Children today have many things to play with. They can watch television, surf {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Internet, or play video games. But what do you think children {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (do) for fun long ago? They read books.

    Some of you might ask, "Are books {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (real) fun?" Believe it or not, books provide many things that television or computers cannot. Since books use only words {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (tell) a story, they can improve your imagination. You can picture the characters and background in your head and you can also imagine {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the characters feel.

    The words and sentences that are used in storytelling are also very interesting and usually cannot be found often on television or on websites. They are sometimes so beautiful and touching {#blank#}6{#/blank#} they can bring tears to your eyes.

    Books also help us to think harder and {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (deep). As we continue {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(read), we ask questions to {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(our) and try to find answers.

    These are some of the {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(reason) why books are so fun to read.

    Remember: the more you read, the more you grow.

    This is Tammela School, a primary school in Finland. The students are having a math class with their robot teacher.

    The "teacher" is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} small, blue machine about 25cm high, Reuters reported. Whenever students have problems, it helps them very {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (patient) and never gets bored.

    "The robot can make students {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (active) in class than usual. I see Elias as one of the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (tool) to get different kinds of practice and activities into the classroom," a teacher told Reuters.

    So far the school {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (introduce) four robot teachers, one of whom is a language teacher that can speak 23 languages and dance to music. "{#blank#}6{#/blank#} is necessary to encourage kids to come up {#blank#}7{#/blank#} new ways to make use of technology in school life," the head of the school {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (add) in the interview.

    The robot teachers are used {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (help) improve learning. This doesn't mean that human teachers will lose their jobs. The robots can teach well, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} they are not able to keep class in order. The school still needs human teachers.

    When a baby cries, its parents will check on it as soon as they can and make sure it is okay. According to a new study, a baby's cry can make adults react very quickly, even if they are not related to the baby.

Oxford University researchers used the classic game whack-a-mole （打地鼠） for the study.

    Whack-a-mole requires people to hit one of nine  {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (button). Players must react as quickly as they can to whichever of the buttons that lights up. It is a game that requires speed and accuracy （准确度）. The study invited 40 men and {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (woman) aged 19 to 59. Some of them had sons or daughters, although none of {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (they) children were babies. They played whack-a-mole after listening to different sounds, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (include) the babies' crying, the crying of adults in trouble and bird songs {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (play) at a similar pitch （高音）to the babies' crying.

    The volunteers' scores were  {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (high) after listening to the sound of crying babies. Men and women had similar scores overall. The results showed that hearing a crying baby can trigger a reaction in adults.

"It's almost  {#blank#}7{#/blank#}  (possible) to ignore （忽视） crying babies {#blank#}8{#/blank#} planes. This is true even though there are so many other noises around," said Morten Kringel bach, the scientist  {#blank#}9{#/blank#} led the study. He added that in the course of human evolution （进化） taking care of babies has always been  {#blank#}10{#/blank#} important job for adults. When a baby is hungry, it will cry. As a result, human brains develop a special reaction to a baby's cry.

In ancient China, when friends or relatives were separating, they would pick a willow twig（柳条） and give it to the person who was leaving and wished for him {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. In Chinese, the word for "willow" has the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} pronunciation as the word for "stay". 

Many Chinese poets liked writing about willows in their works. One of the most famous {#blank#}3{#/blank#} is A Farewell Song（《送元二使安西》）by Wang Wei. It reads, 

No dust is raised on the road met with morning rain,

The willows by the hotel{#blank#}4{#/blank#} so fresh and green.

I invite you to drink a cup of wine again,

West of the Sunny Pass no more friends will be seen.

Nowadays, willow twigs can also be seen in modern art. There was an amazing {#blank#}5{#/blank#} about willow twigs. 365 people were {#blank#}6{#/blank#} willow twigs in their hands on the green stage. At the same time, an ancient painting of weeping willows appeared on the LED screen. The setting of 365 people stood for 365 days, and the colour green meant the {#blank#}7{#/blank#} of spring. The performance was{#blank#}8{#/blank#} praised by the audience. " I was totally attracted by {#blank#}9{#/blank#} Chinese culture, " one of them said. 

In short, giving a willow twig to a person is not saying goodbye {#blank#}10{#/blank#} asking him to stay. {#blank#}11{#/blank#} is the beauty of Chinese culture.