There was a time when New York City buildings were almost all the same height.

3.Today you can see buildings of different heights that seem to touch the sky. They are called skyscrapers(摩天大楼). They shape the famous New York City skyline.

 It started about 90 years ago. It began like a race. This wasn't a race down the street or around a track(跑道). It was a race for the sky. Who was racing? Buildings were.Their builders were actually racing to build the world's tallest skyscraper.

 The race started slowly.

 First came the Woolworth Building, in 1913. It rose 792 feet(英尺) on the southern side of the city. Then the race heated up.In1930, two skyscrapers were nearing completion. The Bank of Manhattan Building was finished first. It rose up to 927 feet into the sky. Builders were then putting a round roof（屋顶）on the top of the Chrysler Building. It rose up t0 925 feet. The Bank of Manhattan, two feet taller, seemed to be the winner.

 A few weeks later, New Yorkers saw a strange sight（景象）.  The day that the Chrysler Building was to be completed, workers raised a shiny metal, spire（尖顶）through the top of the building, adding 121 feet to the building's height! At l,048 feet,the Chrysler Building was now the world's tallest.

 But the race was not over.  A year later, in 1931, the Empire State Building became the new winner.4.At l,250 feet, it was the world's tallest building.

 In 1973, even that record was broken. Builders finished the World Trade Center. At 1,368 feet high, it rose above all other buildings in New York City.

 Time goes on. As technology improves, taller buildings are being built. The race is still on.

    Every year, there is a big day for book lovers. It is World Book Day on April 23. Why not read a new book? Reading is a good habit to have in life. It shows you a different world and makes you think differently. Here are some good books Time for Kids picked out. Let's take a look!

    This Side of Wild (2015)

    Gary Paulsen, US

    If you are interested in nature (自然) and animals, this book is for you! This book tells true stories of the writer and some animals he loved. For example, a dog helped Paulsen during a bear attack (袭击), and another time a horse led him across a desert (沙漠). Surprisingly, animals can do many things. You may laugh sometimes. But these touching experiences may also make you cry.

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School (2015)

    Jeff Kinney, US

    You may have heard of this book series(系列). And this is the 10th book from it. Greg Heffley is a middle school student. He has everyday problems. Now things get even more interesting when his town decides to stop using all electronics (电子产品)! Greg faces some new problems without a mobile phone and computer. This book shows there are always a few bumps (崎岖) in the road, but you can laugh about it along the way too.

    Making money isn't just for adults. Kids can do it, too. Making money gives you more than money. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}By working to make your own money, you'll learn how to succeed in the world. This includes dealing with money, understanding and getting along with other people. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    Collect soft drink bottles. You can sell the collected bottles and use the money to buy a new basketball. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    Make greeting cards. If you are good at drawing, try making special cards. You can sell your cards to make money.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}You may have some books that you have read but you don't want to keep. Then you can sell them to make money.

    Win a scholarship(奖学金). If you get good grades at school, you can get some money as prize. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} 

    The Internet is shaping our lives. We already have online shopping services and mobile payment. However, this is just a start. The world's leading tech companies are planning to build smarter online communities. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It was held in Wuzhen, Zhejiang last year. The development of artificial intelligence(AI,人工智能) was a hot topic at the conference(会议). If a machine can learn and solve problems as humans do, it can be called AI.

    The company Alibaba uses AI technology in its unmanned supermarket in Wuzhen. There is no salesperson in the supermarket, just an iPad on a desk that says "please smile". {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The bigger you smile, the more discounts(折扣) you get. Payment is done automatically through your Alipay account. When you first enter the supermarket, the supermarket's AI recognizes(辨认) your face and your account.

    There is also AI that can read lips. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It recognizes your mouth's movements and turns them into voice or text messages. This could be very useful when you are trying to talk to someone on your phone in a noisy place. Police could also use the technology to help them find criminals by lip-reading recordings from video cameras.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Microsoft's chatting robot XiaoIce can not only provide useful information, but also talk with people like a real friend. XiaoIce has a WeChat account(账户). After following the account, users can start talking with her. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} She keeps improving herself by talking with users.

    These technologies are being put into wider use. We may see a smarter world and better lives in the near future.

    Think about this question: what would it be like if there was no other way to get around and we could only use our feet? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Also, we would spend a lot of time on the way before we got somewhere. So we really need to thank all those modes of transportation (交通方式(.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The earliest boats were canoes(独木舟). Later there were sailing boats(帆船), but they could only be used in one direction. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

In the 19^th century, some modes of transportation that we know today came out, such as the bike, the train and the subway. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} As it got easier to travel, people wanted to get to places faster. In the early 20^th century, the first plane in the world came out. By the 1970s, many families in the UK had a car.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They all make our traveling easier and faster and help us see this world better.