Amy wanted a mobile phone as her birthday gift, because most of her classmates had one. But she knew her parents couldn’t afford it.

One day, when she woke up, she found a new mobile phone on her desk. How excited she was! This was the phone that had appeared in fashion magazines.

She played with the phone on the way to school.   And the teacher was already there when she arrived at school. Amy was very embarrassed(尴尬的). She looked at her new mobile phone and whispered(低语) , “I didn’t want to be late…”

Everything changed with her thought. She went to school on time with her new mobile phone. She was surprised at that. She turned on the phone and found there was a sentence on the screen, “Every dream will come true.” Since then, she always asks the phone for help. As a result, she has become lazier and lazier. Her teachers and parents were very disappointed with her and her classmates didn’t like her any more.

When the term exams came, Amy asked the mobile phone for help again. But things turned bad. She got the lowest mark in the class. She wanted to throw it away, but when she did, the phone would come back into her hand. Amy was so scared(恐惧的) that she cried out, “I don’t want the mobile phone any more.”

She woke up to find that the terrible experience had been just a dream.

An elderly man used his senior card to enter the park in Beijing last month.

The city government has added a health code(健康码) into the card, which the elderly are skilled in using, so that those without smart phones are able to enter the park conveniently.

Beijing will take more efforts to bridge the digital gap(数字鸿沟) faced by seniors and provide them with convenient and smart life services, the city’s government worker said.

How to solve the difficulties elderly people have in health care services and daily life through smart devices (设备) was a hot topic among law makers and political officers at their meetings this year.

One of the 31 projects in Beijing will help seniors use smart devices while remaining traditional service channels in use at public places like hospitals, parks, supermarkets, train stations, banks and hotels.

At the end of last year, a couple of projects were launched in the city to make seniors’ travel possible by adding more information to their senior cards.

“When the young benefited from rapid development, we should also provide services for seniors who find it difficult to use the Internet and smart devices,” said Li Li, a political adviser. Li suggested keeping traditional service for the elderly or organizing helpers to teach them how to use smart devices. Because the elderly faced difficulties in using the smartphones when entering public places, she said enabling them to use the senior cards was a good try across the city.

Computers are good tools. The Internet is also good. 【小题1】They can’t stop. Doctors say this is a new sickness. They call this sickness Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD, 互联网成瘾症).

People with IAD are online a lot. They spend hours chatting to their friends or playing online games. 【小题2】 Some people with IAD even give up their jobs!

Do you have IAD? Think about these questions: How many hours a day are you online? Is it a lot or a little? When you are not online, are you thinking about playing a computer game or checking your messages? 【小题3】 Do you get angry when you can’t play a game?

【小题4】 Dr. Ivan and Dr. Kimberly have some ideas. First, use the Internet less often. For example, don’t use the computer or play games every day. 【小题5】 In this way, you can have a good social life with other friends.