Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time， computers were large and expensive. Computer networks didn't work well. If one computer in the network broke down， then the whole network stopped. So a few network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working， information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working all the time.

    At first the Internet was only used by the government， but in the early 1970s， universities， hospitals and banks were allowed to use it， too. However， computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of 1990s， computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made "surfing" the Internet easier.

    Today it is easy to get online and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mails is more and more popular among young people. The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people's life.

    Endangered dolphins are beautiful animals that needed to be saved. It may interest you to know there are about six different types of dolphins that are endangered. Many of them are river dolphins and they are very close to being lost forever if we do not take the time to care for them. The following is the reason why they are in danger.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Dolphins can often get stuck(卡) in these nets and they may die. Another problem is the fact that many people and different countries will hunt for dolphins as food.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}When the oceans and rivers are polluted, it affects the very environment where these beautiful creatures are living. It may be important to also keep in mind that the dolphin is towards the top of the food chain.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} If these small animals are affected by the pollution as well, there really is no safe place for the dolphin to go.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}You can also pay attention to the land around you. Do not litter and stop if you do. Spend time on the weekend cleaning up trash in your area and recycle what you can. You play a large role in this whether you believe it or not. So, find out what your role is related to endangered dolphins and work towards a positive change.

    George: What are you doing?

    User: Saying hello to you.

    George: Are you a monkey?

    User: Do you think monkeys can type?

    George: Sure.

    User: Are you a monkey?

    George: Do you think monkeys can type?

    User: You told me they could.

    This is a conversation between a human "user" and a computer. The computer was made to be as human as possible. It was taught to talk to humans. It has also learnt from what people have said to it. This has helped it become more human.

    What makes George talk is called Jabberwacky. It won the Loebner Prize not long ago. The prize is a contest to find the most realistic artificial intelligence (现实的人工智能). In 2006, scientists talked to the computer. They typed questions to it, and it answered.

    Jabberwacky first appeared in 1982. It has been gelling better every year since then. The list of things that the computer says to a human is getting bigger and bigger. It means the computer has more things to say when you talk to it.

    It is hoped that a computer like this will do our jobs in call centres. When Jabberwacky is more realistic, this will be possible.

Many Chinese words include directions or positions. What is the Chinese history and culture hidden behind these words?

When we go shopping, we say "mai dongxi" instead of "mai nanbei" in Chinese. Going back to the ancient city of Chang'an, the national capital in Tang dynasty, there were two large markets, one was in the east and the other was in the west, which were called "eastern market" and "western market". People went shopping either in the eastern market or the western one. As time went by, people started to describe shopping as "mai dongxi".

We use "shang cesuo" in Chinese to express "go to the bathroom" and "xia chufang" to mean "go to the kitchen". Why? In ancient times, houses were built in a certain way. The gate of the house would face south, with the bathroom in the north eastern part of the house and the kitchen in the south eastern part. On maps, north is usually at the top while south is at the bottom. In Chinese, we talk about "the north" as "shang" and "the south" as "xia". So people would say they were going "up" to the bathroom and "down" to the kitchen.

Ancient Chinese not only used "shang" and "xia" to refer to directions, but also social status. "Shang" was seen to be honorable, while "xia" stood for humility (谦卑). For example, people used "huangshang" to refer to the emperor and "dianxia" to refer to the son or daughter of the emperor, who had a lower status than the emperor.

Our parents are important people in our life. They are our first teachers in our life. They love us and help us all the time. But do you want to get on well with them? Here are some ways to help you to be happy with your parents. 

Have fun together 

How much time do you spend just enjoying being with each other? Ask your parents to play with you. Go outside together, try some sports, or go to the movies. 

Be kind 

Little things may bring a lot to your parents. Make a meal for them by yourself and that can make your parents happy. 

Ask for help 

When you are in trouble or meet some sad things, you can ask your parents for help and advice. They will be happy to listen to you and help you. 

Have a try 

You don't have to be the best but you need to have a try. They will be happy to see you have the courage to achieve your dream. It lets them know they're doing a good job in helping you grow up. 

Many of us like to read books. We read everything from fiction to nonfiction. In the past, we could only read traditional paper books. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

Now, we can read e-books most of the time. They still have covers and pages, but they're not made of paper. Instead, they're pictures on a screen. Some people love to read e-books. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They can read them on their mobile phones and computers. However, in another way, they're not so great because they have changed the way people read.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Sometimes, we feel like we're in the stories and forget the real world while reading traditional books. However, that's not true with e-books. With them, we might not focus on the books and we may pay attention to other things.

When we read an e-book written in a foreign language, we may meet new words. That takes us out of the stories and to an online dictionary. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} During surfing, we can also chat with our friends, check our emails, surf the Internet, search for things to buy, and more.

In a word, e-books are becoming popular. They make a difference on our reading habits. Our eyes stop reading everything on the page. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Some people don't mind that, but for others, it takes the fun out of reading.

A．We can look for key words to get information quickly.

B．From e-books, we can easily change to something else.

C．They have front and back covers and many pages in between.

D．With traditional books, we mainly pay attention to the stories.

E．E-books are great because people can carry a "library" of books with them all the time.