In an English class, our teacher asked one interesting question: "What is the most important in history?" Soon we had a group and it was time to share our ideas. Many classmates raised their hands and shared their opinions. Tom thought the are the most important inventions because they gave out light for us to work at night. Jack's ideas are the . In his opinion, computers could make us work more efficiently and also make our life more convenient. Finally it was Simon's turn and he thought were the most important ones. He said people nowadays could easily contact with each other anytime anywhere. We learned much about different inventions in this class. What a lively class!
These days, cars are designed using computers. Let's look at how a new car is created.
First, several 1 talk about the new car and any good ideas that they have. Then they sit down at their computers and 2 many sketches. The best two or three drawings are chosen and then more detailed drawings of the 3 are developed on the computer. You can change the size, shape or color of any part on the computer to see how the car would look and then you can 4 the best design.
Both the inside and the outside of the car have to be designed. Part of the inside of the car is5so that the designers can sit in it. They can feel if there is enough 6 inside and if they can7everything. Then some cars are built-there are more than 15, 000 parts of a car to 8.
When everything is known to be 9 the cars are made in the factory. Again, computers are used to make sure that all the parts are 10 as they are needed. The factory usually stays open all through the night so that the car production never stops.
Many people like to travel by plane, but I don't like it because the airport is usually far from the city. You have to get there early and wait for hours for the plane to take off which is often late. You can't open the windows. You can't choose the food. Planes are fast, but it still takes hours to get out of the airport and into the city.
I like travelling by train. I think trains are safe. Railway stations are usually good in cities. When you're late for a train, you can catch another one. You can walk around in the train and open the windows. You can see many interesting things on your way, though it takes a little more time.
I also like cars. You can start your journey whenever you want to, and you don't need to railway station or a bus stop. Also you can carry many things with you in a car. But sometimes there are too many cars on the road.
Do you think there is too much noise in our city? perhaps you do. If you live near an airport, you will probably feel unhappy because of the noise of jet planes (喷气式飞机). It is said that the noise of planes or trains or trucks can make one deaf if he keeps on hearing it.
Noise is a kind of pollution. However, most people in our city do not seem to mind noise. They do not know it harmful to their health. They like to enjoy music when they are doing their work. It is a new danger that music is played through powerful loudspeakers. It can reach 120 decibels (分贝).
It is known that continuous noise of over 85 decibels can make people deaf. For example, when newspapers and books are being printed, the noise is over 85 decibels, and some of the workers become deaf. Scientists believe that 10%b of all the workers in British printing offices have been deafened (使......聋) by the noise. Besides, noise of less than 85 decibels can make some people tired and anxious. We all know that too much noise makes life difficult and unpleasant. It can do great harm to health and prevent people from working well. Workers in noisy offices are not so efficient (有效的) as workers in quiet offices. Noise makes people less efficient. Can anything be done to keep down noise?
In Britain, the government has made several laws to keep down noise. It has spent a good deal of money making airports and main roads quieter. In Japan, America and Canada there are such laws, too.
Can plants eat people? Probably not, but there are many plants that eat meat. Some of them are big.
And they can eat small animals. One famous meat-eating plant is the Venus flytrap (捕蝇草).
The Venus flytrap is a very strange plant. It grows in dry parts of the United States. Its leaves are like the pages of a book. They can open and close very quickly. Inside the leaves, there are three small hairs. If a fly touches one of the hairs, the leaf closes quickly. The fly cannot get out. In about half an hour, the leaf presses the fly until it is dead. Then, the plant covers the fly. Slowly, the plant eats the fly.
Why do plants do it? Most plants get what they need from the sun, the air, and the ground. In some places, the ground is very poor. It doesn't have all these important things, especially nitrogen (氮).Animal meat has a lot of nitrogen, so some plants eat meat to get what they need. Let's hope that some of the bigger plants don't get the same idea.
The most important holiday in spring, especially for Christians (基督徒), is Easter. This Christian holiday is not on the same date every year, but it's always on a Sunday. It can be any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Many people celebrate Easter by buying new clothes. Children celebrate by hunting for colored eggs that their parents have hidden around the house. People also give Easter baskets filled with candy and other goodies to one。
But the holiday is more than new clothes and good things to eat. On Easter, many people go to church to celebrate Jesus' resurrection (复活) from the dead.
Most people color them. Some people hide them. Others just eat them. But no matter what one does with Easter eggs, they are an important Easter tradition throughout the Western world.
People from many different cultures celebrate Easter. In both America and Belgium, children look for Easter eggs hidden on lawns and in bushes. In America, children believe the eggs are hidden by the Easter bunny (复活节兔子). But in Belgium, the hidden eggs are supposed to have fallen from church bells. In Bulgaria, red Easter eggs are lucky in churches. Bulgarian families also hit these Easter eggs together to see whose is the strongest. The winner looks forward to good fortune that year. Still dozens of other Easter traditions exist in parts of Austria, for example, children sing from door to door and are rewarded with colorful eggs.
In 1996, 1I-year-old Richie Stachowski went on a trip to Hawaii with his family. "I was surfing with my Dad. When we dove underwater, there were so many beautiful things to see. I wished we could talk underwater," said Stachowski. After finding out that there were no inventions for this kind of communication, Stachowski tried out prototypes (雏形) in the family pool. At last, he came up with an idea about the Water Talkie-- a thing that enables swimmers to talk each other underwater from as far as 15 feet away.
With the help of his Mom, Stachowski started a company called Short Stack LLC and went on to invent other pool toys. Then in 1999, the company was sold.
There are many young inventors like Stachowski in the world. They are hard-working and try to find solutions to problems. If you learn from them, you may be the next young inventor.
Most American families are (small) than the families in other countries. Most American families have one or two parents and one or two children each.
Children in the US will leave their (parent) home when they grow .They usually live far from their parents they want to find good jobs. They often write to their parents or telephone them. And they often go to visit their parents holiday.
Parents usually let their children (choice) their own jobs. Americans think it important young people to decide on their lives by .Children are asked (do) some work around their house. And in many families, children are paid for doing some housework so that they learn how (make) money for their own use.
