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    After a long day's study at school, you are very tired. So after school you go home to relax. When you get home, a robot greets you. He's happy to see you and helps you take your school things to your room. He listens to you talk about your school life and tells you a new joke. And he tells you to call your cousin and to say happy birthday. And then he helps you with your homework.

    This is your future, and the robot's name is NAO. NAO has a small body, big eyes and a large head. He can walk and dance. He listens and talks, and he even learns and thinks for himself. His creators(创造者) predict that the robot will be in people's homes before 2040.

    This $16,000 robot knows who you are. NAO can even express emotions(表达情感). He is a self-guided robot. A self-guided robot can sense(感觉), think and act. Other robots might do two out of the three. For example, a robot might sense things using cameras and think using computers, but with no arms, he can't act. Another robot can move and sense things, but he can't think for himself. These aren't self-guided robots. But NAO can do them all.

    China has recently published its first artificial intelligence(AI,人工智能) textbook for high school students in Shanghai to start AI lessons. Forty high schools around the country have become experimental bases for exploring AI education.

    The book, Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence, includes the history of AI and how the technology can be used in areas such as facial recognition, public security and auto driving.

    Peng Yu is a teacher at the High School Affiliated(附属)to Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He took part in editing the textbook and said it would give guide to students. He said," The book has a good introduction to the area so that students can decide if they want to further study AI at college Students can also find out what they need to learn if they are interested in studying AI. For example, they have to learn Maths because it is the fundamental basis of AI."

    Peng said AI has improved the interest of many high school students already, but he still feels that they can learn much more by taking part in project—based learning programs. Peng is sure that everyone should learn some basic knowledge about AI because it will be part of our everyday lives. It is reported that China needs 5 million AI teachers to keep up with development in the future.

    There have been many great inventions that changed the way we live. The first great invention was one that is still very important today—the wheel. This made it easier to carry heavy things.

    Then in the early 1800's the world started to change. There was little unknown land left in the world. People didn't have to explore(探测) much anymore. They began to work to make life better.

    In the second half of the 19th century, many great inventions were made. Among them were the camera, the light and the radio. These all became a big part of our life today.

    The first part of the 20th century saw more great inventions: the helicopter in1907, movies with sound in 1923, the computer in 1927, and jet planes in 1930. This was also a time when a new material was first made. Nylon(尼龙)came in 1937. It changed the kind of clothes people wear. 

    By this time most people had a very good life, and man has a desire to explore again. The world was known to man but the stars were not. Man began looking for ways to go into space. Russia made the first step. Then the United States took a step. Since then other countries, including China and Japan, have made their steps into space.

    New inventions will someday allow us to do things we have never yet dreamed of.

The name of every British town and city has a long history. 

Two thousand years ago, most people living in Britain were Celts（凯尔特人）. Even the word "Britain" is Celtic. Then the Romans arrived and built camps. These camps became cities called "castra". This is why there are so many place names in England that end in "-chester" or "-caster". Manchester is one example. 

After the Romans left Britain, it was attacked by Anglo-Saxon people and became its new owners. These people were from the area that is now Germany and the Netherlands （荷兰）. The names of their villages often ended in "-ham" or "-ton". Some got their names from the leaders of the villages, so Birmingham, for example, means "Beormund's village". 

Twelve hundred years ago, Vikings（维京人） came to England. They traded with the Anglo-Saxons but lived in their own villages. These often ended in "-by" or "-thorpe". The name "Kirkby" means "a village with a church（教堂）" and Scunthorpe was the village of a man called Skuma. Finally, in 1066, England became Norman（诺曼人的）—the Normans gave us the place name "grange", which means "farm". 

And how about London? Experts cannot agree! The Romans called the city Londinium, but they were not the first people there. People once believed that the United Kingdom's capital city was named for the castle（城堡） of a king called Lud, but this is almost impossible. Our best guess today is that the name comes from a Celtic word meaning "a fast-flowing river". 

①Why do we do the things we do? What drives our behavior? Researchers have suggested different ways of thinking about motivation (动机), including looking at whether motivation comes from outside or inside a person.

②Extrinsic(外来的) motivation is when you decide to do something because you want to get a reward or avoid punishment. Intrinsic (内在的) motivation is when you do something because you find it enjoyable. The behavior itself is its own reward.

③There are many advantages of intrinsi c motivation. Firstly, it's lasting. It makes people willing to face challenges and work hard to achieve their goals. Besides, people with intrinsic motivation have a greater sense of satisfaction.

④Most people think intrinsic motivation is best, but it is not always possible in every situation. Sometimes a person has an unpleasant task and he may not have internal(内部的) wish to complete it. That's when we need extrinsic motivation. But studies have shown that offering too many external (外部的) reward can reduce intrinsic motivation. For example, in a study, they became less interested in the toys.

⑤Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation play a key role in learning. Experts have argued that traditional education pays too much attention to external rewards, such as grades. This undermines the intrinsic motivation that students might already have. However, others have suggested that extrinsic motivation can help students feel more knowledgeable in class. It helps to build up their intrinsic motivation. 

⑥Understanding how each type of motivation works and when it is likely to be useful can help people complete tasks and improve their learning.

16-year-old Yang Jun'ao, a student from No. 1 Middle School in Nanxian County, Hunan province, invented a robot to help harvest lotus roots(采藕). 

"I got the idea when I saw my grandmother, in her 70s, working hard to harvest lotus roots under the hot sun, " Yang said. Sometimes, his grandmother would badly hurt her fingers while using harvesting tools. 

To make things easier for his grandmother, he decided to invent a robot that could do the job for her. 

With the help of his teacher, Hong Wei, Yang spent almost a year building a model of the robot. The robot can move by itself in the muddy(泥泞的) fields where lotus roots grow. It uses special technology to identify ripe roots by looking at the color of the lotus leaves. Then, its arm carefully cuts the roots without harming them. 

While creating the robot, Yang faced challenges like collecting parts for the model, putting them together and using a hot glue gun for connecting. "The first time I used a hot glue gun, my hands were shaking, " Yang laughed. At first, he planned to use rotating blades(旋转叶片) for harvesting lotus roots. But it was hard to find them, so he used more common blades instead. 

When Yang showed the robot to his grandmother, she was happy and gave helpful suggestions for improvement. She suggested using a voice player to help locate the robot in thick lotus leaves. "My grandmother's suggestion reminded me that any invention must be practical to be truly valuable. " said Yang. 

Although Yang still needs to make improvements, like finding cheaper materials, his teacher Hong spoke highly of Yang's creative thinking and resolution to help his hometown.