My name is Grace. Today is Sunday. It is a nice day. It is also my grandfather's birthday. He is 80 years old. My parents and I go to his home. We don't get up early because the alarm clock (闹钟) doesn't work. We don't have much time for breakfast. We go to a supermarket to buy some fruit and a birthday cake at eight thirty. Then we go to my grandparents' home quickly. We get there at 11:15. My grandparents are very happy to see us. We have lunch at 12 o'clock. After lunch, we play chess with my grandfather. It is interesting. We go home at about four o'clock in the afternoon. It is a happy day.

    You may think that inventions are far away from your everyday life. But in fact, almost everyone can invent. It's just that they do not realize that their idea could be the start of an invention. Once inventors see their ideas have some practical value, they don't let them run away.

    For example, the inventors of the dishwasher, American Josephine Cochrane, loved to give dinner parties. But she found it took too long to wash her dishes by hand. She decided that a machine could do the job faster. So, in 1886, she began to make one for herself.

    Here are the steps to create inventions. The first and most important step is to find the problem. Start by looking at what is wrong with things you see now and ask people around if they remember ever saying, “I wish someone would invent something for...” Then you might notice situations(情况) or things in need of improvement. The next step is to think about possible solutions. An invention is a new way of solving a problem. So think of many and unusual ways. You can often come up with a solution to a problem by looking at it from a different side.

    The hardest part of inventing is coming up with a problem and finding a solution. Once you have an idea, you can always get help building your invention. This problem-solving technique can also work in your everyday lives. So, why not try it in your studies, in your relationship with others, or even in the way you look at the world?

    Playing is serious business for children．In fact, it's what they do best! Ask them why they do it, and kids will probably say, "Because it's fun!" But it's much more than that．It's also good for them．

    Studies show that from birth babies begin learning through playing．They use their five senses to get to know their new world．Touching allows them to discover how different things feel．Brightly coloured toys and clothing help develop a baby's sense of sight (视觉)．When small children choose which toy to play with, they begin developing their abilities in making decisions．

    Children love toys that allow them to use their imagination (想象力)．Sometimes an empty box is more fun than a high-tech (高科技) toy．That's because a box can become anything to a child．

    Crayons, paints and Play-Doh (彩色塑泥) are also good because they allow children to create．Traditional building blocks teach important pre-maths skills．

Playing doesn't become any less important once children start school．Many valuable lessons about life are learned on the school playground．Kids learn how to share, take turns and play by the rules．

    With the rapid development of science and technology, communication methods of people have changed a lot in the past years.

    As we all know, in ancient times, people communicated with people who were far from them only by letters, which took a very long time to get the message.

    In the 19th century, telegraph was invented, but it was not widely used, letter is still the main method at that time. In1836, John Coker invented the first electromagnetic telegraph(电磁电报机) in the world, then telegraph appeared and was popular, which was much faster than letter, bringing great convenience to people.

    As time goes by, telephones become increasingly widely used. Now, the phone has been developed as mobile phone, fixed telephone, Internet telephone and other kinds, being an essential communication tool in the modern information society.

    In addition, network communication is popular as well. It is especially widely welcomed by the youths. A great number of people communicate with others on the Internet by using software, such as email, QQ, WeChat, bbs, MSN and so on. Using software is easy. A computer which is connected to the network is enough. In China, WeChat has become the most popular communication software nowadays. WeChat, known as Weixin in Chinese, is a mobile phone text and voice messaging communication software which is developed by Tencent. People can make video calls that not only can hear the sound, but also can see the people you talk to.

    Zhou Yan, a Junior 3 students in Taiyuan, wishes he never got a mobile phone. Last week he went to see a doctor because his arms and fingers were in great pain, and he could not see very well. The doctor told him that he had "mobile phone disease". A growing number of teenagers(青少年) are getting "mobile phone disease" because more and more people are using mobile phones.

    Zhou got his mobile phone only five months ago. His mum bought it for him to use when he was out. But Zhou used it to send messages to his friends. He sent messages to them all the time, even after going to bed, Zhou started to do badly in the exams because he spent so much time playing with his mobile phone. His mum got very angry with him but Zhou Yan didn't stop playing with the mobile phone until his arms started to hurt, Yang Ling, a doctor, says that if someone uses his mobile phone too much, like Zhou Yan, he might get "mobile phone disease".

    If teenagers find their arms or fingers hurt, they should go to see a doctor as soon as possible. Yang Ling suggests teenagers should try to use their mobile phones less, especially at school. They should try to have fun in other ways, such as reading and doing sports.

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