【文章內容簡介】 More news later from your loving son, Li QiangUsing Language I HAVE SEEN AMAZING THINGS My first visit was to a space station considered the most modem in space. Described as an enormous round plate, it spins slowly in space to imitate the pull of the earth39。s gravity. Inside was an exhibition of the most uptodate inventions of the 31 st century. A guide (G) showed us around along a moveable path.G: Good morning to all our visitors from 2008. First we39。re going to examine one of the latest forms of munication among our space citizens. No more typists working on a typewriter or puter! No more postage or postcodes! Messages can now be sent using a thoughtpad. You place the metal band over your head, clear your mind, press the sending button, think your message and the next instant it39。s sent. It39。s stored on the thoughtpad of the receiver. It39。s quick, efficient and environmentally friendly. The only limitation is if the user does not think his or her message clearly, an unclear message may be sent. But we cannot blame the tools for the faults of the user, can we?During the explanation I looked at the pair of small objects called thoughtpads on a table. They just looked like metal ribbons. So ordinary but so powerful! While I was observing them, the path moved us on.G: And now ladies and gentlemen, we are in the environment area. People used to collect waste in dustbins. Then the rubbish was sent to be buried or burned, am I fight? (We nodded.) Well, now there39。s a system where the waste is disposed of using the principles of ecology. A giant machine, always greedy for more, swallows all the waste available. The rubbish is turned into several grades of useful material, such as fertilizer for the fields and soil for deserts. Nothing is wasted, and everything, even plastic bags, is recycled. A great idea, isn39。t39。 it?I stared at the moving model of the waste machine, absorbed by its efficiency. But again we moved on.G: Our third stop shows the changes that have happened to work practices. Manufacturing no longer takes place on the earth but on space stations like this one. A group of engineers programme robots to perform tasks in space. The robots produce goods such as drugs, clothes, furniture, hovering carriages, etc. There is no waste, no pollution and no environmental damage! However, the panies have to train their representatives to live and work in space settlements. They have to monitor the robots and the production. When the goods are ready they39。re transported by industrial spaceship back to earth.My mind began to wander. What job would I do? My motivation increased as I thought of the wonderful world of the future.Unit 4 Making the newsReading MY FIRST WORK ASSIGNMENTUnforgettable, says new journalistNever will Zhou Yang (ZY) forget his first assignment at the office of a popular English newspaper. His discussion with his new boss, Hu Xin (HX), was to strongly influence his life as a journalist.HX: Wele. We39。re delighted you39。re ing to work with us. Your first job here will be an assistant journalist. Do you have any questions?ZY: Can I go out on a story immediately?HX: (laughing) That39。 s admirable, but I39。 m afraid it would be unusual ! Wait till you39。 re more experienced. First we39。ll put you as an assistant to an experienced journalist. Later you can cover a story and submit the article yourself.ZY: Wonderful. What do I need to take with me? I already have a notebook and camera.HX: No need for a camera. You39。ll have a professional photographer with you to take photographs. You39。ll find your colleagues very eager to assist you, so you may be able to concentrate on photography later if you39。 re interested.ZY: Thank you. Not only am I interested in photography, but I took an amateur course at university to update my skills.HX: Good.ZY: What do I need to remember when I go out to cover a story?HX: You need to be curious. Only if you ask many different questions will you acquire all the information you need to know. We say a good journalist must have a good nose for a story. That means you must be able to assess when people are not telling the whole troth and then try to discover it. They must use research to inform themselves of the missing parts of the story.ZY: What should I keep in mind?HX: Here es my list of dos and don39。ts: don39。t