If music makes you smarter and exercise helps you to think, surely exercising to music can turn you into an intelligent(聪明的) person.

    A team of scientists from Ohio State University did tests on 33 volunteers who were getting better from heart problems following operation(手术). They found that people who exercised while listening to "The Four Seasons" did much better on language ability tests than without music.

    "Facts suggest that exercise improve the learning ability of people with heart problems," said the scientist Charles Emery, who led the study. "And listening to music is thought to enhance understanding. We just wanted to put the two results together." he added.

    The volunteers said they felt better after exercising with or without the music. But their improvement on the test doubled after listening to music during exercise. Scientists have shown it is true that music can be good for health. It helps cut down stress, sadness and nervousness. And it also wakes up the body and improves memory and thoughts.

    In medical fields, music is used widely for patients who have had headaches before and after operation. "The Four Seasons" was used because of its soft tempo(节拍) and better results in earlier research.

    "Exercise seems to cause better changes in the nervous system and these changes may have a direct result on learning ability." Emery said. Scientists have been studying the result of music on understanding since the early 1950s. By 1990, scientists were using Mozart's music to help children with speech disorders. Mozart was chosen because his music is not overexciting. A study showed students who listened to Mozart scored higher marks in an intelligence test. With important exams coming, your parents will not probably allow you to listen to music. But perhaps now you have good reasons to argue with them.

    Dolphins are not fish, but warm-blooded animals. They live in groups, and speak to each other in their own language. In this they are like other animals, such as bees and birds. But dolphins are very different from almost all land animals. Their brain is nearly the same size as our own, and they live a long time—at least twenty or thirty year.

    Like some other animals, dolphins use sound to help them find their way around. They also make these sounds to talk to each other and to help them find food. We now know they do not use their ears to receive these sounds, but the lower part of the mouth, called the jaw.

    Strangely, dolphins seem to like man, and for thousands of years there have been stories about the dolphin and its friendship with people.

    There is a story about sailors in the 19^th century. In a dangerous part of the sea off the coast of New Zealand, they learnt to look for a dolphin called Jack. From 1871 to 1903 Jack met every boat in the area and showed it the way. Then in 1903 a passenger on a boat called The Penguin shot and wounded (伤害) Jack. He recovered and for nine years more continued to guide all ships through the area—except for The Penguin.

    Today, some people continue to kill dolphins, but many countries of the world now protect them and in these places it is against the law to kill them.

    People and dogs have been living together for hundreds of years. When did dogs and people become friends? Where did dogs come from?

    A group of scientists tried to answer these questions. They just finished a study about the history of dogs. In the study, they looked at the DNA of dogs all over the world and found that dogs, like humans, shared DNA with their family members. The scientists put together a big family tree for dogs. It went all the way back to the animal's beginning.

    In this way, scientists learned about the history of dogs. The first dogs lived in Asia. They were born about 33,000 years ago. At first, there were only about 6,400 of them. Their parents were wolves(狼).

    The new study answers many questions. It raises some too. For example, what caused wolves in Asia to become dogs all those years ago?

    One idea is that their DNA slowly changed and the wolves became dogs in the end. As time goes by, dogs became "man's best friends" Or it could happen the other way around. It was possible that some wolves started living with people before they became dogs. Living with people led to many changes to these wolves. It changed their DNA, so their offspring(后代) became dogs. In other words, it was possible that wolves were our friends before they became dogs.

    By studying DNA, scientists now have a much better understanding of the history of dogs. ________.

    How exactly dogs came to be our friends is still unclear.

     Robots seem very new to some people, but in fact they have a long history. The first robot was made by a Greek inventor(发明家). You may often see robots in lots of movies. The robots in the movies are stronger, faster and cleverer than people. In real life, most robots are used in factories. They are used to do many dangerous, difficult or boring jobs. Some people can't look after themselves and robots are used to help them. For example, some people can't see. They use dogs to help themselves move around. These dogs are called guide dogs. Scientists are making robots to help them. In the future, robot dogs might take the place of these guide dogs.

    Robots are also used in American hospitals. At one hospital, a robot takes meals from the kitchen to the sick people's rooms. It never loses its way because it has a map of the hospital in its computer system(系统).

In the future, robots will work in space. Robots will never take the place of humans, though they can help us in a lot of different ways.

The 9th day of the 9th lunar month is the traditional Chongyang Festival, which falls on Oct. 4th this year. "Chong" means "double" in Chinese. 1 , as double ninth was pronounced the same as the word to express "forever", Chinese ancestors considered it a good day worth celebration. That's 2 ancient Chinese began to celebrate this festival long ago. 

People follow several customs on Double Ninth Festival. For example, people often 3 the cornel (山茱萸) on their arms or heads because they believe this plant can prevent diseases and avoid disasters. Besides, people like to climb 4 on this day, so Double Ninth Festival is 5 Mountain Climbing Festival. The 9th lunar month often has autumn skies and fresh air. It is a good time 6 sightseeing. When people stand on a high mountain, they will have a good view of a blue sky and dark green mountains, which makes 7 carefree and joyful. Chongyang Cake is also known as "flower cake". It is said that the 8 was originally (最初) prepared after autumn harvest, because farmers wanted to have a 9 of what was just in season. Then gradually it became the cake for people to eat on Double Ninth Festival. Double Ninth Festival is a festival for the 10 . People get together to show their love and concern for their parents and their grandparents. 

The Grand Canal(大运河), or Da Yunhe, is the world's longest man-made river. It includes three parts, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal is the most important one.

It is about 1,800 kilometers long from Beijing to Hangzhou. After running for more than 2,500 years, the canal has become one of the most popular places for tourists.

Last year, all of the canal's dried- up parts were refilled (重新注满) with water. The local government says the 62-kilometr e boat trip will be open to more people soon. It will offer travelers a chance to enjoy nice food and natural wonders at the same time. Moreover, travelers can learn about the culture and old stories through the tour.

The best part along the canal is a group of old buildings in Tongzhou District, Beijing. These buildings cover an area of over 15,000 square meters, including a famous Confucius temple(孔庙). Built in the Yuan Dynasty (朝代), the temple has a history of around 7 centuries. Plenty of travelers enjoy taking photos among those red walls and grey tiles(瓦片) and they feel like they go back to the old times.