【推荐1】Steven Jobs, the designer of Apple Computer, was not clever when he was in school. At that time, he was not a good student and he always made troubles with his schoolmates. When he went into college, he didn’t change a lot. Then he dropped out (退学). But he was full of new ideas.

After he left college, Steven Jobs worked as a video game designer. He worked there for only several months and then he went to India. He hoped that the trip would give him some new ideas and give him a change in life.

Steven Jobs lived on a farm in California for a year after he returned from India. In 1975, he began to make a new type of computer. He designed the Apple Computer with his friend in his garage (汽车库). He chose the name “Apple” just because it could help him to remember a happy summer he once spent in an apple tree garden.

His Apple Computer was such a great success that Steven Jobs soon became famous all over the world.

Is it possible to miss something you never had? Is it possible to miss someone you never knew? The answer is Yes! I never got to know either of my grandfathers growing up. They both died before I was old enough to remember them.

I would then imagine what it would be like to have my grandfather with me. It would be so great. We could take a walk up the road holding hands and watching the leaves change in the fall. We could sit on the bank of the river and listen to the sound of the water running over the rocks. We could have long talks when I had difficult problems. My grandfather would listen quietly, smile, pat (拍) my back, and say something that would touch my heart. Looking back, now I think I did have a wonderful grandfather, even if he was only in my mind.

I think spending all that time with my imaginary grandfather helped me during those lonely times in my life. He let me imagine who he was, and he let me imagine who I wanted to be. If your grandfather or grandmother is still alive, then don’t just sit there. Go and give them a hug (拥抱)!

【推荐3】After leaving home and starting his first job, David stayed in touch with his mother. David had just moved into his first apartment in the city, far from their village home. He thought that he should invite his mother to the city and show her around. He called her and made plans for her to come to the city on July 7th—a Tuesday.

July 7th came around and David went to the train station to pick up his mom. But she didn’t show up（出现）. David called her and asked what was going on. She said, “Oh, I checked my calendar and it said July 7th was a Sunday! I’m sorry, dear. Can you come back to pick me up on Sunday?”

Of course, David didn’t mind. However, he worried about his mom, who had always been good at remembering important dates. He asked, “Mom, how did you confuse（混淆）the date?”

“The thing is, I’m still using last year’s calendar. I know it’s silly, but it’s the last thing your dad gave to me before he died. When the new year came, I didn’t want to throw it away. I’ve missed a few appointments（约定）, but I don’t miss them almost as much as I miss your father.”

【推荐1】NASA is looking for funny astronauts. It wants to send astronauts to Mars in 2030. The funny astronauts will be part of the team.

Why does it want funny astronauts?

Flying to Mars is a long trip. It’s a challenge for astronauts. They have to stay in a spaceship for about two years. So the team needs some astronauts with a sense of humor. They can help everyone get along with each other. They can also make the trip enjoyable.

Being funny is not enough.

However, the astronauts have to be more than just funny. They also need to be excellent scientists and be able to finish hard training.

【推荐2】As space science develops, man has learnt more and more about space. Space is not only amazing but also dangerous. While working in space, spacemen are facing many dangers.

Scientists have found out that radiation(辐射) is the greatest danger to spacemen in space. When spacemen are working in space, they are in danger of radiation from the sun and other stars, which is bad for their health. The damage done by radiation won’t be discovered until their children or even grandchildren are born. Some special medicine may work a little, but no really helpful medicine has been found.

Space junk(太空垃圾) is also thought as a great danger to spacemen. It’s reported that there are 9,000 man-made things flying in space. About 30% of these are satellites(人造卫星), 10% are spaceships, and the rest are space junk. An explosion(爆炸) in 1996 made a cloud of 300,000 fragments(碎片), each at least 4mm in size, and even a small piece of the fragments knocked against a spaceship window and did some damage. Scientists are watching and reporting any possible danger all the time. They are working on helpful ways to deal with space junk.

Although space is really dangerous, it interests everyone on Earth. In the near future, it may become usual for people to spend a few days in a space hotel. We may even choose to leave the Earth and live in space in a few years. So we should care for space and do something to help improve the space environment.

【推荐3】Do you still remember the time when Yang Liwei became the first Chinese astronaut to go into space? More than 20 years has passed and another 19 astronauts have already reached for the stars. They had gone through a lot before they became such national heroes.

Astronauts face tons of challenges during space travels. For example, the changes in gravity(重力) can have an influence on their bodies, and living in a small spacecraft for months can impair their health. And when unexpected things happen, they have to use all their knowledge and problem - solving skills under huge pressure. So it’s not surprising that astronauts have to go through some seriously difficult training to make sure they come back home safely.

Huang Weifen, an expert on China’s manned space project, said in an interview with CCTV News that astronauts need to learn about over 200 subjects during their training. They don’t just try their best to get fit—they also study science theories, practice simulated (模拟) tasks and so on. One of the most tiring parts of this training is underwater training. Huang explained that each time, astronauts spend up to six hours underwater wearing suits weighing over 100 kilograms. Moving around becomes even harder because water makes everything feel heavy. “Nie Haisheng once lost two kilograms of weight after completing an underwater training exercise,” Huang added. Each astronaut has to prepare for at least eighteen months before they’re allowed to go into space.

You can’t imagine how hard the training is. Success always belongs to the one who has been well prepared. Let’s look up to our national heroes.

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