No one knows when the first kite was made. The first record of a kite was more than 2, 000 years ago in China. Han Xin, the leader of an army, wanted to bring down a king. He decided to dig a tunnel(隧道) into the king s palace. He flew a kite over the wall of the palace to make sure the length(长度) of its string(线). In this way, he could determine how long the tunnel should be. His men in n the tunnel took the kite string with them. When they reached the end of the string, they knew to dig up.
Kites have been flown in Japan for hundreds of years. In the 1700s, kites were flown in autumn to give thanks for a good harvest. They were also flown to send good wishes to couples who had their first son. Today in Japan, kites are often flown as part of a celebration, such as the beginning of a new year. And kite festivals are held each year in many parts of the country.
Kites have been used for scientific purposes in the Western world. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin tied a key to a kite and flew it in a storm to find out that lightning was a form of electricity. In the 1890s, Lawrence Hardgrave invented the box kite to test ideas about flight. From 1898 to 1933, the United States Weather Bureau(气象局) used box kites to collect weather data. The Wright brothers also experimented (试验) with kites. What they learnt helped them make the first airplane flight in 1903.
People live in different houses. You may know a glass house1a paper house. You may know a house made of grass and leaves. But do you know a(n)2house?
People3the first ice house years ago in North America. And then it was4to welcome some visitors. The floors, windows and walls are all5ice. It has ten bedrooms and twenty people can6there each night. The local people and visitors can7go there. They can lie on ice beds,8on ice chairs and eat from ice plates with chopsticks or forks and knives. It is usually9zero so it is very cold inside the house.10, do the visitors just sit there to keep warm? No, visitors have to11special clothes, including hats and gloves. These can make them feel warm12morning.
Workers spent about four weeks13the ice house. People can14stay in this ice house in winter. It isn't opened in summer because of the15. It is becoming popular among young people.
