3 . Bamboo is a wonderful plant for many people around the world. There are over 1,000 uses for it. People make tables, clothes, medicine, and musical instruments with it. Pandas may eat bamboo every day, and people can also eat it.

The fastest growing plant in the world is bamboo. Some bamboo grows so quickly that people say they can watch it grow. The speed of growth depends on the type of bamboo, the earth and the season. Normal bamboo grows 3—10 cm a day. It usually grows in tropical (热带的) areas. It can also be found in other parts of the world. Bamboo plants are found in Asia, Australia, parts of Africa, and South America.

One of the world’s oldest building materials is bamboo. Like today, people use it because it’s very strong. They use it to build houses, boats, and bridges. The Chinese made a bamboo bridge over the Min River in Sichuan, China almost 1,000 years ago. You can still visit it today. Also, bamboo is still used to build houses today, especially in China and Philippines.

As a part of history, bamboo is very important. The great scientist Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb (灯泡), but he made it perfect. He wanted the material inside to burn for a long period of time. He tried over 1,000 different types of materials. However, none worked very well. One day, he tried to use a piece of bamboo and the light bulb lit up for over a thousand hours. This invention helped other scientists to make the modern light bulb we use today.

Some people see a hobby as a waste of time. They think a hobby is only something to pass the time. In fact, a hobby is much more than that. Its advantages (优点) are as follows.

★People can have time for themselves.

If one has a hobby, he or she can enjoy quiet time. People usually think more clearly when they enjoy their favorite hobbies. People often get some good ideas at that time.

★People can discover their talent.

People often find new talent of themselves when they enjoy their hobbies. Some people find their talent for playing the piano only when they sit down and play. The only way to find this talent is to try. The first thing you should do is to find something that you are interested in.

★People can feel relaxed.

Most hobbies are good ways to relax. Coming home from work and sitting down to enjoy things you like help you relax. Hobbies also help you get a better sleep.

Andy’s mom died in a car accident. A drunk driver hit his mom’s car. Andy was angry and accused (控告) the driver. The drunk driver is now in prison. Andy visited the prison to confront (对峙) the driver. The drunk driver said sorry many times. Andy kept crying. “‘Sorry’ is not going to bring my mom back. Your carelessness took away my mom,” he said. Andy was mad and left the prison. He couldn’t stay calm when he confronted the driver. He wanted him to stay in the prison for the rest of his life.

Andy was not in the mood to work. He asked his boss if he could take a week off. He loved his job, but he could not stop thinking about his mom’s death.

Andy’s wife told him to do something useful instead of watching TV all day. Andy agreed with her. It was time for him to start doing something that would make his mom proud. Andy created a program to prevent drunk driving. He wanted to give drunk people free rides. Andy visited colleges, clubs, and bars all across the country to encourage people to avoid driving after drinking.

Hello, my name is Mike. I work at a training (培训) school in Shanghai. And I teach students English. My work is very interesting, because I meet a lot of lovely boys and girls every day. Now let me introduce (介绍) my day for you.

My work is from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. I get up at 5 o’clock every day. I don’t live in Shanghai. I live in Nanjing with my family, because I want to be with them. So I have to take the train (火车) at 6:00 to Shanghai. It takes (花费) me two hours to get to Shanghai. It’s a long time. I can do a lot of things on the train. I can read books, draw pictures and talk with my friends on the phone. Sometimes, I don’t go home after work. I go to the sports club and do some sports. At night, I live with my friends.

A large number of emojis (表情符号) are sent online every day. Emojis are pictures used in texts and web pages. Since emojis were invented in the late 1990s, they have been used as a modern international language.

We like emojis for different reasons. A written message is always black and white, but emojis can show meanings beautifully. Sometimes emojis also change the way we write. The more emojis we use, the fewer words we use.

There are many emojis with different meanings. They are easy to understand. For example, a smiling face means “I’m happy”. A cake with candles means “Happy Birthday”. When we want to say “goodbye”, we use a smiling face with a waving hand. When we are in a terrible situation but we have to laugh to cheer ourselves up, we can use a “cry-laugh” emoji.

Now emojis have great influence on us. Sometimes, emojis can be helpful to people from different countries in understanding each other. And when we are communicating online, we can’t see the person’s face and there is no feeling exchange. Then the invention of emojis helps change the situation. For example, when we receive a smiling face from our friends online, we try to exchange our feelings by sending the same picture.

It seems that emojis change as time goes by. However, we should be careful when we use them online.

The Slender West Lake Scenic Spot (瘦西湖风景区) lies in the northwestern part of Yangzhou, with its south gate facing Great Rainbow Bridge Road. It covers an area of about 123.6 hectares (公顷). The Slender West Lake was named a National Key Scenic Spot in 1988 and National AAAAA Tourist Area in 2010.

The Slender West Lake used to be a long river named the Baozhang Lake, which is 4 kilometers long and less than 100 meters wide. A famous poet Wang Hang in the Qing Dynasty once wrote a poem, from which the Slender West Lake gets its present name and for which it is well known all over the world.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, many gardens were built along the Slender West Lake. Following the lines of the natural landscape (景观), a large number of houses along the moats (护城河) were built in different locations (位置) during different periods. Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty both visited the Slender West Lake.

The Slender West Lake Scenic Spot is a symbol of the lake gardens in China. In a word, the Slender West Lake not only stands for the beauty of natural landscape but also has a long history and rich culture.

“I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning to surf the Internet.”

“I browse (浏览) Douyin almost 20 times a day.”

“I spend more time in chat rooms than with my ‘real-life’ friends.”

Do you know any people like this? They are part of a new addiction (瘾) called Internet addiction. The people with Internet addiction spend more than 30 to 40 hours online every week.

A study shows that about 10% Internet users have Internet addiction. They can’t get off the Internet easily. Some young people spend more time on the Internet than with family and friends. That’s why some experts (专家) worry most about them.

Is “surfing the Internet” a hobby or an addiction for you? You may have a problem if you have one of the following symptoms:

①You go out with your friends less and less.

②You can’t wait to get online again.

③You want to cut short the time online, but then you still spend several hours.

④You do not take part in important family events or you do not do school projects because you like to spend hours on the Internet.

How to solve the Internet addiction? Some experts advise people to set strict limits (限制) on their time for Internet use. You have to learn to control it, or the Internet will control you.