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    What picture do you have of the future? Will life in the future be better, worse or the same as now? What do you hope for about the future? Scientists think that life will probably be very different in 2050.

    First of all, it seems that people won't use TV channels by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a "menu" and a computer will send the program directly to the television.

    Water will become a very serious problem. We'll need much more water, but there won't be enough. Some scientists think that water would be the cause of war.

    Cars will run on new clean energy and they will go very fast. And there won't be any accidents with the help of computers. On the other hand, space planes will take people around the world in two hours.

   Robots will work in factories instead of people. Many factories have already used robots. Big companies prefer robots—they do not ask for money, and they work for 24 hours a day.

    In a word, by 2050, our life will change a lot and our future will be quite different from now.

    What do Napoleon, Clinton and Wang Nan have in common? They are all left-handed.

Today about 15% of the people are left-handed. But why are people left-handed? The answer is the way the brain (大脑) works. The brain has two halves—the right half and the left half. The right half controls (控制) the left side of the body, and the left half controls the right side of the body. So right-handed people have a strong left brain, and the left –handed people have a strong right brain.

    The two halves of the brain are about the same size. But each side controls different things. The left side controls language, Math and logic (逻辑). When you remember new words, or when you put things in order, you use your left side.

    The right side of the brain controls color and music. It is also good at recognizing (认出)faces. This does not mean that all artists are left-handed and all accountants (会计师) are right-handed. Some right-handers have a strong right brain, and some left-handers have a strong left brain.

    One day, you open the fridge and find some moldy (发霉的)food. But before you can throw it away, your mother stops you. She doesn't want to waste food. She cuts off the moldy part and eats the rest. Is it safe to do this?

    Mold (霉菌)can grow on almost all kinds of food. Mold is usually green, white, black or grey. Mold makes food soft and changes its color. Moldy food tastes quite bad一一and it's not safe to eat.

    If you find mold in soft food, just throw it away. Soft food, such as bread, tomatoes or hot dogs, usually contains water. This allows mold to easily grow below its surface. Bacteria (细菌)can also grow along with it.

    But it's easy to remove mold from hard food. The mold can't grow very deeply inside this kind of food. According to the BBC, you should cut about 2.5 cm around and below the mold to remove it. It's OK to cut the moldy parts out of hard food and eat the rest. But if the food is completely covered with mold, you should still throw it away.

    Most kinds of mold are bad for us. But some kinds of mold can be used to make food. For example, penicillium (青霉菌)can be used to make many types of cheeses, such as blue cheese. These cheeses are safe to eat--and they're quite delicious as well.

    Mint (薄荷) is a useful plant. You can see it in different kinds of dishes. Mint can bring us many health advantages. It can also help us relax. Don't you believe it? Just smell the plant when you feel tired.

    Now, if you love mint, you don't have to buy it at the market. The plant is very easy to grow. You can plant it all year round, and it can grow well both indoors and outdoors.

    ①Prepare your flower pot (盆)

    Fill your flower pot with soil. Fill soil to a depth (深度) of about 25 centimeters. Use a garden fork to loosen the soil (松土).

    ②Plant your mint

    Plant your mint seeds (种子) 40 centimeters far from each other. If your pot is small, use just one plant or seed.

    ③Put your plant in a proper place

    Mint loves sunlight, but it also likes a bit of shade. Put your plant in a place where it can get both sunlight and shade.

    ④Water your mint

    Mint prefers wet soil. Keep the soil well watered, but don't overdo it. Don't forget to put a plant plate under your pot.

    ⑤Time to harvest

    Mint grows fast. After your plant grows up, you can pick its leaves at any time.

    To make things more fun, why not ask each of your classmates to grow some mint? Let's see whose mint grows the fastest!

    When I was a little girl, my family lived in the countryside. There was a beautiful river near my home. The water was clean and cool. I liked to go fishing there with my mother. We would catch fish, look for clams(蛤)and play in the water. There were also a lot of birds near the river. We would spend all day watching the birds.

    Now my family live in the city. Last Sunday, my daughter asked me to take her to see the river I was always talking about. "I want to go fishing there so much with you and Grandma," she said.

    When we went to the river, we only saw a factory and a mountain of waste. My mother was surprised, my daughter was disappointed, and I was sad. The river was my best friend. I grew up with it. Now there are no fish in it, and the birds have gone too. I hear them crying for help. But what can I do?