【推荐1】When you do your homework, you may often meet some problems. How do you solve them? Linda, a middle school student, would take out her smartphone, open a special app(应用)and search the problem. Answers soon appear on the screen.

Nowadays, many students do homework with the help of the special apps like Linda. “It’s convenient. You don’ t have to go out or wait for a tutor(家庭教师) at home.” Linda said. “You also learn by seeing how others work them out. It’s very helpful and improves students’ abilities” said John, another student. He said it was especially true for new types of homework.

John’s Chinese teacher often asks students to give speeches on great writers. When it comes to John’s turn, he usually searches online, picks out certain stories and makes PPTs. “I’ve become skilled at finding information online and using Microsoft Office,” John said.

However, many people think this trend (趋势)also brings up problems. Some students just copy the answers online without thinking. They become lazy.

Head teacher Mr. Wang in Linda and John’s school thinks that knowing how to use the Internet is important. The key is to have good self-control. “No matter how difficult the problem is, think about it by yourself first. Remember not to depend on the Internet too much.” the teacher said. “Be sure to understand the reasons behind the answers, or you won’t make progress. If you don’t have confidence in your self-control, ask your parents for help.”

【推荐2】Ms Guo is a teacher from Ordos. She asked her students to hand in their homework through a OR code (二维码). “When students finish their homework, they keep it on WeChat. Then, each student makes his own QR code and gives it to me. So I can check their work using my computer or phone,” Ms Guo said.

When Guo scans (扫描) her students’ QR codes, their homework comes out on her phone. She finds that their homework becomes more creative (创造性的) with many pictures, music and even videos.

Guo’s students like the new way and think it is interesting. “Many students like to work with computers, which makes learning more fun,” said Tingting, a student of Guo’s.

“The paper is not easy to keep, but the code is easy to keep and share,” Guo said. However, some parents worry that their children will spend too much time on computers or phones.

They only use the code when they hand in their homework. It doesn’t take students too much time. For teachers they can check the students’ work at any time. And it’s also an easy way to share homework with other students.

【推荐3】The Internet is changing the way we see the world — from news to shopping. Will the Internet give everyone the same chance to get the messages, or further divide those who know from those who don't?

The Internet has taken much business from traditional markets. People can go online and find out what has happened in the last few hours, and for free, too! They can buy almost everything at a lower price on the Internet. So some people worry that the Internet will take away their jobs.

The Internet opens interesting possibilities for more choices. People can start their own business through Vlog (video blog). Li Ziqi, a famous Internet celebrity (名人), recorded her cooking and posted the videos on the Internet. Her story is so well-received in the West that foreigners even buy knives of the same model from Taobao.com.

Though the Internet brings chances, sometimes it can hurt people. Whether the Internet is right or wrong, it is here to stay. We should make use of the Internet in a proper way. This will provide a healthy environment for Internet safety.

【推荐1】Robots seem very new to some people, but in fact they have a long history. The first robot was made by a Greek (希腊的) inventor (发明家). You may often see robots in lots of movies. The robots in the movies are stronger, faster and cleverer than people.

In real life, most robots are used in factories. They are used to do many dangerous, difficult or boring jobs. Some people can’t look after themselves and robots are used to help them. For example, some people can’ see. They use dogs to heip themselves move around. These dogs are called (被叫做) guide dogs. Scientists are making robots to help them. In the future, robot dogs might take the place of these guide dogs.

Robots are also used in American hospitals. At one hospital, a robot takes meals from the kitchen to the sick people’s rooms. It never loses its way because it has a map of the hospital in its computer system (系统).

In the future, robots will work in space. Robots will never take the place of humans, though they can help us in a lot of different ways.

【推荐3】C

Imagine taking a flying taxi to the airport, or jumping over crowded city streets at rush hour, getting where you want to go far faster than you could in a car. Believe it or not, you might be able to do these things in an air taxi sooner than you think.

