In recent history, there have been some amazing inventions which have changed our lives. The plane has made international travel faster and easier. The Internet has brought people closer. And you must know the names of some famous inventors like Henry Ford or Steve Jobs. But there are many everyday objects which you probably don't notice and you don't know who invented them. Take for example Nils Bohlin who invented the modem-day car seat belt (安全带).

    Before 1959, only two-point seat belts were available, and the only people who often wore them were race car drivers. The two-point seat belt couldn't protect passengers from internal injuries (内伤) during serious car accidents.

    In 1958, Bohlin joined Volvo Car Corporation as a safety engineer. Then he came up with the three-point seat belt to keep passengers from flying out of their cars during collisions. The three-point seat belt used one strap (带子) across the chest (胸部) and another across the legs and then the two joined at me same place.

    Amazingly, this was a very simple idea which no one had tried before. The three-point seat belt was introduced on Volvo cars in 1959. For more people's safety, Volvo made the new seat belt design available to other car makers for free. Since then, engineers have worked to improve the three-point seat belt, but the basic design remains Bohlin's.

    At the time of Bohlin's death in September 2002, Volvo announced that the seat belt had saved more than one million lives since it was introduced.

We all know that paper-making, gunpowder, the compass and the art of {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (print) are the Four Great Inventions of ancient China. But have you heard of another important invention—the abacus (算盘)?

It's said that Li Shou (隶首) invented the abacus. It {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (be) around for over 5, 000 years. Some researchers believe the abacus has a {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (long) history than the other calculators (计算器) in the world. In China, people {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (use) abacuses to do calculations for thousands of years before people use electronic calculators in daily lives. 

The abacus is usually made of wood. It has many beads (珠子). Each bead above the abacus stands for five, and each bead below stands for one. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} moving the beads up or down, one can do all kinds of calculations. 

It is pleasant thing to watch a skilled hand use an abacus. Fingers move, beads knock, and after {#blank#}6{#/blank#} few seconds, the result comes out. In the past, the use of the abacus was a necessary skill. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} it was taught in many schools. 

Today, because we have been used to {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (use) electronic calculators, we don't have many chances to see an abacus in our daily lives. Many young people have not even {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (hear) of the word "abacus". However, the abacus still plays an important role in certain situations. 

The abacus is one of the important inventions in Chinese history. It used to make a big difference to Chinese people's life. It is one of the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (reason) why we are proud of China. It shows the great wisdom of the ancient Chinese people. It is our national treasure.

When do children start to talk? If you ask a group of parents when this happened, most will say "around 12 months of age". They will probably, even remember what the children said. Many parents keep a diary of their child's "first words".

We can never predict(预测) what a first word is going to be. Often it's the name for "mummy" or "daddy", but it could just as easily be the word for an animal or a favourite toy. Everything depends on what has most caught the child's attention. But one thing is certain: after the first word, others come quickly. By 18 months, most children have learnt about 50 words. By two, the total has risen to around 200.

Early words are actually one-word sentences. One of the first features (特征) of language a child learns well is to control the rise and fall of the voice to make the difference between saying and questioning. In English, daddy with a high rising tone(声调) means "Is that daddy?" Daddy with a high falling tone means "There's daddy." Of course, only very basic meanings can be communicated using tones alone. So it soon becomes necessary to learn some grammar.

In English, grammar means learning to put words in different orders. Children have to see that mummy push is different from push mummy. They start practising such changes at around 18 months. By two, they have learnt the basic forms of word order, and we hear them saying such things as man kick ball and where daddy go.

What are the parents doing all this time? They're acting as teachers and they always have an active role to play in their child's language learning.

Do You Want to Be a Writer?

Here are some tips on becoming a writer.

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Most writers read whatever books they can find because they love to lose themselves in them. They like the sounds of language and the way that reading a good description can feel as satisfying as a baseball game or eating a banana split.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

It's easy to forget a good idea if you do not write it down immediately. If you get in the habit of carrying a notebook with you everywhere you go, you can write down anything you want to remember. When you are talking to friends in the cafe or waiting for the bus, something might spark an idea for a character or scene in a story.

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Nearly all writers agree that writers must write. It doesn't matter if you feel like you have nothing to say; the important thing is that you write every single day. Sometimes, you need to give yourself permission to write things which won't be your best work.

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Do you have any friends who enjoy writing? Think about starting a writing group with other people who have similar interests. It helps to have the support of other writers. You will also receive valuable feedback, or suggestions, about how to make you work better.

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If you decide that you would like to send your work for publication, make sure to do your research. If you are sending your writing to a magazine, look through old ones. Does it seem like your writing fits in with the other stories or articles? That's the homework for you after writing.

My sister Lily likes love movies. She always watches them. Her favorite movie is The Twilight. I never watch love movies. I think they are boring. I like action movies best. They are exciting. Mom likes music programs. The band she likes best is the Jonas Brothers. I like it, too. I watch talent shows with mom every Friday. Dad only watches the news. He says it's very relaxing. He doesn't like other programs. My brother Bob likes western movies best. He thinks cowboys (牛仔) and horses are wonderful.

—Mike

My mother's favorite TV program is Nature News. She always watches it and she sometimes asks me to watch nature programs with her, but I think they are boring. My father watches a football game on TV at 7:00 p.m. every Wednesday. I don't like it, but my father likes it very much. He also likes the news. My sister Tina's favorite program is a game show. She thinks it's fun and she watches it every Saturday. I like cartoons best. I find them very interesting.

—Helen

Running is good for you.

 Every day in newspapers and magazines there are articles telling us we should exercise more. And scientists now say that running is one of the best ways to keep fit. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Some say it can even make you live longer. 

Get started!

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You don't need to buy special clothes but you should get a good pair of trainers. And remember - you should always buy trainers for running one size larger than your usual shoes. 

Make each day different!

 Some people find running boring, so go cycling or swimming instead sometimes. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It's very important to rest two or three times a week. You should eat well and drink lots of water but you can still have nice things like chocolate sometimes. Do some leg and stomach exercises, because this helps you run better. 

Enter a race!

 If you're a beginner, there are lots of ways to make exercise fun. You can join a group or you can exercise with a friend. Another idea is to enter a race. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

What else can you do to make exercise fun? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}