Miss Kate taught physics in a New York school. Last month she was explaining to one of her classes about sound, and she decided to test them to see how well they had understood her explanation. She said to them, "Now, I have a brother in Los Angeles. If I was calling him on the phone, and at the same time you were 80 meters away, and were listening to me from across the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you and for what reason?"

A boy at once answered, " Your brother, Miss Kate, because electricity travels faster than sound waves(声波).

"That's very good." Miss Kate said, but then Jenny said, "I don't agree. Your brother would hear you earlier because it is 11 o'clock here, it's only eight o'clock in Los Angeles."

Summer holidays are coming soon. Are you going to travel? If you plan to take a plane, you will have a healthy trip by following these suggestions:

    Hello. I'm Mike. I'm 15. I'm in No.1 Middle School. This is my Brother, Bill. He's in Shiyan Middle School. He's 10.That's my sister, Helen. She's 20.She's a teacher in our school. These are my parents, Peter Jones and Ann Jones. My father is 50 and my mother is 45.My father is a worker is. My mother is a doctor. I love them very much.

根据短文信息完成表格。

    Do you know the Tantou New Year Picture? It's a famous traditional art form in Shaoyang. It is used for the Spring Festival.

    The Tantou New Year Picture appeared in the Tang Dynasty first. And it has a long history more than 1,300 years. Since the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Tantou New Year Picture has got its special features(特点)一 bright colors, old and exaggerated images(夸张的图象), ordinary materials and special skills. There are more than 20 steps to make the Tantou New Year Picture. All these steps, from making paper by hand to producing the New Year Picture, are finished in one place. This is not usual in our country.

    In 1994, the Tantou New Year Picture won the silver medal at the folk arts fair. However, fewer people know the skill well now and most young people are not interested in it. The Tantou New Year Picture is in danger of disappearing in the world. Luckily, the government has taken action to protect and save it.

    Tantou New Year Picture

    History It appeared in the Tang Dynasty and has a long history ﹣ more than {#blank#}1{#/blank#}years.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Bright colors

    Old and exaggerated images

    Ordinary materials and special skills

Producing steps: There are more than 20 steps to make the Tantou New Year Picture, and finishing all these steps in one place in a country is {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Prize: It won the {#blank#}4{#/blank#}medal at the folk arts fair in 1994.

Situation The Tantou New Year Picture is in danger of disappearing, but the government has taken action to{#blank#}5{#/blank#}it.

    Researchers from two universities in Britain recently carried out a very interesting project. They aimed to find out what modern family needs from their home. The lucky family chosen to take part in the project was the Joneses parents Paul and Eve and their two sons, Jimmy(16) and Harry(13). They have just spent two months living in a specially designed hi- tech future house, where cameras recorded everything they did.

    TV while you bathe

    So what's in this modern house? It boasts(拥有) five bedrooms and five bathrooms. The sitting area has a huge TV and a digital picture frame- you can decide which photos you want to appear and change the picture as often as you like. The baths all have waterproof TV screens and DVD players. There is a remote control(遥控器) in every room which controls everything in the house from the lights to the cooker. The floors are all made of glass and all have under floor heating. The windows clean themselves and there is even a robot called "Iron Man" to do the ironing. Dirty washing goes into a lift which takes the clothes automatically to the washing machine. The "Iron Man" then does all the ironing.

    So how did it go?

    The Jones family were over the moon to be chosen to spend some time in the house. Here's what they said:

Paul: It was great. The house was so comfortable. One day our friends called round with their dog. The dog felt so warm and comfortable; he even slept on the floor! Oh, but there was one problem. One night we were all in bed and all the lights switched themselves on for no reason. It was a bit frightening!

Jimmy: I loved it, but I wish there had been a robot to help me with my homework.

Harry: Staying in was as much fun as going out!

Eve: I loved the TV in the bath but I never watched it before going to work in the morning. If I did, I don't think I'd ever get out!

    The Jones family are now back in their very ordinary home, but planning some hi-tech additions as soon as they can afford them!

The experts hope that results from their project will help developers meet the needs of a 21st-century family. One of the experts wrote a few sentences about his findings on this project: