Animals are our friends. We can find different animals here and there. Some animals live in big forests(森林) and some animals live with man.

    Animals can help us a lot. Elephants can do some heavy work for us. And dogs can look after the home. The kids like dogs very much. Cats are women's favorite animals.

    We can eat their meat. We can make coats and shoes with their skins(皮). We can get milk from them. So man can't live without animals.

C

    In the future, your automobile will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a supercomputer that fits in your pocket! You might even drive a flying car!

    For each prediction(预言) that has come true today, several others have missed by a mile. Many of these predictions didn't consider how people want to use the technology, or if people really needed it in their lives or not. Let's look at some predictions from the not-too-distant past.

    Robot helpers

    Where's the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere, of course. And he's probably not coming any time soon. Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other manufacturing environments.

    Back in the 1950s, however, people said that by now personal robots would be in most people's homes.

    So why it hasn't happened? Probably because robots are still too expensive and clumsy. And maybe the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too weird. At home we seem to be doing fine without them.

    Telephones of tomorrow

    In 1964, an American company introduced the video telephone. They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes. But of course the idea hasn't caught on yet.

    Why? The technology worked fine, but it overlooked something obvious: People desire for privacy. Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just stepped out of the shower?

    Probably not—it could be embarrassing! Just because a technology available(可利用的) doesn't always mean people will want to use it.

    Flying cars

    And finally, how about that crazy prediction of the flying car? It's not so crazy any more! But a flying car remains one of the most fascinating technology ideas to capture our imagination. Keep watching the news or perhaps the sky outside your window to see what the future will bring.

    I am a little lion. My name is Nancy. I have a big head. I'm yellow. But my favorite colour is green. I like living in the forest. I like to eat little animals. But I live in the zoo now. I don't like the zoo. I get up in the cage（笼子） in the morning. I have breakfast, lunch and dinner in the cage. I go to bed in the cage in the evening, too. People watch me every day. Some boys hit（打） me with stones（石头）. I don't like them. They are not my friends. I can't go out. I want to go back to my friends in the forest. I want to live with them.

    Around the world, there are about 7,000 National Parks. Most of them cover huge areas of land where nobody lives. However, the National Parks in England include places where people live and work, as well as wild areas where there are few human activities.

    The National Parks in England are called "England's Breathing Spaces" because they are places where people can go to be in the open air, away from the dirt and noise of cities. They provide wonderful scenes of mountains, woods, grasslands and wetlands. And there are plenty of activities to do in all of the National Parks in England. Visitors can walk or ride bikes for fun. Many of the parks put on activities for families.

    Every year there are about 110 million visitors to the parks, bringing many benefits(益处) to the areas. At the same time, it creates problems, too.

    First, life can be difficult for local people. Car parks and roads are too crowded. Gift shops and cafes take the place of many everyday shops. Even house prices in some areas can become too high. Besides, country roads can be damaged, for too many people walk, cycle or ride horses on them. Roads can be rebuilt, but then they look less natural. Another big problem to the National Parks is litter. In the parks it is a danger to wild animals. Broken glass can also cause fires by focusing the rays of the sun. Such fires in wild places can be out of control.

    _______All National Parks in England are making more rules, which tell people how to take good care of their environment. If these rules are followed, the National Parks will be well kept and continue to give pleasure to many people for a very long time.

    There have been many great inventions that changed the way we live. The first great invention was one that is still very important today—the wheel. This made it easier to carry heavy things.

    Then in the early 1800's the world started to change. There was little unknown land left in the world. People didn't have to explore(探测) much anymore. They began to work to make life better.

    In the second half of the 19th century, many great inventions were made. Among them were the camera, the light and the radio. These all became a big part of our life today.

    The first part of the 20th century saw more great inventions: the helicopter in1907, movies with sound in 1923, the computer in 1927, and jet planes in 1930. This was also a time when a new material was first made. Nylon(尼龙)came in 1937. It changed the kind of clothes people wear. 

    By this time most people had a very good life, and man has a desire to explore again. The world was known to man but the stars were not. Man began looking for ways to go into space. Russia made the first step. Then the United States took a step. Since then other countries, including China and Japan, have made their steps into space.

    New inventions will someday allow us to do things we have never yet dreamed of.