Can anyone be an astronaut?
Of course not. You don't have to have a science degree but most astronauts do. Most of them are pilots too. Life in a spaceship is hard so you must have a healthy body and mind. You need to be easy-going, patient, and helpful to spend so much time in a small space with other people.
What's the training like?
People have to train for a year to learn how to stay healthy and safe. They practise space walking and living in zero gravity （重力）. They train in difficult conditions to learn how to solve problems and to work in a team. Everyday tasks like eating, washing and sleeping can be difficult on a spaceship. There is no running water so you have to wash with wet tissues; it's hard to enjoy the dry food that astronauts have to eat. And to sleep you must cover your eyes because the sun rises every 90 minutes on the International Space Station. You also have to tie yourself to something so you don't fly away!
What health problems do astronauts have?
Life in zero gravity causes changes to our bodies. Bones and muscles （肌肉）become thin and weak so you must do a lot of exercise in space to stay fit and to help the heart move blood around your body. Astronauts often get backache because you grow in space—up to 8 centimeters! It's also common to have headaches and to feel sick, especially at the beginning. You must have vitamins to take the place of fresh fruit and vegetables. But you don't have to put on sun cream because space suits protect your skin（皮肤）.
Are you still interested?
So now you know. If you want to go to space, study hard, learn to fly and take care of your body and mind.
There are many different ways to solve a problem. One way is to be creative. People often think creative thinking is just for artists and designers, but this is not true. Dr. Edward de Bono, an expert in creative thinking and problem solving, has shown the world that using creativity to solve problems is very useful in business and in our communities, and will continue to be so in the future.
One example of creative thinking is the solution to a parking problem in a town center. In the areas close to stores, people can only park for 20 minutes. There are parking meters where people pay to park in these areas. However, the problem is that many people leave their cars there for longer than 20 minutes. Dr. Edward de Bono's solution is to make a rule that all cars parked in these areas must keep their headlights on. Of course, drivers will want to return to their cars before their car batteries （蓄电池）die.
According to Dr. de Bono, people will need to use creative thinking more often in the future. To help people think more creatively, he designed the "Six Thinking Hat" system （系统）. The system helps people think about a problem in different ways in order to find a solution. In the system, there are six imaginary hats of different colors. Each hat symbolizes a different way of thinking. For example, the white hat helps people consider the facts. The black hat is the most logical （有逻辑的）and helps people consider why a possible solution may not work. So, next time you have a problem in your community, think about it creatively, from different perspectives, and see what ideas you have.
Smartphones are getting boring. The new models are either a bit faster or have better cameras, but they are basically no different from the ones already in our pockets. This is why scientists are hoping, and working for something new, something that will change our lives just as greatly as smartphones do. At the moment, the next invention might be smart glasses.
Just imagine. Instead of having to pick up your phone and look at the screen, all of the information you need simply appears just in front of you, in your glasses. Satellite navigation（导航） directions would appear right there on the road. And your smart glasses could guide you to the right shelf in the supermarket！
Smart glasses could also be used in industry. They could show engineers the instructions they need to fix things more quickly. A doctor could carry out a difficult operation, guided in real time by someone on the other side of the world.
This may sound impossible. But most of the technologies to invent them are already there. For example, one key technology is called AR, which can make digital 3D objects appear as if they are part of the real world. We've used it a lot on our video call. Similarly, huge progress has been made in spatial audio. This is when a sound is made to give it a sense of place, like what you hear in an empty room. Some high-end earphones can already do that. Future glasses will of course need to recognize（识别）your voice to do tasks. This technology has been widely used in our daily life.
So, why aren't we all wearing smart glasses yet？So far, no one has invented a good way to send images（映像）of our world onto glasses. However, with the rapid development of technology, smart glasses could arrive much sooner than we think.
