［1］China's “four great new inventions” in modern times have made the daily life of the public more and more convenient. They are the high-speed railway(HSR), shopping online, shared bikes and mobile phone payment.

    ［2］Living in Hong Kong, I knew them from the papers, the TV and the Internet. But last month I had the chance to experience all of them.

    ［3］As usual, the golden week stopped the traffic. It was hard to get a railway ticket anywhere in the train stations. But I bought a train ticket to Beijing on the Internet and paid for it through Zhifubao. It was even cheaper than it was bought in the station. Then we got on the high-speed train. I was shocked at its speed and quietness. There was no noise which the train made while running. It was reported that China has the longest high-speed railway in the world, which is regarded as a “name card” for China.

    ［4］China's HSR has also gone abroad. In 2014, China finished building its first foreign high-speed rail in Turkey. In June 2015, China and Russia agreed to build the 770 km of high-speed railway connecting Moscow and Kazan. In October 2015, China helped Indonesia to build a high-speed rail between Jakarta and Bandung.

    ［5］Did I feel bored during the trip on the train? Not at all. I bought many cheap and good things in Taobao and Tmall on the Internet through my mobile phone. It's amazing that there are oceans of products in Taobao and Tmall.        ［6］Soon we arrived in Beijing. We got on a bus near the train station.     getting off the bus, my friend told me that the bus stop is far from his home. I thought we would have to spend much money going to his home on a taxi, but it seemed that he wasn't worried about that. He showed me some bikes on the side of the street. They are called shared bikes. We only need to use our mobile phones to scan(扫描) the QuickResponse code(二维码) on shared bikes, then we could ride the bikes anywhere we wanted to go. It was so cool!

    About the year 1900, Charlie Chaplin (卓别林) was often seen waiting outside the back entrances of London theaters. He looked neither tall nor short. He was hoping to get work in show business. Luckily, he soon got a chance to act and it was also his first performance on the stage.

    But twenty years later, this same Chaplin became the greatest, best-known comedian (喜剧演员) in the world. Any regular visitor to the cinema must have seen some of Charlie Chaplin's films. People everywhere have laughed at them until tears have run down their faces. Even people who don't understand English can enjoy Chaplin's films because they mostly have no sound. It isn't what he says that makes us laugh. It is based on little actions which mean the same thing to people all over the world.

    Chaplin lived most of his life in America and died in Switzerland on Christmas Day in 1977, at the age of eighty-eight. There was sadness all over the world at the news of his death.

    We live in the age of the computer. People like scientists, teachers, writers and students use computers to do all kinds of work. But more than 30 years ago, computers couldn't do much. They were very big and expensive. Very few people were interested in them and knew how to use them. Today computers are smaller and cheaper. Since they can do a lot of work, many people like to use them. Many people have them at home.

    Computers become very important because they can work faster than men and make fewer mistakes. Computers can help people do a lot of work. Writers now use computers to write. Teachers use them to teach. Students use them to study and children use them to play games. Computers can also remember what you put into them. Computers are very useful and helpful. They are our good friends. Do you want a computer?

    Have you ever heard of a girl of15, who set up a company of her own? Wendy Wong is the girl. She started the business two years ago. She has already written several successful compute games. They are so popular that over half a million games are sold every year. Now all of her family work in her business, and she is still at school.

    She gets up early in the morning, and then she talks with her family about the business over breakfast. Every day she goes to school in her own car with a driver, for she is not old enough.

    She enjoys her school, but some of the work is too easy for her to feel interested. She usually gets 'A' grades in all her subjects, so the other students often ask her for help.

    She finished her homework in half an hour after her driver takes her home. After dinner, she goes to her office and goes on working on her computer, writing games until 2 am. She does not usually need so much sleep as other children.