One day an old man is on his way home. Just then a stranger(陌生人)stops him and asks, "Excuse me, how long will it take to walk to the next village?"

    The old man looks at the stranger but he doesn't answer. The stranger says to himself. "This old man can't hear me clearly. I will ask him again." Then he asks the old man loudly. The old man thinks for a while, but he still doesn't answer.

    At this time, this stranger is very angry and shouts at the old man." How long will it take me to walk to the next village? ''But the old man doesn't give him any answer. So the stranger begins to walk quickly to the village.

    The old man calls after him, "My friend, it will take you only fifteen minutes." The stranger says, "Well, why do you tell me now?" The old man says, "How could I tell you just now? I don't know how fast you can walk."

    Is handwriting (书写) important? Yes, the 10-year-old girl Alyssa thinks so. She is a fifth-grade student from Mason County, the USA. She's the champion (冠军) for her grade level in the National Handwriting Contest in 2012.

    After she got the news, Alyssa was surprised that she could be the first. "I'm really happy," she said. "I'm really surprised, too. I didn't know I was that good."

    To enter (参加) the contest, each student had to write the sentence (句子) "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog". It is a common English sentence, but it uses every letter of the English alphabet. Teachers were invited to be judges. They could decide who wins the contest.

    Alyssa enjoys handwriting, and wants to write adventure (冒险) stories when she gets older. "From the third grade we started learning handwriting," Alyssa said. "All the letters look pretty. It makes me think of art."

"Travelling by subway (地铁) is much faster. It not only takes me a few minutes to get to my office, but also I don't worry about traffic jam." a passenger says. A lot of people like taking the subway. It is a kind of popular way and more convenient in our daily life. It has three advantages (优点).

First, it's fast. The subway can run about 80 kilometers in an hour. It's much faster than riding a bike or taking a bus.

Second, it's accurate. It can help you get somewhere on time. Don't worry about the weather. It can arrive on time even if it is raining or snowing. During rush hour (交通高峰期), there is a subway every five minutes. You can't wait too long.

Finally, it is comfortable. It is very comfortable for passengers to take the subway. They can find a place to sit or stand here and there. They don't feel cold in winter or hot in summer because of the air-conditioners (空调). It can carry many people. I think most of people like it. You will have a good time to take the subway.

What makes smartphones fun and useful? There are many apps that you can use for work and play. Check out some of them here. 

The weather in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres(半球) is different. It is fun {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (think) that when it is cold in one place, it is hot in another. The Earth's tilt(地球轴线) is the reason for the different {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (season). This means that while one hemisphere is tilted(倾斜) towards {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Sun, the other is tilted away from it.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} it's winter in the North, it's summer in the South. Students in the Southern Hemisphere look forward to {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(sperd) summer vacation at the beach, while those in the Northern Hemisphere enjoy building snowmen during {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (they) winter holidays.

There {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (be) holidays in both hemispheres, but the weather makes them different. For example, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} special nights like New Year's Eve, people all over the world get together. Because of the different weather, fireworks might go off over {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (snow) places or near the beach, making each {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (celebrate) special.

So, the Earth's tilt not only gives us different weather but also makes our traditions unique.

There is no way you can get on the train without your ID card now. In the near future, people will use a digital (数字的) ID on their smartphones. What a great thing it is!

On March 11, 2022, the government (政府) said it would introduce (介绍) the digital ID cards with 18 numbers. People can know some information from the ID numbers. The government wanted to make people's lives easier by introducing the digital ID cards.

The government said the digital ID cards could allow the information to be gotten by a simple scan with a smartphone. The government would also help the old people use the digital ID cards because they can't use smartphones. The government hoped that the digital ID cards would be popular. The old could also use ID cards to make their lives easier.

In fact, China started a test of the digital ID cards in 2018. It allowed people in cities including Quzhou, Hangzhou and Fuzhou to apply for digital national ID cards on Alipay. The digital ID cards could be used to open bank accounts, check into hotels and buy high-speed railway tickets. It's great.