【推荐1】If you look at the top of your phone, you’ll usually see a little symbol that says 3G or 4G. The “G” stands for the “generation” of your mobile network. But these symbols will become things of the past after 5G nteworks fully arrive.

On March 30th, 2019, the first 5G video was made on a Huawei Mate X smart phone, CGTN reported. Shanghai has also become the first city in China to start testing 5G networks.   

5G will be about 100 times faster than 4G networks. But 5G won’t just bring faster mobile internet. People can use it for many other things as well. For example, 5G will help to make self-driving cars safer. Today’s self-driving test cars have one problem—lag（延迟）. When the car “sees” an object, it sends this information to a data （数据） center and receives instructions.

However, it takes time to send and receive this information. With this kind of lag, the cars might hit something because they don’t receive instructions in time. With 5G, this lag will be greatly lowered, making the cars safer, according to CNN.   

5G could also be used to power the Internet of Things（IOT，物联网）. This refers to a large online network that connects all things and people. Fast Internet speed will be the most important to develop this technology.

【推荐2】To change their city’s bad traffic, students at the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia (NIPC) have designed a new type of manned (载人的) plane. It is from a rather usual furniture — a school chair. The group hope to use it to carry people around capital city and even help fight fires.

With eight propellers (螺旋桨) and a school chair for the pilot’s seat, the plane was developed on the outskirts (郊区) of the capital.

“We wanted to solve some problems for our society by making a taxi plane and inventing for firefighters,” said Lonh Vannsith, 21, the pilot of the plane. They hoped it could reach the upper floors of a building to bring a hose (软管) where a fire truck could not reach.

It took three years of research and development and cost around $20,000 to build. The plane can carry a 60-kilogram pilot and fly for about 10 minutes for a distance of 1 km. When manned, the plane now only rises to as much as four meters. The team plans to improve the design to allow it to take more weights, as well as fly further and more smoothly at a higher level.

“The project faced delay (延期) because of the international transport. Many parts of the plane had to be ordered from abroad,” said Sarin Sereyvatha, who is NPIC’s head of research and development technology.

“Generally, if we make one plane, the cost is expensive but if we make them to sell on the market, the cost will go down, ” said Sarin.

Have you ever taken photos by using mobile phones with selfie sticks(自拍杆)?     1       

However, a pair of US artists from New Mexico, Arie Snee and Justin Crowe believe they have invented a better one and they call it "selfie arm".

    2     It makes those people in the pictures seem to be holding hands with a loved one. They say it offers a far better experience than using a straight stick. The selfie arm makes people feel they are not alone when they take photos.     3     They think their invention solves the main problem that the selfie stick has-people look alone while they are taking pictures of themselves with great interests. The product, at present, just an art project and a model conveniently provides you a welcoming arm.     4     The pair say they are fascinated by these new ideas.

The "selfie arm" is made of fiberglass.     5     The project that they work on shows the growing selfie stick Phenomenon(现象)directly and the increasing need for narcissism(自恋)and Internet agreement.

①As you grow older, you’ll be faced with some challenging decisions－like whether to cut class or try cigarettes (香烟). Making decisions on your own is hard enough, but when other people take part in and try to pressure you one way or another it can be even harder. People who are your age, like your classmates, are called peers. When they try to influence how you act, to get you to do something, it’s called peer pressure.

②Peers can have a positive influence on each other. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in the solar system. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book, and now everyone’s reading it. These are examples of how peers positively influence each other.

③Sometimes peers influence each other in negative ways. For example, a few kids in school might try to get you to cut class with them. Your soccer friend might try to convince you to be mean to another player and never pass him the ball.

④It is tough to be the only one who says “no” to peer pressure, but you can do it. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do.

⑤You’ve probably had a parent or teacher advising you to “choose your friends wisely”. Peer pressure is a big reason why they say this. If you choose friends who are never absent from class, smoke cigarettes, or lie to their parents, then you probably won’t do these things either, even if other kids do.

⑥If you continue to face peer pressure and you’re finding it difficult to deal with, talk to someone you trust. Don’ t feel guilty (内疚) if you’ve made a mistake or two.

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【推荐2】Feeling hot? So is Earth. Because of problems like climate change and bad ways of farming, much of the planet’s land is drying up. What can we do to solve this problem?

One thing the United Nations did was to create a holiday. In 1994, the UN started World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (世界防治荒漠化和干旱日), to let more people know about desertification. It is on June 17 every year.

Desertification happens when healthy land — land full of water and nutrients (营养)— becomes desert, which is dry and unhealthy. Every year, 20,000 to 50,000 square kilometers of Earth’s land is lost to desertification. In Africa, scientists expect that two thirds of Africa’s healthy land will be lost by 2025.

Desertification sometimes happens because of climate change, as big, fast changes in temperature can kill plants and trees.

However, it also happens because people use land too much, and in bad ways, to grow food on their farms. Growing too many plants in the same soil, in too short a time, can take away the soil’s nutrients faster than the soil can make new ones. That can turn the soil into dry sand, like a desert.

The UN suggests some different actions to stop desertification. One is to teach people better ways of farming, including the use of better fertilizers (肥料). Another is reforestation which means planting more trees. One country that has done a lot of that is China. Today China has 61 million hectares of reforested land — more than anywhere else in the world.