There are some very good inventions which， for one reason or another， don't become popular. These inventions should be better known， even though I think that some of them are crazy. Let's have a look at some of these inventions and see if you agree that they should be more successful.

    The Australians had a great idea to stop people from drinking and driving. The idea was that if a driver wanted to start the car， she or he would have to blow into a bag first. If there was too much alcohol(酒精) in their breath， the car wouldn't start. It sounded like a great idea to me， but people said that they might need to drive the car in an emergency even if they had drunk too much alcohol. Another idea I liked was an invention by a scientist who thought his children watched too much TV. He linked the TV to an exercise bike so that the electricity to power the TV was generated(产出) by the bike. If the children wanted to watch a lot of TV， they had to pedal(踩踏板) very hard. I found another invention on the Internet which was intended (倾向于) to encourage good habits. Believe it or not， this invention was an ashtray(烟灰缸) which spoke to you when you lit a cigarette! The “voice” of the ashtray was activated (启动) by the heat from the cigarette and reminded you how dangerous it is to smoke.

    One of the strangest inventions I have come across is a bicycle which can cross rivers! The idea was that when you came to a river， you could inflate a huge plastic ball all around the bike. You would then get into the ball which would float on the river while you pedaled the bike inside the ball! Why not use a bridge instead? A friend of mine at school once bought a strange pair of football shoes. On the bottom of the shoes there was a rotating pad of studs (转动钉垫). The idea was that you would change direction more quickly if the studs rotated with you. The problem was that every time you stopped you changed direction whether you wanted to or not! I think he wore those shoes twice! One thing I would like is a baseball cap with a built-in radio so you can listen to sport all day with your hands free. While we are on the subject of sport， the Americans invented a kind of robot for sports fans. If you were watching your team on TV on your own， you could press a button and the robot would do “high fives” with you! Fantastic! I wonder if you have any good ideas for inventions like these.

    American researchers have successfully developed a way to clean waste water without chemicals. The technique uses green plants. The tests were carried out at waste treatment centre. The scientists put plants in narrow containers inside a glass building. One end of each container was a little higher than the other end. Waste water was directed down the containers through the plants' thick roots as we expected. The roots absorbed the waste in the water and used it for food. At the same time the plants produced natural gas. The gas could be collected and sold as fuel(燃料).

    Four places in Florida are already using green plants to clean their waste water.

    You eitherhave it, or you don't—a sense of1that is. But2isit that some people could find their way across the Sahara without a map, whileothers can3themselves in the next street?

    Scientistssay were all4with a sense of direction, but it is notproperly understood how it works. One theory is that people with a good sense ofdirection have worked hard at5it. Research being carriedout at Liverpool University supports this idea and suggests that if we don't useit, we lose it.

    Childrenas young as seven have the ability to find their way6,"saysJim Martland, Research Director of the project. "However,7theyare not allowed out alone or are taken everywhere by car, they will8developthe skills. "

    Jim Martlandalso emphasizes that young people should be taught certain9toimprove their sense of direction. He makes the following suggestions:

    If youare using a map, turn it so that it10to the way you are facing

    If youleave your bike in a strange place, put it near11likea big stone or a tree. Note landmarks on the route as you go away from your bike.When you return, go back along the12route.

    Simplifythe way of finding your direction by using lines such as streets in a town, streams,or walls in the countryside to guide you.13yoursteps14you know how far you have gone and note anylandmarks such as tower blocks or hills which can help to find out were you are.

    Now youwill never get lost15!

Chongyang Festival is also called Double Ninth Festival.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} During the festival, Chongyang cake and chrysanthemum （菊花） wine are the traditional food. Climbing mountains and admiring beautiful chrysanthemums are interesting events.

 {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It has two layers（层） with nuts and jujubes （枣） between them. Since cake in Chinese is pronounced "gao" meaning high, people consider climbing a high mountain to be the same as eating cake. They also hope that they can make progress in the following days after eating the cake. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Drinking chrysanthemum wine is a necessary part of the festival. Chrysanthemums have the function of an antitoxin（抗毒素） and can drive the evil（邪恶） away. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

It is said that by climbing to a high mountain diseases can be prevented. Many well-known poems were created to describe the scene and feeling of mountain climbing. Now, family relatives or good friends gather to climb mountains to enjoy the beautiful scenery and share happiness of the holiday with each other. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Are you an "I" person or an "E" person? There is a personality test called MBTI. It is said that if people are "I", they are {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(很可能) not so outgoing, while "E" people may make friends, enjoy parties and {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(分享) their happiness and sadness with others more. Of course they can have things in {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(共有的；共同的). In fact, experts use the {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(信息) from the test results to help tell what you might be good at in your future job. But don't take it too seriously. Anyway, never let a test tell you who you are. Don't find the real you {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(直到) it's too late.