life
英 [laɪf]writer
英 [ˈraɪtə(r)]photographer
英 [fəˈtɒgrəfə(r)]film
英 [fɪlm]digital
英 [ˈdɪdʒɪtl]street cleaner
英 [stri:t ˈkli:nə]sweep
英 [swi:p]broom
英 [bru:m]drive
英 [draɪv]street sweeper
英 [stri:t ˈswi:pə]wife
英 [waɪf]poor
英 [pɔ:(r)]fairy
英 [ˈfeəri]wish
英 [wɪʃ]by hand
英 [bai hænd]right away
英 [rait əˈwei]in a short time
英 [in ə ʃɔ:t taim]Ms Wen is a writer.
In the past, she used a pen and paper to write her books.
Now she uses a computer.
Mrs Hong is a farmer.
In the past, she got her crops in by hand.
Now she uses a machine.
Mr Zhang is a photographer.
In the past, he used film to take photos.
Now he uses a digital camera.
He can see his photos right away.
Mr Yang is a street cleaner.
In the past, he swept the streets with a broom.
Now he drives a street sweeper.
It can clean the streets in a short time.
The happy farmer and his wife
Once upon a time, there was a poor farmer called Fred.
He and his wife Doris lived in a small, old house.
One day, a fairy visited them.
"Fred, I'd like to give you three wishes," said the fairy.
Fred and Doris smiled at each other and said, "Thank you, but we don't need any wishes."
"I can give you some gold. Then you won't have to work," said the fairy.
"Thank you. We're poor, but we're happy," said Doris.
"I can give you a big, new house," said the fairy.
"Thank you. Our house is small and old, but it's warm and nice." answered Fred.
"I wish you a happy life," said the fairy.
Life was different in the past.
Time went slowly, not so fast.
Children had fun all day long,
Running and jumping and singing a song.
Life is easy these days.
Machines help in many ways.
Time goes fast but it's OK.
We still have lots of time to play!