1 . Would you like to live in a city where buildings turn off the lights for you, and self-driving cars will find the nearest parking space themselves? Although it might sound a little far from you, living in a “smart” city like this could happen sooner than you think.

The towns that we have lived in for centuries have changed a lot, while completely new cities are being built. One such place is the city of Songdo. In every home there will be a “telepresence” system（远程遥控系统）—allowing users to control the heating（暖气）and locks, take part in video meetings, and receive education, healthcare and government services. Around the city, escalators（自动扶梯）will only move when someone is on them, and offices and schools will all be connected to the system.

The great mind behind Songdo is from the company Cisco. In fact, technology companies around the world such as IBM, Siemens and Microsoft are already in the business.

About 75% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050, so cities will need to be more modern to solve the coming problems. “Making cities smarter is one way out, and I think this will in turn make cities greener.” said Dan Hill, head of a research company.

2 . Many people like to watch 3D movies at the cinema. But do you know students in the US can watch 3D movies in class? They can learn a lot from these movies.

In the US, some students can watch 3D movies in many lessons, such as maths, science and geometry (几何) lessons. The 3D lessons show a special world to the students. They can help students understand the knowledge better. These classes turn learning into an adventure (冒险). Students can remember the knowledge easily.

The students like 3D lessons very much. They say, “It’s easy to learn, because you can remember all the things in the movies, and it’s fun to learn.”

5 . We are now living in the 21st century. Life now is much more _____ than before. Many changes (变化) have happened.

Tony is a _____ in Grade 8 at an American middle school. He felt surprised and _____ on his first day of school because he found his classroom filled with technology equipment (科技设备).

In Tony’s classroom, there are many electronics, like iPads. This term they will _____ the electronics to take notes, watch videos and do some homework. “It’s relaxing,” said Tony. “I often _____ my maths problems on my iPad and ask my classmate or teachers for help.”

With the help of new technology, students can finish their homework _____. “Technology is quite common in most of our classrooms now,” the headmaster said. “We’re trying to develop technology to open up the world to kids. It can _____ the outside world in and lets kids know more.”

Mr Miller, a science teacher _____ “It is a quick way for students to know the outside world,” he said. Mr Miller considers himself as a guide (向导) of learning instead of as a teacher. “If they have a _____, I will try to teach them how to find the answer,” he said.

Dale, Tony’s classmate, loves technology. He was not interested in class before, but now he likes the classes very much. “The classes help me use what I have ______ in the computer lessons.” Dale said. “Most importantly, I enjoy the classroom because, of course, it will help my studies.”

9 . Humans’ Greatest Achievements

The Earth is about 4.6 billion years old, but the humans have lived on it for just 200,000 years. In that short time, we have achieved some amazing things.

    1     The list is almost endless. The invention of the airplane has changed our lives. The discovery of antibiotics( 抗生素 ) has saved the lives of millions of people. Can you imagine living without electricity? What about the printing press(印刷术) ? Without the printing press, you wouldn’t be reading this. In the last 50 years, there have been great achievements in communication, such as radio, TV, computers, the Internet. and smartphones(智能手机).     2       

What about the arts? The arts have brought pleasure to many people, but are the Beatles and Bach more important than antibiotics?     3    

Finally, we must not forget humans’ early achievements.     4     We can’t imagine modern life without cooked food and cars.

What are humans’ greatest achievements? To answer the question, we need to decide what we mean by “great”.     5     Or is it just something that makes us say “Wow”, like the Great Wall? What do you think?

Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft landed successfully on April 16, 2022. Three Chinese astronauts, Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, Ye Guangfu came back to the Earth. They s    1     in space for six months. It is the eighth time for Chinese to visit space after Yang Liwei went as the first Chinese 18 years ago. These special “v    2    ” took fantastic photos in space, just like taking trips there.

Can common people go to visit space like them? The answer is “yes”. On September 15, 2021, Space X sent four common people into space. The four spent three days in space. In July, 2021, 70-year-old British billionaire (亿万富翁) Richard Branson and 57-year-old American billionaire Jeff Bezos, both flew into space. But some think these trips are for the super r    3    . With the sky-high prices, most common people should give up their space dreams. However, US flight engineer Bobak Ferdowsi believes the price will come d    4    . Maybe in 10 to 15 years, it will be a choice between “Do I buy a new car or do I go to space?”

Even if we can’t have a space trip now, we had a science class from space. The woman astronaut Wang Yaping, the space teacher, gave us such a l    5     just as she did eight years ago. That was great fun, wasn’t it?

We will also be able to e    6     a space movie. A Russian movie team lived on the International Space Station from Oct 5 to 16 to film the movie Challenge. It’s the first time a movie was made in space. Do you look forward to seeing the wonderful film?