1 . Vehicles on our roads are now mostly petrol and diesel (柴油) cars, but their days cannot continue for much longer. A recent university study found that current electric cars could be used for 87 percent of daily car journeys in the US. That figure could rise to 98 percent by 2020.

One hurdle to the widespread adoption of electric cars has been “range anxiety” — drivers concerns about running out of electricity on a journey. While petrol stations are conveniently located across national road systems, the necessary network of electric charging stations is still being developed. That said, charging points are becoming increasingly common throughout the USA.

Attitudes towards electric vehicles have changed greatly over the last few years. Not that long ago, electric cars were met with distrust, and their high prices drove customers away. Thanks to improvements in battery capacity, recharging times, performance and price, the current generation of electric cars are starting to persuade picky consumers. Plug-in cars will soon give internal combustion engine (内燃机) models a run for their money.

As well as development on the road, electric vehicles are taking to the seas and skies. Electric boats are among the oldest methods of electric travel, having enjoyed several decades of popularity from the late 19th to the early 20th century before petrol-powered outboard motors took over. Now, the global drive for renewable energy sources is bringing electric boats back. Steps towards electric air travel are also being made, with Airbus and NASA among the organizations developing and testing battery-powered planes. The experiments could soon make commercial electric flight a reality.

Electric vehicles do not produce any emissions (排放). If the US could replace 87 percent of its cars with electric vehicles, it would reduce the national demand for petrol by 61 percent. However, because of the production processes and the generation of electricity required to charge these vehicles, they cannot claim (声称) to be completely emission-free. That said, as many countries continue to increase their use of renewable energy sources, electric vehicles will become even cleaner.

2 . If you’re interested in pushing yourself academically while experiencing college life, our Summer Programs for Pre-College Students (SPP) can be ideal for you. In the programs, you will be able to make friends with fellow students, engage in social activities around the city and on campus, and experience pre-college summer study at one of the world’s top teaching and research universities.

Our long-running summer term pre-college offerings include a choice of one-, two-, three-, and six-week programs that prepare you for success in college. With five exciting and challenging pre-college summer programs to choose from, you can earn college credit, discover a new subject area, perform cutting-edge research in university labs, or immerse yourself in hands-on learning.

SPP invites you to join other highly motivated teens from 87 countries in our summer programs for high school students — and take the leap into college life and academics, which enables you to take on new academic challenges, explore a variety of interests and consider possible majors. You can take college courses alongside undergraduates either on campus or online. And you can also earn up to eight college credits by conducting in-depth STEM research with individual instructors or as part of a group project. Or, you can immerse yourself in a variety of stimulating noncredit seminars that blend lectures with experiential learning, discussions, and projects.

Embracing college life is an exciting experience. Whether you live on campus or commute, you’ll get to know the ins and outs of college and city life. If you live on campus, you will stay in the residence hall, sharing a room and participating in dorm activities. There are typically two students per room and safety is our highest priority: residence halls have live-in university staff and 24-hour security. Resident program assistants provide guidance, coordinate and lead social activities, ranging from group activities that include comedy shows to field trips.

Your hard work will be combined with social events and fun activities — and you’ll still have time for your own adventures on campus! Email the SPP office at sppoffice@mail.edu.

4 . "Long time no see.” is a very interesting sentence. When I first read this sentence from an American friend’s e-mail, I laughed. I thought it was a perfect example of Chinglish.

Obviously, it is a word-by-word literal translation (直译) of the Chinese greeting with wrong English grammar! Later on, my friend told me that it is a standard American greeting. I was too surprised to believe her. Her words were unbelievable at all. So I did research on Google.com. To my surprise, there are over 60 thousand web pages containing “Long time no see.” Though it is sort of informal, it is part of the language that Americans use daily. Interestingly, if you type this phrase in Microsoft Word, the software will tell you that the grammar needs to be corrected.

