【推荐1】Scientists in Switzerland have used lasers (激光器) to change the path of lightning (闪电). The experiment was carried out on Santis mountain in Switzerland, near a TV tower that’s hit by lightning about 100 times a year.

Lightning can cause serious problems on the ground. It can cause fires, destroy buildings, and kill people. The damage from lightning costs billions of dollars every year. Scientists have been trying to find a way to protect buildings from lightning for a long time.

Now, the best way is by putting metal rods (杆) on the buildings. They are connected to the ground and can safely guide the electricity into the ground.     ★         If a building is very large, it needs a lot of lightning rods. Some buildings—such as airports—are so large that it’s difficult to protect the whole building using lightning rods.

Another idea is to use lasers to guide lightning. It isn’t new. Scientists have been working on the idea for over 20 years. They have successfully guided lightning with lasers inside a laboratory. But scientists haven’t been able to make it outside until recently. Scientist Matteo Clerici wasn’t part of the experiment, but he also studies guiding electricity. He said, “The fact that they managed to do it in an outdoor environment is really a very big step.”

Although they have made great progress, the laser still didn't guide the lightning as far as the scientists would like. To protect buildings from most lightning, lasers will have to guide the lightning for a much longer distance (距离). The laser is also very dear. The scientists say it costs about $2 billion. It will probably take 10 or more years before a laser is truly able to protect large buildings.

【推荐3】The computers changed our lives in the 1980s, the Internet changed our lives in the 1990s, and the robots will change our lives in the new century. Do you think there will be robots in people’s homes? It’s NOT a dream that every home will have a robot.

Now, robots are not only able to help people do housework, but also able to help the doctors do the difficult operations (手术), play chess with people, play the piano and so on.

A new shopping robot is used in Shanghai. It can help you to shop for food and drinks in the shopping center. In the future, the robot will be a nurse, a security guard (保安人员), or a partner in your life.

Scientists believe robots will be used everywhere. In the future, robots will become part of the family and provide close service for people. We all look forward to the new robot age.

【推荐1】Imagine that one day you feel very upset. A robot comes to you and pats (拍) you with its hands. Would you feel better?

Scientists at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany recently did some research on robot touch. They found that just like human touch, a touch from a robot can also help people feel better.

The study asked 48 students to talk with a robot. The robot gave them useful advice on what courses to choose in school. At the end of the chat, the robot would either pat the student’s hand three times or simply move its hand toward students in the control group (对照组).

Interestingly, while most students smiled or even laughed at this movement, none of them pulled away. Compared to the control group, the students who were patted felt happier. They also showed more interest in the courses suggested by the robot.

The researchers say that this small study is one of the first to look at the effect of robot touch. It suggests that through the use of touch, robots could better persuade (劝说) humans to do certain things. For example, they could persuade people who have illness to do more exercise.

The finding will help scientists develop better robots in the future.

【推荐3】We all know the Sun is important. It gives sunshine to plants, animals and people on the Earth.     1     It’s the Sun’s energy. It makes life on our earth possible. Energy from the Sun is called solar energy.

    2     They built houses with windows so that the sunlight could get inside and make them warm.

We can also turn the Sun’s light into electricity. It has something to do with solar panels（太阳能电池板）.

    3    

But what happens when it is cloudy or rainy? Solar panels cannot collect energy from sunlight on cloudy and rainy days.     4     Because solar panels have batteries（电池）in them to keep electricity.

At the same time, solar energy is good for the environment.     5     And we can’t use it up. So we should try our best to find more good ways to use it in our life.

【推荐2】One day in April, a special activity called“Food Street”was held on the playground at Railway No. 1 Middle School in Xi’an.

This activity was part of the English Art Festival in the school. The students in each class were divided(被划分) into some groups. Each group sold different kinds of foods. The students did the shopping and the cooking all by themselves. The students cooked delicious food such as fried chicken, potato chips and vegetables. They all worked hard and sold the food at low prices. The customers(顾客) were all students, teachers and parents. They were all pleased with the nice food.

“It’s really hard work,” said one of the students who took part in the activity. “We must make a plan before the cooking. We must know how much we should spend on the things we need. Also, we must learn how to serve customers well.”

“This activity is to give a chance to students to develop(培养) their practical abilities(实践能力),” said one teacher, “What’s more, the students will not only learn how to make money by their own hands, but also know the meaning of life. ”

【推荐3】It seems that four out of five young people now get on well with their parents. It is different from the image of unhappy teenagers staying in their room after arguing with their parents.

An important new study surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious (和谐的) than it has ever been in the past. “We were surprised by just how positive (积极的) today’s young people seen to be about their families,” said one member of the research team. “People think they are rebellious (叛逆的). In fact, they have other things on their minds; they want a car or a phone,and they worry about their grades. There is more discussion between parents and children, and children want to take part in the family decision-making process.

So it seems that these young parents is much more possible than parents of 30 years ago to think their children as friends. “My parents are happy to discuss with me and willing to listen to me,” says 17-year-old Daniel Lazall. “I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they are fine with it.” Susan Crome agrees. “Looking back on the past 10 years, children negotiated with their parents a lot. For example, as long as I finish my homework, I could watch TV. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that.”

Maybe this positive view of family life is what it should be like. It is possible that the idea of teenage rebellion is not because of real facts. A researcher says, “Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a short time in our history when we think teenagers are different being. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. It has been a change from helping out with the family business to taking it over.”