A good book can be satisfying. If reading is a habit you'd like to get into, there are some ways to develop it.

    ☆Realize that reading is enjoyable if you have a good book. If you have a difficult book and you are forcing yourself through it, it will seem like a task. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    ☆Set time. You should have some time during every day when you'll read for at least 5 to 10 minutes. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For example, make it a habit to read during breakfast and lunch and even dinner if you eat alone.

    ☆Always carry a book. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When I leave the house, I always make sure to have my car keys and one book at hand. The book stays with me in the car, and I take it into the office and pretty much everywhere I go.

    ☆{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Find a place in your home where you can sit in a comfortable chair. Do not lie down unless you're going to sleep. There should be no television or computer near the chair, and no music or noisy family members or roommates. If you don't have a place like this, create one.

    ☆Reduce television or the Internet. If you really want to read more, try cutting back on time on TV or the Internet. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Still, every minute you reduce of the Internet or TV, you could use for reading. This could create hours of book reading time.

A. Go to bookstores.

B. Find a quiet place.

C. This may be difficult for some people.

D. Wherever you go, take a book with you.

E. Have some good tea or coffee while you read.

F. It means you will read no matter how busy you are.

G. If this happens, give up the book and find another one that you'll really love.

    Honeybees can do three kinds of jobs.

    It is one of the most unusual insects in the world. Bees are special because they divide up their honeybee work. Each bee has a certain job to do.

    The busiest bee is the worker. Workers build the nest, called a hive. Inside the hive, workers make a honeycomb from wax(蜂蜡). They store honey there for food. Workers are always cleaning and fixing the hive. They even stand at the opening and fan their wings to cool the hive. Worker bees will attack anything—even people—to keep their hive safe, if need.

    Another kind of bee is the drone(雄蜂). Drones are male bees, and their job is to fly with the queen bee and mate with her. After the queen mates, the worker bees drive the drones away. The drones then starve to death.

    The third kind of bee is the queen. Each hive needs only one queen, and her job is laying eggs. She can lay as many as 2, 000 eggs a day.

    In this Pennsylvania city, Pittsburgh is shrinking but getting wealthier. Since 2000, its population has declined by 95,000 while its income per capita (人均) has shot up 24 percent. The trend is taking hold in many other cities, like Buffalo in New York, Providence in Rhode Island and New Orleans.

    Some of these areas have created more high-paying jobs in energy, health care or education. Others have managed to reshape their manufacturing (制造业) for a new economy. Higher-paying jobs have a greater effect because they create demand for additional services. “The story in Pittsburgh is very positive, and other areas are looking at it as an example of the transformation that might be possible,” said Guhan Venkatu, who wrote an economic history of the area called “Rust and Renewal” for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

    Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have helped bring tech jobs and innovation (革新) to the area by sponsoring tech centers that help graduates start companies without moving to Silicon Valley or San Francisco. This has helped keep Pittsburgh's educated young population growing even as the entire population in the city has dropped.

    Pittsburgh has more STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) jobs than other shrinking cities, about 80,000 or 7% of all jobs. STEM jobs add productivity and income growth to the area. Manufacturers of high-tech medical equipment in the Pittsburgh area also have doubled employment in the last 10 years.

    However, some experts question whether growing income per capita can really make up for a declining population. According to Patrick Adler, a researcher at the University of Toronto, population loss does matter if it means lower-skilled workers have fled because of a lack of opportunity. What's more, high-paying jobs in education and health care can disappear if the population declines too greatly. So it'd be wise to find ways to increase the population.

    You can't always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belvacv doesn't think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet.

    That's why he created Lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain sensing umbrella.

    The designer says he came up with the idea after watching people get wet on streets in Russia. "Once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy(伞蓬) built into a street lamp," he said.

    The Lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy. It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand. Sensors (传感器)then ensure that the umbrella offers pedestrians shelter whenever it starts raining.

    In addition to the rain sensor, there's also a 360 motion sensor on the fiberglass street lamp which detects whether anyone's using the Lampbrella. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed.

    According to the designer, the Lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to the pedestrians. Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lighting strike. Each Lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people. Being installed at 2 meters off the ground it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians.

    While there are no plans to take Lampbrella into production, Belyaev says he recently introduced his creation to one Moscow Department and insists this creation should be installed on the street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter.

How parents can help children with reading skills

    Making sure that your children read well can help them perform better in school and increase their confidence in their ability to communicate well. The following ways can be very helpful.

    Have your children read to you.

    Have your children choose their favorite book and sit down to read with you each evening. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It doesn't matter whether that starts after dinner or around the time your children go to sleep.

    Stock (储备) your house with reading materials.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is reported that children who have different kinds of books and magazines to choose from at home actually score higher on standardized tests.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Researchers suggest having your children read signs on the road, menus, game directions, movie listings and other daily things. This will help your children try to understand the importance and applicability (适用性) of being able to read well.

    Pay attention to reading problems.

    See how well your children can sound out words, understand what they have read and use reading context (上下文) to understand the meaning of new words. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} For example, you can take them to reading learning centers.

    Use other reading tools.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Take games as an example, try to use them as much as you can, since they can make children look forward to and enjoy the process (过程) of improving their reading ability.

A. Read wherever it is possible.

B. Take your children to a library.

C. Make reading an important part of each day.

D. Keep some reading materials available in your house.

E. Games, textbooks and books on tape are good choices.

F. If your children have difficulty reading, get them some help.

G. You should watch your children's progress with their reading skills.

    3D printing is becoming more and more popular. We are now able to print things such as clothing, musical instruments and so on.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Some scientists are trying to revolutionize the dining experience by doing this. They hope that having a 3D printer in the kitchen will become as commonplace as the microwave or blender. Scientists say that they are easy to use: {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can also modify the instructions to make the food exactly how you want it. This means that it would be very quick and easy to create tasty and nutritious meals.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}There would be less need for traditional growing, transporting and packaging processes as food production would be a lot more efficient.

    Printing food could also help people who suffer from dysphasia（言语困难）. They could program the printer to print softer versions of their favourite foods so that they would not have trouble swallowing them.

    However, some people think that a future of 3D-printed food would be a disaster. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Imagine a world where there was no need for farming or growing crops and the same tastes and textures could be printed from a raw 'food ink'. Likewise, traditional cafes and restaurants might lose business.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Is it really possible to get the nutrients we need from food-based inks and gels?

    What's more, cooking and eating together with family and friends will disappear. It is hard to imagine a world where the pastime of cooking is dead and meals can be created at the touch of a button.

A. It will create many jobs.

B. It could take away many jobs.

C. Also, there are concerns about the nutritional value of printed food.

D. You simply have to select a recipe and put the raw food 'inks' into the printer.

E. Using 3D printers to create your meals would also be saving the environment.

F. But can you imagine printing food?

G. Printing food is great for your health.