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How do you look after your cat
Introduction The first step to becoming a good cat owner is to choose the right kind of cat. It is how a cat behaves that is the most important, not what she looks like or how old she is. She is going to be your best friend. You will spend a lot of time playing together. But remember, you need to look after her every day. Not just to start with, but for all her life. Understanding your pet By watching your cat closely, you will learn her special way of talking. From the movement of her tail or ears, you will see if she is happy or sad. And you will soon understand what she is saying when she miaows. Caring for your pet You will only be your cat's best friend if you care for her properly. You will need to make sure that she eats the right foods, always has water, and can get plenty of exercise every day. You will also have to bathe (给……洗澡) her often and spend some time training her. |
Recently, many people think it's risky to use credit (信用) card numbers online. However, from time to time, we all use passwords and ID numbers on the Internet. We think we are safe, but that may not be true! A new kind of attack (攻击) is being used by dishonest people to steal IDs and credit card numbers from web surfers. This new kind of attack is called "phishing".
Phishing sounds the same as the word "fishing", and it means that a thief is trying to trick people into giving away valuable information. Like real fishermen, phishers use bait (诱饵) in the form of great online deals or services. For example, phishers might use false emails and websites to trick people into revealing (透露) credit card numbers, account usernames, and passwords. They imitate (模仿) well-known banks, online sellers, and credit card companies. Successful phishers may make as many as 5% of the people believe and give away their personal information.
It's really a big problem! Actually, tricking 5% of the online population is huge. Now more than 4.6 billion people have access (进入权) to the Internet, and 75% of those Internet users live in the wealthiest countries on Earth. It has been reported that phishers send more than 40 billion false messages each year. Even by tricking only 5% of the people, phishers can make a lot of money.
Amy, 18, from California, received an email. A man told Amy that she could get a million dollars in her account as a reward if she sent a thousand dollars to him. Amy did as the man said at once. The "thief" used Amy's Social Security number to get credit cards in her name and transferred her money.
How can people avoid being cheated online? Above all, they have to learn to recognize the email that has been sent by a phisher. Always be careful with any email with urgent (紧急的) requests for personal information. Phishers typically write upsetting or exciting, but false, statements in their emails so that people will reply right away. Never give out personal information to phishers. And if an offer sounds too good to be true, it is.
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transfer v. (transferred, transferring) ①to move from one place, school, job etc to another ②to connect the call of someone to someone else's ③to move money from one account to another ④to change from one bus, plane etc to another … |
Scientists are looking for ways that we can effectively use the light and heat from the sun. One idea that has caught their imagination is solar roads. They are expected to produce clean and renewable energy.
With solar panels on the surfaces, solar roads cost more than traditional roads. However, besides the functions of traditional roods, they have the panels to receive sunlight and change it into the energy to supply power to homes, factories and street lighting. There are four layers in a solar panel:
•Base layer: It is made of insulation material and forms a good grip with the road below this layer.
•Middle layer: This is the most important layer. It holds all kinds of power lines connecting all the solar parts in the panel, like LED lights and the heating system.
•Top layer: This layer is super-strong glass. It allows the panel to hold the weight of the heaviest vehicles.
•Capping: This is the topmost layer used to offer extra protection to the solar parts in the panel. The layer must be rough enough to provide the traction for the safety of vehicles.
With the smart design, solar roads can successfully charge the vehicles on them. And the roads have inbuilt LED lights to replace the traditional rood signs and lines, which are usually painted and harmful to humans. What's more, the heating systems in the solar roads can take care of the snow and ice on the roads for drivers.
Test solar roads have been built in several countries (France, China, USA, etc.) since 2014. The first word solar road project, Metrics of Watt Way in France, was set up by a French company called Construction Colas. It was an example of low effectiveness. In the first year, it had been expected to produce around 767 kWh of energy a day, but it only produced 409 kWh. Even so, the production could increase with design improvements. Of course, more time is needed before this technology is put into use.
Solar roads may not be widely used in the near future, but they are indeed great for an environment-friendly and energy-saving world.
①Would you like to get fewer colds and feel better? Would you like to have a taste of a special plant? Would you like to keep a plant with little care? An Aloe Vera plant could be just what the scientists may suggest!
②Growing Aloe Vera plants at home can make the air clean and fresh. Studies have shown that they give off oxygen (O2) and take away harmful things from the air. With clean and fresh air, you are more likely to stay away from colds, sore throats and dry coughs. And even if you do get sick, Aloe Vera plants may help you get better from the illness faster.
