A "talking kitchen" teaches students how to cook French and speak French. Researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom have developed the French Digital(数字的) Kitchen. Professor Paul Seedhouse led the project.

    "It works like a satellite navigation(导航) system in a car. The system can tell whether you've done what you were asked to do or not. For example, the sensor(传感器) in the knife not only knows that the knife is moving, but it also knows how the knife is moving. So it can discover whether the knife is slicing (切), whether it's scraping (刮) or what. And so it doesn't go on to the next stage of the program unless you've done what it senses(感到)you should have done," said Paul Seedhouse.

    Students can ask the computer to repeat the instructions or translate them into English. There are vocabulary(词汇) lessons before and after the cooking.

    Professor Seedhouse became interested in the idea after he visited a talking kitchen designed for a different purpose. In his opinion the French Digital Kitchen turns the process (过程) of learning language into a real life experience. "Here you're taking it out of the classroom and you're actually using the language to produce something which you can eat at the end of it. It's very enjoyable," he said.

    The system will be available for sale by the end of 2020. Adding the technology to a new kitchen could add about ten to twenty percent to the building costs. The system could also be added to an existing(现存的) kitchen.

    The researchers are also developing a new digital(的呼吸法) kitchen system that is easy to carry or to move. And the European Union has given them money to begin programs in six other languages, including English, Italian and Spanish.

The kites in Weifang never disappoint. Every year the Weifang International Kite Festival amazes visitors with creative kites, as "paper birds" of varied designs keep appearing in the sky.

Kites in China can originate from the Warring States Period when Mozi made the first "wooden kite". Kites didn't actually become popular until the Ming Dynasty. By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, artists who were good at kite making began to appear in Weifang. In 1984, the first Weifang International Kite Festival was held.

Kites were used in China during the wars at the very beginning. For example, they can be used to record wind readings, similar to ship flags at sea. Over time, kites became connected with relaxing activities, and were often flown during festivals and holidays.

Today, kite-flying is a popular activity in China, and the Weifang International Kite Festival is one of the largest kite festivals in the world. In 2024, 622 kite artists from 59 countries and areas took part in the event. Zhang Xiaodong,74, has attended all the festivals. In the early days, he only brought traditional kites to take part in the competitions, but this time, he used sound and light to make the story of Chang'e flying to the moon come "alive".

The festival is a great platform to share kite-making skills. It also brings the people of China and other countries closer. As one citizen put it, "No matter how far away kite lovers go, there is always a 'thread' in their heart that can pull them together."

There are 706 billion LEGO bricks （积木）on the earth, 7 LEGO sets are sold in every second, and more than 400 million people have played with Lego bricks. LEGO has already been a successful company in the world. Actually, there are many ups and downs along with its development. 

Start from woods

The LEGO company was set up in 1934. The name comes from the Swedish "leg godt", meaning "to play well". Ole Kirk Kristiansen, the founder of LEGO, was a master carpenter （木匠大师）, so it's not surprising that the first LEGO toys were made of wood. Theywere simple, such as wooden ducks. In 1942, the factory that made wooden LEGO toys was burned to the ground, which made Ole realize the disadvantages of working with wood. 

Success—brick by brick

Soon Ole found out that plastic is a good material to make toys. LEGO started making self-locking bricks in 1949. But it wasn't until 1958, when the locking design was much improved, that sales were rising. Because of its quality and the endless creativity that it lets children have, LEGO achieved a huge success. 

Overcome difficulties

In 2000, children began to spend more time playing video games. By 2003, LEGO's sales were down by 30%, and LEGO nearly went broke. The turning point appeared in 2004 when LEGO focused again on its bricks. And it also worked with films and televisions, like Star Wars. The Internet was used to build a LEGO group where fans show their love to LEGO collections. In 2015, it again became a name known by the world. 

China has changed a lot in the years since I first moved here. One of the developments is cashless payment(无现金支付), which has 1 the way we live and shop. 

China is not the2 country to have cashless payment. I used a debit card(借记卡)to3 things without cash for years in the US. But now that I can use my phone instead, it's super easy and 4

One of the things I like most is that I can send and receive money 5 to and from my friends. Because it makes it so much easier to share the bill when we eat out together. 

But like all technology, cash less payment has some 6 as well. What happens if your phone gets lost or stolen? There are also times when your phone's mobile internet connection, 7 the store's internet connection, might not work

Not long ago, I went to a nearby convenience store(便利店)to buy some snacks. But when I got there, I found that the store's cashless payments didn't work and they could only 8 cash. I didn't have any cash with me, so I had to 9 and leave without any snacks. 

So although cashless payments are convenient, you should 10 carry a bit of cash in order to avoid any possible inconvenience.