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.

Scientists keep finding more ways for robots to help us.

6 . “Without music, life would be a mistake,” famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said over a century ago. Music is a big part of our lives. But in recent years, some US schools have cut music classes to control budgets (预算).

For example, Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired over 1,000 teachers. Among them, 10 percent of the teachers taught art or music, according to The Washington Times. In fact, this is not just a problem in the US. In other countries, such as China and the UK, music classes are not thought to be as important as ones like science, math and history. That’s partly because music is not seen as a very important life skill, and it isn’t tested. Many students are busy with schoolwork, so parents and students choose to focus on subjects that are tested more often.

However, learning music is beneficial in many ways. When playing music, you need different abilities to work together. It is not as simple as it looks, according to Kenneth Guilmartin of Music Together, an early childhood music Development program. For example, when playing the piano, people see music notes and decode (解码) them in their brains. They also use their fingers to make sounds. You need to deal with all these things at the same time.

Music has a special connection with science as well. You can see that many scientists are good at playing music: Einstein played the violin, and German physicist Max Planck did well in playing the piano.

7 . ChatGPT, a smart AI tool, has swept the education world in the past months. According to a US survey of more than 1,000 students, over 89 percent of them have used ChatGPT to help with their homework.

Developed by US company OpenAI, ChatGPT is a powerful tool. You can ask it to write stories and emails, create a food menu, translate languages, and answer all kinds of questions.

Some schools in the US, Australia and France have banned（禁止）the use of ChatGPT. In the US, for example, New York City public schools banned students and teachers from using ChatGPT on the networks and devices（设备）, CNN reported. Why? ChatGPT makes it easier for students to cheat on their homework. Some also worry that ChatGPT could be used to spread information that is not true.

Apart from bans, teachers are making changes to their classes to cut off the use of ChatGPT. Some college teachers in the US try to include more speaking exams and handwritten papers instead of homework done on computer, The New York Times reported.

However, not all educators say “no” to ChatGPT. Some Canadian universities are making rules on its use, for both students and teachers. They have no plans to completely ban the tool so far.

8 . When your parents are busy with work and have no time to cook, you can pick up the phone and order some food for yourself. Lots of people order takeaway these days. But did people eat takeaway in ancient China?

The answer is yes! There was takeaway from the Song Dynasty. People at that time didn’t have phones. But they could still order food. Families with much money had servants. They went out to pick up dishes for their hosts. Some restaurants had delivery workers(外卖员). They walked around the city or waited outside theaters. People paid them to deliver food. People also liked to order takeaway for big days, such as birthdays, festivals and some days when friends visited. People would order their food before the big day came. The delivery workers would bring dishes to their houses.

Now delivery workers use electric bikes(电瓶车) to deliver food. But in the past, delivery workers delivered food on foot. It took a long time and the food would get cold easily. Some restaurants used a special plate to keep their food warm. It had two layers of porcelain(两层陶瓷). People put hot water between the two layers to keep the dishes warm.

9 . You may have known about many traditional Chinese festivals such as the Spring Festival or the Lantern Festival, but have you ever heard of Dragon Heads-raising Day?

Dragon Heads-raising Day is also called the Spring Dragon Festival. It is on the second day of the second lunar (农历) month. It’s on February 21st this year. It came from an old story. After that day, the Dragon King will wake up from his winter sleep and bring more rain. So that day is the start of spring and farming season.

One of the most interesting things related to the day is about haircut. People believe that a haircut during the first lunar month is not a good idea. It may bring bad things to your uncles. So people can only cut it on or after Dragon Heads-raising Day. Although it’s not true, many people still do it.

There are also other ways to celebrate this festival. For example, people eat food with dragon names. People call noodles dragon’s beard (胡须). Dumplings are dragon’s ears and spring rolls (春卷) are dragon’s scales (鳞).

People also do dragon dances and make dragon lanterns. The lanterns stand for people’s best wishes and good luck.