John and Jack met at the old bench every afternoon. Then they played football. But they didn't have enough money to buy a real football. So Jack made a ball out of old socks covered with a piece of plastic. Every time, the two friends didn't stop kicking and running until very late.

    On Monday afternoon, John and Jack met again at the old bench. Soon the home-made ball was running across the grass. The boys laughed and shouted happily. The ball was stopped by a boy wearing a nice pair of sports shoes. John was upset when he saw it was Steven.

    The next morning, John's mother gave him a bill. “Your uncle sent you a birthday present.”She smiled. John's eyes grew big when he saw the ＄100 bill. Later that day, his mother bought a pair of new sports shoes and a real football.

    That afternoon Steven invited John to play football. Steven did not want Jack to join them only because Jack's sports shoes were dirty. When the game was over, John and Steven walked past the old bench where Jack was sitting. Steven picked up a stone and threw it at him. John, holding his new football in his hands, walked on and did not look back.

    Several days later, as John walked past the old bench, he saw something lying under it. He looked closer and saw it was the home-made ball. John was full of sadness when he saw the ball. As his sadness turned to anger, he picked up his new football and kicked it into the air. Then he walked to the beach, sat down and waited.

      The next time you look up at the sky and see a cloud that looks like Mickey Mouse or your favorite fruit, look again. It may not be a cloud, but a Flogo -- a logo that flies. It's a new form of advertising in the sky that's never been used before. It's a different way to market your products, logos, and events.

     These funny logos are made with soap bubbles （肥皂泡） mixed with a little helium gas （氦气） ,which makes them lighter than air and float in the sky. Special machines are used to make these new funny Flogos. The machine, which can be rented for $ ,500 a day, can make a Flogo every 15-5 seconds.

      Flogos can fly much higher or lower if needed. They can last from a few minutes to an hour anywhere in the sky, depending on the weather conditions. Though they can fly up to 0, 000 feet, they usually float around at 300- 500 feet. Flogos are only white now, but people hope to have more colorful Flogos in the near future.

     Flogos are Green, 100% environmentally safe, because the soap used to make the Flogo comes from plants and leaves. So this fun way of advertising is healthy and good for the environment.

    What is the most popular fast food today? Potato chips? Hamburgers? Or Sandwiches?Walk into almost any supermarket or corner store in America and you will see potato chips．Americans are the biggest eaters of potato chips and people in many other parts of the world enjoy them too．Do you know where this very popular fast food comes from?

    One day, almost 150 years ago, a cook in an expensive restaurant in New York State was preparing popular food—French fries．A customer in the restaurant didn't like the French fries, and complained(抱怨)because they were too thick．The cook cut some potatoes into thinner pieces and fried them．The waiter brought them to the customer．The customer tasted them, and asked to see the cook because he was still not satisfied ．

    The cook went to speak to the customer．The customer complained loudly about the chips again．The cook became very angry because the customer was so rude．He decided to play a trick(戏弄)on the customer．He cut some potatoes so thin that the customer wouldn't be able to pick them up．To the cook's surprise, the customer loved the new chips, and soon other customers wanted them too．People went home to tell their friends about this new food．The chips became so popular that the cook opened his own restaurant．

    Now, it seems that artficial intelligence （人工智能）is becoming more and more popular in our life, and it has greatly influenced the ways we live, work and play. Can you imagine that you can play table tennis with a robot one day?

    Recently, a scientist has invented a special robot that can be a table tennis coach. That means people can practice table tennis not only with humans but also with a robot.

    Named Forpheus, the smart table tennis robot is quite special. It can study the movements of human players and the speeds of the ball. In this way, it can exactly judge (判断) the player' skill levels (水平). Then it uses the information to change the ways to play. If the player are just beginners, Forpheus will play in a slow and easy way, but if the players are better ones, the robot will play in a faster and more difficult way. What's more, while playing, it encourages players to try their beat with words like "Good job!", "Come on!" and so on. At the same time, it gives some good advice to improve their skills. So it is both a good partner and a clever coach.

    Science and technology is developing quickly these days and it's hard to imagine what will happen in the future. "In the next 20 years, it will be possible that one robot teaches another to play table tennis or even invents another one!" Takuoya, the inventor of the robot, said.

    Everybody hates rats. But rats may soon be man's new good friends. What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can't get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.

    How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat's brain gives a signal. This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When the rat's brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.

    Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Robots' noses don't work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. Rats can also see in the dark, they are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don't need electricity!

    The "rat project" is not finished. But a scientist says, "It would be great. A rat could get into any place we couldn't get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn't safe." Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building (but only after an earthquake, of course).

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} ⑴The first thing to remember is that when a friend invites you over, you need to arrive on time. If your friend tells you to come "around 3:00", that means you can turn up a little bit after 3:00. But usually it is a good idea to arrive at the right time.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} ⑵Often it is also nice to bring something to your friend's house. This could be a box of chocolate for you two to share, or maybe a movie that you can watch together. You can also bring some flowers. A little gift is a nice way to show your friend that you are excited to be at his house.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} ⑶When you visit your friend's house, you may also meet his parents. You should tell them who you are and they may tell you their names, and then they may tell you to call them by their first names. Another way to show respect is to call them Madam or Sir.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} ⑷As we all know, students should learn how to get on well with others. But in what ways? First of all, we should respect others. Everyone has their own way to do things, so we should understand each other. Besides, it is important for us to communicate with each other. What's more, we should be kind to others and offer necessary help to those who are in trouble.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} ⑸Everybody has his parents. But not everybody gets on well with his parents. Well, first, we should respect our parents because they bring us up and care for us all the time. Second, we are supposed to do some housework at home. We should help clean the room, cook meals and so on. Third, we should care for them, have a talk with them about their work.