Huang Yuxiang is a young musician from Taiwan, China. Yuxiang is blind(瞎的)，but he tried his best to become an excellent pianist. He became well- known after he starred(担任主演) in a film called Touch of the Light. The film tells the story of his life.

    Yuxiang found music when he was only two years old. He heard his cousin playing a children's song on the piano. Yuxiang sat at the piano and copied the melody. He started to have music lessons a year after that. Today he plays in piano concerts, and he is a member of the group Baba Band.

    Yuxiang doesn't just perform. He also writes music for Chinese films and for fun. For Yuxiang, music isn't only about making money. It is one of the most important parts of his life.

The word “day” has two meanings. When we talk about the number of days in a year, we are using “day” to mean 24 hours. But when we talk about day and night, we are using “day” to mean the time between sunrise and sunset. Since the earth looks like a ball, the sun can shine on only half of it at a time. Always one half of the earth is having day and the other half night. A place is moved from day into night and from night into day over and over by the spinning（旋转）of the earth. At the equator（赤道）day and night are sometimes the same length（长度）. They are each twelve hours long. The sun rises at 6 o'clock in the morning and sets at 6 o'clock in the evening. For six months the North Pole（北极）is tilted（倾斜）toward the sun. In those months the Northern Hemisphere（半球）gets more hours of sunlight than the Southern Hemisphere（半球）. Days are longer than nights. South of the equator nights are longer than days. For the other six months the North Pole is tilted away from the sun. Then the Southern Hemisphere gets more sunlight. Days are longer than nights. North of the equator nights are longer than days. Winter is the season of long nights. Summer is the season of long days.

    Can a one-armed person still play basketball? You might not think so when you The single-armed 13-year-old from Guangdong has recently become an internet sensation (引起轰动的人). Featuring his dribbling (运球) skills and powerful underarm shot, his basketball videos have been viewed by more than 50 million people. Zhang even drew the attention.

    "You are an inspiration, you don 't take 'no' for an answer, you find the way to go through difficult times and get out there on the basketball court (球场) "Curry said in a video posted on Sina Weibo.

    However, it wasn't easy for Zhang to step onto the court. At the age of five, Zhang lost his right arm in an accident at an oil mill. Although it was difficult at first, Zhang gradually got used to eating and getting dressed on his own. He also keeps up with his studies in school and helps his family with chores.

    In the summer of 2018, Zhang first discovered his love for the sport when he attended a basketball course in his school. Soon, he was rarely seen without a ball in his hand, even dribble at home in the living room. He also practiced basketball in PE class. When the class was learning how to skip rope, which takes two hands, he asked his teacher to permit him to do basketball instead.

    He's gotten a lot of attention since then. Zhang said, "With the encouragement of all these people, I feel like I have to try harder to live up to people's expectations.     I will do better and become better."

    When it comes to long-distance space travel, the biggest problem is that spaceships can only get as far as the fuel onboard allows. In 1964, a British writer Clarke came up with the idea of "solar sailing "in his science fiction. He wrote of large, mirror-like sails that collect power from the sun and free spaceships from the limitation of fuel.

    This sci-fi idea was first successfully brought to reality (现实)in 2010 by Japan's IKAROS satellite. Ever since then, the technology has improved mission by mission, with the latest being NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail 3 (ACS3).NASA has recently announced that it's going to team up with Lithuania's satellite-building company NanoAvionics to test its new sail in low-Earth orbit.

    To many, a solar sail (太阳帆) may look like a giant solar panel (太阳能电池板), but it actual works very differently. While solar panels take in energy from the sun and change it into power solar sails use photons(光子) given off by the sun to create direct power. Besides, solar panels are big and heavy to carry, while solar sails are just the opposite.

    According to Abbott, the CEO of NanoAvionics, the upcoming low-Earth orbit trial with NASA, if successful, will be followed with deep-space missions that involve larger solar sails. These are ideal for low-cost and long-distance space travel because fuel will no longer be a problem.

    "It started as a sci-fi dream, "Popular Mechanics reporter Jennifer Leman wrote. "Now it could be the future of space flight."

    I bought a new car. My old car was still in good condition and worth $1, 500 at least at the used-car market.

    I have a co-worker, Tom. He is a great worker. He has no enough money for a new car and has been looking at used cars. So I asked him how much he was looking to spend on a car. He thought about $300 to $500. So I told him I'd sell him my old one for $300.

    My mom, who I work with, asked if I had any luck selling my old car. I told her I planned to sell it to our co-worker Tom for $300.

    She started crying. She told me how glad she was that she had brought up a selfless (无私的) kid who would help someone out so much. She told me to give it to him for free and that she would pay me $1,500. I didn't expect her to say so at all and of course I didn't take her money either. I want to help more people like my mother does.

    31-year-old Rob from California USA was born without arms or legs. But like each of us, he has a dream and with the support of his parents and two sisters, Rob has made his dream come true.

