【推荐1】Robbie looks out of the window. It’s still snowing heavily and there is ice on the window. It is another day. Robbie is told to do the cleaning. And he does it. The family are getting home. So after he turns the heat on, he begins to cook supper for the family. All of the housework is easy for Robbie, but a hard one for its master, Helen. Robbie really saves the family a lot of work.

ASIMO is a clever robot created by the Honda Motor Company. He is about 120 centimeters tall and looks like a kid in a spacesuit. Tiny computers are used to control the things ASIMO can do. He can shake hands with people, give and receive objects. He can walk and run forward or backward on two legs. Besides, he can also talk and understand many voice commands (指令). When something is in his way, he can change directions.

Mr. Green is a fourth grade robot teacher. He never forgets details and he makes no mistakes. He even knows each child’s pets and hobbies. He has his lessons in an orderly way, and he never feels tired. The children like Mr. Green very much. They feel happy and relaxed in his class. When they make a mistake, they don’t feel upset. They have a lot of fun with a robot teacher.

Robots are smart because they have computer brains. Some of them have explored other planets. These machines also do many jobs in factories and other places. For example, robots are used to make cars. People also use robots to do dangerous work such as exploring volcanoes (火山) or the ocean floor. Robots are also used to give directions in shopping centers and amusement parks (游乐园). Scientists keep finding more ways for robots to help us.

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【推荐3】Modern inventions make our life easier and more interesting than before. Let’s take a look at some inventions.

【推荐1】AI (人工智能) makes our lives easier and better. Let’s see the interesting AI.

Instead of pens and paper, students in the classrooms of the future will have headsets and rather than learning by rote (死记硬背）they will be encouraged to take a more hands—on experience to their studies.

Although in their early stages of development, schools in China are studying how they can put VR( virtual reality 虚拟现实)lessons into their classroom experience. One such lesson, by online game developer, Net dragon, uses VR to teach children fire safety. Students are put into a virtual environment where a fire has broken out. They must crawl (爬行）across the floor, avoid desks and chairs and so on, and escape carefully.

VR education tools are not just for school children, either. At the VR medical school under Sichuan University, a virtual system allows medical students to examine organs (器官）from different ways. They can even separate organs for closer examination. A virtual knife is now in development, which means students can practice their operation skills without the need for a real body.

Simon Leung, vice—chairman of Net Dragon, said the company has developed VR immersive(沉浸式的）classrooms and computers that send students to a 360 degree immersive digital world based around their curriculum. Moreover, the VR headsets can tell whether children are focused on the task at hand, Leung said.

VR School, a Beijing—based firm, developed an immersive education system, which is already being used by 10 schools. It begins offering courses to train teachers and instructors with the skills to use VR in their lessons.

Although Chinese parents are often more than willing to allow their children to use technology to help their kids, they are suspicious of VR as they are unsure if the technology will have any side effects.

Besides, the equipment comes at a price. A top—end VR headset and computer could cost upward of 10,000 yuan (1,475 U.S. dollars). ^“More must be done to develop the technology, which will lower the cost and improve the user’s experience,^” said Huang Ronghuai, professor at the Smart Learning Institute under Beijing Normal University, “Still we are optimistic (乐观的）that we can really change the present model of education.^”

【推荐3】In 2017, when the high-speed train Fuxing left Beijing for Shanghai at a speed of 350 km/h, it amazed the world. It is China's newest high-speed train and also the fastest train in the world.

There were 2,959 high-speed trains running across China by 2016. They make up 60 percent of the world's total high-speed trains. Chinese companies have also built more than 10 high-speed railways in Europe, Southeast Asia and South America. And the high-speed trains has become a new name card for China.

Besides the high-speed trains, many other innovations（创新）have also changed people's lives in China.

For example, though bike sharing is not new itself, China has made it much more convenient and popular. When the Chinese bike sharing companies reached Singapore and Britain months ago, users there were excited and couldn't wait to post photos of themselves riding the bikes on social media.

Cashless payment has become a lifestyle choice in China, it is common that people in China go shopping with no cash in pockets. Many people just pay with their mobile phones by scanning a quick respond code from the seller. Even a person selling vegetables has a QR code. Many foreigners have experienced lives without carrying any cash in China. They say they can't do it when they are back home in Europe.

China is now in a great time and is never what it used to be. It has made great achievements in innovation, which has surprised people all over the world. They are true pictures of national power. It seems that China is really leading in some ways. And Chinese people have every reason to believe in an even brighter future and be proud of our country.

【推荐3】Journey to the West, or Xi You Ji, is a very famous Chinese TV series. It’s about the great trip of Tang Seng, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. The series is based on a book of the same name written by Wu Cheng’en in the Ming Dynasty.

The TV series was the first of its kind in China. The production team (制作团队) spent about six years, from 1982 to 1988, making it. The production team met many problems. At that time, they only had very simple tools (工具). However, they tried their best to make the TV series well. For example, they spent two months visiting over 60 places across China to find the best places for different stories. They needed the wire (威亚) to help characters “fly”, but no one knew how to do it. They flew to Hong Kong, China to learn the skill.

Through the production team’s hard work, the TV series finally aired in China. It quickly became very popular and about nine out of ten people watched it. It was repeated more than 3,000 times. Now, it’s still popular with Chinese people. When people talk about the summer vacation, lots of them think of the TV series. People in other countries also love it.