In recent years, a number of Chinese technological innovation(科技创新) have been making waves around the world. Among them, four stand out. They are known as "four new great inventions" of modern China. They have made our daily lives more convenient

High-speed trains

    China created its first high-speed railway line in 2008. Since then, the number of passenger trips has grown by over 30 percent every year. By 2016, more than 5 billion trips had been taken China's bullet trains(高铁), according to Xinhua News Agency.

    China is currently working on the next-generation bullet trains that will have a top speed of 400kilometers per hour. By 2020, one-fifth of the country's 150,000-km railway network will be used by high-speed trains. This network will link more than 80percent of major cities across China, said Xinhua.

Mobile payment

    Mobile payment is turning China into a "cashless society" led by third-party payment companies like Alipay. For example, instead of paying y cash, customers now pay for goods simply by typing a short password into Alipay app on their mobile devices.

    Users can also pay their bills through Alipay, such as their water and electricity bills. Alipay also supports cross-border(跨境的)online and in-store payment, which allows users to buy things on international websites and apps.

Shared bikes

    Shared bike services started in Western countries. But China has surprised the world with how quickly it has adopted dockless(无桩的)shared bikes.

    Unlike traditional bike-sharing method, dockless bikes allow users to simply pick up or park a bike on the street through GPS and smartphone To unlock a bike, you just need to scan a QR code on a shared bike with a smartphone app     After you finish riding, you can park it at available parking areas, lock it and pay for ride through mobile payment services.

Online shopping

    With around 751 million internet users, China has long been the world's largest and fastest-growing online shopping market.

    Online shopping now accounts for 15.5 percent of total retail sales in China, according to Xinhua. Thanks to lower costs and fewer licensing requirements(执照要求),it's easier for sellers to open an online shop in China than a brick-and-mortar shop(实体店)。

    It also helped to create jobs of rural areas. In 2016, online shopping created more than 20 million jobs in rural areas, with over 8.1 million running their own online shops, said Xinhua.

    Welcome to the House of Noodles! In our restaurant, we have some great specials. We have different kinds of noodles like mutton noodles and beef noodles. There are some delicious vegetables in the noodles. What size bowl of noodles would you like? A large bowl of beef noodles is only eight yuan. For mutton noodles, a small bowl is five yuan, a medium one is seven yuan and for a large one, it is just ten yuan. You can also order our cabbage and egg noodles for just four yuan. And we have free green tea for you every day. All our noodles are good and at a good price!

    While you are at the bookstore, you may be faced with a difficult decision: e­ books or paper books? Each one has its advantages and disadvantages. Making the best decision depends on a number of factors(因素).

    An e­ reader can carry a whole library wherever you go, which is great for travelers or those who always want a choice of reading materials. Although e­ readers are convenient, high levels of screen brightness from an electronic device(电子设备) can cause eye problems. A study in the Information Science Research found that young people preferred e­ readers, like smart phones or iPads. That's why most teenagers are short­sighted.

    Many book lovers prefer paper books and value the feeling of them. Paper books are very well designed, they look and smell good, and they carry with them a more human touch. Avid(热衷的) readers prefer reading on paper .Perhaps this is their choice because paper books give them a sense of ownership .It is reported that reading on paper rather than an electronic screen is better for memory and focus .But paper books are heavy and they are not convenient to carry.

    Which is your decision, an e ­book or a paper book?

    Friendship is one of the greatest pleasures that people can enjoy. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}A true friend does indeed find pleasure in our joy and share sorrow in our grief. In time of trial, he or she is always at our side to give us his or her help and comfort.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}We must choose someone who has a good character, whose activities are good and who shows kindness of heart. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}If you tell a friend your secrets, he or she won't tell anyone else. Friends share each other's joys and sorrows. They help each other when they are in trouble and cheer each other up when they are sad.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} In conclusion, when you have made a good friend, don't forget him or her.

A. Knowing how valuable friendship is, we should be very careful in our choice of a friend.

B. It is very difficult to find a better definition of friendship.

C. A true friend can always be trusted, loved and respected.

D. The most important thing is that a friend always understands you.

E. We should avoid these shallow people who are easily changed by adversities or misfortune.

    You must have heard about jogging(慢跑)as a popular way of keeping fit, but what about plogging? Plogging is a mix of jogging and picking up litter, coming from the Swedish phrase "plocka upp". It started as an organized activity in Sweden around 2016 and then spread to other countries step by step. For exercising, plogging is much better than simply running, because it provides changes in body movements by adding bending(弯曲), squatting(蹲) and stretching(伸展).

    As 2018's hottest fitness way, plogging has become popular in more than 40 countries, from the US to France and Australia to Thailand. The idea of plogging is to pay attention to environmental protection as well as physical health — to care for Mother Nature as well as your body. "I run a lot and I love to spend time in nature. When I find litter out in the woods, it makes me sad and a bit angry. Plogging is a natural way to do something about that," Tesch said." It's so easy to just pick up the litter and put it in the nearest bin, and it makes you feel that you're making a difference!"

    Have you noticed people jogging while carrying trash bags recently? Or running along with hands full of dirty plastic bottles? You might do soon! Because plogging has reached China. Olivier, a Frenchman married to a Chinese girl, began promoting(促进)plogging in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, back in April. He and his wife were the only ones doing it at first, he said, but the craze soon caught on. The couple have set up a WeChat group for people to learn more about plogging. Currently there are more than 100 people from different parts of the country in the group to take an active part in the environmental movement. In honor of World Environment Day this year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China(中国工商银行)started plogging campaigns (运动)in 280 cities, attracting 13,000 people to join in.

    Plogging can be done almost anytime and anywhere, and costs almost nothing. Will you take it up?

    I always knew that I depended way too much on my phone, but I didn't know how much. So I decided to do this challenge(挑战) to find out.

     Every morning since I got a smartphone, I've used The Weather Channel App to find out what to wear. On the first morning I had to dress without guidance, but thankfully I was able to guess that the day would be cold and foggy by looking out of my window.

    I couldn't tell what time it was. I haven't worn a watch for more than a year, because my phone showed the time. So I was late for picking up friends who had been on the bus for two hours from Santa Monica to Palos Verdes. I was also late for my part-time job. And even worse, I couldn't call people to tell them that I was running late.

    Getting to places was harder, too. I got lost because I couldn't use the GPS(导航系统) on my phone. My driving, though, got a lot safer because I no longer had my phone in one hand checking directions while driving with the other.

    But the number one trouble was not having my contact list (联络簿). I forgot to write down my friends' and family members' phone numbers before I started the challenge. It was sad to realize that I couldn't remember my brother's and my mom's cellphone numbers. Oh, how I wished to turn on the phone for just a second to look up phone numbers!

    Even with all the problems, however, I found peace not worrying about missing a text message or an email.

    This challenge was a great learning experience. It surprised me how I'd taken no notice of even the simplest things like remembering phone numbers. We all should take some time to think about how we can depend less on our cellphon