学进去

Do you want to go out for a picnic on a sunny day? How can you take a “green” trip to protect the environment? Walk, bike, take the subway or maybe drive a solar-powered car!

A team of 22 Dutch university students has created a solar-powered car called Stella Vita. Last October, they completed the car’s first road trip. The 2,800-kilometer trip was powered only by the sun.

Stella Vita is a two-passenger car with a kitchen, a sitting area, a bed, a shower and a toilet. There are solar panels (板) on the top of the car. And the solar panels can spread out when the car is parked.

On sunny days, Stella Vita can travel up to 720 kilometers with a top speed of 120 kilometers an hour. The energy it gets from the sun can also be used for other things. People can cook, take a shower and watch TV in the car. On cloudy days, the car still gets 60% to 70% of the energy. It does on sunny days. How can the car keep going at night? Well, it has a large battery (电池) that can store energy. This allows the car to travel up to 600 kilometers at night.

Stella Vita isn’t the Dutch team’s first solar car. Since it was set up ten years ago, the team has created different types of solar cars. The team members are working to introduce this green way of traveling. Let’s hope that in the future, we can all travel “by” the sun!

If you have to describe yourself to someone else, what will you say? It can be difficult to see yourself from the outside, but knowing who you are, namely self-awareness, can help you understand feelings and make friendships closer.

Self-awareness means having a good understanding of our own character, that is, having the ability to see ourselves clearly. If you’re self-aware, you may know that you love playing an instrument because you do well in it, and music makes you happy, or that you prefer watching TV on your own because it helps you relax.

Knowing what you like and dislike, what you do well in and what you find difficult allows you to make better decisions about friendships, schoolwork and so on. You learn to trust your own feelings more, which builds confidence. The World Health Organization says self-awareness is one of ten important life skills that help young people live happier, healthier lives. Being self-aware doesn’t mean only thinking of yourself. By understanding your own feelings, you will better understand other people too.

How do you learn to be self-aware? It’s a good way to ask questions. But ask yourself questions that start with “What” instead of “Why”. So if you don’t understand why you keep arguing with a friend, ask yourself what you disagree on instead of why you’re arguing.

Learning to be more self-aware is a skill, which means you learn it as you grow. So be bold and try out new things, like playing a new sport or listening to different kinds of music. Don’t be afraid to dislike something — discovery what you find difficult is a key part of learning more about yourself.

The first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, completed a huge number of projects during his rule. Between 221 and 210 B.C., he started the building of the Great Wall. The emperor also ordered the building of a huge army of life-sized terracotta soldiers. These, he hoped, would protect his tomb (坟墓) after his death.

Lost in Time

The soldiers in Xi’an’s terracotta museum are today light brown, but they weren’t always. They began as an army of red, blue, yellow, green, white and purple. Sadly, most of the colors did not last to the present day. After being exposed (暴露) to air during digging, the coating under the paint began to fall off. The paint disappeared in a short time, taking away the important pieces of history.

New Technology

Now new technology is starting to show the army’s true colors. Archaeologists (考古学家) have recently discovered an area with more than a hundred soldiers. Many of these still have their painted features (特色), including black hair, pink faces and black or brown eyes. Chinese and German researchers have developed a chemical liquid (液体) to help save the soldiers’ colors. After finding a soldier or another art piece, archaeologists put the liquid on it. They then cover it in plastic.

Back to Life

Archaeologists are also finding colors in the dirt (涂层) around the soldiers. It’s important not to do anything with the dirt, so the colors won’t be lost. “We are treating the dirt as an art piece,” says Rong Bo, the museum’s leader. “The next challenge,” says Rong Bo, “is to find a way to use the colors onto the army again. Once that happens, artists can bring Emperor Qin’s army back to its full, bright colors.”

During summer vacations, I would volunteer at the vet’s, so I’d seen a lot of dogs. Minnie was by far the funniest-looking dog I’d ever seen. Thin curly hair barely covered her sausage-shaped body. Her big eyes always looked surprised. And her tail looked like a rat’s.

She was brought to the vet to be put to sleep because her owners didn’t want her anymore. But I thought Minnie had a sweet personality. “No one should judge her by her looks,” I thought. So instead of putting her to sleep, the vet gave her the chance to be adopted （收养） by someone else. I advertised Minnie, in the local paper: “Funny-looking dog, well behaved, needs a loving family.”

