“I honestly have no idea how that cat got up there. It's a hundred—foot—metal pole. There's no way he climbed that thing,”Jim said to the worried woman. It wasn't even her cat, but she was passing by and saw it. immediately calling the fire—station to come to save it. Jim saw a lotof strange things as a fireman, often sad or upsetting things, but this was new.

  “I suppose we could get the blanket and see if we can convince the poor cat to jump down. But he doesn't really look too scared…”Jim said to the woman.

  “Dave, get overhere!” Jim called over his shoulder to the fire truck driver. Dave walked over and looked where Jim was pointing.

  “How'd he get up there?”

    Jim shrugged, similarly puzzled.“Do you suppose we could get the blanket and convince him tojump?”

    Dave shrugged in response.“I don't seewhy not.”

    Jim looked up at the black mass on the top of the flagpole, the Americannag waving proudly beneath him. It was definitely a cat, and heregarded the people gathered below as if they were his subjects(臣民) and he their king, his yellow eyes scanning his surroundings with apparentd is interest.

    When the blanket was spread out below the cat, Jim and Davebegan striking the flagpole. The cat lookeddown, and then gazed into the sky as if it were looking for something. Jim and Davefollowed his gaze. Suddenly, out of theclear sky, appeared adark figure. The figures wooped(俯冲) low toward the flag pole. It was aneagle! As it got closer, the cat leaped down the pole swiftly onto the ground, and then got lost in the bushes.

    Jim, Dave, and the oldwoman were left with their mouths open. They all agreedit was the best way to get it down.

From: terri @ wombat. Com. Au

To: (happylizijun) @ yaboo. com. cn

Subject: My school

Hi, Li Zijun,

    Thanks very much for your email. I really enjoyed reading it. I think we have a lot in common. I wonder if our school life is similar too.

    I go to a big high school in Sydney called Maylands High School. There are about 1000 students and 80 or so teachers. My class has 25 students in it, which is normal for a Year 11 class. In the junior school there are about 30 students in a class.

    In the senior high school we have lots of subjects to choose from, like maths, physics, chemistry, biology, history, German, law, geography, software design, graphic arts and media studies. (Different schools sometime have different optional subjects.) English is a must for everyone and we have to do least three other subjects in Year 11 and 12. At the end of Year 12 we sit for a public exam called the High School Certificate.

    As well as school subjects, most of us do other activities at school such as playing a sport, singing in the choir or playing in the school band. We can also belong to clubs, such as the drama club, the chess club and the debating society.

    We have a lot of homework to do in senior school to prepare for our exam, so unless I have basketball practice, I usually go straight home and start studying. I arrive home about 4 pm, make myself a snack and work till 6. Then I help the family to make dinner and we all eat together. I'm usually back in my room studying by 8 pm. I stop at about 10 o'clock and watch TV or read a book for half an hour to relax. On Saturdays, I usually go out with my family or with friends and I sleep in till late on Sunday morning. Then it's back to the books on Sunday afternoon.

    How about you? What's your school life like? Do you have a lot of homework? What do you do to relax when you're not studying? I'm looking forward to finding out.

Your Australian friend

Terrie

    In most parts of the world, many students help their schools make less pollution. They join “environment clubs”. In an environment club, people work together to make our environment clean.

    Here are some things students often do.

    No-garbage lunches. How much do you throw away after lunch? Environment clubs ask students to bring their lunches in bags that can be used again. Every week they will choose the classes that make the least garbage and report them to the whole school.

    No-car day. On a no-car day, nobody comes to school in a car. Not the students and not the teachers! Cars give pollution to our air, so remember: walk, jump, bike and run. Use your legs! It's lots of fun.

    Turn off the water! Did you know that some toilets can waste twenty to forty cubic (立方) meters of water an hour? In a year, it would fill a small river! In environment clubs, students mend those broken toilets. We love our environment. Let's work together to make it clean.

    Tiny as they are, bats have the ability to “see” in the dark by using a special skill called echolocation(回声定位法). They make noises and wait for sound waves, or an echo, to bounce(反弹) back off objects. They can tell the distance of various objects by how quickly the sound waves bounce back off them. If no sound bounces back, they can then fly forward.

    This special ability has been simulated in the human world for a long time, such as in submarines and planes, whose sonar(声呐) systems are somewhat similar to echolocation. But apart from helping vehicles “see” where they are, what if blind people could use echolocation for themselves? It turns out, some already are.

    American Daniel Kish, who is blind, is known as “Batman”. This isn't because he walks around in a cape and a mask, but because he has a bat-like ability to locate where he is through sharp clicks he makes by moving his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Kish is so skilled at echolocating that he can ride a bike and hike on his own.

    Recently, research carried out at the University of Durham in England shed some light on the power of human echolocation.

    Kish worked with a group of scientists who studied the way blind people listen to the echoes that they produce from clicks.

    The team, which conducted experiments with other volunteers, found that people were capable of hearing even very faint echoes, ones far fainter than had been previously thought.

    Speaking to The Independent, Lore Thaler, lead scientist of the group, said, “We found that in some conditions, they were really faint – about 95 percent softer than the actual clicks, but the echolocators were still able to sense this.”

    Andrew Kolarik of the University of Cambridge is another expert in echolocation. Reacting to the Durham study, he told BBC News that echolocation “can be very useful at providing information at face or chest height” and could help people “avoid objects like low hanging branches that might not get detected by the cane or a guide dog”.

    Although Kish's skill is remarkable, there's hope for other blind people who want to use echolocation. According to BBC News, echolocation is a skill blind people can acquire and develop, just like learning a language. As Kolarik said: “Teaching echolocation skills could provide blind people with the means of exploring new places.”

    Over the past few years, smart home tech has become more and more accessible and it's increasingly easy to find that you've bought a product that includes smart home features. So what does a modern smart home look like, and how can you start building one? You could get to start making your home smarter by the following gadgets.

    Ecobee 4

    *Measuring both occupancy and temperature, its sensors signal your Ecobee to automatically switch to the right mode.

    It only takes about 30 minutes, thanks to an easy-to-follow installation guide and an in-app step-by-step walkthrough.

    Easily adjust temperature using your voice with built-in Alexa or from wherever you are using your mobile devices.

    Amazon Smart Plug

    Amazon Smart Plug works with Alexa to add voice control.

    Schedule lights, fans, and appliances to turn on and off automatically, or control them remotely when you're away.

    It's simple to set up and use. Plug in, open Alexa app, and start using your voice.

    The Philips Hue White Smart Bulb

    It works with Amazon Alexa to support dimming through voice control.

    Schedule your own custom lighting scenes. Set the smart bulbs to turn on and off at a pre-set time.

    To install, simply screw(拧) the smart bulbs into your desired light location.

    Control smart-bulb-equipped lamps and overhead lights via the Philips Hue App.

    August Smart Lock Pro

    It works with Alexa for voice control(Alexa device sold separately).

    Control keyless access. It locks automatically behind you, and unlocks as you approach.

    Install in about 10 minutes with just a screwdriver(螺丝刀).

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