the Forbidden City, is shaping a new image for itself. With technology, it brings 600 years of history and culture closer to visitors.

The museum opened websites in Chinese and English. Visitors could check the latest information and book tickets on them before their trip. Interestingly, to attract more young visitors, there is also a website for children. It shows information and notices in short sentences with colorful cartoons.

Technology is making the visiting experience impressive (令人印象深刻的). The Palace Museum opened a digital gallery (数字馆) at Duanmen Gate. With VR, visitors may walk directly into the emperor’s living room and bedroom, make food that emperors had, wear their clothes and see their collections. Visitors can even talk to an AI senior minister (大臣)! Although buildings are of the same style in this big museum, visitors won’t get lost. A real time map with audio guide (语音导览器) on WeChat leads visitors to all the halls they plan to visit, It tells the buildings’ stories along the way.

Visitors can enjoy the museum home by visiting its online shops. Things like watches, books, paintings and scarves are quite popular among young people. Another way to enjoy the museum back home is following it on Weibo, Six million fans there have seen wonderful distant views of the museum. Don’t miss them!

【推荐3】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1】The Internet, mobile phones and Ipads are part of our lives now. Technology is greatly affecting all ways of our lives, from the ways we work to the ways we play. And it even causes a number of social problems such as cloning humans.

We have had lots of technology and it has changed our lives a lot. There is no doubt that humans will continue to use more and more technology. Here are some examples of modern technology that will change our ideas and will affect our lives greatly.

Global Positioning System (GPS) (全球定位系统)

It’s a system that uses radio signals from satellites to show exact (精确地) information. It tells you where the user is on the earth in all weather conditions. It’s made up of three parts: satellites, control equipment (设备) on land and receivers.

Space Technology

Russian and American scientists have worked together for the International Space Station (ISS) for a long time. They hope the ISS will provide a long-lasting lab. Such a lab will bring humans limitless (无限的) advantages. It’s even hoped that one day space technology will take humans to their new houses in space.

Underwater Robot

Hercules is a kind of Underwater Robot with some high technology equipment. It will be used to search for ancient ships which were destroyed into the deep sea during their journey long ago.

The world is changing so quickly that it’s hard for us to catch up with all the new inventions because they seem to come out every month. It’s important for us to learn about new technology and the role that it plays in our lives. So we should be willing to accept modern technology, or we will fall behind the time.

【推荐2】The way the mind works is heavily influenced by culture. Two people from different cultures can look at the same picture and see it in different ways. Culture also teaches people how to see and describe their experiences.

Asians think differently from Westerners because their culture teaches them to care more about society, family and historical background. Western culture, and especially American culture, probably pay more attention to individual（个人的） success and being independent（独立的） of family.

Culture makes Eastern Asians more holistic（全面的）. When trying to understand a situation, they like to see the whole picture. They trust feelings and pay attention to relationships because these are valued highly in their culture.

However, Westerners seem to be more analytic. When they try to understand something, Westerners usually prefer to think over small pieces of information first and build their knowledge piece by piece in order to understand the whole picture.

In one research, Japanese and Americans watched and reported what they saw underwater. Most of the Americans started by explaining the details（细节）, for example, saying there were large fish in the front on the right. However, the Japanese talked about the environment first. For example, “There is a blue sea. The big fish swam past the green seaweed（海草）.”

This research shows the traditional idea that Americans are less interested in social background and place importance on the individual. The Japanese, on the other hand, place more importance on social background.

【推荐3】What’s the most popular Winter Olympics design (设计) with kids and teenagers? It must be the mascot (吉祥物) Bing Dwen Dwen, a panda in an ice shell. People chose the mascot for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics three years before it.

Cao Xue, the chief designer of Bing Dwen Dwen, once made three designs and he asked his 9-year-old son to choose his favorite. “The minute he saw Bing Dwen Dwen, he fell in love with it,” Cao said.

The idea first came from a traditional Chinese snack bingtanghulu. Cao’s team tried many plants and animals, finally going with a panda. “What can be a better symbol of China than it?” said Cao. But then they faced a problem: there were already too many cartoon pandas. Cao’s team looked at panda designs from around the world. They wanted to make sure their panda was different. For this reason, Cao first decided that it should be a baby panda instead of an adult (成年的) panda so that it could be more lovely. This is how they got Bing Dwen Dwen’s body shape.

Cao’s team even visited the panda nature reserve in Wolong, Sichuan, to look for inspiration (灵感). “When we finally got Bing Dwen Dwen, our whole team was over the moon,” said Cao. People couldn’t wait to see it in the Olympics and it let the whole world know more about China at last.