The next time you go grocery shopping, try speaking to other customers. One summer day, I took a smile and a warm heart into a small store in Oregon and got far more than groceries.

    I love fresh produce(农产品) in the store, and not just for the amazing colors provided by summer's bounty (慷慨) or the chance to joy over new choices from other countries. It's also because I just love watching people pick their produce.

    The day I was there I found a sale on amazing cherry tomatoes—along with a woman in her late 70s. Despite the fact that we were strangers, we began to discuss apples. She noted a problem with the Pink Ladies. "They tasted like I was eating an unripe green apple from the tree," she said, twisting her face as if still tasting the sour apple.

    I wondered if this is something most of my generation can even remember doing. I surely do. I mentioned that I often could not resist the green yet tempting fruit swinging from an apple tree. This was the start for a series of discussions as we shopped-covering such topics as nutrition, new foods and the quality of produce.

    By this time a third woman had joined in our conversation. The three of us continued along, unexpected friends, chatting about family size and the troubles a mom might have serving healthful foods that please the whole family.

    Eventually we all went our separate ways, but in the dairy(奶制品) section I heard a small voice say, "I finally caught up with you." It was the first woman I'd talked to, extending a bag of apricots(杏) to me. "I don't know if your family will eat these," she added, "but they have a super deal on them."

    Again I was brought back to my childhood, when I also ate apricots straight from the tree. My mouth watered at the remembered flavor.

    The old lady didn't realize that she'd given me far more than produce. With that offering came a sense of community, a flashback to days when it was OK to talk to a stranger. She brought back memories of summer fruits right from the tree—and a feeling that somehow those apricots were a thank-you for sharing my time with her in a very unlikely place.

    In an unmanned supermarket,a customer waits to pay.With the use of advanced digital payment technology, including biological recognition and in-depth learning,the man leaves in a minute.There's no cashier in the store.At a large university,students use a hand-scanning machine that authorizes their entry into the gym.Those people are using “smart machines” which identify people by their physical characteristics.These new devices use fingers,hands, faces,eyes and voices.Some machines may even use smells.This new technology,called biometrics,gets information from parts of the body.

    In the past,biometric machines were used mainly in government agencies or in prisons.But now that the cost of the technology is lower,these machines are starting to be used everywhere,from border services to schools.

    Some people,however,are concerned that these machines will mean the destruction of personal privacy.They worry that the machines will get personal information about them.“I know it seems like these machines are invading our privacy,but actually,biometric machines help to protect it,”says Jay Tarkett,who works at a company that develops the machines.“They can be used instead of passwords on a computer,for example.They can also identify criminals at airports.So,really,they help to promote public safety,and all the information stored is kept confidential by  the machine itself.”

    Some people don't like the idea of using fingerprints because they associate them with criminals,and feel like they are being accused of something.In addition,they don't work for some people,such as bricklayers,who wear down their fingerprints.Yet,face recognition does work well because the subject doesn't really have to do anything.To cash a check at a bank,for example,the customer has to do nothing more than look at a machine similar to an automatic teller.If the face matches the picture kept on fie,the customer gets the money with no problems.The need to carry identification with you from place to place,then,would all but cease.

    It has been found that the hand scan works well in the college gym.Before this machine was used,students at the college entered the gym using cards similar to credit cards.The problem was that students often lost or forgot their cards.With the hand-scanning machine,however,the problem was solved right away.

    But the machines are still new,and there can be problems.For example,voice recognition works on the phone, but it is not precise,and can be tricked.Another constraint（限制）we notice,with machines that use face recognition in particular,is that they can be fooled if people color their hair or gain a lot of weight.However,this particular problem may be solved by a new type of technology that scans a person's iris,the colored part of the eye.It can even identify the person from a few feet away,recognizing a customer as he or she approaches the ATM.

    "BANG! " the door caused a reverberation(回声). It was just standing there, with father standing on one side, and me on the other side.

    We were both in great anger. "Never set foot in this house again! "father stormed. With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street.

