Do you often think of life in the future? Will we study at home? Will we have robots? Will we fly to the moon easily? Everyone may have his or her views about that. Life in the future will be very different from life today. Between then and now many changes will take place, but what will the changes be?

    There will be changes in our food. Maybe no one will eat meat. Instead, people will eat more fruit and vegetables. People will stay away from junk food. Maybe people will be healthier.

    Computers will be small and useful. Maybe we will even put the computers into our pockets(口袋). There will be at least two computers in every home. And computer studies will be one of the most important subjects at school.

    Work in the future will be different, too. Dangerous and hard work can be done by robots. People will work fewer hours than they do now. And they will have more free time for sports, watching TV and traveling.

    Many people travel to different places in the world by air. Usually it takes a long time, perhaps half a day, for passengers to stay in the plan. So airlines（航空公司）offer passengers food. But it is common that they feel bad about food taste. Do you agree?

    To solve this problem, airlines try hard to improve their food. They would like to do so because they don't want to lose customers.

    However, according to scientific research, part of the reason why plane food tastes bad is that at high altitude（海拔）we can not taste things as well as we do on the ground. Also scientists have found that our noses become very dry even before a plane takes off. As the plane moves up, the change in air  pressure（气压）reduces one third of the sensibility（感觉）of our taste buds（味蕾）. So our taste buds become senseless. The sad face, however, is that our noses don't know it.

    All of these help explain why food on the plane tastes so bad. They also help explain why airlines choose to offer passengers salty and spicy（辛辣的）food. Without doing so, the food would be tasteless.

    Now there are many researches on this. According to one of them, some volunteers are asked to lie with their feet higher than their heads for weeks. And scientists write down their feelings about food taste.

    Though scientists try their best, it is not as easy as they thought. Because they can't deal with the special environment successfully, such as the change in air pressure, making food taste good is still hard for them.

    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!

    China's first artificial intelligence (AI) textbook series designed for primary and secondary school students is expected to be introduced into hundreds of campuses across the country in 2019. The textbooks will be used for elective courses or as part of school﹣based curriculums.

    Significant progress is being reported in China in AI technological research and development, with authorities now moving to promote AI﹣related education.

    According to the publisher, East China Normal University Press, the series will have 10 volumes, with six volumes published so far. Each has its own theme, with 12 to 14 main chapters and 2 to 4 chapters of activities. This series covers the educational demands of students from primary school to high school on AI and provides a systematic framework of AI knowledge.

    The books have been used in three schools in Shanghai as a pilot program and well received by students, according to Wang Jiqing, chief editor of the series.

    Different weather makes people feel different. It influences(影响) health, intelligence(智力) and feeling.

    In August, it is very hot and wet in the southern part of the United states. People there have heart trouble and other kind of health problems during this month. In the northeast and the Middle West, it is very hot at some times and very cold at other times. People in these states have more heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March.

    The weather can also influence intelligence. For example, in a 1983 report by scientists, IQ of a group of students was very high when a very strong wind came, but after the strong wind, their IQ was 10% lower. The wind can help people have more intelligence. Very hot weather, on the other hand, can make it lower. Students in many schools of the United States often get worse on exams in the hot months of the year(July and August).

Weather also has a strong influence on people's feelings. Winter may be a bad time for thin people. They usually feel cold during these months. They might feel unhappy during cold weather. But fat people may have a hard time in hot summer. At about 18℃, people become stronger.

Low air pressure(气压)may make people forgetful, People leave more bags on buses and in shops on low－pressure days. People feel best at a temperature of about 18℃. Are you feeling sad, tired, forgetful or happy today? It may be the weather's problem.