Playing with apps on smart phones is very common among young people. Let's try some special apps and enjoy them.

    The grand military parade (盛大阅兵式) and celebrations were held in Tian'anmen Square, Beijing on Oct. 1 for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

    A grand military parade was held in the morning, showing the great progress made by the Chinese armed forces in recent years. About 15,000 officers and soldiers took part in the 80-minute parade in front of Tian'anmen Square. Then, a mass pageant(群众游行展) showing China's historical achievements and the nation's great rejuvenation(伟大复兴)was held. It was seen as a lesson on Chinese history and how far the nation has progressed. The mass pageant lasted 65 minutes and was divided into five parts, each part showed respect to Chinese leaders in the past and leaders now, from Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping. In the evening, a gala(盛会)took place in Tian'anmen Square. The songs, dances and fireworks celebrated the nation and its people.

    President Xi expressed warm National Day congratulations to Chinese people home and abroad. Standing on the Tian'anmen Rostrum in Beijing, where Chairman Mao Zedong announced the founding of the PRC on Oct 1, 1949, Xi recalled Chinese history. He also showed a road map for the country to realize the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation. He called for efforts to make a better life and to keep making achievements. The parade and celebrations have set off Chinese people's patriotism (爱国心)and a strong sense of pride.

    Phil White has just returned from an 18,000-mile, around-the-world bicycle trip. White had two reasons for making this epic journey. First of all, he wanted to use the trip to raise money for charity, which he did. He raised £70,000 for the British charity, Oxfam. White's second reason for making the trip was to break the world record and become the fastest person to cycle around the world. He is still waiting to find out whether he has broken the record or not.

    White set off from Trafalgar Square, in London, on 19th June, 2004 and was back 299 days later. He spent more than 1,300 hours in the saddle (车座) and destroyed four sets of tyres and three bike chains. He had the adventure of his life crossing Europe first, and then the Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and finally the Americas. Amazingly, he did all of this with absolutely no support team. No jeep carrying food, water and medicine. No doctor. Nothing! Just a bike and a very, very long road.

    The journey was lonely and desperate at times. He also had to fight his way across deserts, through jungles and over mountains. He cycled through heavy rains and temperatures of up to 45 degrees, all to help people in need. There were other dangers along the road. In Iran, he was chased by armed robbers and was lucky to get away with the little money he had. The worst thing that had happened to him was having to cycle into a headwind on a road that crosses the south of Australia. For 1,000 kilometers he battled against the wind that was constantly pushing him. This part of the trip was slow, hard and depressing, but he made it in the end. Now Mr. White is back and wants to write a book about his adventures.

A: Mr. Liu, can I ask you some questions about Mars?

B: Sure, go ahead.

A: Is Mars hot?

B: Mars might look red-hot. But don't let its color fool you. Mars is much farther away from the sun than Earth. So it gets less light and heat.

A: Why "Mars"?

B: Mars takes its name from the Roman god of war (罗马战神). In China, the red color makes people think of fire. So they call the planet "fire star".

A: Are there Martians on Mars?

B: Unluckily, we haven't found any "people" on Mars yet. They are kind of like Santa Clause. Nobody can see them, but many people believe they are real.

A: Will we lose weight on Mars?

B: Living on Mars could be good in many ways. For example, you might not need to go on a diet to lose weight. If you weigh 50kg on Earth, you will only weigh 19kg on Mars. This is because the surface gravity (表面重力) on Mars is only about 38 percent of that on Earth. Do you want to know your weight on Mars? Just multiply your weight by 0.38. That's it.

A: Thank you. We know a lot about Mars now.

B: You're welcome.

Can you imagine going to university at age 14 This year, Jia Zijun, from Henan, did just that. He became the 1 freshman （大一新生）at Beihang University and plans to study aircraft design.

"I didn't know I was the youngest 2 I got here, and it feels quite cool!" Jia told The Paper.

Jia took part in the college entrance exam in.June and got a total score of 642. People often think students like him must be geniuses （天才）.But Jia owes（归功于）his 3 mainly to curiosity and good study habits.

" When I was in Grade 1, I was 4 about what we were going to learn next. So I borrowed Grade-2 5 and learned the lessons during my summer holidays. I enjoyed exploring new information, " he said. Because of this, Jia skipped （跳过） Grade 2, and then Grade 4.

As he went to high school, he found things were getting 6 to learn. So he started to make plans every day and 7 goals for himself. "I would 8 follow the plan, and gradually（逐渐地）I'd see my 9 . "

Jia would also 10 what he learned each day before going to bed. If there was something he couldn't remember well, he'd take a look at it the next morning.

"I was not good at English in high school, so I printed the vocabulary list and 11 it onto my bed. Every moming when I woke up, I 12 them, and it's a good way to remember things."

When Jia felt stressful, he had a 13 way to relax: working on math problems. "I'd find difficult problems to 14 myself, and when I worked it out, I felt really happy."

As he told The Paper, he hopes he can 15 his curiosity and study habits in university, and keep challenging himself to become a better person.