1 . What will life in the future be like? And what will we be able to do in the future?

Genetic engineering (基因工程) may help us make the perfect human. Babies may grow up to play basketball like Yao Ming. Also, we may be able to bring the dead back to life. Maybe people will be able to meet and talk with their dead family members.

Over the next 20 to 50 years, it will become harder to tell (分辨) if a person is dead or alive. Perhaps humans will be able to make copies of ourselves, so we will appear to be alive long after we are dead. Humans may be able to find ways of putting the life of a person into a new body.

Nanobots (纳米机器人) will be important. We will use them when we are sick. For example, when we have a stomachache, we will swallow (吞下) a nanobot and it will tell the doctor what’s happening in our stomachs by taking a video with its camera.

In the future, computers may have feelings. They may be able to think better than us. We may be more and more interested in computers and spend all our time in front of computers. Perhaps we will forget our real needs. Perhaps we will weigh 250 kgs!

2 . At the beginning of human history, people could only eat food they found. But then people learned to find more ways to get food. About 10, 000 years ago, people started to farm the land. After that, people developed farming skills.

People eat different food in different areas. In China, rice is the main food for people in the south while the people in the north eat noodles. People who live in European countries near the sea eat lots of fish. But in Central Europe, people are away from the sea. So they don’t eat so much fish. They eat more meat instead.

People eat food with different tools in different areas. In China, people always like using chopsticks while in North America, Australia and Europe, people always like using knives and forks. To our surprise, in India and the Middle East, people always pick up food with their own fingers.

Now people can eat different food from different areas. As we can see, it is possible to convey food easily from one part of the world to another. We can almost eat whatever we like at any place of the world. For example, people in Britain can eat bananas from Africa and rice from India. Food is becoming a very big business now.

3 . Most people are afraid of snakes. They may think snakes are dangerous and ugly. With more and more rain falling and the hot weather, it’s time for snakes to be active. Living in the city, it never crosses your mind that we might meet them face to face.

There are more than 2,000 kinds of snakes on the earth. Most of them live in mountains or forests, and in cities sometimes we can find them in grass or other dark places. Snakes can’t walk or run because they have no legs or feet, but these long and thin animals can move very fast on their stomachs. Snakes usually have green, yellow or black skins, which make it difficult for their enemies to find them. In winter they hibernate in holes. They look for a hole to stay inside, on the ground, or in a rock or a tree. They do not wake up again until spring comes. Snakes feed on mice, frogs, bird eggs and so on.

Snakes play an important part in nature. We can make useful medicines with them. Without their help, the rodents (啮齿动物) will be out of control. But many of them are in danger of disappearing. Houses and buildings take up the land where snakes live. Many snakes lose their lives in traffic, and people often kill snakes for their skins or meat.

5 . What color of wearing do you like? Do you know “dopamine dressing (多巴胺穿搭)”? It’s one of the most talked about fashion trends (趋势) for 2023. However, is there any science behind this?

“Dopamine dressing” came out from the book Dress Your Best Life. American fashion psychologist (心理学家), Dawnn Karen wrote this book in 2020. In the book, dopamine dressing is about wearing colorful clothing to get more dopamine.

Dopamine is a chemical in our brain. This kind of chemical makes people feel good. Our brain gives it out when we eat delicious food, play with our pets, listen to our favorite songs, after we exercise or when we win a game.

According to Science Focus Magazine, there are studies that show a relationship between the colors of the clothes we wear and how we act and feel. One study found that wearing red can bring better physical performance. It also showed bright colors can make people feel active. One more study showed that wearing green can help people relax because it is the color of nature. Yellow, the color of summer and warmth, can bring people happiness. But there are some problems with these studies, as people from different cultures have different ideas about dressing and colors.

In a word, “dopamine dressing” shows that we can wear colorful clothes to get more dopamine and feel good. Dressing is more than just a trend. It’s also a way of showing ourselves. So, next time you’re getting dressed, think about which colors will bring out yourself best.

8 . In the fight against COVID-19, many national heroes have become well known to the public.

On August 11, 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping commended (表彰) four of them for their outstanding contribution (杰出的贡献).

The purpose of giving the nation’s top honors to these people was to show the great courage and the spirit of working together of the Chinese people.

10 . On March 17th, 2023, Beijing made changes to the P.E. test in the 2023 high school entrance exam, or zhongkao: All students will get full scores as long as they take part in the exam.

Earlier this year, some cities such as Taiyuan canceled the 1,000-meter and 800-meter runs. Other cities let students choose if they wanted to do them in the exam. This is to make sure it’s safe for students after recovering from COVID-19.

At the same time, P.E. classes across China have also made some changes. Students are having easier activities such as dancing, fun games and sit-ups. This way they can improve their health slowly.

“We used to run two laps around the playground every day during the morning break. But after many students got the illness, we didn’t do this activity and started doing Kungfu,” said Liu Jiawei, a student from Changchun, Jilin. “As a ninth-grader, I’m also happy that I don’t need to take the 1,000-meter run test for zhongkao. Most students welcome this new change. But some who are really good at running are not happy because they won’t have advantages any more,” Liu added.

However, we have to understand that such a big decision like this won’t make everyone happy. What’s more important is students’ safety during exercises and tests. Life comes first before everything else.