As vending machines (投币式自动售货机) have a bad reputation generally, they are particularly not allowed to be used in schools. That is because most of them are filled with foods that are thought to be unhealthy for both kids and adults. However, no one will be against JetBlue’s vending machines. That is because they are installed (安装) to give out free books!

The U.S. airline’s program was launched in early July in one of Washington, D. C. ’s historic neighborhoods. It was picked because JetBlue’s research showed that kids in the area had access to only one age-appropriate book for every 830 children. To turn the situation for the better, the company has installed three vending machines in locations that are visited frequently by the locals, and soon they gain their popularity there.

The machines are filled with twelve age-appropriate books for children from birth to fourteen years old. A total of 42 titles are being offered, and the selection is changed every two weeks. Kids can help themselves to as many books as they wish and return for more books as many times as they desire. Maybe you will ask what the best part is. Unlike a library, the books are theirs to keep.

JetBlue and its partners Random House Children’s Books and Magic Tree House’s author Mary Pope Osborne, say they are committed to giving away 100,000 books. As of August 25, about 16,000 books have been claimed. So far, JetBlue has made its plans to extend (扩大) its vending machine program to more poor neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston and New York City.

Though the book vending machines are new, this is not the first time that JetBlue and its partners have given away books. Since 2011, the company’s “Soar with Reading” program has collected over one million dollars’ worth of books to kids in need！

   Since 1964，colleges and universities in the U. S. have used Test of English as a Foreign Language，or TOEFL，to measure an international applicant's（申请人的）level of English. Universities in English-speaking European countries began using the International English Language Testing System，or IELTS，in 1989. These two tests have been the main choices for English ability testing in higher education admissions for international students until now.

In recent years，several companies have developed new English language tests that are low-cost and easy to use. And they aim to do more than just offer greater choices in the admissions process.

Founded in 2012, Duolingo creates software that teaches users many different languages, including English. In 2014, the company launched its own test of English language ability.

Jennifer Dewar works with Duolingo, helping to develop the test. She formerly worked as an admissions official at Washington University in St. Louis, Misouri. The school is one of hundreds of colleges, universities and other organizations in and outside the U. S. that now accept the test results for international admissions into their study programs.

Dewar says Duolingo created the test to lower the barriers to higher education for people worldwide, especially those in developing countries.

TOEFL and the IELTS cost about $ 300. They are given in a limited number of centers around the world. Some test-takers have to travel to take the tests, adding to the costs. Duolingo offers its test entirely over the Internet for $ 49. All test-takers need is access to a computer with a microphone，listening device and self-facing camera.

TOEFL，the IELTS and Duolingo measure a person's English reading，listening，speaking and writing abilities. But it takes about 45 minutes to complete a Duolingo test，compared to three or four hours for TOEFL or the IELTS. It is possible because Duolingo uses artificial intelligence（人工智能）to adapt to test-takers' abilities，using fewer questions to measure their skills.

   Onions make you cry, add flavor to food and win popularity for their medicinal benefits. Now the vegetable has another use—_____ green energy.

Anew system debuts（首次亮相）on Friday that _____ onion juice into electricity at Gills Onions, the largest fresh onion processor in the United States.

The Oxnard, California-based company _____ its new onion-fueled power to reduce its electric bill by $700,000 a year and _____ its annual greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30,000 tons.

The _____ ending to this green energy tale, however, started with another question: how to _____ onion waste.

“_____ we peel an onion, 35 to 40 percent of the onion comes off before we have a(n)_____ onion. That's the top, tail and skin around the onion, and _____ we can get to the meat,” said Steven Gill, co-owner of the 25-year-old company.

They used to pull the waste to the fields for compost（混合肥料）, but that turned out to be a tough ______. Ten years ago, Gill started looking at technology for a(n) _____, including microturbines（微型燃气轮机）.

“We ______ cutting the skins into pieces and extracting all the ______, which is very high in sugars, and bacteria love that stuff,” Gill said.

In the new system, bacteria ______ methane（甲烷）gas from the juice. The gas then goes to two 300 kilowatt fuel cells, creating ______ power for 460 homes. If everything goes smoothly, ______ are that the company will get 35 to 40 percent of its electricity from the on-site generator.

The company ______ $ 9. 5 million in the project and will receive $2. 7 million from Southern California Gas Co. _____ cutting its electric bill, the company will save $400,000 in costs and expects paybacks in the new future.

The onion grower now has a new ______: to be a zero-waste facility in the coming decade.

“We want to ______ it all the way through and make the full circle,” Gill said.

   A solar-powered car that can be charged as it runs is being tested in Germany.

Munich-based manufacturer（制造商）Sono Motors has built the new type, named Sion, and will likely help the European powerhouse hit its national target of 1 million electric cars on the road by 2020.

Sono Motors has solar cells fixed into Sion’s bodywork, with a total of 330 solar cells built into the roof, bonnet and sides of the vehicle. These enable the vehicle’s battery to be charged when sunlight is hitting the solar cells, whether it is on the road，or parked in the sunny spot in a car park.

The solar-powered vehicle is set to be launched in Germany in 2019.

Sono Motors wants Sion to be universal and allows the car to be charged using solar energy as well as conventional outlets（电源插座）, so car owners aren’t left on cloudy days.

The firm has made a 2019 date for mass production，which will be undertaken by a European manufacturer. Some 6,500 people have already placed orders for the electric vehicle. Prices for Sion tend to start from € 16,000 next year. The all-electric vehicle will offer a range of around 250 km before the battery runs out completely and it needs recharging either by solar power or using a wall plug, the company said.

Sion was designed originally as an environmentally conscious car，but will also include a number of features designed around comfort to help it compete with other modern vehicles.

“We have a seat heater, air conditioning, and a large entertainment system where I can also connect my phone, which means I really have a full vehicle,” Laurin Hahn, co-founder of the company told Reuters.

   Chester Greenwood was freezing. It was in 1873 and Chester was _________ a new pair of ice skates. The 15-year-old was getting _________because he couldn't keep his ears _________ or protect them from the bitter cold. He tried wrapping a _________around his head but it was too _________and itchy. Besides，who can _________ with a scarf tied around their heads？

To _________his problem，Chester made two ear-shaped rings from wire and asked his grandmother to sew beaver fur and cloth _________them. Over the years his new invention，the earmuff，improved-a steel band was added，so it became _________and tiny chains were added so it would ____________in pockets. Finally Chester had his own ____________，Greenwood's Ear Protector Factory. He made a ____________providing ear protectors for the US soldiers during World War I.

Chester ____________over 100 products during his lifetime. Some of them are the wide bottom kettle，the spring steel rack，the folding bed，the shock absorber（减震器）that ____________today's airplane landing gear（起落架）and bearings to keep ____________from being pulled off，ensuring that they touch the ground safely. The Smithsonian Institution named Chester one of America's 15 ____________ inventors.

The town of Farmington, Maine, where Chester was born, has an annual holiday to ____________the inventor. December 21st is Chester Greenwood Day and people all over the state of Maine ____________in the celebration. Farmington has a parade on the first Saturday in December and everyone from kids to old people shows up ____________earmuffs. He invented over 100 products ____________Chester will always be remembered for inventing the earmuffs when he was 15.