When a young man called, I warned him that Minnie was strange looking. The boy on the phone told me that his Grandfather’s 16-year-old dog had just died. They wanted Minnie no matter what it looked like. I gave Minnie a good bath. Then we waited for them to arrive.

At last, an old car drove up in front of the vet’s. Two kids ran to the door. They took Minnie to their grandfather, who was waiting in the car. I hurried behind them to see his reaction to Minnie.

The Grandfather carried Minnie in his arms and touched her soft hair. She licked （舔） his face. It was love at first lick.

“She’s perfect!” the old man said excitedly.

I was thankful that Minnie had found the good home that she deserved （值得）.

That’s when I saw that the grandfather’s eyes were a milky white color—he was blind.

Today, it is a big problem for young graduates to get good jobs. It is said that there are thousands of different kinds of jobs in the world. Choosing the right one is not that easy.

“Finding a job” is not the same as “choosing a job”. Many young people end up in a job, but they are not suitable for it. Sometimes a “c1．” may play a more important part than a “decision”.

Here are a few steps to help you think about jobs which you might enjoy after school or university. First it is important to r2． what kind of person you are, which special qualities make you outstanding and w3． you are interested in. There is a different between an interest and a skill. If you like art and enjoy looking at pictures, that is an interest. But if you can draw a horse that looks like a horse not a big dog, that is a skill. Then ask y4． a question. “In the f 5． areas—skills with people, skills with information and skills with things, which are your best skills?” A 6． examining your skills, the next step is research. To find about as many different kinds of jobs as p7．, go to the library and read books, magazines and newspapers for information. Ask your friends what they think of the work they do. Finally, trust your own ideas and your own thinking! It is your own life, just find the job you really enjoy doing.

World Post Day is celebrated on October 9th. This day is the date when the first postal union, the Universal Postal Union(UPU, 万国邮联), was started in 1874 in Bern, Switzerland.

Post is one of the oldest way of ________. The postal service is part of people’s daily life all over the world. People send or ________ letters and parcels through the postal service.

Did you know that China was one of the first countries to have a postal service? Experts disagree about the date, but it is likely that there was a system during the Qin Dynasty (221—207B.C.).

________, some experts think that there may have been a postal system before then. In the Zhou Dynasty(1122—256B.C.), Confucius （孔子)(551—479B.C.) said, “News of deeds travels faster than the mail.”

Experts believe that the Chinese Postal Service has been in use for the longest amount of time in the world. Many students collect stamps for a ________. This, according to UPU, young people to learn about the world.

“The ________ way to learn about a country is probably through stamp collecting,” says Anthony Alverno, a UPU official.

Through stamp collecting you can _________ in time to hundreds of years ago or go into outer space. You can meet famous people, or learn about places and animals from around the world.

“It does not cost a lot of money and most of all it is full of fun,” says Alverno.

World Post Day is celebrated in many ways. Postal service in many countries use this day to have stamp exhibitions and use special stamps.

Touch is one of the most important of our five senses. It is one of the first senses we develop. One of the most commonly accepted forms of touch among people is also one of the first experiences we have in the world—a hug!

There is no better way to understand the importance of hugs than to lose them. For those who have experienced the loss of hugs, you will know how important they are to share.

A recent research has shown that when people hug, the brain releases the chemical(化学物质) which increases our willingness to trust and reduces fear. It has also shown that hugs are great for your heart.

In 1995, a pair of newly born twins was being cared for in hospital. While one of the twins seemed quite healthy, her sister was not. After trying different medical treatments, the nurse on duty, Gayle Kasparian, placed the twins in bed together. The twins immediately snuggled(依偎) up to each other. As one placed her arm around the other, the weak baby became better gradually(逐渐地). How great the power of a hug is!

The need for hugs doesn’t disappear as we grow older, though it seems we are less willing to give them. Research on people of all ages has proven that a hug is necessary for physical and emotional health.

Without hugs we can become sad. A hug provides safety and gentleness. A hug provides us with social contact, a sense of health and a feeling of importance and belonging.