Personal planes which can take off noiselessly from the back garden will be possible within two years.

    Lilium Aviation is inventing an electric two-seater airplane which  takes just 20 hours to learn to fly and can travel at speeds of  250mph.More importantly, the small plane, which weighs just 25kg, can take off vertically which means it does not need to fly from an airport, but could be parked outside a house or in a garden. The company says the design will “open the door to a new class of simpler, quieter and environmentally friendly planes” and will be possible from 2018.

    “Our goal is to develop an airplane for use in everyday life,” said Daniel, CEO and one of the company's four founders. "We are going for a plane that can take off and land vertically and does not need the difficult and expensive infrastructure of an airport.

    Although helicopters offer a choice, they are very noisy and difficult to fly and require expensive licenses. They also have no backup if the rotor fails, making them costly to build and keep. While firstly limited to airfields, the Lilium airplane will eventually take off vertically from almost anywhere – even from back gardens – it needs only an open flat area of 50 ft. by 50ft (15 m x 15m).

    The plane is classed as a Light Sport Aircraft for two users, with the pilot's license requiring 20 hours' minimum training – almost like taking a driving license. It is intended for fun flying during daylight, in good weather conditions and in least crowded airspace up to 3 km altitude. The airplane would have to follow the same flight laws as helicopters.

    The word, "photography", was first used in 1839. It comes from the Greek words that mean "to write with light". But photography could only give people static pictures. So scientists were trying hard to find ways to make pictures that can move. They made lots of experiments, but failed again and again. It was Eadweard Muybridge who finally succeeded. He was the first photographer to try this successfully. But how did he make it? It was an interesting story.

    Back in 1872, people didn't know exactly(确切地) whether all four of a horse's hooves(蹄) left the ground at the same time when it was running. A gentleman called Leland Stanford made a bet with his friend about it. Most people believed that a horse always had one hoof on the ground, or it would fall over. But Stanford didn't think so.

    At that time, it was hard to know who could win the bet, because a horse's legs move so fast that it is impossible to tell just by looking. So they needed a way to record the movement of a running horse. Then Stanford offered $ 25,000 to the famous photographer, Muybridge, to help find the answer. In the beginning, Muybridge failed to get clear images, but he didn't give up. He continued to improve his cameras. In 1878, after many experiments, he managed to get a sequence(连续) of 12 photos. One of them clearly showed that all four of the horse's hooves were off the ground at the same time. And when the photos moved fast, people could see a horse running.

    Though Edison is usually considered as the person who created the first movie in 1889, it was the work of Eadweard Muybridge and the bet that led to Edison's invention.

    Smartphone apps certainly make our lives easily. However, sometimes they can also cause problems.

    Recently, the Ministry of Education(教育部) announced that teacher should not use Wechat or QQ to give homework or ask parents to grade kids's homework.

    Many teachers in China depend heavily on apps to give homework. The kids have to do their homework, stare at a phone screen. For example, Liu Yanming, a sixth-grade student in Shanghai, usually has to use his mother mobile phone to do his homework. Liu Yong, his father is afraid that apps could distract kids by encourage them to watch something unrelated(无关) to homework. "He is just 12 years old, and I do not want to buy him a cellphone," Liu told China Daily. "I also worry that my son's eyesight will be hurt because of staring at the phone for too long."

    However, Bai Yueping, president of Shanghai Tangzhen Middle School, defended (辩护) using apps for homework. Parents can understand their kids' learning situation and supervise (监督) them to finish the homework, Bai told China Daily.

    Zhang Siqi is a student from Renmin University of China.       "The use of WeChat or QQ to give homework is convenient," Zhang told China Daily. "We're living in an Internet era （时代）. It's unwise to refuse to take advantage of technology."

    Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, believed that it is impossible to stop the use of electronic devices(设备) in the Internet era. However, students should use them when it's necessary, such as when they do listening exercises. "We don't want to stop outline education models, but they must be used carefully. Modern technologies are good... but they should not steal the show(喧宾夺主) ," he told China Daily.

    Tablets are really useful devices, but their big screens always make them as a burden to carry around without a bag. Wouldn't it be great if there were a phone with the powers of a tablet that could be folded up and fit into the hand?

Now something like a tablet-shaped but foldable phone is about to become available. In February, South Korean electronics company Samsung and China's Huawei both showed foldable phones, The Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X respectively. Mobile phone use has entered the "foldable future", The Verge noted.

    The technology could change our lives in unusual ways. These devices, due to their foldable screens, give us the larger screens we want. At the same time, they still fit easily into the pocket. As USA Today noted, they're "the combination of a small tablet and smartphone, all in a single device".

    The technology could change other devices too. For example, we could make TVs that stick to walls like posters, or fold up easily to hide away in drawers. In crowded modern cities, they will help us to make full use of available space.

    In a keynote speech, Samsung's senior vice president of mobile product marketing, Justin Denison, called the foldable screen "the foundation for the smartphone of tomorrow". "It's a piece of white paper for us to paint something beautiful on together," he said.

    So is there nothing to stand in the way of the foldable future?

According to technology news website Android Authority, the necessary displays* were difficult to produce. At present, these foldable devices cost too much. For example, the price of Huawei Mate X is 17,500 RMB. That's a price that few people will be able to afford.

    But if the foldable device isn't going to change the world overnight, there is no doubt that it is coming.

    Patrick Moorhead, an industry expert told The Verge, "Few are debating if foldable mobile displays are the future of smartphones; the only question is when and by whom."