When I was in the fourth grade, I worked part-time as a paperboy. Mrs. Stanley was one of my customers. She'd watch me coming down her street, and by the time I'd biked up to her doorstep, there would be a cold drink waiting. I'd sit and drink while she talked.

    Mrs.Stanley talked mostly about her dead husband, "Mr. Stanley and I went shopping this morning." she'd say. The first time she said that, soda (汽水) went up my nose.

    I told my father how Mrs. Stanley talked as if Mr. Stanley were still alive. Dad said she was probably lonely, and that I ought to sit and listen and nod my head and smile, and maybe she'd work it out of her system. So that's what I did, and it turned out Dad was right. After a while she seemed content to leave her husband over at the cemetery (墓地).

    I finally quit delivering newspapers and didn't see Mrs. Stanley for several years. Then we crossed paths at a church fund-raiser(募捐活动). She was spooning mashed potatoes and looking happy. Four years before, she'd had to offer her paperboy a drink to have someone to talk with. Now she had friends. Her husband was gone, but life went on.

    I live in the city now, and my paperboy is a lady named Edna with three kids. She asks me how I'm doing. When I don't say "fine", she sticks around to hear my problems. She's lived in the city most of her life, but she knows about community. Community isn't so much a place as it is a state of mind. You find it whenever people ask how you're doing because they care, and not because they're getting paid to do so. Sometimes it's good to just smile, nod your head and listen.

Flying High

    Barrington Irving made his historic flight and founded an educational non-profit-making organization. His message for kids: "The only thing that separates you from scientists is determination, hard work and a strong liking for what you want to achieve." The secret, he believes, is having a dream in the first place, and that starts with learning experiences that inspire kids to build careers.

    The moment of inspiration for Irving came at the age of 15 in his parents' bookstore. One customer, a professional pilot, asked Irving if he'd thought about becoming a pilot. "I told him I didn't think I was smart enough; but the next day he took me to the cockpit (驾驶舱) of the commercial airplane he flew, and just like that I was hooked."

    To follow his dream, Irving turned down a football scholarship to the University of Florida. He washed airplanes to earn money for a flight school and increased his flying skills by practising at home on a $40 flight simulator (模拟) video game. Then another dream took hold: flying alone around the world. He faced more than 50 rejections for sponsorship before convincing some companies to donate aircraft components. He took off with no weather radar, no de-icing system, and just $30 in his pocket. "I like to do things people say I can't do."

    After 97 days, 26 stops and dozens of thunderstorms, he touched down to a cheering crowd in Miami. "It was seeing so many young people watching and listening that pushed me into giving back with my knowledge and experience." Irving has been doing it ever since. He set up his non-profit-making organization, Experience Aviation (航空), aiming to increase the numbers of youth in aviation and science-related careers. Kids attend programmes dealing with hands-on robotics projects and flight simulator challenges.

    "We want to create chances for students to accomplish something amazing," he notes. Perhaps Irving's most powerful educational tool is the example his own life provides. After landing his record-breaking flight at age 23, he said, "Everyone told me I was too young, that I didn't have enough experience, strength, or knowledge. They told me it would take forever and I'd never come home. Well… guess what?"

    You've probably heard people expressing alarm about the spread of 'fake news' – stories that look like news articles but describe things that never happened. Fake news is written to attract attention, to trick people so they will look foolish, or to work as satire (讽刺) making a point about society. But regardless of the source's motivation, spreading fake news embarrasses you and harms others, so follow these steps to ensure you only share real news.

    Check its grammar

    Legal news sites check their grammar carefully, so articles with many errors are usually fake. Also watch out for sentences written in all capital(大写的) letters and the use of multiple exclamation points(感叹号) at the ends of sentences. These are designed to bring about an emotional reaction, but they aren't considered professional, so trustworthy publications don't use them.

    Read the whole article

    Even in real news articles, headlines sometimes overstate or simplify the point of the article. Before reacting, read the article carefully to make sure you understand the whole context. Sometimes the claims of fake news articles become unreasonable as the article goes on.

    Consider the source

    If you've never heard of the publication, check the 'About' section on its website. Fake news sites often lack such a page, provide little information or even admit that they are fake. Also check an online article's URL; if it ends with '.com.co', it's probably a fake news site.

    Check the support

    Does the article support its claims with quotations and citations(引用)from experts? If not, don't trust it. If so, you should still look up those sources and make sure they actually say what the article claims. There are also websites, such as snopes.com, that will tell you whether the facts in online articles are accurate.

    One of the most expensive parts of flying is the cost of gas, not to mention the environmental effect it brings. An Israeli startup called Eviation Aircraft hopes to solve the problems. They displayed the world's first all-electric passenger airplane this week at the Paris Air Show.

