How do you study each 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. It's called digital learning.

    Digital learning is a way to help students learn by using the Internet. There are three important kinds of digital learning. Apps are computer software applications (应用). People can download them on their mobiles. The other two kinds are social networking services, including weibo and WeChat and websites. Every 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 also 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.

Are you shy? If you are, you are not alone. In fact, close to 50 percent of people are shy. Almost 80 percent of people feel shy at some point in their lives. These days, shyness is becoming more and more common. Now, scientists are trying to understand shyness. They have some interesting ideas about why people are shy.

Is it possible to be born shy? Many scientists say yes. They say 15 to 20 percent of babies behave shyly. These babies are a little quieter and more watchful than other babies. Interestingly, these shy babies usually have shy parents. As a result, scientists think that some shyness is genetic.

Family size might cause people to be shy as well. Scientists at Harvard University studied shy children. They found that 66 percent of them had older brothers and sisters. As a result, they became shy. At the same time, children with no brothers and sisters may be shy as well. Growing up alone, they often play by themselves. They are not able to learn the same social skills as children from big families.

You may also be shy because of where you were born. When scientists studied shyness in different countries, they found surprising differences. In Japan, most people said they were shy. But in Israel, only one of three people said so. What explains the difference? One scientist says the Japanese and Israelis have different opinions of failure. In Japan, when people do not succeed, they feel bad about themselves. They blame（责备）themselves for their failure. In Israel, the opposite is true. Israelis often blame failure on outside reasons, such as family, teachers, friends, or bad luck. In Israel, freedom of opinion and risk taking are strongly supported. This may be why Israelis worry less about failure and are less shy.

For shy people, it can be difficult to make friends, speak in class, and even get a good job. But scientists say you can get over your shyness. They suggest trying new things and practicing conversation. And don't forget—if you are shy, you are not the only one.

    There will be a kind of new cars in the future. People will like this kind of small cars better than the big ones. The car is as small as a bike. But it can carry two people in it. Everybody can drive it easily, just like riding a bike. Even children and old people can drive them to schools or parks.

    If everyone drives such cars in the future, there will be less pollution in the air. There will be more space for all the cars in cities, and there will also be more space for people to walk in the streets.

    The little cars of the future will cost less money to buy and to drive. These little cars can go only 65 kilometers an hour, so driving will be safer. The cars of the future will be fine for going around the city, but they will not be useful for a long trip.

    This kind of cars can save a lot of gas. They will go 450 kilometers, then they have to stop for more gas. They are nice cars, aren't they?

    A company says it has completed the first 3D-printed home recently. The home was shown to reporters and visitors at a music festival.

    The building company has developed large 3D- printers that build homes with mortar, a hard and strong material. It uses robotics, computer programs and advanced materials to make houses.

    Jason Ballard is the company's chief engineer. "So I'm standing in front of the first 3D-printed home in America. This house was actually printed in high winds, blowing dust and rain." It is important for the printing programmes to operate in bad weather conditions, such as weather disasters. The goal is to print homes in developing countries. So the printer has to be light enough to move from one property to the next.

    Ballard imagines that someday, many 3D-printers will operate around the world to make homes. "It's actually a lot more simple to build a printer than it is to build a house," he said. "We ran this printer at about a quarter speed to print this house, and completed it in about 48 hours of print time."

    The company developed this technology not to make money but to help provide a quick, cheap housing solution for the millions of people who need it most. There are about a billion people that don't have one of life's most basic human needs, and that's safe shelter.

    Ballard says his company already works on housing needs with poor families in different areas. But he says that to really make a difference, the program will need to be greatly improved. He added that since the 3D-printing process is so much faster than traditional homebuilding, a whole community could be built in just a few months. He believes over time, people can get the new home below $4,000 with the help of 3D-printers.

    It's important to learn things about protecting environment. Here's a 4Rs rule for us.

    Reduce

    If you want to reduce waste, you should use things wisely (明智的). A large number of trees are being cut down to make paper. If everyone uses paper carelessly and then throws it away, soon we would not have any trees left. Some other things are also being wasted, and people don't know what to do with waste in big cities, so it's necessary to reduce waste.

    Reuse

    You should always think of reusing the usable (可用的) things before throwing them away. Give your clothes or things you don't use to the poor. In a family, you may pass such clothes on to your younger brothers or sisters.

·Recycle

    Bottles, cans and paper can easily be recycled. By doing so we save lots of time and money, for example, cola cans are sent to a factory, where they're smashed flat（压平）and smelted (熔化), and the metal things are made into new cola cans.

    Repair

    If one of the legs of your table is broken, you can repair it. If you want to change for better ones, it's better for you to sell the old ones or give them to other people who can use them after doing some repair.