In the past， many students practiced English with their pen friends — they sent letters to people all around the world. However， we now send emails to others and chat with people who live quite far away on the Internet.

    Here's some advice on how to succeed in your online language exchanges：

    How to start a conversation when speaking English online When you speak to somebody online， start by asking “Yes or No” questions. Use questions such as “Do you like …?” or “Can you …?” or “Have you ever …?”

    Remember your goal. You are trying to learn about the other person. Think about things you enjoy and try to find some common ground between you. And share your own experiences to show that you have similar interests. If you only ask questions， you will sound like a policeman or a policewoman!

    How to keep a conversation going “Listen” carefully. In that way， you can get to know somebody well. When you know him or her well， you will have more to talk about.

    Then ask follow-up questions. After you “listen”， use what you “hear” to learn more about that person. Use “open ended” questions， such as “What do you think of …?” or “What was the most interesting experience ...?”

    Remember some basic rules for online language exchanges.

    Be patient. Do not try to find a good friend right away.

    Be careful. Don't give any personal information on the Internet， especially your address， telephone number， and even your real name.

    Which of your two hands do you use 1 ? Very few of us can use 2 of our hands equally(相等地) well. Most of us are 3. Only about five people out of 4 hundred are left-handed. New-born babies can take things 5 either of their hands, 6 in about two years most of them use their right hands. Scientists(科学家) don't know 7 this happens. Scientists 8 that monkeys like to use one of their hands more than the other, but it can be either hand. Most of people use their right hands better and this makes life 9 for those left-handed persons. We live in a 10 world.

    In 1969, humans landed on the moon for the first time. Now, many other countries want to go there as well. Why?

    The moon has a lot of minerals (矿物质) and other useful things. We want to find out if we can use them. The moon is our closest neighbor in space. We can use it as a rest station. Then, we can learn more about other planets far away in space.

    The moon is 3,474 kilometers in diameter (直径). It is about one-fourth the size of Earth. If Earth is the size of a basketball, the moon is the size of a tennis ball.

    The moon has much less gravity than Earth. If you can jump 1.5 meters on Earth, you can jump 9 meters on the moon.

    The moon is very quiet. There is no sound there. There are a lot of grey rocks on it. The moon's sky is always black.

    Our moon is about 384,400 kilometers away from Earth. The total length of the Great Wall is about 21,200 kilometers. We would have to put about ____ Great Walls end to end to reach the moon!

New Science and Technology

Look carefully before you cross

    The city of Daye in Hubei Province is using new technology to stop people from crossing against red lights. The city has set up special posts (杆) on its sidewalks. The posts can recognize (识别) human faces. If they catch a person crossing at a red light, they will send water drops at him or her.

High-tech building

    China not only builds things quickly, but also tries to use new and high technology. About twelve years has passed since the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. About 550 kilometers of the railroad runs over ice-covered earth. When the ice-covered earth gets warm during summer, it can make the railway move. Chinese scientists built special structures to solve this problem.

Musical road in Holland (荷兰)

    In a village of Holland, there is a musical road. With the help of something special, the road can play a song. But if a car drives at a speed of over 60 km/h, the sound will become noisy. The local government thinks it will encourage drivers to control the speed. They will have to slow down in order to hear the song instead of the noise.

The Vine That Ate the South

    Kudzu is a fast-growing vine (蔓生植物) that covers a large area in the southern United States. It is so common that one might think it is a native plant, but it is not. Kudzu was brought to the United States from Japan in 1876. Many Americans thought it was beautiful, and they began to plant it. They didn't know it could grow up to a foot a day during the summer months. Nor did they know it would grow up and over anything in its path (路径).

    In Japan, kudzu experienced cold winters and a short growing season. But in the United States, it has a very long growing season with warm and wet southern weather. It is fine weather for the vine to grow fast.

    In the 1920s, people used the vine to feed farm animals. Ten years later, the government supported to plant kudzu because it kept soil (土壤) from washing away. However, by the 1950s, the government no longer wanted people to plant the vine. Twenty years after that, the government said it was a harmful plant.

    The vine grows up trees and buildings, making some beautiful shapes. However, trees die after kudzu covers them because they cannot get enough light. Scientists are looking for ways to kill the vine. They used poisons (毒药)to kill the vine. However, some of the poisons made it grow even better. Scientists also find it difficult to dig up Kudzu. The plant is really tough.

    Because kudzu is so hard to kill, some people are making the best of it. So they try to find different uses for the vine. They find the vine can be used to make paper and baskets, it can be used to feed the goats, and it can even be eaten by people. Scientists are studying it in the hope that the vine can be used as a medicine. At the very least, kudzu serves as an example of the unexpected results that can come from non-native plants.

    Have you ever dreamed about a trip to the space? Seeds (种子) of some vegetables and crops are a lot luckier than you, as they have travelled to space and back.

    China is among the three countries in the world that carry out agricultural research (农业研究) in space. The others are Russia and the US.

    Since 1987, China has sent about 1, 000 species of seeds into space.

    These include green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers (黄瓜), carrots, lettuce and wheat. Even on China's first manned spacecraft Shenzhou—V, there were some seeds from Taiwan.

    "Conditions in outer space such as radiation (辐射) and low gravity can cause big changes in the seeds," said Chinese researcher Jin Xing.

    But not all seeds are better after going to space. After returning to the Earth, the best seeds are selected. These seeds produce (生产) much more and also grow faster than normal (正常的) seeds