Your next car might drive itself. After years of trials on city streets, driverless vehicles are now nearing the live phase. Last moth, a driverless bus began carrying passengers through Lyon, France, Most in the automobile industry think self-driving vehicles will be on the road by 2020 or before.

    Driverless cars will at first be huddled with human-driven cars. But the first places where they will become dominant（统治的）are dense urban areas — precisely the spots most damaged by the automobile age. Many advanced cities are already reducing the role of human-driven cargo. Driverless cars will quicken that process and will bring us enormous benefits.

    Driverless cars will reduce accidents by around 90 percent. That's big—the annual death toll on the world's roads is about 1.2 million a year. Pollution and carbon emissions will drop, because urban driverless cars will be electric. The old, otherwise they would stay at home most of the time and the disabled and teenagers will suddenly gain mobility.

    On the other hand, driverless cars will bring catastrophe. The best thing about the automobile age was that it employed tens of millions of people to make, market, insure and drive vehicles. Over the next 20 years, the mostly low-skilled men who now drive trucks, taxis and buses will see their jobs reduced. Carmakers are especially scared. The few cars of the future might be made by tech companies such as Apple, Baidu and Google. Imaging the impact on Germany, where the automotive sector is the largest industry.

    Dramatic change is coming, and driverless cars could arrive by 2020. But governments have barely begun thinking about it. Only 6 percent of the biggest US cities have factored them into their long-term planning.

    A decade ago anyone hardly saw the Smartphone coming. It has bought an epidemic of mass addiction. Let's hope we do a better job of handling the driverless car.

    Many people think of guys as being carefree when it comes to their appearance . But in fact , a lot of guys spend plenty of time in front of the mirror . They care just as much as girls do about their body image.

    Body image is a person's opinions and feelings about his or her own body and physical appearance. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You appreciate your body for its capabilities and accept its imperfections.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Here are some ideas:

    Recognize your strengths. Different body types are good for different things. What does your body do well? Maybe your speed, strength, or coordination makes you better than others at a certain sport. That may be basketball, table tennis, mountain biking , dancing , or even running . Or perhaps you have non-sports skills, like drawing, painting , singing , playing a musical instrument , writing , or acting . {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Exercise regularly. Exercise can help you look good and feel good about yourself. Good physiques（体形）don't just happen . {#blank#}4{#/blank#} A healthy habit can be as simple as exercising 20 minutes to 1 hour three days a week . Working out can also lift your spirits .

    Respect your body ! Practicing good habits – regular showering ; taking care of your teeth , hair , and skin ; wearing clean clothes , and so on – can help you build a positive body image .

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Your body is just one part of who you are . Your talent for comedy , a quick wit（智慧）, and all the other things make you unique . So try not to let small imperfections take over.

A. Be yourself .

B. Just explore talents that you feel good about .

C. So , what can you do to develop a positive body image ?

D. They take hard work , regular workouts , and a healthy diet .

E. Use this as an opportunity to discover what you're good at .

F. The good news is that self-image and body image can be changed .

G. Having a positive body image means feeling satisfied with the way you look.

    In England, we look forward to our birthdays for 364 days a year! We invite special people to celebrate it with us.

    The Presents

    Presents are opened as soon as the children are awake. They can't wait for the birthday cake later in the day!

    The Cards

    Friends and family send birthday cards. Sending birthday cards is a custom that began in England about 100 years ago.

    The Party

    The birthday child will have a party to which friends and family are invited. Visitors to the party bring presents for the birthday child. The children play games such as Musical Chairs and Pass the Parcel.

    The Cake

    The birthday cake is decorated on a theme(主题). A candle for each year is lit and placed on top and the child blows out the candles making a wish. We don't put objects inside the cake as shown on many websites.

    The Bumps

    It used to be traditional for the birthday child to have the bumps. Friends would hold the child by the child by the legs and under the arms and lift the child up and down bumping them gently on the ground. The number of bumps given is the age of the child plus one for extra good luck. As this can be dangerous, clapping is often done instead.

