Possible Earth-Like Planet Next Door?

    Scientists say they discovered an earth-like planet outside our solar system (太阳系). It is a planet that could support life.

    This planet is just 4.2 light years away from us. It is so close that space scientists have considered it as a next door neighbor. They say it could be reached by an unmanned spaceship before the end of the century -- in time for people alive today to see it.

    An international team of scientists found the planet moving around the star called "Proxima Centauri". The result came out last month from the scientific magazine Nature.

    Scientists have long thought that a planet with water is important for life. And it has to be neither too hot nor too cold. The newly-discovered planet is a little larger than earth Scientists have named it Proxima B. It moves around its sun, Proxima Centauri, once every 11 days.

    American scientists have been using instruments for years to look for earth-like planets. In 2013, scientists' best guess was that there are about one billion (1,000 million) "earths" in space.

    Alan Boss is the chairman of a group for outer space research. He said that Proxima B not only confirms (确认) the discovery of a planet, but also increases the number of other possible“earths” greatly.

    Boss said it is possible, even likely, that most stars have at least one earth-like planet, which he considers surprising.

    So from the early number of a billion, this new research suggests there may be as many possible earth-like planets as there are stars in the Galaxy (银河系). That is, anywhere from 250 billion to 500 billion "earths".

    This makes the possibility of living things increasingly likely Boss said he believes human beings will be able to show that there is life in places besides earth in his lifetime. "I am 65," he said, "but I expect to still be alive when it happens."

    Scientists in Britain and the United States have made a new kind of enzyme(酵素) that eats plastics(塑料). With its help, plastics can be turned into smaller parts and go away quickly.

    Scientists believe that, in the future, it could solve the problem of plastic pollution.

    The enzyme is able to break down PET, a form of plastic. PET was first made in the 1940s and is now widely used to make plastic bottles. It can remain in the environment for many years and pollute large areas of land and water. So it has always been a headache to deal with the waste from PET and other plastics.

    The researchers made the discovery(发 现) while examining the structure of a natural enzyme in Japan. They found that the natural enzyme was helping to break down PET plastics. So, they

decided to make small changes to the enzyme by adding some amino acids(氨基酸). It made the natural enzyme's plastic-eating abilities work faster and better.

    John McGeehan, one of the lead researchers, said, "We've made an improved enzyme. It's better than the naturl one. And we are trying to make more improvements to it." He went on."

    The enzyme is not harmful to humans or animals, and it is friendly to the environment. So we are considering putting it into wider use."

    The team is now trying to make the enzyme break down PET in large quantities(大量的). "We'll see that the plastic pollution may be stopped with this technology. However, there is still a long way to go," John McGeehan added.

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James became NBA players when they graduated from high school. Their stories have encouraged many student basketball players in China to dream big. Kobe was born on August 23, 1978. He is an American professional basketball player. He plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. His nickname is "Black Mamba" or "Little Flying Man". LeBron James( born on December 30, 1984)is an American professional basketball player.He plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association.He is commonly nicknamed "King James" or "The Chosen One".

However, almost all professional players in China come from state-run (公立的) sports schools. This makes most talented student players in ordinary schools（普通学校） give up their dreams in sports, and concentrate on their studies instead .

The Nike High School League(耐克高中篮球联赛) gives Chinese school players a chance to play their games like never before. High school students from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei compete in the game.Although they have not yet become professional players ,their excellent performances are highly recognized(认可) by a number of people. Thousands of audience of members, including China national basketball team players Yi Jianlian and Ding Yanyuhang, watched the final of the league.

The Nike High School League encourages student players to keep making their basketball dreams come true.People hope they will work hard towards their goals and become professional plays in the future.

"Spell ‘champion,'" Scott told his elder sister.

"C-h-a-m-p-i-o-n."

Unsure about it, Scott still cheered, "You'll win the spelling bee (拼写大赛)!"

Lucy thanked, happy but worried, wondering if her dog Senator would be looked after well when she was away for a week.

"Dad and I will keep him perfectly!" said Scott, dreaming of getting his own pet if he could prove himself.

It was time to leave. Dad wished Lucy good luck.

"See you in a w-e-a-k," Scott said.

"W-e-e-k," Lucy corrected him and said, "Bye!"

Each morning Scott woke up early to feed Senator, leaving a note to remind Dad. After that Scott continued to sleep.

A week later, Lucy returned and told the family she failed. Then she found her dog sick. Scott felt sorry but confused, because he'd been a strict direction-follower.

They came to the animal hospital. After the examination, Lucy was angry, "A terrible stomachache! How could Senator put on two pounds in such a short time?"

Dad said, "I only fed him two scoops of dog food every morning."

Scott shouted, "Dad! You fed him again? Didn't you read my note? It says I've fed him!"

It took Lucy a while to understand before asking Scott how to spell "fed".

"F-e-e-d? Scott! ‘Fed' is spelled f-e-d. But your note says f-e-e-d, telling Dad to feed the dog!"

"So Senator was fed twice?" Dad asked.

Scott said sorry, "I just wanted to be responsible so I could get a dog for my next birthday."

"OK. I'll teach you how to spell correctly and train myself for next year's spelling bee," Lucy said.

"You have a few months to practice before you get one for your birthday," Dad added. 

Scott burst into laughter.

"Having a little brother isn't so bad," Lucy told Senator, "if he can help f-e-e-d!"

It was a cold winter morning. My 12-year-old granddaughter, Jayne, sent me messages on the phone every hour during her six-hour drive to our house.

"Grandma, can you put some snow in the fridge (冰箱)? That way, I can feel snow when I get there," she wrote. Jayne lives in the south of Georgia, the US with her parents, so she never saw snow before.

"Yes, I will," I wrote. "There is still some snow on the ground in the yard." And I sent her a few photos of it. However, the weather report brought me bad news. It said the weather would be sunny at noon. This made me feel concerned.

In the afternoon, they finally arrived. Jayne got out of the car first. She ran into the yard and put her hands in the snow. She looked so excited. It was great that the sun didn't come out that day.

"Grandma, the weather is so cold, but I enjoy playing with snow," Jayne said. Then she started to build a snowman. She made two large snowballs first. They were the head and the body. It looked nice. Jayne kept playing outside until her hands got wet and cold. Watching Jayne playing in the snow made me feel warm and thankful.

I still remember the lovely cold day. Small things in our lives can also make us happy.