The human brain is divided into two sides, or hemispheres, called the right brain and the left brain. The two hemispheres work together, but each one specializes in certain ways of thinking.

    Each side has its own way of using information to help us think, understand, and process informa—tion.The left side of the brain controls language. It is more verbal and logical. It names things and puts them into groups. It uses rules and likes ideas to be clear, logical, and orderly. It is best at speech, reading, writing, and math. You use this side of the brain when you memorize spelling and grammar rules or when you do a math problem.

    The right side of the brain is more visual and creative. It specializes in using information it receives from the senses of sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. This side of the brain likes to dream and experiment. It controls your appreciation of music, color, and art. You use this side when you draw a picture or listen to music.Although we all use both sides of our brains, one side is usually stronger or dominant. Some people are more “left—brained,” and others are more “right—brained”. Our dominant side influ—ences the kinds of jobs and hobbies we have. Politicians, artists, architects, and musicians depend on their right brains. Accountants, engineers, doctors, and lawyers usually rely on their left brains.

    Recently, a designer in Hong Kong has invented a special book that can transform (变形) into a piece of furniture. The special book is called Bookniture. It can be unfolded to become a chair or a small table. People can either carry it around for a portable (轻便的) chair or can store it in their homes to use as extra furniture.

    The book was designed by Mike Mak. He came up with the idea after never having enough seats for his friends in his home in Hong Kong.

    “I love having friends at my place, but I have never had enough seats for everyone—we would always end up with just sitting on the floor. 1 really want a seat that doesn't take up any floor space when I don't need it. One day, the empty space on my bookcase drew my attention.  Then came the new idea—Bookniture, furniture hidden in a book,” said the 30-year-old designer.

    Made from fully-recyclable kraft paper (牛皮纸) , the book measures 33 cm by 18 cm. It expands (扩大) to 14 times bigger once it's opened, and can support up 10 1,000 kg of weight.  It comes in two colors, brown and black, and can be bought for between￡55 and ￡57.

    The computers changed our lives in the 1980s, the Internet changed our lives in the 1990s, and the robots will change our lives in the new century. Do you think there will be robots in people's homes? It's NOT a dream that every home will have a robot.

    Now, robots are not only able to help people do the housework, but also able to help the doctors do the difficult operations, play chess with people, play the piano and so on.

    A new cooking robot is used in Beijing. It can cook all the dishes on the menu, and you only need to wait two to four minutes.  In the future, the robot will be a nurse, a security guard, or a partner in your life.

    Experts believe robots will be used everywhere, from the industrial robots to service robots. In the future, robots will become part of the family, and provide close service for people. We all look forward to the new robot age.

    A myth is something that is not correct, but many people believe. There are a lot of myths about the human brain.

    One of the biggest myths is that we only use 10 percent of our brains. The next part of the myth is that if we can learn to use the rest of our brains, then we'll be much smarter. People say this all the time, but it's absolutely not true! The truth is that although we don't know everything about the human brain, we know that each part of it has an important function (功能). Modern scientists think the "10 percent myth" ridiculous(荒谬的).

    The other most popular myth is about being "right brained" or "left brained". According to this myth, people who use the right side of their brains are more artistic and creative. People who use the left side of their brains are better at math and science. This is as popular as the 10 percent myth, and it's also wrong. In 2013, a study at an American university examined the right brain and left brain myth. According to the study, we use both sides of our brains equally (相等地).

    It's true that we use different parts of our brains for different things. We use our left side for language more, and our right side when we need to pay attention. But there is no evidence (证据) that creative people use the right side more, or that scientific people use the left side more.

    We've talked about myths, so let's look at a few interesting facts about the brain. First of all, the brain feels no pain. Second, about 75 percent of the brain is made of water. It's also the fattest organ in your body. Here's another interesting fact about the brain. Around the time you turn 18 years old, it stops growing.

    Animals, including insects, do not have a language like ours. They do not talk to each other in words and sentences. But if we watch them, we can see that they do have ways of communicating with each other.

    Can you see the rabbit's tail which is moving up and down? When rabbits see this white tail moving up and down, they run too. They know that there is danger. The rabbit has told them something without making a sound. It has done this by using its body language.

    Many other animals use this kind of language. When a cobra is angry, it raises its hood and makes itself look fierce. This warns other animals. When a bee has found some food, it goes back to its home. It cannot tell the other bees where the food is by speaking to them, but it does a little dance in the air. This tells the bees where the food is.

    Some animals say things by making sounds. A dog barks, for example, when a stranger comes near. A cat purrs when pleased. Some birds make several different sounds, each with its own meaning. Sometimes we human beings speak in the same way. We make sounds like "Oh" or "Ah!" when we are frightened or pleased or when we drop something on our toes.

    But we have something that no animals have—a large number of words that have the meanings of things, actions, feelings or ideas. We are able to give each other all kinds of different information in words and sentences, which no other animals can do. No other animals have so wonderful a language as we have.