Sometimes we meet people who change us. They bring magic(魔法) into our lives. Bridge to Terabithia (《通往特雷比西亚的桥》), the latest movie from Walt Disney, tells us such a story.

    Jess Aarons is a different kind of kid. He doesn't have too many friends in school. He is distant (疏远的) from his family as well. Jess wants to be the fastest runner in his school. He spends all of his time training for a race.

    But something strange happens. He's beaten, not by a boy but by a girl! As you might think, his pride is hurt.

    You wouldn't think Jess, and the girl, Leslie, would become friends. But the two kids open up to each other. Leslie shares her love of magic with Jess. Jess loves drawing. But before meeting Leslie he's never told anyone about it.

    Together they discover a secret world. They get to it by using a rope to swing across a river. There they fight against their enemies, from the Dark Master to school bullies (欺负弱小者).

    Can the kids beat their enemies? See the film and find it out for yourself.

   Why do we play sports? You might say "to get exercise" andyou'd be right. To have fun? That's true, too. But there's more. In fact, thereare at least five more reasons. According to the report, people who play sportsget1 more than just healthy.

   People who play sports do better in school. You might think that playingsports will2 all your study time. But a research shows thatstudents who play sports do better in school than3 whodon't. Exercise improves learning and memory, which can help students becomemore active in class.

   It's4 that people who play sports learn teamwork andgoal setting skills. Sports teach valuable life skills. When you work withcoaches, trainers, and teammates to win games and achieve goals, you'relearning5 tobe successful. Those skills will serve you well at work and in family life.

   Sports are good for people's health. Besides being healthy and keeping ahealthy weight, people who play sports are also less possible to smoke. And6 inlife, people who exercise have fewer chances to have cancer (癌症)or some otherillnesses.

   Playing sports improves confidence. People who play sports feel betterabout themselves. Why? It builds confidence when you know you can practice,improve, and7 your goals. Sports are also a feel-goodactivity8 they help people get in shape, keep a healthyweight, and make new friends.

   Exercise cuts the pressure. Playing sports can make you have less9 andhelp you feel a little happier. A person's mood (心情)improves during exercise. Friends canalso help improve your mood. And being on a team creates close relationship10 friends. It's good to know your teammates willsupport you - both on and off the field!

Buzz, buzz… Summer is here. So are mosquitoes. Do you want to keep away from those awful insects? Iceland may be a perfect place for you. This country is free of mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes live in most parts of the world. Most of the mosquitoes come in summer and they. breed(交配繁殖) quickly on hot days. Mother mosquitoes lay their eggs in water or near it. If the weather is warm enough, the eggs can hatch (孵化)in three days. After hatching, the baby mosquitoes feed on small plants in water.

But the climate in Iceland is quite hard for mosquitoes to live in. Iceland is near the North Pole. The temperature there is low all year round. The weather in Iceland also changes very fast. The temperature can go up suddenly in winter and then go down quickly. Imagine a mosquito egg is waiting below the ice during the winter. One day, it gets warmer and the ice melts(融化). The egg hatches. But soon, the temperature goes down. Ice covers the water again. The poor little mosquito dies! The only mosquito in Iceland now is in a laboratory. It came from another country. In the 1980s, a scientist caught it in an airplane.

Besides having no mosquitoes, Iceland also has a lot of interesting facts:

★Iceland is home to about 130 volcanoes (火山). The country is called the "land of ice and fire".

★Iceland looks like the moon because of its volcanoes. In the 1960s, American astronauts did training there before they went to the moon.

★There are no subways or trains in Iceland.

① There are 56 ethnic (民族的) groups in China. Different ethnic groups have their own special cultures. Let's enjoy some of them.

② The Bai people use a very old way, tie-dye(扎染), to dye clothes. Tie-dye has a history of nearly 1,500 years. During the Tang and Song dynasties, people chose tie-dyed clothes as gifts.

③The Mongolian people live in the Mongolian yurts(蒙古包). These yurts are large round tents and their tops look like umbrellas. They are the traditional homes of the Mongolian people. The yurts are usually white because they're made of sheep's wool. And white is a symbol of happiness.

④ The Zhuang people like singing even more than talking. On the third day of the third Chinese lunar month, they hold a big singing festival. It is thrilling and wonderful. Men and women singers sing in pairs. The winners are the "king" and "queen" of singing.

⑤The Miao people have a special festival, the Manghao Festival. It's in the first Chinese lunar month every year. The Miao people regard Manghao as a hero who helped to protect their homes. At the festival, young men dress up like Manghao and touch others to send good wishes.

We often talk about snails (蜗牛) and their slow move. But usually snails don't move at all. They are in their shells(壳)— sleeping.

Hot sun will dry out a snail's body. So when it is very hot, a snail draws(移动) its body into his shell. A snail will die in a heavy rain. So when it rains, a snail does the same thing, too. A snail can sleep for a long time. It spends all the winter in its shell, sleeping.

In spring, the snail wakes up. Its body is only about 007 meter long out of the shell. When hungry, the snail looks for food. Its eyes are not very good. But it does very well in smell. This helps the snail to find food and the new plants.

A snail's mouth is no bigger than a full stop(句号). But it has 256,000 teeth! The teeth are very small, and you can't see them. And if its teeth are too old, it will grow new ones.

Could you imagine being in a car driven by a computer, not a human? Recently, China has made a big step toward self- driving technology. Since August, driverless taxis can run on roads in Wuhan, Chongqing and Shenzhen. 

Why do we develop self- driving cars? Self- driving cars have many advantages. They use computers with many cameras which can sense all the objects close to the car and give the computers another route (路线) . Then the car can take people to the place where they want to go. For disabled or blind people, self- driving cars can also help them get around more easily. 

According to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year, more than 1. 35 million people are killed on roads around the world. It's reported that self- driving cars could reduce road accidents by 90 percent. The main cause of car accidents is human error (错误) . By using computers, self- driving cars don't make poor decisions or lose attention like humans do. 

But self- driving cars aren't perfect. If something unexpected on the road happens, self- driving cars can't react as fast as a human driver can. Also, during weather events like heavy snow, self- driving cars wouldn't see the lines on the road easily. It might lead to an accident. The car's computer system would be broken by someone, causing it to crash or change its direction. 

It's clear that there is a lot of work to do to make self- driving cars a common and safe sight on our roads. And China is taking the lead in making this happen.