Let's read the conversations and guess the meaning of the following expressions.

    Peking Opera (Beijing Opera), is one of the oldest forms of dramas(戏剧) in the world. The roles(角色) in it were Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou, Wuhang, and Longtao during its early age. But with the change of Peking Opera, there are four main roles in it today: Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou.

    Sheng——Men Roles

    Sheng are the men roles in Peking Opera, which can be divided into Laosheng, Wusheng, Xiaosheng and Wawasheng.

    Laosheng are middle-aged or older men who are honest. Hongsheng,a type of Laosheng, have a red face. There are only two roles famous as Hongsheng. One is Guan Gong and the other is Zhao Kuangyin. Wusheng are young generals(将军) who are good at martial arts(武术). Xiaosheng are clean-shaven(没有胡须的) and handsome. Wawasheng are children's parts.

    Dan——women Roles

    Dan are women roles that can be divided into different types——Laodan, Qingyi, Huadan, Wudan and Caidan.

    Laodan play old and clever women. Qingyi are the main women roles. Huashan, a type of Qingyi, was created by Mei Lanfang, who played an important role in shaping Peking Opera. Huadan are lively and unmarried women roles. Wudan characters are women, good at martial arts. Caidan are clowns(小丑) in funny plays.

    Jing——Painted Face Men Roles

    A Jing role is an important man character with striking(吸引人的) looks and high social position. The main types of Jing are Tongchui, good at singing and usually a general; Jiazi, good at acting with less singing; and Wujing, a martial arts and acrobatics(杂技) role.

    Chou——Comedy Roles

    Chou are comedy(喜剧) roles in Peking Opera. There are Wenchou who speak, act and sing, and Wuchou who both speak and fight. What makes this type of role special is a small patch(块) of white chalk around the nose. One of the famous roles is the Monkey King, who has a special position in the hearts of all who are interested in Chinese opera.

    The British Museum is the biggest museum in the world. Inside, you feel smaller than usual. There are many things to see.

    The story of the British Museum goes back three hundred years to one unusual man, Sir Hans Sloane, a doctor to King George II. The doctor collected books, drawings, clothes, money, animals, flowers, things from all over the world. The doctor wanted everything to stay together when he died, so that people could come and have a look. The British Museum began. King George II gave his library, and the museum started to grow.

    The British Museum opened in 1759, six years after Sir Hans Sloane died. At first the museum was only open three days a week and only ten people could enter in an hour. There wasn't much time to see things.  Visitors had to run through the room.

    By about 1800, things began to get better. Wonderful statues, three thousand years old, arrived from Egypt. King George IV sold all his books to the museum secretly. A hundred years ago not only old books but also new ones arrived at the museum, and more people came to read them. Since then many famous men have written and studied there. And the library is growing faster and faster. There are four kilometers of new shelves every year and there are about two million visitors every year.

    Control your house from your hand. Download(下载)a film in just one second. Print a mobile phone at home. These are just a few technologies that we may see this year. Let's take a look at a few of them.

    Smart Screens

    This year, smart screens will be big news. They use AI technology and look like an iPad. Google Home Hub is a good example. It is a smart screen that people can use for everything from looking up video recipes(菜谱)to looking at family photos. You can also connect your other smart devices(设备)to Home Hub through the Internet. You can turn on lights or the TV simply by speaking to Home Hub or touching a button(按钮)on the screen.

    5G Internet

    How fast is your mobile phone network? After 3G and 4G, 5G is on the way. According to Science Daily, it is hoped that the US will test 5G this year, while the UK will do so in 2020. China has already tested 5G in some parts of Beijing and Hebei.

    5G is very fast. Its speed is about 10 to 20 times faster than networks now, the BBC noted. You can download a whole film in just one second with 5G. This used to take a few minutes with 4G networks.

    3DMetal Printing

    3D printing isn't new. It first came out in the 1990s. But it isn't commonly used in everyday l life. 3D printers are expensive, each costing thousands of dollars. In addition, they can only print plastics and other basic materials.

    But now, some 3D printers can print metal. HP can print some small metal parts for cars, such as key rings and gear sticks(操作杆). People can use 3D printing to make things like toys. But what if people could print these at home? This would help save time and money. More people might think about buying their own 3D printers.