1 . Inventions make the world better, smarter and a little more fun.

	The folding bike helmet (头盔) People hate to wear a helmet because it’s thick and heavy. Morpher is a bike helmet made from plastics. It is just as strong as the traditional ones, but flexible (灵活的) enough to fold almost totally flat. Also it is much easier to carry.
	Shoes that tie themselves After we see the movie Back to the future, almost everyone wants a pair of self-tying shoes. Now, thanks to Nike, the shoe dream comes true. When you press a button, the shoes can tie themselves.
	The smart alarm clock Hello Sense An alarm clock, called Hello Sense, can improve your sleep. It can control the temperature, light and even air quality in your bedroom to help you have a perfect sleep environment. And it can record your sleep cycles.
	Sweet potatoes that could save lives The lack (缺乏) of vitamin A can cause blindness and many other illnesses. In Africa, plant experts are helping them grow a kind of new sweet potatoes. These potatoes can help them fight against some illnesses.

A different way of leaning is widely used in our English study. Before class, we make study plans first. Then we look up the new words, listen to the recording and read the text. When we meet problems we can’t solve by ourselves, we always write them down in our notebooks.

In class, we sit in groups to discuss the problems freely. The teacher always offers help when we need. After discussion, it’s time for us to give a report to the class. We also make conversations in pairs and practice a lot. It’s really good for our listening and speaking.

After class, we have less homework now so we can go to the library to read English books, magazines and newspapers. We can also surf the Internet for useful information.

In a word, we enjoy the new way of studying. We can make more progress in our study.

Information Card

4 . Children’s Games in Ancient China

During ancient times, children didn’t have much to enjoy themselves. However, they came up with interesting games to play in their childhood.

Kicking stone balls

During the Qing Dynasty, kicking a stone ball around was a popular game in the northern part of China, and it was often played in winter to keep warm.

Playing hide-and-seek

Hide-and-seek is a traditional game for children, popular around the nation. There are two ways to play: cover a child’s eyes while other kids run around to tease(戏弄) him or, more commonly, others hide and one child must try to find them.

Flying kites

Kites have quite a long history. The earliest kites were made of wood, instead of paper. The three most famous kites are the Beijing kite, Tianjin kite and Weifang kite. Each has its own feature. For example, the bird-shaped kite with long wings is a special kind of the Beijing kite.

Watching shadow plays(皮影戏)

The closest thing to watching a film during ancient times was going to see a shadow play. The artists control puppets(木偶) behind the screen and tell stories to the music.

Music could change the world! In fact in Australia, a scientist, Catherine, has made a music program that’s been putting smiles on the faces of kids in hospitals across the country. “It can make you happy, it can make you sad, it can make you want to get up and dance, and it can make you feel good and take away any stress,” said Catherine..

For thousands of years people have believed that music has a great effect on both the mind and the body, but it was only about 70 years ago that scientists began to study its medical effects. At that time, doctors and nurses found that playing music in hospitals helped sick soldiers feel better. Since then it’s been used to help people with brain problems learn to speak again and help other patients feel less pain and sadness. It’s even been used to help kids in schools get better marks because it allows them to relax and pay more attention.

Now music is being used in a special program called Music Therapy (治疗). It helps people improve their life in many different ways by using music. It can include: listening to music, playing instruments, singing, song writing, action songs and games.

Sophia is eleven. She got bone cancer five months ago, but playing music, learning new songs and singing have become a part of her life. “It takes my mind off feeling sick. While I am listening to music, it tells me not to give up hope. It feels like soon my life will turn around and I will be strong again.

It seems that a few minutes of music a day can help keep the doctor away!

6 . Let me tell you something about sharks. Sharks are among the oldest animals in the world. There are about three hundred different kinds of sharks in the world. Most sharks are about two meters long and live in the ocean.

Sharks can smell something in the water, for example, the blood of animals. That helps them find their food. Sharks mainly eat fish, other sharks and plants in the ocean.

Most sharks bite (咬) people by mistake. They think a person is a large sea animal. When the sun goes down or comes up, sharks are looking for food. So at these times people shouldn’t go swimming in the ocean.

Today people kill sharks for food and their skins. The number of sharks in the world is dropping fast.

8 . Wonderful Events