An air taxi is something like a helicopter that can carry people from place to place. Air taxis don’t need a long runway like planes do. They can go straight up and down.

In June, the government of America agreed to allow a company called Joby Aviation to start testing their new air taxi. This is the first time they’ve tested a taxi that’s been built in a factory. Before that, all their taxis were made by hand.

By 2025, Joby hopes to start carrying passengers for money. They’ve teamed up with Delta Air Lines to create a program to fly people from their homes to the airport. Joby’s air taxis will be flown by a pilot, and can carry four other passengers. They can go around 100 miles before the electric batteries need to be recharged.

Compared with helicopters, Joby says their air taxis are both quieter and cheaper. The company expects to charge about $3 a mile at first. But over time, they hope to bring the price down to less than $1 a mile.

And as exciting as the idea of flying taxis is, some people have worries about them. The air taxis may be quieter than helicopters, but they'll still be adding noise and traffic to our skies. Some people worry that only rich people will be able to afford to use them.

It seems likely that air taxis will be part of the future of travel. But there’s still a lot to do before air taxis become common.

【推荐1】A big sandstorm hit northern China several months ago. It covered many cities with thick clouds of yellow dust (尘土).

The storm, which came from Mongolia, was the largest sandstorm in China in the past 10 years. Many flights and classes were canceled because the visibility (能见度) was lower than 500 meters.

The storm was the result of warm and dry weather in the area, together with the strong winds from Mongolia. “There has been little rainfall so far this spring and the temperature is rising. So now it is a worrying time for sandstorms.” said an expert from Beijing.

In recent years, sandstorms haven’t been as common in northern China as before. The land with desertification (沙漠化) has been falling by 7, 585 km² per year in China, and the area of sandy land has been decreasing by 1,284 km² a year. This is thanks to China’s Three-North Shelter Forest Program (TNSFP三北防护林工程) which started in the 1970s. Millions of trees have been planted in northern China to prevent sandstorms and protect the environment.

Besides, China has a color-graded weather warning system (预警系统) for sandstorms, with red meaning the most serious, followed by orange and yellow. Therefore, people would have time to get prepared for the sandstorm.

【推荐2】

China       Students often have a lunch break for one and a half to two hours. Some students have lunch in the dining hall. They can have vegetables, meat, rice or noodles. Others like buying their lunch outside the school or go home to eat with their family.

The US       Most middle school students have lunch in their dining hall. Their lunchtime is usually about an hour. The US schools had food like fries and hot dogs before. But they are high in fat. Now, vegetables, wholegrain(全谷物制作的) bread and low-fat milk are on the menu.

Japan       In Japan, middle school students all eat together in their classroom. The meals are healthy with rice, vegetables, fish and soup. High school students can bring bentos(便当) to school. Mothers make the bentos with vegetables in different colors and shapes.

Britain       British children can’t go outside during the 45-minute lunchtime. They can have their lunch in the school dining hall, and also can bring their lunch boxes. Vegetables and fruit are necessary on the menu. It also has pasta and bread.

【推荐3】DNA is the whole “map” of the human body. It is something that all humans have, and it tells the body what to do. DNA is the reason that we look like our parents, because we get some of the DNA to make our own.

People have been trying to understand the human body for a long time. In 1860, Mr. Mendel discovered why we look similar to other people in our family. It is because of small things called “genes（基因）” in our body. In 1953, two scientists, Watson and Crick, found out that those small parts are real messages. They are written in the DNA with a special language.

In 1961, another two scientists found the first “word” that they could understand in that language. It shows how DNA tells the cell（细胞）to build its parts. So far, scientists have found all the words in the DNA map, but we do not understand what they all do. By understanding what just   one “word” means, we can help to save people from several illnesses. So the more we understand, the more doctors will be able to do.

Most people hope that this will help to make better medicine to help sick people. Other people worry that when we learn more “words” and find out more information, we will use in the wrong way, just to make people more attractive（有吸引力的）, or stop sick people getting jobs.