Who were your best friends five years ago? Is there anyone you would really like to see again? In 1999, Julie Pankhurst, a computer programmer from London, was thinking about her past-and especially the people she used to go to school with.

    Julie looked on the Internet for a website to help her find her old school friends. But there was nothing. So Julie and her husband, Steve, started their own website. They called it Friends Reunited.

    The site grew slowly at first, but soon they received their first "thank you" email. The man wrote, "Thank you so much. Using your website, I found an old friend from thirty years ago！"Julie and Steve were very excited about this and continued to improve their website. By the end of 2000, there were 3,000 members.

    The next year was really hard work for the couple.

    In January, a national radio station mentioned their website. Their membership doubled in one week! People were talking about the website all over the country, and it became a full-time job for Julie and Steve. In a year, they had four million members!

    Now, over fifteen million people in lots of different countries use Friends Reunited to find old school friends, work colleagues and neighbors. Some of the stories which people tell Julie and Steve are amazing. For example, David Webster lost his memory in a car crash. He used the website to find old school friends, and they helped him remember his past.

    Julie's simple idea gave us a national obsession（痴迷）-getting in touch with old friends and hearing their news. And it made her and Steve very rich in 2005, they sold Friends Reunited for ￡120 million!

    Long long ago, there was a blacksmith(铁匠). He was always unhappy with his life. "I'm always hot as a blacksmith. I want to be a stone on the mountain. There it must be cool." A wise man could change everything. The blacksmith went to the wise man. The wise man said, "Be a stone!" The blacksmith became a stone. A moment later, a stonemason(石匠) came and saw the stone. "It's what I want," he said and began to cut it. The stone cried, "Ouch! I don't want to be a stone. I want to be the sun. That would be great." The wise man said, "Be the sun!" And he became the sun. But the sun was much hotter, so he said, "I don't like this. I'd like to be the moon. It looks cool!" The wise man said again, "Be the moon!" And he became the moon. "This is hotter than being the sun, because the light from the sun shines（照射）on me" he said, "I don't want to be the moon. I want to be a blacksmith again. That's the best life."

    But the wise man said, "I'm tired of your changing. You want to be the moon, now you are the moon, and you'll be the moon in the future."

A famous designer（设计师）and a university student produce a new cup called Vessyl. They have spent several years1it. The smart cup can not only tell Coca Cola from Pepsi Cola,2also tell people whether they should drink water or not.

When people3liquid（液体）into this smart cup, a few seconds（秒）later, it can check this kind of liquid and tell them what it is. Then it gives4information about the drink, such as sugar, fat and calories. When people put the cup in their5, it can also show them condition of their bodies. If they are6, Vessyl will tell them to drink water.

"My partner and I want people to7healthy. In modern society, people are usually8busy to do exercise, or even drink enough water every day. They have much9. We produce this smart cup so that people can make a choice10," the designer said.

March 22 is World Water Day. Believed to be the source (源头) of all life, water plays a great role in the beginning of Chinese civilization (文明) and has inspired wise ideas in Chinese philosophy (哲学).

Chinese civilization is one of the world's ancient river civilizations. It began thousands of years ago along the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, linking the culture to water from its beginning.

However, the way people and water get along has two sides. Water is highly important for life and growing things, but if we can't control it, it can cause big problems. Knowing the strong power of water, Chinese people have always tried to use it in the best way possible. For example, Yu, the first ruler of the Xia Dynasty (朝代), controlled floods by changing and digging the waterways so that the water could easily go into the sea.

The Dujiangyan irrigation (灌溉) system in Sichuan was cleverly built It makes full use of the natural features of the area without harming the environment.

Water is also given philosophical meanings to educate Chinese people and rule the country. According to Xunzi, Confucius (孔子) believed water had qualities such as justice and courage. He once said that: "He who is wise loves water; he who is virtuous loves mountains." So, Confucianism suggests that people should learn from water and train their sense of morality (道德感). Inspired by water, Laozi gave birth to the idea of "overcoming hardness with softness and non-action". These ideas later inspired rulers to follow the rules of nature and respect the will of the people.

When you hear the word "shower", what {#blank#}1{#/blank#} to your mind? Maybe it is "a lot of falling water" in the bathroom. But "shower" can also {#blank#}2{#/blank#}"a lot of falling presents" on a special day. On a special day, we might shower someone with gifts. 

My family is going to have two showers this week. On Tuesday, we are going to have a baby shower. My brother's wife is going to have a baby soon. So my family and friends will come with a lot of {#blank#}3{#/blank#} for the baby. 

Then on Thursday, we will have a bridal (新娘的) shower for my sister. She is getting married {#blank#}4{#/blank#} week. She will be a beautiful bride. All her female friends and relatives are coming to {#blank#}5{#/blank#} before she marries. They will give her a lot of presents for her married life.