In the early 1990s the word "Internet" was strange to most people. But today, Internet has become a useful tool for people all over the world. Maybe Internet has been the greatest invention in the field of communication in the history of mankind. Communicating with others on the Internet is much faster. We can chat with a person who is sitting in the other part of the world. We can e-mail our friends and they can read the e-mails within a minute.
   Giving all kinds of information is probably the biggest advantage of the Internet. We can use search engines to find the information we need. Just type in a keyword or keywords and the search engine will give us a list of suitable websites to look at.

   We can enjoy a lot on the Internet by downloading games, visiting chat rooms or surfing(浏览)websites. There are some games for free. We can meet new and interesting people in the chat now. We can also listen to music and see films.
   Now, there is a lot of service on the Internet such as online banking, job finding and ticket buying. We can also do shopping and find nearly all kinds of goods. Sometimes we can find something that is quite good but very cheap.

      For over 100 years, it is convenient for people to go from one place to another by taxi. But sometimes there are no taxis coming to the place you are waiting. However, this has become a thing of past since Uber app appears.

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      Uber is an American company that provides a taxi service through an app on the smart phone. It was set up in March, 2009 and has grown quickly. An app, in fact, is a computer program working on smart phones, computers and other communication devices. By using your smart phone, you can easily and quickly order a taxi and takes you to the place you want to go.

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      The nicest thing about Uber app is that you can see where your taxi is or how long it will take to reach you on your smart phone screen. And you can also find the telephone number of the driver in Uber app, so you can call or send messages to the driver when you are waiting.

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      Uber is always available 24 hours a day. 365 days a year. If you want to go somewhere, you can easily open Uber app at home or anywhere in the open air, then it connects you to the nearest driver. Usually it takes only between 15 minutes to get a Uber taxi by using Uber app.

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      Uber is popular because it is simple and very user-friendly. You have nothing to do with a taxi company. If you are not pleased with the ride and the driver, you can give the driver a low score through Uber app, so Uber is simple, time-saving, and above all very easy.

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      At Uber, the payment is easy through your bank card. How much you need to pay depends on the country and the city you are in. It is sure that Uber taxis are much cheaper than taxis you used to take.

Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees can communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation—their young trees?

    Suzanne Simard, forest ecologist(生态学家) at the University of British Columbia, explains how trees are much more complex(复杂的) than most of us ever imagined. Although Charles Darwin(达尔文) thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard and her team have made a new discovery and showed just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their group work and support, passing around necessary nutrition(营养) such as nitrogen(氮) and carbon "depending on who needs it".

    Nitrogen(氮) and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi (真菌) networks. This makes sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons (神经元) in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it influences all.

    Simard talks about "Mother trees". These are usually the largest, oldest plants that on which all other trees depend. These "Mother trees" are connected to all the other trees in the forest by this network of fungi, and may manage the resources of the whole trees and plants in the forest. She explains how these trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important resources to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down "Mother trees" without paying attention to these highly complex "tree societies" of the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances to save the whole forest.

    "We didn't take any notice of it," Simard says sadly. "Mother trees" move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them chance. If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.

    Do you know when Earth Day is? It is on April 22nd, and it began in the US in 1970. Earth Day in our country began in the 1990s. Earth Day is a good time for people to think about what they can do to make the Earth clean and beautiful, because now the environment on Earth is getting worse and worse. In fact, there are many things we can do to protect our Earth.

    Plant trees.

    Planting more trees helps to reduce greenhouse gases (温室气体), stop the earth from running away and provide homes for animals.

    Don't waste.

    Do not waste water. Use both sides of paper when you write. Turn off the light when you leave. Take your cup with you. Take your own shopping bags to the supermarket. Stop using the plastic bags. Don't use any disposable things. We should save energy.

    Don't throw rubbish in the streets.

    When rainwater washes over the rubbish, it becomes polluted. The polluted water flows into the rivers and seas.

    Ride your bike or take a bus.

    Too many cars pollute the air and waste energy.

    Remember: Every day is Earth Day.

    We should protect the Earth every day, not just on Earth Day. The Earth is our home. Let's do our best to make the Earth cleaner and more beautiful.

My name is Sam. I joined a club called "passing help" last month. Now let me tell you why I joined it.

One evening this May, on my way home my old car broke down (出故障). It was 25 miles from my home. I wanted to get a ride (搭便车), but there was no car. It was also hard to take a taxi. I decided to take a bus home. I went to a bus stop nearby.

After a while, a bus came, but it did not go to my town. The bus driver was a young woman. She was kind and she told me which bus I should take. I waited there for about thirty minutes, but no bus came. At last a car came to me and a woman came out of the car. She was just the bus driver.

"When I reached the bus station, I got to know that the bus to your town couldn't come, so I returned here. I just can't leave you here," she said. "Get in my car and I will take you back to your home." "It is a long way." I said. "Come on, sir," she said. "Let's go."

On the way she told me a story. A few days ago, there wasn't gas (汽油) in her car. An old man drove her up to a gas station and then back to her car.

When we got to my home, I wanted to give her some money to thank her, but she didn't accept it. "I only want to help others and do something nice for somebody. Pass it along," she said.

How do you study every day? You may answer it in one second: have classes at school, take notes and do homework. Feeling a little bored? There are other ways that can make learning interesting and varied(多样化). It's called digital learning. 

Digital learning is a way to help students learn by using the Internet. There are three main kinds of digital learning. Apps are software applications(应用). People can download them on their mobiles. The other two are social networking services, including Weibo and WeChat, and websites. Each one of them is like your teacher. They help you master what you learn at school. 

Compared with traditional learning ways, digital learning has its advantages. Digital learning is varied. It covers almost every school subject. More importantly, it always offers students the newest resources(资源) to learn from. 

Digital learning is also personalized. You can choose what you like to learn. If you don't master what you have learned at school, you can learn again through digital ways. 

However, digital learning also has disadvantages. When you use digital ways to learn, you've got little chance of talking with teachers and classmates. As digital learning uses computers or smartphones, watching the screen too long may be bad for your eyes. It is better to take a rest every 20 minutes.