    The lightweight plane­playfully called Alice­will be able to fly about 600 miles between charges. So it will focus on transportation between cities. It seats nine passengers and two crew members. A typical flight should cost a customer about $200.

    "The fact that we' re building an electric plane from scratch instead of just refitting an existing plane with a battery means that we can design our aircraft to be more effective and efficient than present planes," said Eviation co-founder Omer Bar Yohay. He predicts that per seat, per mile, the cost would be equal to that of a taxi or train.

    The demand for electrically powered aircraft is projected to reach hundreds of planes per year within the next decade. The change from gas to electric in power is expected to save millions of dollars in fuel costs, not to mention the environmental benefits including significant reduction of air pollution and noise levels.

    When it comes to the new possibilities, Yosef Abramowitz, an energy industry expert, said, "In modern life, it is important to fight climate change and now we have a path to do so in flying." Abramowitz, a tireless advocate for solar power, added, "The batteries will hopefully be charged with solar energy too."

    To help further save fuel costs, the designers have also invented a "taxibot" that drags planes from the passenger gate to the runway, so the planes needn't run their engines.

    After appearing at the Paris Air Show, the Alice will travel to the U.S. for further tests. It is expected that the first commercial flights will take off in 2022.

    "I think for the first time in a very, very long time, we can look at flight again and talk about the next revolution," Bar Yohay said.

For centuries Antarctica has attracted people from around the world. Explorers sought to travel there. Scientists have studied weather, wildlife, and geology there for decades. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In the last few decades, though, scientists have reported that the ice is melting.

 {#blank#}2{#/blank#} That's a difficult question to answer. The loss of ice in Antarctica has not been linear (直线的). That means it isn't a steady decrease. In fact, the rate of melting can vary greatly from year to year. Still, scientists warn that the continent's ice sheet is shrinking.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Climate change is warming the world's oceans and affecting the currents (洋流) of the Earth's oceans. These currents are bringing more warm water to Antarctica than ever recorded.

Today, the planet is warming at a rate that alarms scientists. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The effects of such a rise could cause major problems. It will increase flooding, especially in areas near shores. A large rise in sea level could even make some regions uninhabitable. This could cause millions around the world to become climate refugees (难民).

Can humans stop Antarctica from melting? Probably not — but experts do believe people can slow the process. How can you help? Pay attention to your carbon footprint. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Only changes on a large, global scale (范围) can truly make a difference to Antarctica.

A. How quickly is Antarctica melting?

B. Is human activity contributing to the melting of Antarctica's ice?

C. The ice of Antarctica is the result of thousands of years of snow.

D. West Antarctica is the region most affected by these warm waters.

E. Talk with your family about ways to reduce your use of fossil fuels.

F. If this continues, melting ice could lead to a serious rise in sea level.

G. Experts say the melting of Antarctica's ice sheet is caused by rising temperatures.

Civilization began with agriculture, and though humanity has changed significantly, agriculture remains very important. In certain countries, its significance is more apparent, but the reality is that every country in the world depends on agriculture for one thing or another.

It provides employment. Whether it's working as a farmer, a harvester, a technician for farm equipment or a scientist, there are plenty of jobs available in this field. In developing countries, agricultural jobs help reduce high rates of unemployment.

It's crucial to a country's development. Economic development is tied to a country's agricultural sector. When trade, national avenue, and employment are combined in a positive way, a country enjoys reduced poverty and boosted economic growth. Because strong agriculture results in benefits fairly quickly, focusing on it is one of the best ways to speed up development and improve a country's standing across the globe.

It drives innovation in technology. Because healthy agriculture is so essential to a country's well-being, it's been the setting of some of the most exciting innovations in technology. Through artificial intelligence, blockchain software, and more, scientists and farmers have been figuring out ways to increase crop productivity, use less water, and reduce negative impacts on the environment. For scientists and tech companies, agribusiness is one of the most fascinating and productive fields to work in.

It's the source of our food supply. Arguably, the most important aspect of agriculture is that it's the source of the world's food supply. No matter where or what you are eating, the ingredients in your meals come from somewhere. All roads lead to agriculture. In countries dealing with food insecurity and severe malnutrition, their agricultural sectors are suffering. When agriculture thrives(蓬勃发展), fewer people go hungry.

It can help heal the environment. Agriculture possesses the power to cause harm or heal. When farmers prioritize biodiversity on their land, it benefits the earth. Having more biodiversity results in healthier soil, better water conservation, and healthier pollinators(传粉者).

All in all, agriculture plays a critical role in the entire life of a given economy. Agriculture culture is the backbone of the economic system of a given country.