    The Sweets

    Some children do take sweets into school to share with their classmates on their birthdays.

    Vincent Van Gogh was the son of a pastor (牧师) in Holland. Around his early twenties he decided to become an artist. He felt that color was his main influence and he used it to express himself. The way he painted was very unusual during the late 1800s because he paid much attention to colorful abstract art. Van Gogh had many paintings that have changed the way we look at art. His paintings weren't popular during his lifetime because of an illness that was possibly a mental disorder. However, they are now considered to be the most popular forms of art in the world today. In what ways can we appreciate his paintings?

    Learn about the artistic style of expressionism. In Van Gogh's artwork, the style that he used was expressionism, which was the only one of this kind compared to other paintings.

    Look for key symbols that would help you understand his artwork better such as the background of the objects.

    Try to understand the artist's aims. You can do this by watching the use of colors, perspectives, and the subject. Knowing the artist's aims, you will be able to understand why he created the work.

    Take what you have learned from the artwork and put it in your feelings to see how it affects you and is related to you. This will allow you to make a connection with the artist.

Concrete has served as the foundation stone of the construction industry for hundreds of years. However, the process of producing concrete is one of the most environmentally unfriendly processes in the world. In the process, not only is carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）released into the air by the energy used to heat the limestone, but the limestone itself also gives out a huge amount of the element. 

Luckily, a number of start-ups throughout the world are using creative thinking to make the construction industry a whole lot more friendly for the planet. 

A Canadian company called CarbonCure, has found a way to inject（注入）concrete with carbon dioxide itself. Not only does this trap the carbon dioxide into the concrete, keeping it from running away into the atmosphere, but it also creates a super strong material called calcium carbonate, which reduces the total amount of concrete that needs to be used. 

California-based Brimstone, is creating carbon-negative concrete by doing away with limestone entirely and instead using silicate rock, a material that does not release carbon dioxide when heated. Instead, the process produces magnesium（镁）, which absorbs carbon dioxide, as the basis for their concrete. 

Additionally, researchers at Australia's RMIT University have recently released a study showing that adding coffee grounds instead of sand to concrete could make it much stronger, reducing both the amount of sand used, as well as the amount of concrete that would need to be used in the final product. 

The biggest barrier at this point is convincing members of the industry that the new types of concrete are safe to be used, according to Stacy Smedley, director at a nonprofit focused on decarbonizing construction. 

Hopefully these new solutions to the environmental problems of concrete will soon be widely adopted. Given the significant part the construction industry has in releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, great improvements can be made when more environmentally-friendly materials are used. 

According to one legend, dumplings first appeared during the Han Dynasty. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(rough) 1800 years ago, the story goes, a physician named Zhang Zhongjing returned to his hometown during a cold winter. He found his fellow villagers with frostbitten ears and created a new dish to help them warm up. The ingredients he chose for their warming {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(comprise) of button, herbs, and spices. The doctor wrapped them {#blank#}3{#/blank#} pieces of dough and folded the pieces to resemble tiny ears. Dumplings{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (continue) to take off and diversify since then. Typically{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (fill) with meat or vegetables, the simple bites are distinguished by their pleated （起褶皱的）, wheat dough wrappers. They're often served for the Chinese New Year, though not because they look like crescent moons （新月）. Eating them is believed {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (bring) prosperity in the new year. Traditionally, if you want to wish someone good fortune in China, you feed dumplings with a coin hidden inside and {#blank#}7{#/blank#} gets this coin will be lucky in the coming year. Making dumplings together with the whole family creates a unique, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (harmony) atmosphere. Today, Jiaozi is still {#blank#}9{#/blank#} must in winter in most parts of northern China, especially during the Spring Festival. No words can precisely describe Chinese people's affection for dumplings, as the food has already become a symbol of home and {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (warm).