How do we know the time? A clock, a watch or a mobile phone can help us. However, many years ago there were no clocks and knowing the time was not so easy. Over the centuries people have developed different ways of timekeeping (计时).
About 5,500 years ago, the Egyptians invented the sun clock. This was the tall stone building. Its shadow (影子) showed the movement of the sun. So people were able to know midday (正午). The Egyptians made a sundial about 3,500 years ago. It was smaller than the sun clock, and could let people know the time for half a day. On cloudy days or at night, it was impossible to tell the time with the sun clock or a sundial. Water clocks were the first clocks not to use the sun. The idea is simple. Water flows from one bottle to another. When the water reaches a certain level (高度), it shows the hours. The Egyptians used the water clocks about 3,400 years ago. These clocks were popular in the Middle East and China. But people still couldn’t know the exact time.
In the 13th century, the mechanical clock was invented. This was more exact, but it was expensive to make one. Over the next few centuries, it was developed. For example, springs (发条) were added around 1500. This enabled people to get the exact time and allowed clocks to be smaller.
In1927, the first quartz (石英) watch was developed. Clocks became cheaper to make. It’s also cheaper for common people to own a clock. People began to depend on them more and more to run business, markets and so on.
More recently, in 1956, came the digital clock. And nowadays satellites send our mobile phones the time to the exact second.
There has been a lot of progress in timekeeping. Clocks are always changing but some things never change. Many of us still have trouble getting out of bed on time and not being late for school or work.
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Pillows (枕头) have been around for thousands of years from ancient stone pillows to modern plush (舒适的) memory foam (泡沫橡胶) pillows. Here is how different cultures developed and improved its design.
The first pillows were invented around 9000 years ago by the ancient Mesopotamians, which were made of stone and carved (雕刻) into a cradle shape. They were not designed for comfort. Instead, these stone pillows were used to lift the head so that insects wouldn’t enter a sleeper’s mouth, nose or ears! Because stone was expensive, the pillows were only available for people who owned lots of wealth and influence.
In ancient Egypt, people believed the head was the center of spiritual life and it should be cared for and protected. Egyptian pillows were made of marble, ivory, wood or stone. In addition to lifting the head in life, Egyptians also placed pillows carved with images of the gods under the heads of their dead to keep bad spirits away.
The ancient Chinese had the knowledge of how to create soft pillows, but they preferred hard pillows made of porcelain, bronze, jade or bamboo. And porcelain pillows are among the best preserved from historical records, which were first produced in Sui Dynasty, gained popularity during the Tang Dynasty and reached the peak in the Song Dynasty.
Today, pillows come in different shapes and types, and besides providing support and comfort for head and neck, they also play an important role in health care, for instance, some pillows are designed to relieve headaches, promote circulation or alleviate neck and shoulder pain.
The Development of Pillows | |
| In Mesopotamia | *The first pillows were made of stone. *They were used to prevent insects *Only influential and |
| In Egypt | *Pillows were made of marble, ivory, wood or stone. *Pillows were used to protect the head—the *Pillows with images of the gods were used to keep bad spirits away. |
| In China | *The ancient Chinese *The ancient Chinese preferred hard pillows. *Porcelain pillows were first produced in Sui Dynasty, became |
Have you noticed that time seems to pass more slowly when you’re waiting in a long line? But when you’re playing with your friends, hours seem like minutes. Of course, time is always passing at the same speed—but why does it sometimes feel different?
A study in the Journal of Neuroscience can tell us the answer. Lead researcher Masamichi Hayashi and his research team in the US have found that it has something to do with neurons (神经元) in our brains that are sensitive (敏感的) to time.
The researchers studied the brain activity of 18 adults who were asked to look at a picture on a screen for a certain length of time. They were then asked to guess how long they’d been looking at the picture. They tended to (倾向于) guess incorrectly in the end when they were asked to stare at the picture for very long or very short periods of time.
After researching into their brain activity further, the researchers discovered neurons that work actively in response to (对……有反应) certain amounts of time, which are called time-sensitive neurons. When they receive repetitive stimulation (重复的刺激) (such as staring at a screen), these neurons finally get “tired” and don’t work properly. It doesn’t matter whether this amount of time is long or short, as long as the stimulation is repetitive. However, other neurons still work normally, having an influence on the ways we experience time.
When you stand in line or do some other repetitive things, such as math homework, your time-sensitive neurons get tired and cause you to feel like time is going slowly. But when you’re doing something more fast-changing, such as playing soccer, you feel like time is flying. Either way, you’d better be careful with your brain when it comes to your experience of time. It may lie.
| Researchers | An American research team |
| Participants | 18 adults |
| 3 | *Participants looked at a picture on a screen for some time. *Participants guessed how long they had spent. |
| Result | Participants usually got wrong guessing when the screen time was too long or short. |
| Discoveries | There are some time-sensitive neurons in the brain. *They work actively in response to certain amounts of time. *A very important factor (因素) to make the time-sensitive neurons “tired” is the 4 of the stimulation. |
| Conclusion | Treat your brain’s telling of time with some 5 when doing some repetitive or fast-changing activities. |
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When humans began to search the skies, they saw a lot of things. In the universe, the earth seemed to be like a small bit of dust (尘埃). It is only a small planet, and travels around the sun. The sun, together with its planets, travels in the Milky Way, our Galaxy. The Milky Way has over one hundred billion stars like the sun, and is one of about a hundred billion galaxies in the universe. Because the space is so great, it is difficult to work out how far away a star is. Instead of kilometres, we have light years. A light year means the distance light travels in one year. Our nearest neighbour Galaxy is more than 2,500,000 light years away from the earth.
