We all know the sun is important. It makes life on our planet possible. But how does the sun do that? It’s the sun’s energy.

Energy from the sun is called solar energy (太阳能). It comes in the form of light or heat. People have used solar energy for thousands of years. The sun’s energy can be used to heat water and even food. If you own a magnifying glass, your parents have probably warned you not to leave it in the sun. Solar energy can actually make the magnifying glass burn objects underneath it, causing a fire. This type of energy from the sun is called solar thermal (热的) energy.

We can also turn the sun’s light into electricity. This is done with solar panels (板). Solar panels are made up of a material called silicon (硅). The silicon is heated and formed into very thin wafers (晶片). When the sunlight hits the solar panel, the electrons in the silicon move and flow through wires (电线). Using this technology, we can run a calculator and even power cars.

But what happens on cloudy days? The electrons in the silicon will stop moving, which means the electricity can’t flow. But this doesn’t mean that solar energy can only be used on sunny days. People can use the batteries which are attached to (附着于) solar panels to store the electricity. So the stored electricity can be used to power cars at night or on cloudy days.

Did you know that solar energy is not as expensive as it used to be? In fact, in the last few years, solar panels have become much more affordable for people to use. Since the sun gives off more energy in one second than people have used, imagine what we could do if we used the sun’s energy to power our planet.

After reading so much, you may wonder how to make a book. It’s time for you to have a try!

Have you ever wondered how a book is made? It takes a lot of people to make a book. It can take months, or even years, for a book to go from an idea to a finished product.

A book begins when an author comes up with an idea for a book. Authors get ideas in different ways. They may get ideas from their own lives, from watching the world around them, or from reading.

Next, an author may plan the book by making an outline （提纲）. Sometimes authors do research to gather information. They may read books or articles. They may interview people or visit places.

Then, the author begins to write. Authors may write for months or years to finish a manuscript. A manuscript is the text an author produces for publication.

Finally, the author sends the completed manuscript to a publisher. If the publisher decides to publish the book, the author works with an editor. An editor reads the manuscript. Then he or she recommends changes to improve the book. A copy editor reads the manuscript to correct any grammatical mistake.

After an author makes the suggested changes, a designer may decide how the book will look. The designer may choose the size, shape, and type styles for the book. Some picture book authors create their own illustrations（插图）. If not, an illustrator is chosen to create pictures for the book.

The illustrator makes sketches of pictures that will go on each page. The sketches are sent to the publishing company. The editor makes sure the pictures clearly tell the story. The designer checks how the words and pictures will fit together on the pages.

After the design changes are made, the illustrator begins creating the final pictures. He or she may change the colours, the perspective, or the composition of pictures. It may take months to create all the pictures.

The finished art is then sent to the publisher. The designer adjusts（调整）how the pictures and words fit together on the pages. The completed pages are sent to the printer. Many books are still made into books with paper pages.

The printer uses huge printing presses to make the pages. The pages are fixed together. The book cover is added. The finished books are then sent to the publisher’s warehouse. They are stored there until they are bought by libraries and bookstores.

E-readers have changed how some books are made. Some authors do not use a publisher at all. Instead of sending a manuscript to a publisher, some authors turn their manuscripts into eBooks themselves. Finally, an author’s eBook is uploaded（上传）to virtual bookstores on the Internet. Customers can buy and download eBooks from these websites.

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In 2018, more than 60,000 primary and middle school students dropped out of school in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture (自治州), Sichuan province. Today, the number is zero, reported China Daily. Liangshan is an example of China’s success in solving the long-standing dropout problem.

Different levels of government have made great efforts to solve the problem. In Liangshan, for example, the government has set up records on all dropouts after carrying out four rounds of surveys by visiting students’ homes. The records detail each student’s reason for dropping out, their age, family situations and mental (心理的) and physical health conditions. As the records showed, many young people dropped out of school because they got married or started working at an early age.

With the information, local officials have taken action. Since 2019, the local government has set up checkpoints (检查站) on highways to stop dropouts from leaving. More than 5,300 students who left to find work in cities have been persuaded to return to school.

Moreover, through scholarships and subsidies (补助), the government has made sure that no student drops out of school due to poverty (贫穷). In the past 10 years, financial (财政的) aid has been given to the poor students almost 1.3 billion times in China.

Thanks to these efforts, education at different stages (学段) in China has either reached or passed the average (平均的) level of that in middle-and high-income countries across the world.

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