Computers are useful machines．They can help people a lot in their daily life ． For example，they can help people to save much time to do much work，and they can help people to work out many problems easily．Our country asks everyone to learn to use computers before the twenty-first century，except the old people．

    Today more and more families own computers ． Parents buy computers for their children．They hope computers can help them improve their studies in school．Yet，many of their children use computers to play games，to watch videos or to chat．Computers can not help children to study but make them fall behind．So computers are locked in boxes by parents．

    In some other countries，even some scientists also hate computers．They say computers let millions of people lose their jobs or bring them a lot of trouble．Will computers really bring trouble to people or can they bring people happiness? It will be decided by today's students themselves!

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    Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa， Italy. He was the oldest of five children in a worker's family. He enjoyed going to the sea when he was a young boy.

    He heard that there was a lot of gold and other valuable things in East India. He wanted to find a short way to get to the Indies by ship. On August 3， 1492， he sailed toward the west from Palos， Spain with three ships. After many days， the sailors had covered a long distance on the sea and were ready to turn around for home when they saw land， an island Columbus named San Salvador. He thought he had found the Indies and called the people he saw there “Indians”. When they got to Cuba， he thought he was in Japan. The world was a lot larger than he thought.

    In his life， he made four trips across the ocean. His 13-year-old son， Ferdinand， went with him during the last time. He returned to Spain in 1504. Columbus did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension(退休金) the king and the queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He died in 1506， still believing that he had found a new route to East India and that he had reached Asia.

    Columbus didn't get to school very much， but he learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. He is remembered by all not only for the New World he discovered， but also for the way he led for other explorers.

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    Hi! My name is Dave. I am a middle school student but I think my life is different from most other students. After school, I always hunt wild birds and animals with my father, uncles and brothers. I also help them to plant and harvest (收割) crops. I want to be a carpenter. A carpenter is someone who works with wood and fixes (修理) chairs and other things made of wood. I have made lots of things like tables and other furniture.

    My elder sister does many different kinds of things every day. She makes our candles (蜡烛) by using the oil and fat from sheep and cows. These candles give us light at night. She also gets the wool from sheep. My mother and grandmother also teach her to sew. She can make letters and pictures on the cloths with needles.

    I think we live a very happy country life.

    Nowadays, a new method is used to decide who are the top students in school. The best students are those who not only get high marks, but also follow the rules and the behavior standards for middle school students. Here are some of the new rules and standards.

    Tell the truth. Have you ever copied someone else's work on an exam? If you have, then don't do it again! That's not something an honest student should do. If you have played computer games for two hours in your room, don't tell your parents you were doing homework.

    Learn to work together with others. It would be more fun when more people work together. Did you fight with your teammates when your basketball team lost? Only working together can make your team stronger. Be friendly to the people you are with. Try to think of others, instead of only yourself.

    Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Perhaps you'll discover Earth II someday. Don't look down on new ideas. Everyone's ideas are important. You should welcome them, because new ideas make life better for everyone.

    Use the Internet carefully. Some websites on the Internet aren't for kids, so make sure to visit the web pages that are good for you. You can visit the websites for fun or homework. Can't you find any good websites for children?

Future and Today

    It is well known that everyone has his own dream as well as his own future. But do you know what future really is? I have to say that future is now. That is to say we must treasure(珍惜)every minute now. If we want to have a bright future, we should know how important time is and use it well.

    There is an old English saying: "Gain time, gain life." Then what's time？ Time is something that we can't see or touch, but we can feel it passing by. Time is always with us. When we are at table, time passes; when we play, time goes by unnoticeable. We always say "Time is money", but time is even more precious(珍贵的)than money, because when money is spent , we can earn it back. But if time is gone away, it will never return. So, some of us even say time is priceless(无价的).

    We should always remember: future is now. For us students, we should try our best to work hard in order to create a great future of our own. We should make the best use of every hour and be the master of today. We should do everything before us as well as possible. And never put off what can be done today till tomorrow.

    As we all know, "Time and tide wait for no man." If you waste today, you will regret(后悔)tomorrow. So from now on, work hard. Tomorrow will be better, and your future will be brighter. Remember:" No pains, no gains." Today's hard work is the cause of tomorrow's harvest(收获).

Title: Future and Today