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3 . It sounds like something from science fiction — a space journey into the vast expanse of space, heading towards Mars. While we’re not quite ready to put a person on the land, the question we ask today is:     1    

The space race saw the USA and USSR compete to achieve the first in spaceflight. The Soviet Union released Sputnik 1, an artificial satellite (人造卫星), before anyone else.     2     Now it appears that Mars is the heaven body of desire. While the reputation and bragging (吹嘘) rights to be the first nation to touch down is an obvious draw, there are other reasons we want to get there.

    3     You only have to look at the fossilized remains of the dinosaurs to see the benefit of finding another habitable planet. While Mars doesn’t have the right conditions to call it home just yet, there’s always the concept of terraforming (地球化) — changing the environment of a planet to meet our needs.

However, not everyone agrees.     4     He has said the concept of changing habitability of another planet because of the damage we have done to Earth makes no sense when we can simply terraform Earth.

It seems the main reason is the search for extraterrestrial (地球外的) life.     5     But now seemingly dead, the potential fossils could answer questions about our own evolution and that of our planet. One theory is that bacterial life on our planet didn’t start here, but was transferred via asteroid from Mars.

4 . After graduating from Ontario College of Teachers, I became a teacher at a one-room country school in Aldborough Township.

That first day of school as a 19-year-old female teacher was a frightening experience. It was one thing to have graduated as a successful student; it was another thing to face a classroom of little faces that were waiting for the “new teacher.” I had a classroom of 21 children of different shapes and sizes. The youngest was five going on six and the eldest was 16.

There were two doors for entrance in my school, one for the girls, one for the boys and just inside each door was a chemical toilet — no outdoor facilities for us! The heat in the building was a wood-burning furnace (火炉) down in the basement. Tending the furnace was one of my responsibilities. Luckily, I knew a bit about starting a fire, so the school didn’t burn down.

What I found most difficult was that a parent might take a child out of school for any reason. I had one Dutch family, whose father would keep the children out of school to help with the farm work. Finally, I got tired of this and sent an education officer to solve the problem. Needless to say, I was very unpopular with that father from then on, but the children came to school much more regularly!

In the classroom, the older students helped the younger ones with learning, as well as with putting on coats and hats. If someone’s lunch was forgotten, everyone shared a bit of their food. We were a family. We had good times and bad times, but we kept learning. Far beyond maths, social studies, reading, grammar and writing, we learned how to get along with each other.

I loved teaching at this small school and knew I was teaching the children about life as much as about subjects. I’d like to believe some students will have an influence on the world that will last long after I am gone.

5 . What Your Dog Is Really Thinking

Reading a pup’s body language requires experience and expert guidance. Zazie Todd, a dog trainer and founder of the blog Companion Animal Psychology, considers how to figure out the dogs’ behaviour.

If your dog licks their mouth

They’re stressed. Recently, two European studies have highlighted the meaning of this licking. One found that it was a dogs’ response to seeing an angry or aggressive human face on a computer screen.     1     . If you spot this sign, try reducing your dog’s stress levels. It could be as simple as giving them more physical space.

If there are fireworks and your dog is shaking

The noises are frightening.     2     . But a surprising number of people don’t realize that shaking and trembling (and hiding or seeking out people) are signs of fear. Whereas only a quarter of owners say their dog is afraid of loud noises, half report these behavioural signs.

    3    

They’re anxious. Obvious signs of an unhappy dog include hiding or trying to leave the exam room, but commonly missed signs range from a tucked tail and lowered ears to trembling. If your dog gets stressed at appointments, ask what can be done. Many vets now use food to make the experience more fun.

If your dog leans into you during a petting session.

    4     . If you’re unsure that a dog is enjoying being petted, stop, then watch their reaction. If they choose to wander of, the session is over. Other signs of discomfort include smelling the floor, looking away and breathing heavily. However, if they lean on you or scratch at you to get more hugs, continue!     5     .

6 . While there’s nothing quite like watching a movie at the theater, watching a movie at home is often more convenient, more comfortable, and less expensive.     1     Either way, you’ll need to pick a great movie, make your space movie-ready, and prepare some delicious foods.

    2     Maybe you want to enjoy your movie alone, or maybe you want to round up some friends or family members to watch with you. It’s your call. Watching a movie with others can be exciting, but it also means that you might need to deal with a movie selection.

Pick a movie type. If you are watching alone, simply pick the type that you’re in the mood to watch. If you’re stressed, a comedy could help you relax. If you want some excitement, go for a horror film. On the other hand, deciding on a type as a group can be hard, particularly for groups.     3    

Look through available movies within the type. Browse (浏览) movies within your own collection and use a Blu-ray player to watch them.     4     For each movie you consider, check out online review s to get a better idea of movie content and quality.

Check movie ratings if you are watching with children. If you are watching a movie with kids, be certain to check movie ratings as you go through to help you find age-appropriate content.     5     You should do research on your own as well.

10 . Kristin Schell turned a delivery mistake into a way to connect with neighbors. Ten years ago, her family ________ to a new home in Texas. One day, Kristin ________ a few picnic tables online for a party in her backyard. The deliveryman set one table down in her front yard ________ , and Kristin couldn’t get the ________ out of her head. “After the party, I painted the table turquoise (青绿色) — my favorite color — and put it in the front yard, just a few feet from the sidewalk,” she said.

That turquoise table became the place where Kristin and her kids ________ . They used to do activities at the kitchen table, but they now did them out front at the picnic table. “We got ________ about where we spent our time,” Kristin said.

Neighbors began to stop by to introduce themselves and sit down for a chat. Kristin asked people to ________ her at the table for coffee. “It was a simple ________ to slow down and connect with others,” she said. The turquoise table was ________ and had a shared feeling.

People often ________ to invite others into their homes. They think their house is not spacious, or they don’t have enough time. Kristin’s picnic table takes away the pressure and the excuse. ________ by the act, neighbors put a picnic table in their front yard too. A movement was ________ .

A decade after their Texas beginnings, thousands of Turquoise Tables ________ in the country. Not all of them are actually turquoise. Texas Christian University in Fort Worth has several purple tables to ________ their team color. “No matter what ________ it is, it’s a friendship table,” Kristin said.