Radio, telephone and TV are widely used in the world. When you turn on the radio, you can listen. But when you use telephone, not only can you listen to others but also you can chat with them, however, you can't see anything at all. TV is much better than both of them. People can watch TV and listen to it, but they can't take part in what they see.

    Today, some people are using a type of telephone called vision-phone（可视电话）. With it, two people who are talking can see each other. It is better than radio, telephone or TV.

    Vision-phones can be of great use when you have something to show the person whom you are calling. It will be helpful in people's life. Some day you may be able to call up a library and ask to read a book on your vision-phone. You may be able to do some shopping too. Perhaps in the future, people will use vision-phone.

    Friendship between animals sometimes seems stronger than that between men.

    In France, a man had to move to a new job two hundred kilometers away. He had a dog and a cat, and he loved them both. But he thought that the cat would like to stay in the same house with new owners. So he moved and took only the dog.

    About three weeks later, the dog was suddenly lost. For several days, the man looked for his dog, but didn't find him. Then, seven weeks later, the dog came back but he was not alone. By his side was the cat. They were tired and hungry after their long trip. And they never left each other again.

    Another story is about goldfish. We usually think fish are cold-hearted, but sometimes we may be wrong. A friend had to work in another country. So I took her pet goldfish and put it in a bowl with mine. They two lived together for six months. When the friend came back, she took her fish home.

    Then, I found my goldfish was acting strangely, hitting against the side of the bowl. The next morning he died. Later that day, my friend phoned to say that her goldfish was also dead. I believe they died of sadness.

    A company says it has completed the first 3D-printed home recently. The home was shown to reporters and visitors at a music festival.

    The building company has developed large 3D- printers that build homes with mortar, a hard and strong material. It uses robotics, computer programs and advanced materials to make houses.

    Jason Ballard is the company's chief engineer. "So I'm standing in front of the first 3D-printed home in America. This house was actually printed in high winds, blowing dust and rain." It is important for the printing programmes to operate in bad weather conditions, such as weather disasters. The goal is to print homes in developing countries. So the printer has to be light enough to move from one property to the next.

    Ballard imagines that someday, many 3D-printers will operate around the world to make homes. "It's actually a lot more simple to build a printer than it is to build a house," he said. "We ran this printer at about a quarter speed to print this house, and completed it in about 48 hours of print time."

    The company developed this technology not to make money but to help provide a quick, cheap housing solution for the millions of people who need it most. There are about a billion people that don't have one of life's most basic human needs, and that's safe shelter.

    Ballard says his company already works on housing needs with poor families in different areas. But he says that to really make a difference, the program will need to be greatly improved. He added that since the 3D-printing process is so much faster than traditional homebuilding, a whole community could be built in just a few months. He believes over time, people can get the new home below $4,000 with the help of 3D-printers.

    Robots seem very new to most people. But they have a long history. The first one was made by a Greek inventor. You may have seen robots in some films. The robots in these films are stronger, faster and more clever than people in real life. Most robots are used in factories. They are used to do many dangerous, difficult or boring jobs. Some people can't look after themselves and move around. They need dogs to help them. These dogs are called guide dogs. Scientists are making robot dogs to help them. In the future, robot dogs might take the place of these guide dogs.

    Robots are also used in American hospitals. At one hospital, a robot takes meals from the kitchen to the sick people's rooms,   it never loses its way because it has a map of the hospital in its computer system.

    In the future, robots will work in space. But robots will never take the place of human beings, though they can help us in a lot of different ways.

    If you have your own Acme Rocket Launcher, you can create and send up rockets that show off your personality and creativity.

    All you need is your Acme Rocket Launcher and a few simple household materials:

    ★a 500ml plastic cola bottle     ★scissors     ★colored markers

    ★poster board     ★glue

What to do:

Step 1     Clean the cola bottle completely and allow it to dry.

Step 2     Use markers to draw three small triangles (三角形) and one large triangle on the poster board. Cut out the triangles.

Step 3     Roll (卷起) the large triangle so that two of its sides touch and it forms a rocket's nose cone. Glue the sides of the cone so that it holds its shape.

Step 4     Glue the nose cone to the bottom of the bottle to make the top of the rocket.

Step 5     Glue the smaller triangles to the other end of the cola bottle, around its opening. The triangles will be the tail fins.

    Follow the launching instructions included with your Acme Rocket Launcher and have a blast!