Thousands of years ago, the kings of Egypt built strong tombs for themselves. Over these tombs they built pyramids. They thought their bodies would be well kept in these tombs until they could come back to life. They also hoped the world would look on the pyramids as monuments to them and would remember them forever.

   There are about 80 pyramids in Egypt. But the Great Pyramid is the biggest of all. It is nearly 5, 000 years old. It is about 137 meters high today, but it was once higher. It is made of 2, 300, 000 huge stones. Most of them are higher than a man and weigh about two and a half tons each. Some weigh as much as fifteen tons. It took more than 100, 000 men twenty years to build the Great Pyramid. 

When you look at the pyramids, you can't help wondering how the Egyptians were able to build them thousands of years ago. How did they cut, carry and lift such huge stones? Each stone fits so well, yet they didn't have our modern machines! Scientists have studied the pyramids, but nobody can tell just how the Egyptians built them so long ago.

   Inside the pyramids are the rooms for the bodies of the kings and queens. There are lots of wonderful treasures in the pyramids, too. Thieves have broken into some of the pyramids and taken away many of the treasures to foreign countries. They have even stolen the mummies. Today some of the mummies and treasures are on show in museums in different countries. When the kings had the pyramids built for them, they perhaps never thought this would happen.

    Have you ever asked your relatives or friends if there is Wi-Fi in their houses? Have you ever searched for Wi-Fi when you are at restaurants or hotels? The answers will probably be "Yes". Most of us want Wi-Fi everywhere as if we can't live without it. But we can only use free Wi-Fi in some public places. We still have to spend some money accessing(连接)the Internet at most time. Here comes a piece of good news.

    A rich, powerful organization(组织) in the USA called the Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF) has decided to change the age of online computing (计算) completely by giving free Wi-Fi to every person on Earth. They will send up hundreds of satellites into low Earth orbit(轨道).

    This is because they have made a survey(调查) and found that only 60% of the world's population have been able to get information on the Internet. And this is also because many countries are unable to offer people the necessary infrastructure(基础设施)to access the web.

    We can hope to use free Wi-Fi everywhere in the near future.

阅读以上信息，用恰当的词完成下面的表格，每空一词。

    Do you often throw away things you don't need anymore? Have you ever thought about how these things can actually be put to good use? Nothing is a waste if you have a creative mind.

    You have probably never heard of Amy Hayes, but she is a most unusual woman. She lives in a house in the UK that she built herself out of rubbish. The windows and doors come from old buildings around her town that were pulled down. The top of the house is an old boat turned upside down. And the gate in front of her house is made of rocks and old glass bottles. Amy recently won a prize from the Help Save Our Planet Society. The president said, "Amy is an inspiration to us all."

    Amy isn't the only one who is good at recycling. Jessica Wong from Hong Kong uses old clothes that people don't wear anymore to make bags. She has been doing this for a few years now. She opened a small shop where she sells her bags, and she has also set up a website to sell them online. She especially likes to use old jeans to make handbags. Her bags are cute and useful. "I plan to write a book about new ways to use old clothes," she said. "I hope people can read my book and enjoy it!"

    Wang Tao set up a small business in Shanghai four years ago. He is known for using iron and other materials from old cars to make beautiful art pieces. Some are large pieces that look like animals or humans, and some are smaller pieces you can put at home. The more popular works can even been seen in art shops around the city. Wang Tao hopes to set up a "metal art" theme park to show people the importance of environmental protection. Not only can the art bring happiness to others, but it also shows that even cold, and iron can be brought back to life with a little creativity.

A. Beijing

    For travelers in China, Beijing is a must, as it is a political and cultural center and it offers many scenic attractions. Foods are very popular with tourists as well, such as authentic(真正的) Beijing roast duck and instant—boiled mutton.

B. Shanghai

    You know what? Shanghai is one of the developed cities in China. It is a commercial(商业的) and industrial(工业的) city. Tourists will be satisfied with what the city supplies, from various snacks and cakes to handcrafts and textiles. Spring and autumn are the best seasons to visit the city.

C. Suzhou and Hangzhou

    Suzhou and Hangzbou are two cities near Shanghai. They were once described by Italian traveler Marco Polo as the most beautiful and prosperous(繁荣的) cities in the world. Both of them are called" Paradise(天堂) on Earth" .

D. Xi'an

    Xi'an is the capital of Shanxi Province. It dates back over 2,000 years as an ancient capital which served as the capital for many dynasties in the Chinese history. It is also the starting pointing of the famous ancient Silk Road. The life—size terra cotta soldiers and horses of the Qin Dynasty are described as the" Eighth Wonder of the world".

E. Harbin

    If you want to travel in winter, Harbin is particularly good for sightseeing in January and February. If you have never seen any snow, you play enjoy the ice festival and even go skiing and skating in this world of snow.

F. Kunming

   Kunming is regarded as "Scenic City of Eternal Spring" because of its year round spring weather. You may find almost every kind of Asian flowers there.

    Once, a student complained to his teacher about his unhappy life. The teacher decided to teach him a lesson.

    One day, he asked the student to get some salt and a glass of water.

The student returned with a glass of clean water and a handful of salt. The teacher asked the young man to put the salt into the glass and drink it.

    "How does it taste?" the teacher asked.

    "It tastes bitter (味苦的)," the student replied.

    The teacher didn't say anything else, but asked the young man to get the same amount (数量) of salt and follow the teacher to a nearby lake.

    "Put the salt into the lake," the teacher said. The young man did what the teacher said.

    "Now, taste the water from the lake," the teacher said.

    As the water dropped down the young man's chin, the teacher asked, "How does it taste?"

    "Fresh and a bit sweet," the student said.

    "Do you taste the salt?" the teacher asked.

    "No," the young man shook his head.

    The teacher sat beside the young man and said, "The pain of life is like salt — no more, no less. However, the amount of bitterness you taste depends on the container (容器) you put the pain in." The amount of pain in life stays exactly the same. So when you are in pain, the only thing to do is to open up the mind. Stop being a glass, become a lake.

    The ENIAC (电子数学积分计算机) was the first modern computer. It was built in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania (宾夕法尼亚洲). The machine was very big. It was the size of a large room. It was also very heavy. The ENIAC weighed more than 27,000 kilograms. It was very expensive. Plus, it was not easy to use. But it did a good job.

    Over the years, computers got smaller and smaller. They also got cheaper and cheaper. First, big businesses got computers. Then, small businesses bought them. Now, people have computers at school, work, and home. Our small computers are much faster than the ENIAC.

    Nobody uses the ENIAC now. But we still remember it. It is important in the history of computers.