I'm the engine that keeps you working, and I'm here to share some of my secrets.

    I have 100 billion nerve cells (神经细胞), so you need to consider before you blame (责怪) me for not being so fast enough. It's not really my fault: information travels through me too fast and sometimes I can't keep all of it.

    The Internet is making me weak. A study found that you've been relying more on the Internet. That means I'm going to forget more over time. Scientists have been worried that our ability to think is being lost.

    In general, I'm about ten percent larger in men than women. It doesn't make men smarter. It just lets me control their different bodies. Actually, it's more common for women to get angry, but men can't focus on a thing well. They usually have language difficulties.

    Your mobile phone scares me. A new study showed that more than one hour of mobile phone use can get me in trouble. Mobile phone radiation (辐射) might cause me to be in a worse situation.

    Some parts of me never sleep. It's important for you to get a good night's sleep. Sleep helps to improve memories. In fact, when you are asleep, some parts of me are still working hard on my duty.

    Besides, laughter is really the best medicine for me. So remember to laugh more for my better situation.

    A "talking kitchen" teaches students how to cook French and speak French. Researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom have developed the French Digital(数字的) Kitchen. Professor Paul Seedhouse led the project.

    "It works like a satellite navigation(导航) system in a car. The system can tell whether you've done what you were asked to do or not. For example, the sensor(传感器) in the knife not only knows that the knife is moving, but it also knows how the knife is moving. So it can discover whether the knife is slicing (切), whether it's scraping (刮) or what. And so it doesn't go on to the next stage of the program unless you've done what it senses(感到)you should have done," said Paul Seedhouse.

    Students can ask the computer to repeat the instructions or translate them into English. There are vocabulary(词汇) lessons before and after the cooking.

    Professor Seedhouse became interested in the idea after he visited a talking kitchen designed for a different purpose. In his opinion the French Digital Kitchen turns the process (过程) of learning language into a real life experience. "Here you're taking it out of the classroom and you're actually using the language to produce something which you can eat at the end of it. It's very enjoyable," he said.

    The system will be available for sale by the end of 2020. Adding the technology to a new kitchen could add about ten to twenty percent to the building costs. The system could also be added to an existing(现存的) kitchen.

    The researchers are also developing a new digital(的呼吸法) kitchen system that is easy to carry or to move. And the European Union has given them money to begin programs in six other languages, including English, Italian and Spanish.

    Thousands of years ago, people didn't know that the Earth moved. They thought the sun really did move across the sky. The Greek god Helios was said to drive the sun across the sky with his chariot (战车). But now, the way people think has changed. Nowadays, it is the sun that drives a "chariot" around the sky.

    What do I mean by this? Well, quite simply, there is now a plane (or "chariot") that is powered by the sun. It has special parts on its wings. These parts absorb (吸收) power from the sun. They absorb so much power that the plane can still fly even at night. In Greek mythology (神话), Helios had to take a break at night. It seems we're finally even more powerful than the gods themselves.

    This plane is called Solar Impulse. It will fly across the US in May. This is very important for the future of the world.

    Why is solar energy (太阳能) important? Well, other kinds of energy are known to cause problems. If you live in China, you've probably noticed the pollution. This is caused by burning coal and gas to make energy. The heat and chemicals created by burning these things give us power. But if we use power from the sun, we don't have to burn anything and there will not be any pollution.

    Solar energy is not entirely ready yet. It needs to be improved. But the best thing about it is that, unlike coal and gas, it doesn't run out. The Solar Impulse plane could pretty much keep flying forever. Of course, the sun's light will eventually run out too one day, but not for another 5 billion years. That's a pretty long flight.

    "What? You too? I thought I was the only one." Have you ever said to someone? If so, you may have ended up becoming friends.

    It seems that similarity often helps form a friendship. Aristotle once said, "Some define (给……下定义) it (friendship) as a matter of similarity; they say that we love those who are like ourselves."

    Now, there are some scientific explanations for this idea. The scientists from the University of California said friends have similar brains, Scientific American reported.

    The scientists invited 42 university students to take part in a scientific test. Each student watched the same set of videos. At the same time, the scientists scanned (扫描) their brains and recorded their brain activities.

    According to their study, friends who watched the same videos reacted (反应) in similar ways. Similar parts of their brains lit up while watching the videos, especially the parts that were connected with motivation, learning and memory. However, people who weren't friends had different reactions to the same videos.

    "Having close friends whose brains react like ours may be rewarding because it reinforces (加强) one's own values, opinions and interests," lead scientist Carolyn Parkinson told Business Insider.

    But brain similarity is not the only thing that can result in a friendship. Scientists from the University of Leipzig, Germany, found that a friendship is also based on how physically close you are to someone. They did a scientific test on first-year college students who met in class for the first time. In this test, students who sat next to each other were more likely to become friends.

    A small robot may help children who are ill in hospital or at home. These children may feel lonely without their friends or classmates. The robot takes their places at school. Through the robot, the children can hear their teachers and friends.

    The robot is called AV1. A Norwegian company called No Isolation created the robot. Dolva explains how the robot AV1 works. She says from home, children use a tablet or phone to start the robot. Then they use the same device to control the robot's movements. At school, the robot becomes their eyes, ears and voice.

     "So, it sits at the child's desk in the classroom and the child uses a tablet or a phone to start it and control its movements and talks through it. So it's the eyes, the ears and the voice at school." The robot is equipped with speakers, microphones and cameras that make communication easy.

    AV1 is large and looks like a human for a reason. Dolva says this is important because the robot is supposed to be a friend of the children. "It can't be just a tiny camera because the other kids can't pick it up and take it with them. This is supposed to be their friend." And robots are, quite simply, cool. Hopefully AV1 will help some children feel less lonely while they are not in class.

    Do you want to know what our life will be like in the future? Let's have a look. You may get a surprise.

    You will go to the kitchen when you are hungry. You will give orders to the kitchen robot. The robot will find a special food for you in a few minutes. Then it will bring it to you.

    In the kitchen you will find a special food machine. The food machine will tell you what your body needs. It will help you eat healthily. The food machine will be connected with (连接) the kitchen robot. The robot can get messages from the food machine.

    After having a meal, you can go to your home office. You will work at home and you don't need to go out to work anymore. You will have a special information screen. When you receive a message from a friend in America, your information screen will be turned on automatically(自动地). Your friend's face appears on the screen. Then you can talk to your friend easily.