③Did you know that Aloe Vera plants can be used as medicine? Aloe Vera gel (胶体) helps to deal with the pain of burns. And it also helps with itchiness(痒) caused by insect bites. To get this gel, just cut off a part of the plant, peel it, and put the gel on the affected skin(患处). This easy-to-get and safe-to-use medicine is available to you all year round.
④Apart from medical use, Aloe Vera plants are also popular in food industry. Whether you are interested in Aloe juice or crazy about Aloe yogurt, you'll easily find them in the supermarket. Aloe Vera can also go with other vegetables to make a safe dish on your dinner table.
⑤ ▲ . They like dry, warm air with bright light, so they grow best when placed near a window. Aloe Vera plants are able to keep water in their leaves. So, they do not need to be watered so often as most houseplants. Just wait until the earth is completely dry before you water them. When watering, make sure the earth is wet enough so that it can last for a long time. That's all you need to do to take care of an Aloe Vera plant. Isn't it the perfect plant for lazy and forgetful gardeners?
a. It's good for eyes. b. It stops nosebleed.
c. It helps with the itchiness. d. It helps people lose weight.
e. It deals with the pain of burns.
B . 
C . 
D . 
If you look around the room you are in right now, you'll probably notice a number of electronics. But can you imagine if they all had to be joined together by wires (电线)? Picture the wire snaking along the floor, for example, from your smartphone to your speaker, or connecting your game controller to the computer screen, meaning you could never sit more than a couple of meters away from it. A world of electronics connected by wires wouldn't just be untidy, but a possible danger, too. That's where Bluetooth comes in. We've all heard of it — but what exactly is it?
Bluetooth is a method of short-distance (短距离) wireless communication between electronics that makes use of the power of radio waves. The idea was first thought of by Dr. Janp Haartsen at Swedish mobile company Ericsson in 1994. Things really stepped up in September 1998 when the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) was set up to develop and spread the technology. Bluetooth 1. 0 came out in 1999, and a year later it began to be used in mobile phones and desktop computers. Now Bluetooth has become an increasingly popular way of solving the problem of more and more electronics needing to be connected, without having to connect everything together with wires.
But if you look at the remote control (温控器) you use to choose the program on TV, you might rightly ask yourself why Bluetooth was such a big deal. After all, connecting objects with infrared signals (红外信号) which can't be seen had been done before. The problem with remote controls is that they need to keep what is called "line of sight". If something is standing between the remote control and receiver, it won't work. Because Bluetooth uses radio waves, the things standing in the way are no longer a problem.
Since its creation in the late 1990s, the technology has become more and more improved and widely used, with the 4 billionth Bluetooth objects shipped in 2020.
Many people may wonder what the three Chinese astronauts' life was like when working in space. In fact, they did many of the things as we do on Earth.
They brush their teeth, wash their hair and go to the bathroom. However, because of the microgravity(失重) environment, they take care of themselves in different ways. They wash their hair by using the no-rinse shampoo to get it clean because there are no real showers in the spaceship.
Astronauts eat three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. But how much they eat depends on the astronauts. A small woman astronaut often needs only about 1,900 calories （卡路里） a day, while a large man requires about 3,200 calories. So there are many kinds of foods ready, such as fruits, nuts, chicken, beef and seafood. They can also drink coffee, tea and orange juice.
Astronauts can have much fun, too. They look out of the window, enjoying the wonderful sunsets and sunrises which happen every 45 minutes. Very often, they play with their food or even jokes on their workmates. Believe it or not, astronauts can even spend weekends, when they can watch movies, play music, read books and talk to their families.
After a long day at work, ▲ . Just like on Earth, an astronaut goes to bed at a certain time, then wakes up and prepares for work again. But there are a few differences. Astronauts have to sleep in sleeping bags in special cabins(柜子). Generally, astronauts are planned to have eight hours of sleep. Like on Earth, they may wake up in the middle of their sleep to use the toilet. And astronauts also have dreams.
As for Wang 'aping, she had another experience — preparing for lessons for the Chinese students far down on Earth.
