It is park at the bottom of the ocean. It's cold down there too. There's no air to breathe. The water pressure is high. There may be fishes that could hurt you. The deep sea can be an unpleasant place. But people are still fascinated by it, not just because of the amazing scenery. The seafloor might hold the secret to the beginning of life on Earth.

    Oceans cover more than two-thirds of our planet. Yet, we have explored just a small part of the underwater world. A new project is there to explore the ocean deeper. A new US machine can carry people down to as deep as 6,500 metres. It will take the place of an older machine called Alvin. The old one has been in use for 40 years, but it can only go down to 4,500 metres. Alvin played a key role in many important tasks. Alvin helped biologists collect worms, chemists gather rocks, and oceanographers (海洋学家) map the seafloor and take water sample (样本).

    But now it's about time for a new one. The new machine will be like Alvin. It'll also be about 27 feet long, about the size of a small school bus. The seating area inside will be small, about two metres wide. Like Alvin, it'll carry a pilot and two passengers. It will be able to move like Alvin does. It'll give passengers more chances to enjoy the view. Alvin has only three windows. The new one will have five. It will travel more than a mile an hour faster than Alvin. Getting to the bottom faster and moving around more quickly will allow researchers to make the most of their time underwater.

    A "talking kitchen" teaches students how to cook French and speak French. Researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom have developed the French Digital(数字的) Kitchen. Professor Paul Seedhouse led the project.

    "It works like a satellite navigation(导航) system in a car. The system can tell whether you've done what you were asked to do or not. For example, the sensor(传感器) in the knife not only knows that the knife is moving, but it also knows how the knife is moving. So it can discover whether the knife is slicing (切), whether it's scraping (刮) or what. And so it doesn't go on to the next stage of the program unless you've done what it senses(感到)you should have done," said Paul Seedhouse.

    Students can ask the computer to repeat the instructions or translate them into English. There are vocabulary(词汇) lessons before and after the cooking.

    Professor Seedhouse became interested in the idea after he visited a talking kitchen designed for a different purpose. In his opinion the French Digital Kitchen turns the process (过程) of learning language into a real life experience. "Here you're taking it out of the classroom and you're actually using the language to produce something which you can eat at the end of it. It's very enjoyable," he said.

    The system will be available for sale by the end of 2020. Adding the technology to a new kitchen could add about ten to twenty percent to the building costs. The system could also be added to an existing(现存的) kitchen.

    The researchers are also developing a new digital(的呼吸法) kitchen system that is easy to carry or to move. And the European Union has given them money to begin programs in six other languages, including English, Italian and Spanish.

When the teacher asks a question in class, Wang Xiaobin never raises his hand and this situation is very common at middle schools. This 15-year-old boy always waits for other classmates or the teacher to give the answer. "What if my answer is wrong?" Wang asks.

Wang said only six or seven students in his class raise their hands when a question is asked. "I think it is a problem that may affect（影响） our studies, but I am afraid of making mistake s in front of my classmates," he said.

When we asked the teacher, Hu Wei, why the students didn't raise their hands, he said, "They lack（缺乏） of confidence（自信）. They are afraid of showing off, or they're afraid of losing face by giving wrong answers."

To encourage students to raise their hands in class, Hu suggests that teachers should repeat the question, then try to guide and encourage students to offer their answers. Hu also advises students not to be shy, but brave enough to try.

Sun Pin, 16 of Fujian, always raises her hand as soon as she comes up with the answer, even if she isn't sure she has got it right. Sun can't understand why some of her classmates keep silent in class. She enjoys raising her hand a lot. "It keeps me active and confident to express my idea," Sun said, "Raising my hand has really made me excellent."

Restaurants around the world only used lots of plastic straws (塑料吸管) before, but many of them start using paper ones now. Are paper straws really better than plastic straws?

A plastic straw usually takes more than 200 years to break down (分解). It slowly turns into small pieces of plastic. If they fall into the sea, seabirds and fish will eat them for food. It is bad for their health and may kill them. Paper straws are different. They start to break down in just three days. They are much safer and better for animals and Earth.

However, some people still don't like paper straws. They think paper straws will affect (影响) the taste of the drink. In fact, we can use other things. For example, glass straws are easy to clean. And we can use them for a long time. We can also use real straws. Many people started to use them in the 1800s. 

In one's life, one usually has little understanding of oneself. When you succeed, you may be very happy. When you fail, you may be sad. If you don't get {#blank#}1{#/blank#} thorough (全面的）understanding of yourself, you may miss lots of {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (chance) in life. 

To get a thorough understanding of yourself is to know well {#blank#}3{#/blank#}yourself. You may know your strong points and weak {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (one). You may hope for a wonderful future, but be sure not to expect too much {#blank#}5{#/blank#}you can't realize all dreams . You may be confident enough to meet challenges, but first you should know what to do. 

To get a thorough understanding of yourself, you should believe yourself. Maybe you think you are not a much{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (tall) tree but just some smaller grass. If you get full confidence, you will be sure to face any trouble. 

It also{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (need) to look after yourself if you want to understand yourself well enough. When you are angry, find a quiet place so that you won't be hurt. When you are sad, tell your friends about it {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (change) the bad mood(情绪） into a good one. When you are tired, get a good sleep. If you don't take good care of yourself, you won't be able to stay away from {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (ill). 

So if you get a thorough understanding of yourself, you {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (get) a full control of yourself and find your life will be colorful.