【推荐1】George: What are you doing?

User: Saying hello to you.

George: Are you a monkey?

User: Do you think monkeys can type?

George: Sure.

User: Are you a monkey?

George: Do you think monkeys can type?

User: You told me they could.

This is a conversation between a human "user" and a computer. The computer was made to be as human as possible. It was taught to talk to humans. It has also learnt from what people have said to it. This has helped it become more human.

What makes George talk is called Jabberwacky. It won the Loebner Prize not long ago. The prize is a contest to find the most realistic artificial intelligence(现实的人工智能). In 2006,   scientists talked to the computer. They typed questions to it, and it answered.

Jabberwacky first appeared in 1982. It has been getting better every year since then. The list of things that the computer says to a human is getting bigger and bigger. It means the computer has more things to say when you talk to it.

It is hoped that a computer like this will do our jobs in call centres. When Jabberwacky is more realistic, this will be possible.

Most of us spend all day at school or work. After a long and busy day, we want to return to a comfortable home. Smart technology（科技）can turn any home into a nicer place to live.

Smart homes have been around for some time. The Scottish company Pico Electronics invented a type of technology called X10. With X10,   household devices（设备）, such as lights and alarms, can communicate with each other by using radio waves.

Of course, 5G networks have made smart homes much more wonderful than X10. Perhaps the most widely used smart home technology is the voice-activated assistant（语音激活助手）. Google Home and Amazon Alexa allow users to interact（互动）with nearly any device in their home simply by saying a few words. This is good for children and disabled people, as they can do things that would normally be too difficult, according to How-To Geek.

Common household devices can become “smart” as well. For example, according to HowStuffWorks, a smart trash bin can keep track of the things you’ve thrown away and place an online order for new items. Smart fridges can make dinner recipes（食谱）based on the food inside.

But it’s not just about convenience. Smart homes are also good for the environment. By turning off devices that you’re not using, smart homes can lower electricity（电）you use. Using less energy means that we use fewer natural resources（资源）, which is good for the environment.

【推荐3】The rockets take astronauts and man-made satellites (卫星) into space. The satellites are used for communication, weather checking and research.But how do satellites stay up without falling down? There are two different forces(力量) influencing the satellites. One of them is the force of gravitation(地心引力), which tries to pull the satellites towards the earth and is like a rope which keeps the satellites from flying away. The other force is created by the turning of the satellite around the earth. This force tries to take the satellite away from the earth. With these two forces, the satellite goes round and round.

Everything that goes up has to come down. It is only a matter of time before a satellite comes back to the earth. As time goes by, the satellite loses its speed, which makes the force pull it towards the earth stronger than the force pulling it away. This makes the satellite fall down to the earth.

【推荐1】With the development of science, more and more students don't like taking notes by hand. Instead, they use digital cameras to take pictures of the words that their teachers write on the blackboard or record what their teachers say in class.

The children might think there are too many notes to take or their teachers write or speak so fast that they can't take more specific notes. They are trying to find ways to make things easier, so they use digital cameras. In fact, children are very clever to make use of technology.

But do digital cameras really make taking notes easier?

Not really. Before you read notes from digital cameras, there are a lot of things you have to do. To begin with, you have to find a computer. Then you need to copy the photos into the computer. Next, you have to find a printer(打印机) to print the photos. Another thing is that you can't hear the sound from the digital cameras clearly because there is usually lots of noise. You will have to listen to it slowly several times before you understand everything.

In fact, taking notes by hand has many advantages. For example, it can help you remember and understand what you are learning. In order to save time, you can choose the most important things or the things you don't understand to write down. You don't have to write down everything.

Don't be afraid to take notes by hand. It's really an effective(有效的) way.

【推荐2】After a while, you may have saved some pocket money. You finally have enough money to buy that game or piece of clothing you dreamed of. You take the money, go to the store and find them. But when you go to check out, you see a sign: "Hello! We've gone cashless (无现金)." It is disappointing and then you may have to leave the store.

While this may become common if more stores and restaurants stop accepting cash as payment. Instead, customers (顾客) must pay with their bank card or by Smart phone App. Many business owners say that accepting no cash has helped them simplify the way that their business runs. Cashiers don't have to worry about having enough money to make change or about putting bills and coins to the bank.

But a growing number of people say cashless stores are unfair. Some even say they should be illegal (非法的).

According to the research, many families actually don't have bank savings. Many people including kids, don't have bank cards because they don't meet the conditions for applying for the bankcards. Therefore, cashless stores seem to be unfair. Some people even say cashless stores are " discriminating (歧视) against people." Plus, people who do have bank cards might prefer paying with cash is still very popular with consumers. It's used by almost eight in ten adults in the world every month. That's more than any other payment type.

Lawmakers in several places have taken steps to ban (禁止) cashless stores. Some big cities have already passed laws to address the problem. A lawmaker says: "It's really about equity. It's about understanding that not everyone has fair way of getting things."