【推荐1】Hey! The people of the earth. Can you hear this radio message? Do not be afraid! We come in peace from another planet— and why not? We are your cousins. We are men, as you are. We have been here before.

You will see a huge spaceship, a few hours from now. We are flying towards the solar system (太阳系) almost as fast as this radio message. Your sun is already in sight. Our ancestors (祖先) and yours shared the sun ten million years ago. I’m sure you have forgotten your history while we have remembered ours.

Our ancestors lived on the Earth when dinosaurs were dying. Sadly, they could hardly save the beasts. Your planet was very warm then. Our ancestors believed it would make a nice home for them.

They were wrong. Though we were masters of space, we knew so little about the Earth.

For millions of summers — there were no winters in those ancient days — the Earth had rapid (飞速的) development. It took about thirty years to fly from one planet to another, so our ancestors seldom travelled in space. But they never felt lonely. They kept in touch with their relatives and friends on other planets. Three or four times every century, starships would call and bring them space news.

But two million years ago, the Earth began to change. The temperatures fell quickly. The ground was covered with snow and ice. At that time, however, our ancestors knew little about that. Those who had called the Earth their home believed there was just a strange disease spreading on the earth. The disease wouldn’t cause death to them, but it would bring much pain and do harm to men’s health.

At the moment, it may be difficult to imagine, but many people believe that, by the year 2100, we will live on the planet Mars. Our own planet, Earth, is becoming more and more crowded and polluted. Luckily, we can start again and build a better world on Mars.

First of all, transport should be much better. At present, our spaceships are too slow to carry large numbers of people to Mars—it takes months. However, by 2100, spaceship can travel at half the speed of light. It might take us two or three days to get to Mars!

Secondly, humans need food, water and air to live. Scientists should be able to develop plants that can be grown on Mars. These plants will produce the food and air that we need. However, can these plants produce water for us? There is no answer now.

There is a problem for us to live on Mars. Mars suck us much less than the Earth does. This will be dangerous because we could easily jump too high and fly slowly away into space. To prevent this, humans on Mars have to wear special shoes to make themselves heavier.

Life on Mars will be better than that on Earth in many ways. People will have more space. Living in a large building with only 10 bedrooms is highly possible. Many people believe that robots will do most of our work, so we have more time for our hobbies.

There will probably be no school on Mars. Every student will have a computer at home which is connected to the Internet. They can study, do their homework and take exams in online schools. Each student will also have his own online teacher called “e-teacher”.

However, in some ways, life on Mars may not be better than that on the Earth today. Food will not be the same—meals will probably be in the form of pills and will not be as delicious as they are today. Also, space travel will make many people feel ill. The spaceship will travel fast, so the journey to Mars will probably be very uncomfortable.

【推荐3】Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in space? The most important thing to remember about living in space is that there is no gravity. That means astronauts can’t do a lot of things that you do easily in your daily life. For example, astronauts can’t pour themselves a cup of juice the way you can. Why? Because gravity makes the juice pour from the bottle into your cup. Astronauts can’t rely(依靠) on gravity. Astronauts can’t lie on beds and sleep the way you do because gravity is what holds you to your bed.

So how do astronauts live in space? Eating in space is like eating on earth in some ways. Food like rice and mashed(糊状的) potatoes sticks to spoons, so it doesn’t float away. Other foods come in cans or packages(盒). So they don’t float away, either.

There is no gravity in space, so astronauts do not have to sleep on beds or the floor. They can sleep anywhere they want, and they can sleep in any position they want. They usually use sleeping bags. They simply tie their sleeping bags to a wall, or a bed. That way, they don’t float around and bump(撞) into things while they are sleeping.

Astronauts are very busy people. They have jobs to do, and they work very hard. But they also need to relax sometimes. Astronauts usually get to talk to their families on a video call once a week. They also get to stay in touch by email. Astronauts can bring chess and other games with them. Some even bring musical instruments. Astronauts also watch movies and news programmes. Sometimes they talk to schools and news reporters, too. Astronauts may have a lot of work to do, but they also find time for fun.

【推荐1】What will the future be like? It’s possible that we may often fly up into space! Out of all the coolest inventions of the year, Times chose Spaceship One as the best.

Spaceship One is a 6-meter-long white spaceship. On June 21st, American pilot Mike Melvill flew it to space and back-about 100 kilometers up into the sky. ①Some might say it’s not a big deal. You know, people went to the moon years ago.

Well, Spaceship One is special because it is the first spaceship that wasn’t made by the government. A private(私人的) US company built and launched it. Lots of people want to travel in space. But it’s too expensive. American millionaire(大富豪) Dennis Tito paid almost US $20 million to become the first space tourist to visit the International Station in 2001. So private companies began to think of making their own spaceship to take other tourists up into space. The success of Spaceship One is a good start. In the next 10 to 15 years, ②if you pay $20,000 to $100,000 you could fly high above the earth.

③What about having your own spaceship in your garage(车库) and taking it to space at the weekend?

An old man was fishing on the bank of a river. A girl came to see him fishing. The old man was really good at fishing and it didn’t take long for him to catch a full basket of fish. The old man saw that the girl was very cute, and he wanted to give her a whole basket of fish. But the girl shook her head. The old man was surprised and asked, “Why don’t you want the fish?”

The girl replied, “I want the fishing rod (竿) in your hands.”

The old man asked, “Why do you want the rod?”

“It doesn’t take long to eat all the fish in a basket. But if I have the fishing rod, I can go fishing by myself and I won’t be afraid of not having any more fish to eat.”

I think you will certainly say that the girl is very smart. Wrong! If she doesn’t know how to fish, she cannot have fish to eat, even though she has the fishing rod. It’s useless to only have a fishing rod. Fishing skills are the most important, not the fishing rod.

Too many people think that if they have a “fishing rod” in their life, they will no longer fear the wind and rain. They are just like the girl, who thought that if she had a fishing rod, she would have fish to eat.

Most of us compare ourselves with others. Comparisons can help to make decisions and make us active. According to a study, 12% of our daily thoughts have something to do with making comparisons.

Why is it so easy to compare yourself with others?

Whether it’s the number of goals you’ve scored at football or how many books you’ve read, it’s easy to compare yourself with someone else. Scientists say it’s a natural behavior. Humans live in a circle and do something in common, but they act differently and get the results more or less. Although comparing can be good for you, it’s not always helpful and you can find yourself stuck in a comparison trap（陷阱）. This is when you always compare yourself with others and base（建立）your feelings on how well they seem to be doing.

Can comparisons be good for you?

Comparisons can make us feel good and bad about ourselves. “Comparing up” means seeing someone do better than you and using that to inspire（激励）yourself to make higher goals and try harder. “Comparing down” is when you see someone who doesn’t seem to be doing as well as you. It can stop you from wanting to improve.

Get out of the comparison trap.

Notice how people make you feel and spend time with friends who celebrate your strengths rather than compare themselves with you. If you follow social media accounts（账号）that, make you feel you are failing in any way, stop following them. The best person you can compete with is yourself. Here are some tips for making healthy comparisons.

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