In the universe | |
| The earth | It seems to be like a |
| The sun | It together with its |
| The Milky Way | It has over |
| The space | It is so |
| The distance | We use |
The game of Go was one of the four greatest artistic types in Chinese culture. It is not only a competitive event of the mind, but also a board game amusing ourselves.
Created in China more than four thousand years ago. Go was introduced to Korea and Japan over 1,000 years ago, and has become a favorite activity of many people there. Today, Go still serves as a way of cultural exchange among the people in many Eastern and Western countries, as players in these countries take part in many international games every year.
A game of Go has many implications (含义) for real life. It represents a square world of round pieces in black and white. There are 181 black pieces and 180 white ones in total. While the board is fixed, the pieces can be placed in millions upon millions of different ways, just as life in the real world may take many turns. The proper placement of each tiny Go piece is similar to how one might solve a difficult problem in life.
Go pays much attention to peaceful competition and coexistence (共存). In a game of Go, the players do not wipe out (消灭) each other’s pieces. Instead, they simply try to win a larger share of space while allowing the other side some space. However, in chess and Chinese chess, the players try to wipe out as many of the other side’s pieces as possible. The one who forces the other side’s commander (主帅) into a dead corner then wins the game. Besides, Go carries deeper cultural and philosophical connotations (哲学内涵).
Wu Qingyuan (1914-2014), a modern Go talent, believed that instead of fighting as enemies, the two players work together to play an excellent game and try to achieve peace finally.
| Title: A Game of Wisdom and | |
| Introduction | The game of Go is known as one of Chinese greatest artistic types, which is a test of the mind and full of |
| Development | ● Go was created over 4,000 years ago in China and has spread around the world ever since. ● Today, Go still plays an important role in |
| Implications for life | ● Go pieces can be placed in millions upon millions of different ways. |
| Value | ● Compared with chess, Go has deeper connotations since peace and ● Players of both sides try to achieve peace instead of fighting as enemies. |
6 . Our brain is the most important part in our body. It helps us to think, speak, feel, and move. It’s no wonder we need to look after it and just like the rest of our body. We need to keep it exercised to keep it healthy.
Our brain is made up of 86 billion neurons—or nerve cells (神经元), but as we age, some of these gradually die off. In serious situations, nerve cells in different areas of the brain become hurt and finally die, leading to a condition called dementia (痴呆), which influences a person’s ability to think properly.
It’s a good idea to train our brain by learning ways to increase our memory and intelligence. For example, solving crossword puzzles (字迹) can be really helpful. Dr Catherine Loveday, who’s a neuropsychologist, thinks learning a second language is also great for the brain, as it requires us to switch (切换) between languages, making our brain stronger.
However, if you don’t speak another language, there are still ways to train your brain. If you’re right-handed, try performing tasks like brushing your teeth with your left hand to improve your brain.
The main reason we do these exercises is to keep our brain active. It can help to develop additional abilities to help protect the brain against the loss of memory or thinking. Dr Catherine Loveday, says, “Even if people take up languages or other activities later in life, it will provide them with a degree of protection.” As an old saying goes, “It’s never too old to learn.”
According to a study, people are surprised to know about that eating chocolate might increase our ability to get and use knowledge. It could improve how you learn and use information. Although it might not be good for the rest of your body, at least it could make you a brain box!
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World Book Day falls on April 23 every year. It was set up by UNESCO (联合国教科文组织) in 1955 to encourage people, especially teenagers, to discover the pleasure of reading.
Many countries celebrate World Book Day. On that day in the UK, millions of students can buy books of special price, much lower than usual in any bookstore. World Book Day is also celebrated in China. Reading can benefit (获益) people in many ways. Reading helps us become more knowledgeable and more intelligent. Reading helps us to follow the latest developments of science and technology. Reading provides us with information about other culture and places of the world. When we read, we may find many things that are unfamiliar to us. The more we read, the more we know, the smarter we become.
“Reading makes a full man.” Therefore, it’s necessary for us to form the habit of reading daily.
Introduction of World Book Day | |
| Its celebrating time | On |
| The | To encourage people to discover the |
| Benefits of reading | Helping people to have more |
| Helping people to go | |
| The more people read, the more we know. | |
8 . A magnitude-7.4 earthquake happened in Taiwan on 3 April 2024. It killed several people and took down many buildings. The terrible event makes us realize that Chengdu is also near the earthquake area. What can we do to keep us safe during the earthquake?