Nobody knows the origin of this Chinglish sentence. Some people believe that it came from Charlie Chan’s movies. In the 1930s, Hollywood moviemakers successfully created a worldwide famous Chinese detective (警探) named “Charlie Chan” on wide screens. Detective Chan liked to teach Americans some Chinese wisdom by quoting Confucius. “Long time no see.” was his symbol. Soon after Charlie Chan, “Long time no see.” became a popular expression in America thanks to the popularity of these movies.

Some scholars compare America to a huge melting pot. All kinds of cultures are mixed in the pot together, and they change the color and taste of each other. Language is usually the first thing to be influenced in the mixed pot.

You can have some examples from other countries, such as pizza from Italian, sushi from Japanese, and déjà vu from French etc. There is a long list! Since Americans admire Chinese culture more and more nowadays, I believe more Chinese words will become American English in the future. In this way, the American’s melting pot keeps adding richness.

7 . Psychologists tell us that there are four basic stages that human beings pass through when they enter and live in a new culture.

Culture begins with the “honeymoon stage”. This is the period of time when we first arrive in a country where everything about the new culture is strange and exciting. We may be suffering from “jet lag” but we are thrilled to be in the new environment, seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and language, eating new kinds of food.

Unfortunately, after we have settled down into our new life, we can become very tired and begin to miss our homeland and our family, friends, pets. All the little problems in life seem to be much bigger and more disturbing when you face them in a foreign culture.

The third stage comes when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the host culture. Your sense of humor usually becomes stronger and you realize that you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor.

The fourth stage can be called “at ease at last”. Now you feel quite comfortable in your new surroundings. You can cope with most problems that occur. You may still have problems with the language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them.

There is a fifth stage of culture shock which many people don’t know about. This is called “reverse culture shock”. Surprisingly, this occurs when you go back to your native culture and find that you have changed and that things there have changed while you have been away. Now you feel a little uncomfortable back home. Life is a struggle!

9 . Owura Kwadwo Hottish teaches computer science in a school. It is a normal school except for the fact that it didn’t have______

Owura became famous after he posted photos of him on the Internet. In the picture. people could see he was teaching his students by______ an entire computer on the blackboard.The photos showed the______level of education for children in Ghana. People were______ that Owura made sure each button was drawn correctly. He would come to school half an hour ahead of______every day. He drew the computer on the blackboard, but at the end of his class, it was______off to start the next class, so he had to______it the next day! Owura’s efforts______when Microsoft took______of his act. They first took him to an international educators’ meeting in Singapore. He made a______about his teaching methods at the meeting and ______a standing ovation(欢呼) after the speech.

______,Owura got the thing he always wanted for his students—some companies______computers to the school. Not a single child in the school had seen a real computer in their lives. Thanks to their teacher’s______the world took care and treat them with ______

10 . “Little Annie” Sullivan, as she was called when she was young, was no stranger to hardship. She was _______sightless herself and was, at one time, diagnosed(诊断)as hopelessly insane(精神病的)by the doctors. She was locked in the basement of a _______ institution outside of Boston. At times, Little Annie would violently _______ anyone who came near. Most of the time she generally _________everyone in her presence.

An elderly nurse _______ there was hope, however, and she made up her mind to show love to the child. Every day she visited Little Annie. For the most part, the child did not acknowledge(理会)the nurse’s presence, but she still _______ to visit. The kindly woman left cookies for her and spoke words of love and encouragement. She was sure that Little Annie could _______, if only she were shown love.

Eventually, doctors noticed a _______in the girl. Where they once saw anger and hate, they now noted gentleness and _______.They moved her upstairs where she continued to ________ .Then the day finally came when this seemingly “hopeless”child was set free.

Anne Sullivan ________ into a young woman with a(n) hope to help others as she, herself, was helped by the kindly nurse. It was she who ________the great potential in Helen Keller. She loved her, trained her and played with her. Anne Sullivan worked________in Helen’s life; but it was the loving nurse who first believed in Little Annie and lovingly changed an uncommunicative child into a kind-hearted teacher.

The name of Helen Keller would have ________ unknown if it had not been for Anne Sullivan.   __________would the name of Anne Sullivan if it had not been for the kind and devoted nurse. And so it goes. Just how far back does the chain of love extend(延伸)? And how forward will it lead?