【推荐1】Procrastination (拖延症) is a common problem we face, which harms not only our performance but also our self-confidence.     1    . So, here we go.

● Plan in advance

If you don’t plan your day, you will find it difficult to be productive and get more done. You may not remember what you have to do, or even if you do remember, you may procrastinate. Therefore, make a list of everything you have to do the next day, most probably before sleeping at nigh.     2    .

● Start from the most important

Most of the time, we complain that we don’t get enough time.     3    . So, you have to focus only on those important and meaningful things and let everything go. Now since the work is important and meaningful, most probably, it would be difficult. And you know morning is the best time for doing difficult jobs. It’s a powerful strategy for you to take action in the morning

●     4    

The next thing is you need to focus your attention on what you do. And it’s only possible if you work in a distraction-free environment. The most common distraction is the phone.     5    . You might think that checking your messages only takes a few seconds, so what is the harm in that. But the problem is not the time; the real problem is the attention. So, prepare yourself for deep work by eliminating all the distractions.

A．Remove the distractions

B．Focus your attention on phones

C．It can help you stop procrastinating

D．Hence it is necessary to overcome this problem

E．So it would be better if you keep it silent or in flight mode

F．This simple step would make your day organized and productive

G．But the thing is that you will never have enough time to do everything

【推荐2】Tips for Learning New Technology

We live in a very exciting time. However, with such a wealth of resources, the options of learning new technology can be very difficult.     1    .

What to learn

The first step, when picking up a new skill, is to determine what to learn.     2    . It's important to have this strong inclination, as it will provide you with the necessary fuel. Once you decide what to learn, reviewing what others have done will give you confidence that you, too, can do it!

    3    

As you explore deeper into the pool of knowledge, you will want to add other forms of in-formation. I encourage you to browse through iTunes U.     4    . You can listen to and watch what you are learning. This is particularly helpful for those who prefer an academic setting. Besides, there are a handful of websites that offer online education these days.

Time for action

    5    . Okay, you've read countless tutorials, watched videos, and have a better understanding of the technology that you've been hoping to learn. What now? Well, it's time to put your knowledge to the test. Eventually, the best way to learn is by doing. Pick a personal project that you can build using this new technology.

A．Learn to share

B．Listen and watch

C．The best way to learn is by doing

D．I suggest you keep away from your phones

E．This could be anything you are interested in

F．It offers complete classes on a variety of topics

G．The following tips can help you start your learning

【推荐1】When you see someone take that first sip of freshly made milk tea, their face looks like pure joy. Today, millions of people enjoy this experience. Across the world, customers flock to their favorite spots to meet with friends and savor sips of these tasty drinks.

In the early 2000s, though, milk tea was just coming on the scene. The few brands that had successfully established themselves in the industry were dearly concerned: Would milk tea just be another fashion food? Sure, people are enjoying it today, but would they still be in a year, or five years? And with so much new excitement for this product, would people be able to distinguish milk tea companies?

These are the questions that Serenitea, a Manila-based milk-tea company, faced in 2014. While successfully opening 60 stores, they found themselves in a strategic fog, which led them to research into the deep, unexplored psychology of milk tea.

Like Airbnb, Serenitea partnered with an agency, CIA Bootleg Manila (CBM), that specializes in drilling down to the deep consumer “why”. The agency conducted a series of intensive, psychological-based techniques in its market research. Specifically, they probed the consumer’s deeper, emotional connections to milk tea, including their earliest childhood memories of milk and tea.

What they found was that milk tea was a complex topic. Their research revealed that milk tea produces three consistent psychological responses. People connected to milk through the concept of nurturing (滋养); they fondly remembered their childhood and being cared for by their mothers. Next, consumers connected tea to its healing properties. Respondents would recall receiving tea when they had stomachache or seeing their parents drinking herbal tea for health reasons. Lastly, they associated milk tea itself with teenage fun: a guilty pleasure of their youth.

They had uncovered the three psychological cornerstones (基石) of the milk tea experience: nurturing, healing, and teenage fun. This set of insights was crucial. By integrating them into the core of their brand strategy, they struck out an entirely new path.

1. Which is closest in meaning to “probed ” in paragraph 4?

A．Applied.

B．Related.

C．Demonstrated.

D．Investigated.

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Serenata planned to distinguish itself from competitors.

B．Serenitea outperformed its opponents in research field.

C．Serenitea suffered a temporary strategic failure in 2014.

D．Serenitea partnered with a leading psychological agency.

3. What can Serenitea do with the findings from their research?

A．Offer as many new flavors as possible.

B．Create a youthful and playful brand image.

C．Redesign stores by adding romantic elements.

D．Conduct intensive market research with CBM.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．A New Path to Business Success	B．Three Cornerstones of Milk Tea
C．Sharing the Pure Joy of Milk Tea	D．Revealing Milk Tea Psychology

【推荐2】Food waste is a serious problem. In 2010, nearly 133 billion pounds worth of food was transported to U.S. landfills. Food waste is truly a waste to all of humanity. That’s because when you throw out a rotten apple or a moldy container of leftovers, you’re not just throwing away the food, but all the resources that went into producing it.

Water plays a major role in food production, and as a result, food waste translates to a large amount of water wastage. All foods have a water footprint, the direct and indirect water that goes into producing a certain food, although some footprints are larger than others. In general, meats tend to need the most water for production, primarily because of the amount of food the animal needs. Also, larger animals aren’t as efficient in terms of meat production as smaller animals like chickens or turkeys, and the bigger beasts therefore have a larger water footprint.

Food waste has environmental impacts, too. “If you put all the food waste into one country, it would be the world’s third largest greenhouse gas emitter,” says Brian Lipinski, an associate in the World Resource Institute’s Food Program. Decomposing (分解) food that makes its way into landfills releases methane (甲烷), which is significantly more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.

All is not lost, however. There are many efforts underway to cut food loss at every level. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency recently called for a 50 percent reduction in food waste by 2030. Meanwhile, Portland launched a citywide composting (堆制肥料) program a few years ago. And at the retail (零售) level, the former president of Trader Joe’s recently opened a store near Boston that sells surplus food donated by grocery stores at low prices.

Still, waste can’t be avoided. There’s never going to be some ideal or perfect way to eliminate it all. Fortunately, change at any level, whether it’s as a supplier, retailer or consumer, will help ease the impact of food waste on natural resources.

1. Why is wasting food a waste of water resources?

A．Food waste contains a lot of water.

B．Food waste causes water pollution.

C．Food production needs plenty of water.

D．Dealing with food waste consumes much water.

2. How does food waste influence the environment?

A．It smells rather terrible.

B．It poisons the soil severely.

C．It carries a lot of bacteria.

D．It releases a greenhouse gas.

3. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．Strategies for ensuring food safety.

B．Measures for reducing food waste.

C．Benefits of the composting program.

D．Causes of monitoring food production.

4. What does the author convey in the last paragraph?

A．Better late than never.

B．Content is better than riches.

C．Many hands make light work.

D．Make hay while the sun shines.