Have you ever heard of e-waste, which can be produced every day? How do you deal with your computers, MP4 players and mobile phones when they're broken or you want a new one?

    Most people just throw them away. With the development of electric industry, e-waste pollution has become a serious problem. According to the United Nations, in 2014, people around the world produced 41.8 million tons of e-waste and only recycled 6.5 million tons. The US was the biggest waster, producing 7.1 million tons. China came second, with 6 million tons.

    It's important to pay attention to e-waste. It can either be valuable or harmful, depending on how we deal with it. E-waste is a valuable urban mine. The value of the metals, like gold and silver in the waste around the world, is amazing. And the metals can be reused. But if people throw them away, the toxic chemicals can get into the earth or air, effecting the environment and people's health.

    Apple, for example, now recycle people's used products in China when they are buying new ones. The company will test and repair the used ones and sell them at lower prices. To help reduce e-waste, we can also take computers and phones to see if companies offer recycling programs.

    Imagine this. You come back from school and your robot housekeeper is already waiting for you at the door. He turns on the lights, air-conditioner and television. While you are having dinner, he cleans the floor. Before you go to sleep, he tells you the weather report, then reads you a bedtime story.

    Such thoughts are not just for stories. Now they can happen in the real world, as long as you have the robot Alpha 2. Alpha 2 was a star at the 2017 World Robot Conference(大会), which was held from August 23^rd to 27^th in Beijing. More than 150 universities and companies from across the world brought their robots to the event for show and sale. Some robots work in factories. Some robots go to outer space or under water for exploration. But the highlights(亮点)of the event were service robots.

    This kind of robot is the closest to our daily lives. From cleaning to teaching, music to sports, service robots have been used to do many kinds of jobs.

    Teo is a popular service robot, as well as an artist and music teacher. His 53 fingers help him play the piano well. He played John Lennon's song Imagine at the conference.

    There is another service robot called Bestic. It acts as a human arm to feed people with a spoon. It can be a good helper for little kids, the elderly and those with difficulties using their hands.

    The scientists believe that it may not be far when every family has at least one service robot.

Give Directions in Different Places

If you ask people of different countries "Could you tell me the way to the post office?", you will get different answers.

In Japan, people use landmarks(路标) instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, "Go straight down to the corner. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The post office is across from the bus stop.

In Kansas, America, there are no towns or buildings within miles. So instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance. For example, people will say,"Go north two miles. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} "

People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions. They will often say, "Follow me." {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Sometimes if a person doesn't know the answer to your question, he or she,like a New Yorker,might say,"Sorry,I have no idea."But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers "I don't know." {#blank#}4{#/blank#}They usually give an answer, but often a wrong one. A visitor can often get lost in Yucatan!

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} You might not understand a person's words, but maybe you can understand his or her body language. He or she will usually point to the right direction, Go on in that direction and you may find the post office!

Many people like to collect things. Some people collect stamps, some collect dolls and some collect rocks. 1 , Christa Behmenburg, from Germany, collects something unusual—mouse-related items.

Christa's husband is a geologist (地质学家). He likes collecting postcards about mineral (矿物质) resources. Christa always goes with him to fairs 2 new cards for his collection. Actually, Christa is not fond of mineral resources, 3 she feels bored with these fairs. One day, she asked her husband 4 she could also build up a collection of something she likes. He agreed and advised Christa to collect something about 5 favorite animal. Unluckily, that piece of advice would become the biggest regret he's never had.

Christa's favorite animal is the mouse. Since she 6 a teenager, she has had mice as pets. The animal 7 lovely and clever. Two or three years after 8 the hobby, she went all in. She had hundreds and then thousands of mouse-related items only 9 weeks later.

At first, she and her husband had 10 small flat. However, space was getting much 11 because of Christa's collection. The two had to rent (租) 12 two houses. To everyone's surprise, the number of Christa's mouse-related items was up to 47,398 in early 2022 and she broke the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of mouse-related items 13 the end of this year.

Christa's collection continues to grow. Now, every room in her house, from the kitchen to the bathroom, 14 mouse-related items. Sometimes, Christa's husband complains about the large collection 15 brings them joy and trouble. Christa, however, will remind him that it was all his idea!

Sam is an eight-year-old student. He can't always have fun at school,1 he doesn't like his school. He is good at all his2 , but he doesn't have friends. Sam is not happy about that.3 a Saturday morning, Sam sees a big tree. 

A small blackboard is in 4 tree. It says, "I am a magic(有魔力的)tree. Say the right words to me and then I can 5 you."

Sam says many words but they are not useful. The tree6 say a word. At last, he says, "Please, dear tree! Thank you!" The tree says, "Sam，say7 more(更多) and then you can be happy."

After that, Sam often 8 "Please" and "Thank you" at school. His classmates think he is nice and they all want 9 his friends. Then Sam asks many of his classmates to come to his 10 birthday party. They all have a good time.

I'm Alice，an English girl. I live {#blank#}1{#/blank#} London with my parents and sister. We often have four meals（餐） a day：breakfast，lunch，tea and dinner. On weekdays we always have a quick breakfast. My sister and I only have some bread and then go to school {#blank#}2{#/blank#}we don't want to be late. My father drinks some coffee and my mother {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（have） some salad. We don't have lunch at home on weekdays. My parents have it in the restaurant. My sister and I have it at school. Tea time is usually at about 4：00 pm. We have cakes，chocolate or{#blank#}4{#/blank#}（banana）. 

Dinner is often after 7：00 pm. My parents often give {#blank#}5{#/blank#}（ we） a big meal. I like the food for dinner. There {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（be） chicken，fish and vegetables. After dinner，we often do some sports. My mother usually runs for {#blank#}7{#/blank#}hour with my sister. I play ping-pong with my father at the park. And I'm {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（real） good at it. 

The biggest meal of a week is the Sunday roast（周日烤肉大餐）. It is a{#blank#}9{#/blank#} （relax） time. We have roast beef，lamb（羊肉） and some salad on Sunday afternoon. After that，my sister often eats some ice-cream，but I don't. I don't want {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（get） fat.