Robots come in many shapes and sizes. But most have one thing in common. They are built to help people, Lately engineers have been developing new kinds of robots. These high-tech machines are designed to lend a hand everywhere from hotels to disaster areas.

    "Robots help people by making their lives easier, safer, and more fun, "says engineer Omar.

    Since November, a robot named Pepper has been on the job at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. When guests have questions or need directions, they can ask Pepper. They can also use the robot's touch screen to find the information they need. Pepper is able to talk with guests and make them happy with stories too. It can even tell what kind of mood they are in.

    "Pepper provides our guests with information in an exciting and new way." says the hotel manager Donald Bowman.

    For a kid, being in the hospital can be boring and even scary. But a small robot called NAO is helping to make hospital stays easier. It was designed to keep people company.

    A Tennessee doctor named Phil Parker bought a NAO robot three years ago. He programmed(为…….编制程序)it to talk to and play with young patients. He brought it to hospitals to help sick kids. When kids get medical tests, NAO explains what is going on. The robot also reads to kids and plays games with them like Rock, Scissors ,Cloth(石头剪刀布).

    "The robot gets many kids to smile for the first time since they were in hospital," Parker says.

    Other robots are designed to help to save people in dangerous areas. For example, disaster areas can be full of broken stones and other dangers. Engineers in Japan are planning to build a robot called E2-DR to go into those areas and search for people who are hurt.

Are You Under Stress(压力)?

Everyone feels stress sometimes. You feel stress when you have a lot of work to do and not enough time.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} sometimes, a little stress can be good. But usually, stress is bad.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Stress can make it hard to sleep well. It can also make it difficult to finish the school work. If you have a health problem, stress can make it worse.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}You can talk to your parents or a friend about your feelings. Talking about stress can help you understand it. How can you take away the problem that is making you feel stress? Sometimes, writing down the problem and writing ways to take it away can help.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Different exercises, like playing sports or walking, can help you feel better.

What else do you do to feel less stress? (不超过10词)

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Ancient and Modern Chinese Characters (汉字)

When people write in English they use letters of the alphabet (字母表). People who write in {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, however, use characters that stand for words or ideas. Historians believe Chinese {#blank#}2{#/blank#} began as early as 1,500 BC. The earliest forms were called "oracle bones (甲骨文)". These were animal bones marked with pictures and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. By 1,400 BC, the Chinese writing system (系统) had become more difficult. It had {#blank#}4{#/blank#} than 2,500 characters. Around 220 BC in Qin Dynasty, Chinese characters became standardized. This means that everyone used the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} characters.

Many {#blank#}6{#/blank#} Chinese characters are similar to those from 2,000 years ago. For example, the character that means man in the Lishu system from 200 BC is similar to the character that {#blank#}7{#/blank#} man from the Jiantizi, or modern simplified system, of the twentieth century.

People have worked to {#blank#}8{#/blank#} Chinese characters over the centuries. The most important changes happened in the twentieth century. The Chinese government simplified many characters {#blank#}9{#/blank#} more people could learn to {#blank#}10{#/blank#}. This simpler system is used in the mainland (大陆) of China and Singapore. {#blank#}11{#/blank#} characters are used in Chinese Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. Even with these changes, Chinese writing from 2,200 years ago is still understood today.

In the world, every school has its own rules. Of course, most school rules are the same. But some are different, and some of them are even funny. Here are some school rules in different countries:

★In Japan

 In most schools in Japan, they have strict rules. They ask students to wear uniforms (制服). And some schools ask students not to go to the movies, go out at night or play computer games at home.

★In the US

 In some US schools, every student has to wear a pair of indoor shoes at school every day. This can keep the schools clean.

★In the UK 

 In some British schools, students can't have strange hairstyles (发型), but they can have them during the Word Cup years. 

These rules are very interesting. What are the rules in your school? 

Everybody loves oranges. They are sweet and juicy and it is easy to eat them. 

The orange tree is beautiful. It has a lot of shiny (闪亮的) green leaves. The small white flowers smell very sweet. An orange tree has flowers and fruit at the same time. 

Farmers in other parts of Asia (亚洲) and the Middle East (中东) learn to have orange trees from the Chinese. Then they teach Europeans (欧洲人) how to plant orange trees. Later, Europeans take oranges to America. 

In English, orange means both a fruit and a color. We use the name of the fruit for the color.