The key to being safe during an earthquake is preparation. So an earthquake emergency kit should be something we need to have. According to research, there is a 30% higher chance that you will live through an earthquake if you have the kit. Because your earthquake emergency kit will make sure you have all you need and deal with any injuries until help arrives.
How to build your own earthquake emergency kit? Firstly, choose some ready-to-eat canned (罐头的) meat and enough fresh bottled water. Secondly, choose medicine that will help deal with cuts, burns and injuries. Lastly, bring some useful tools like flashlights, matches, knives and dust masks (防尘面具).
While an earthquake safety kit will be helpful after an earthquake, it is also important to remember the useful life-saving skills below.
First, keep shoes near your bed. The most common injuries from earthquakes come from standing on broken glass. Second, don’t depend on doorways for protection. During an earthquake, get under a table or a desk. Hold on until the shaking stops. Practice “Drop, Cover and Hold On” as the picture shows. Third, discuss with your family what to do, where to meet if you are lost and how you will communicate when an earthquake comes. Last but not least, make sure there is an out-of the-area friend that family members can contact with. Text messages often go through when phone calls won’t work, so don’t give up if you can’t make a call.
Earthquake Preparations and Safety Tips | ||
| A(n) | The earthquake in Taiwan caused many deaths and injuries. | |
| Ways to keep you safe during the earthquake | Useful tools in an earthquake emergency kit | Importance： They Necessities： ●Canned meat and enough water. ●Medicine that helps you ●Flashlights, matches, knives and dust masks. |
| Useful skills to save your life | ●Keep shoes near your bed. ● ●Discuss how to communicate with your family members. ●Don’t | |
Earthquakes show how powerful nature is and how they influence human’s lives in many ways. In an earthquake, the ground moves or shakes, sometimes very strongly. It can bring buildings falling down to the ground and break up roads, railways, and bridges. A big quake can also kill hundreds of thousands of people. That’s why it’s important to use special designs and technologies to make our towns safer from earthquakes when planning and building them.
These days, there are many ways for scientists to know an earthquake may be on the way. A seismograph is an instrument that picks up movement of the ground. Modern seismographs use computers that carry out results from the recordings right away. Scientists also use information from satellites which tell them when the ground is moving and an earthquake may happen soon.
But how do earthquakes happen? The earth has four main layers (层). The top of it is made up of many pieces. These pieces are called plates. The lines where plates meet are called faults. Three kinds of faults are created as plates move in different ways.
Usually, the plates move smoothly. But when they suddenly move several centimeters, pressure builds up where they are pushing into or against each other, so that earthquakes happen. Almost all earthquakes happen at faults. Most of the earthquakes happen along the coast. However, some happen in the middle of land, where the plates meet.
Overall, earthquakes teach us to respect nature’s power and get ready for surprises from it. They make us rethink the importance of understanding how our planet works and how we should live with it.
Harm from earthquakes ●Buildings, roads, railways, and bridges fall down or break.●People can be killed. |
| Structure of the earth ●Three types of faults:①plates pushing into each other ②plates ③plates pushing against each other |
| Solution to lower the harm from earthquakes ●We need to make our towns safer from earthquakes with | Cause of earthquakes ● | |
| Ways of ●Use a seismograph. ●Get information from satellites. | Location of earthquakes ●Along the coast or in the middle of land. | |
| Lesson learnt from earthquakes ●Develop a balanced relationship between human and | ||
A surprising different kinds of insects (昆虫) live in our planet. Most of insects live more than all other animals together. Insects have survived (存活) on earth for more than 300 million years, and they may have the ability to survive for millions more.
Insects can be found almost everywhere—on the high mountains and on the bottom of rushing rivers, in the cold South Pole and near the hot equator. They dig through the ground, jump and sing in trees, and run and dance in the air. They are so small that they can hide in almost any tiny space. The one place that they have not yet been found is open oceans (海洋).
There are many reasons why insects are so successful in surviving. They are able to gradually change themselves to survive in changeable and quite difficult environments. Insects have a strong ability to reproduce: An African ant queen can lay as many as 43,000 eggs a day. A strong and hard cover can protect their soft bodies from chemicals, water and physical harm. Their wings help them fly away from dangers or towards food. Also, insects can survive on a wide and different kinds of natural and man-made foods—wood, grain, pepper, cotton, books, other insects and so on.
Another reason for their success is their protective colors. They come in many different colors and shapes. An insect may be right before our eyes, but nearly unable to be seen because it looks like a green leaf, a seed or some other natural things. Some insects have wing patterns that look like the eyes of bitter-tasting insects, and hungry enemies are fooled into avoiding them. Others use bright colors to send warning signals (信号) that they taste bad, have pains or are poisonous (有毒的).
The Surprising Insects | ||
| Amazing insects | ◎ Insects have lived on earth for over 300 million years. Most lived longer than all other animals together. ◎Insects can live everywhere | |
| Strong abilities to survive | To | This helps insects live in hard conditions. |
| To reproduce | An African ant queen can lay 43,000 eggs a day. | |
| To adapt to a wide and different kinds of foods | Insects can survive on variety of foods both from | |
| To protect themselves | ◎The strong and hard cover is used as a ◎Different colors and shapes | |