    His interest in football began when he was 13 and a high school football coach gave him a sports shirt. "To a 13-year-old kid, it just made me excited. I felt the need to know more about the sport," Rob said. After a full understanding of it, Rob dreamed of becoming a football coach. And he made it.

    To do his job, Rob has to use a special chair he controls with his head and neck, and write by using his mouth to hold a special tool.

    Last autumn, Rob worked as head coach of the Prospect High School Junior team. Under him, the team won 8 and lost 2. It gave Rob confidence(信心) and courage. Clearly, football isn't just a sport; it is his life now.

    I love singing. But I am often laughed at for being a woman with a really deep voice. I couldn't go to the choir (合唱团) as a kid. Because of this, I never sing when people are nearby.

    I only sing in the car if I'm alone or when I'm home alone. My husband knows that I have this hobby. He wants to hear me sing. However, I never feel comfortable doing so.

    One day, we were driving and it was a beautiful trip. I got a bit excited and I was feeling a bit brave. I said to my husband, "Could you put on my favorite CD?" He did and my true feelings came out. I couldn't help singing.

    My husband started crying. Then I started getting choked up (哽咽). It was such a fantastic day. Now I want to share it with anyone who might listen. Sing out loud, people. Don't be afraid to be laughed at. Someone might even sing along.

    Wearing a white blouse, Ai-Da studies her subject and begins to draw. She looks like any artist at work. However, the "beep ... beep ... beep" noise from her arm gives her away. Ai-Da is, in fact, a robot.

    Ai-Da has been described as the world's "first Al (人工智能) robot artist". She takes her name from Ada Lovelace, the world's first female computer programmer. Scientists at Oxford University developed Al systems (系统) for Ai-Da. The robot has cameras in her eyeballs. After she has studied a subject, she will use her left arm to draw. Now, Ai-Da can only use a pencil for sketches (素描).The plan is for her to paint.

    Ai-Da is not the first Al system to produce artworks. Since 2006, scientists have been developing software (软件) to turn photos into drawings. Last year, an artwork created using Al was sold in New York for$432,500. However, Ai-Da's human-like appearance." brings something new to the field.

    In June, Ai-Da opened her first exhibition at Oxford. Then were about 30 drawings by the robot. Ai-Da, standing next to her artworks, attracted (吸引) many visitors.

    Ai-Da's inventor, Aidan Meller, talked about the importance of the robot. "Ai-Da bring a new voice to the art world," she said "Al is going to be the big thing of the 2020s. That influences us greatly." Meller hopes the exhibition was just the start and that more will follow to show how AI is influencing human life.

    The longest river in the world is the Nile. It is 4,160 miles long. But the Nile is not the mightiest (浩荡的) river. The Amazon is. The Amazon is also the second longest river in the world. It is 3,900 miles long. How long is that? It is longer than a road going from New York City to San Francisco.

    The Amazon is the mightiest for this reason. It has the greatest amount of water. More water runs out to sea than from the Nile. Mississippi, and Yangtze rivers combined. That's a lot of fresh water! The force of its current (水流) is great too. The current can be seen 200 miles out in the sea. There's a story to show the Amazon's amazing current. A ship sailed (航行) far away from Brazil. It ran out of drinking water. Another ship passed by. The first ship asked for water. Someone on the second ship said. "Just put your buckets (桶) into the sea."

    Here are a few more facts. At its mouth, the Amazon is 90 miles wide. Even up the river, you can't see the opposite bank. The river is also very deep(from 22 to 76 meters). During rainy season, the river rises about 16 meters more. Big ocean ships can sail about 1,800 miles upstream (向上游). Smaller ships can sail 1,000 miles farther.

    What's the most bloodthirsty fish in the world? No. It's not the shark It's the Amazon's piranha.It is only about 10 cm to 20 cm long. It has sharp teeth. Thousands travel in a group. No animal can swim across the river. A 1,000-pound horse would be just bones (骨头) in three minutes. Are you planning a trip to the Amazon? Here's a piece of advice. Leave your swimsuit at home!

    Yun Siqi from Beijing is a 19-year-old young pianist (钢琴家). He started to learn the piano at age 4 and it has been his favourite hobby since then. Before that, he often heard his elder sister playing the violin and he loved the classical music she played. "I wanted to beat her in something and I chose the piano," Yun said.

    At 4, several minutes of practice a day was enough. As Yum grew up, at ages 7 and 8, he had to practise for four hours a day. The time kept going up after Yun was 12. Now, he needs to practise at least seven hours every day. He sleeps for only five to six hours a day, but he is still full of energy(活力).

    Yun never got tired of the piano. In fact, he had great fun playing it. "Music is my special luck, and it is a real enjoyment to be with it every day," he said.

    Yun worked hard and soon he stood out. From 2013 to now, Yun shone at different music festivals, concerts and competitions. Yun said successes or failures（失败）were not important and they would not affect his understanding of music or his plan for the future. "If you lose, think carefully about it, and if you win, just work harder," the young pianist said "I still need to practise more to become better, to bring out the real beauty of classical music through the piano. It may take a lifetime."