1 . Ice cream is especially popular in the United States. In fact, Americans eat more ice cream than people in any other country. Ice cream is a frozen treat that comes in hundreds of flavors. What’s your favorite flavor? Is it vanilla? That is the most popular flavor by far. Chocolate ranks second in popularity.

Making ice cream is pretty simple. It’s usually made from milk, cream, sugar, and flavorings (调味品). Mix them all together as you freeze them and you get ice cream. As the mixture begins to freeze you can then add fruit, nuts, or chocolate. Soft ice cream is just the ice cream that isn’t fully frozen yet. Some people make ice cream at home in an ice cream mixer, a special kind of home freezer. But nearly all ice cream produced today is made by machines in ice cream factories.

There are many other popular frozen desserts that are similar to ice cream. Sherbet is made from fruit syrup (糖浆) that has milk or egg white added to it. Spumoni is an ice cream with fruits and nuts. Ice milk, also called low-fat ice cream, is a sweetened frozen food made of skimmed milk.

You can even get ice cream made without milk or cream. Soy ice cream and rice ice cream are made without dairy products. They’re made using soy bean milk or rice milk instead.

Ice cream comes in countless flavors. You’ve probably eaten vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Other favorites include strawberry, cherry, peach, butter pecan, and chocolate mint. But have you ever eaten ice cream flavored with garlic or green tea? Some people do. You can even buy ice cream flavored with rose petals.

2 . A program at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is hoping to fight against loneliness brought on by the pandemic by forming friendships between students and seniors in the community. They’re making it possible through weekly calls.

“It’s been a thing I look forward to every week,” Miranda Savioli, a VCU medical student said.

The program is run by students involved with the American Geriatrics Society and pairs medical and health science students with seniors in the community.

VCU education administrator for the School of Medicine, Chuck Alexander, says it was formed to fight against loneliness and give students valuable interaction with that age group — something that’s been missing since training programs stopped earlier this year. “It’s mostly just social — just chatting,” Alexander said. “A lot of times they just need someone to talk to. A lot of times they feel that they have a connection with someone younger who is just entering a new phase in their career and that they have some wisdom to impart to them — medically and socially as a friend.”

So far, the volunteer program has paired around 40 students with seniors.

Every week, Savioli video calls retiree Joan Kerby, who lives in a retirement community in Henrico.

“It’s a really good connection because in lockdown you really don’t have long conversations with anybody,” Kerby said. Those long conversations soon turned into a visit. The two participants decided to meet in person back in November and Kerby said it was a special moment. “We talked for two hours. We probably could have gone on longer but we had to stop,” Kerby said.

Savioli says they plan to keep the program going, and encourages others to pick up the phone and call a loved one who may be isolated. “It was developed to help seniors with isolation, but mean, we all got isolated during this pandemic,” Savioli said. “It’s been nice to talk to someone every week.” The group has no plans to stop the program. “We’re going to keep the program going and as for Joan and I, we’ve established ourselves as lifelong friends,” Savioli said.

Do You Think You Will Have Your Own Robot?

When we watch movies about the future, we sometimes see robots. They are usually like human servants. They help with the housework and do jobs like working in dirty or dangerous places.

Today there are already robots working in factories. Some can help to build cars, and they do simple jobs over and over again.     1     Fewer people will do such jobs in the future because they are boring, but robots will never get bored.

Scientists are now trying to make robots look like humans and do the same things as we do. Some robots in Japan can walk and dance. They are fun to watch. However, some scientists believe that although we can make robots move like people,     2     让它们真正像人类一样思考将是很困难的. For example, scientist James White thinks that robots will never be able to wake up and know where they are.     3     但是许多科学家都不同意怀特先生的观点. They think that robots will even be able to talk like humans in 25 to 50 years.

Some scientists believe that there will be more robots in the future.     4     However, they agree it may take hundreds of years. These new robots will have many different shapes. Some will look like humans and others might look like animals. In India, for example, scientists made robots that look like snakes.     5     If buildings fall down with people inside, these snake robots can help look for people under the buildings. This was not possible 20 years ago, but computers and rockets also seemed impossible 100 years ago. We never know what will happen in the future!

“He is a fool who cannot be angry, but he is really a wise man     1     won’t.” The habit of keeping pleasant is indeed better     2     an income of a million dollars a year. The life without cheerfulness is like the severe winter without     3     sun. We all love cheerful company,     4     we tend to forget that cheerfulness is a habit which can be developed by all.

We find     5     very difficult to be happy when we are in sorrow. It requires great courage. We should never forget that to be cheerful when it is not easy shows greatness. Thorns(荆棘) may be in     6     (we) way, but how happy the conqueror’s(征服者) song is!

The perfection of cheerfulness     7     (lie) in the happy frame of mind(愉悦的心情). It is displayed in good temper and kind behavior. It comes     8     (main) from personal goodness and from belief in the goodness of others. It can make people see the glory in the grass and the sunshine on the flower. It encourages happy thoughts, and lives in an atmosphere of peace. It costs nothing, and yet it is     9     (value). It blesses its possessor(祝福它的拥有者) and affords a large measure of enjoyment to others. To light up others’ heart, one’s own heart must     10     (light) first.

9 . Winter sports have lots of fun! But you have to know how to be safe.

Keeping toasty warm

You are going skating. You want to prepare your snowballing for the next big fight. But you have to remember to wear warm gloves and boots.

Fun in the sun

Sunscreen (防晒霜) may look funny in wintertime, but don’ t forget to put it on. Sunlight re - flects off all that bright white snow and ice and back onto your face. That’ s why you need to cover up with sunscreen, and lip balm (润唇膏) even if it’ s cloudy outside.

Sled safety

Going down a hill at an amazing speed can be great. But you must be safe when you’ re sledding. When you choose your sled (雪橇), make sure it’ s strong and safe. Never use things from home like garbage - can lids, plastic bags or pool floats for sleighs (雪橇). These are dangerous while you’ re sledding. Also, never use a sled that has any sharp, jagged edges or broken parts.

Also, a bike helmet (头盔) can protect your head.

Make sure the bottom of the hill must not be anywhere near cars or roads. This is important.

10 . If you walk along the streets, you will find children as young as seven years old walking to school or taking the public bus on their own. If you ride a public bus with a baby or young child, you will find at least three people standing up to give up their seats for you. And as a booming town with a young population, Xiamen has a lot to offer young families with kids.

There are lots of places of interest for you to enjoy. The following are some of them.

※A walking adventure on Gulangyu Islet: There you can have a round-the-island trip by fast boat and the Xiamen Underwater World has a dolphin and sea lion performance and brings you an enjoyment of around 400 types of underwater life from around the world.

Opening hours: 08: 00-18: 00 Click the map!

Price: 70 yuan (adults); 50 yuan (children above 1.4m)

※Wild rides at Guanyinshan Water Park: The park has a wave pool, which creates seven types of wave effects. It also has a hair-raising water ride that speeds down…

Opening hours: 10: 00-20:00 Click the map!

Price: 120 yuan per person; 60 yuan(visitors aged above 60 and below 1.4m)

※Xiamen Firefly Park: Last of all, young nature lovers will enjoy the wonder of watching more than 100, 000 fireflies light the dark night in the firefly park. Children will also learn the roles fireflies play in protecting the ecology by controlling the number of pests.

Opening hours: 19: 30-21: 30 Click the map!

Price: Free for children up to 16 years old