    The street lights were shining, causing rather sad feelings. I walked aimlessly.

    A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me. I felt as if I saw childhood from another space: happy and carefree(无忧无虑的).

    But now... I don t know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old. We differ in our ways of thinking. We are just like two people coming from two different worlds. It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened.

    I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind. My heart was frozen on this hot summer night. As I walked on, there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company. When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on.

    I thought to myself: "Is father waiting for me, or is he still angry with me?"

    In fact, it was nothing. Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps. Perhaps thought they were useless. I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps.

    All the lights were off except father's.

    Dad was always like this. Maybe he didn't know how to express himself. After shouting at me, he never showed any pity or any moments of regret. This was how he always was. He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature.

    The light was still on. "Am I wrong?"I whispered, maybe... With the key in my hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been. At last, I decided to open the door. As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks. I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all. love-it's second to none.

    You can't always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belyaev 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 with a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand. Sensors（传感器）first ensure that it starts raining and the motors open up in response to their sensors and then people can protect themselves from the rain under the canopies.

    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 lightning strike. Each lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people. Being installed（安装）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 his creation could be installed on any street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter.

Dogs

    Almost everyone likes dogs, and almost everyone likes to read stories about dogs.

    I have a friend who has a large police dog named Jack. Police dogs are often very clever. Every Sunday afternoon my friend takes Jack for a long walk in the park. Jack likes these long walks very much.

    One Sunday afternoon a young man came to visit my friend. He stayed a long time. He talked and talked. Soon it was time for my friend to take Jack for his walk. But the visitor still stayed. Jack became very worried. He walked around the room several times and then sat down in front of the visitor and looked at him. But the visitor paid no attention (注意).He kept on talking. Finally Jack could stand it no longer. He went out of the room and came back a few minutes later. He sat down again in front of the visitor but this time he held the visitor's hat in his mouth.

    Here is another story about a clever dog. It was a seeing-eye dog. A seeing-eye dog is a special dog that helps blind people walk along the streets and do many other things. We call these dogs "seeing-eye" dogs because they are the "eyes" of the blind man and they help him to "see". These dogs usually go to special schools for several years to learn to help blind people.

    One day a seeing-eye dog and a blind man got on a bus together. The bus was full of people and there were no seats. One man, however, soon got up and left his seat. The dog took the blind man to the seat, but there was very little space. The dog began to push the people on each side with his nose. He pushed and pushed until the people moved down and finally there was enough space for two people. The blind man then sat down and the dog got up on the seat at his side. He lie down and put his head on the leg of the blind man. He was very comfortable and soon fell asleep. Everyone on the bus had to smile at the intelligence (聪明) of the dog in making space for the blind man and, at the same time, making a place for himself.

When was the last time something important slipped your mind?. Maybe it was the answer to a test question, the name of an acquaintance or where you left your keys. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}People's ability to remember has less to do with natural talent than it does with training and practice. When students want to prepare for a test they often try to study by simply reading over the material. again, copying notes, etc. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} People remember more when they actively engage with the material they are learning rather than passively receiving it.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Come up with questions about the topic, and try to answer them without looking at your notes. It also helps. to try to engage with the material in different ways. For example; you could sketch or diagram the information, or you. could write your own outline or study guide. The more you use the information, the more likely you are to remember it.

A psychologist(心理学家) named . Herman Ebbinghaus made. an important discovery about memory and forgetting. He found that people tend to forget information in a regular pattern. They forget the most information shortly after learning it. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Every time the person reviews the information, it causes them to forget less of it——which means they remember more. So it is essential to review things you want to remember shortly after learning them. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Applying these strategies will help improve your memory so that you can access everything you learn whenever you need it.

A. Practice makes perfect.

B. Strike while the iron is hot.

C. Fortunately, memory can be improved.

D. Over time, you can review them less and less frequently.

E. The rate at which they forget then slows down over time.

F. One great way to do this is to test yourself on the material.

G. But these methods of remembering are not always effective.