【推荐1】Tips for Successful Gift Giving

Good gift giving is an art. The perfect present can lift a mood or improve a relationship. Whatever the occasion, gift giving is a social ritual that requires careful thought and consideration.    1     We spoke to some experts to help us craft a simple guide to gifting.

Don’t add a small gift to a big gift. When we receive gifts in a bundle, we tend to unconsciously average out their value, so a small gift tacked onto a big one will hurt the latter’s impact.     2    

    3     A dream vacation or seeing your favorite artist in concert will give you memories that last forever. Experiences often have more thought gone into them, and they create more vivid memories. We might remember the tablet that a friend or a loved one has bought us, but not as much as a two-week holiday to Florida—the memories and the emotional attachment to experiences are greater than to physical objects.

Think like the receiver.     4     That might seem obvious, but it happens far less   than we'd like. People tend to use gifts as jokes, encouragements to change one’s ways, or to signal something about themselves rather than providing utility or happiness to the receiver.

Remember there’s a reason why we say that it’s the thought that counts.     5     Most   people don’t want lots of money spent on them — they just want you to think about them, and that can be done in lots of easy ways.

A．Gift things you like best.

B．So there are a set of rules to follow.

C．Gift experiences rather than things.

D．Don’t forget why you are giving gifts.

E．Buy things your receiver would buy for themselves.

F．When you give others gifts, never forget to choose the expensive things.

G．When it comes to gift giving, remember that sometimes less is more.

【推荐3】Everybody seeks happiness in the world. We will be really happy when we get a new car or a big house or get married... The thing is, if we are continually searching for happiness in the outside world, we will be very disappointed. It seems as if we are forever chasing it and it is always just one step away.

Happiness is a short state of mind, just like the state of sadness or joy or anger. It would not be possible for us to be in a happy state 24 hours a day. If you think that sounds laughable, think about being at a funeral when everyone is mourning. Would it feel right to go about with a huge smile on your face?

What we go through in our lives helps us grow and understand the value of happiness. We need to be able to respond in all manner of ways according to what we are dealing with at any given time. All emotions and states are part of the life.

Happiness can be found in reaching out and being in relationship with people. Though time or money may be lost in helping others, these will become our happy memories. Happiness is a dance with whatever in front of you. It is a deep connection to everything around you. It does not come from expecting others to bring you joy but from how you can create joy for others.

If you want to experience happiness more often, see what you can do to put a smile on someone else’s face each day and notice how much happier you feel when you have achieved that. Happiness is not to be found in material possessions. It is freely available to everyone at any time. All that is required to experience happiness is that you place your focus on moments in your life that make you smile.

1. From the second paragraph we can infer that ________.

A．you may as well smile at a funeral

B．we should only keep happiness in mind

C．expression must be fit for the proper situation

D．we can be in a happy state 24 hours a day

2. According to the author, happiness can show up when ________.

A．you don’t have to work

B．you expect others to bring you joy

C．a good relationship is maintained

D．you are free to do anything

3. The underlined phrase “reaching out” in Paragraph 4 means ________.

A．stretching one’s hand

B．offering help to someone

C．trying to get something

D．realizing one’s dream

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the last paragraph?

A．Smiling to others is rarely available to everyone.

B．Making others smile can create one’s own happiness.

C．Having possessions leads to one’s own satisfaction.

D．Experiencing happiness is to smile at others.

【推荐1】Youth football team members rescued more than two weeks after sudden flooding trapped them in a cave in Thailand are now being well looked after at a hospital in the northern city of Chiang Rai. In addition to treating the boys for potential body fluid loss, inadequate nutrition and lack of oxygen, their doctors also plan to closely monitor them for symptoms of diseases that may have been infected by animals living in the cave.

“The next step is to make sure those kids and their families are safe, because living in a cave provides a different environment, which might contain animals that could transmit…disease,” said the local hospital. The boys and their family members have been told to watch for symptoms such as headache, nausea(反胃), muscle pain or difficulty breathing, the reports added.

Yet based on the location where the boys were trapped—more than four kilometers from the cave complex’s main entrance, past some fully submerged passages—and the fact they have been swimming out wearing full scuba face masks, it seems unlikely that they were living with bats in the cave or breathed in bat-associated bacteria during their rescue, several infectious disease experts said. “It’s hard to imagine bats got that deep into the cave because of all those narrow passageways, but it is possible,” says Ian Lipkin, an animal expert and professor at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. “It’s unlikely that there would be many animals in there,” notes Jonathan Epstein, a doctor at EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization that studies diseases and how to prevent them. Bats typically like to rest in areas they can easily enter and exit, not in places that fully flood, he adds.

Bats in Thailand have been linked with a wide range of viruses that are similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)—Lipkin says. But it seems more likely the boys would have been exposed to infection-causing bacteria when they swam through the dirty water with cuts and scrapes. “If you are trying to prioritize issues with respect to health care for these kids, number one would be psychological damage and second will be bacterial infections from the cuts and scrapes they may have encountered.” Lipkin says.

1. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the potential symptom of the rescued team members?

A．Lacking body water	B．Unbalanced nutrition
C．Pain in the head and muscles	D．Adequate oxygen

2. The underlined word “submerged” in paragraph 3 means ____________.

A．under the water	B．wild and dangerous
C．with animals	D．bat-associated

3. Which is true about the caves and the trapped people?

A．Jonathan Epstein thought it possible for the team members to be attacked by bats in the fully-flooded cave.

B．Lipkin argued bats were not able to get deep into the narrow cave where the kids were trapped.

C．Lipkin said the victims might be infected when their body were exposed to bacterial water during the rescue.

D．Lipkin believed the most important issue for the cave-trapped teenagers was infectious bacteria examination.

4. What is the text type of the passage?

A．An academic essay about bats.	B．A newspaper article.
C．A medical magazine.	D．A Thai website about sports.

【推荐3】Every Christmas,the firm I worked for raised money for disadvantaged kids in the area,and every Christmas I'd drive out with colleagues to deliver gifts.Some years ago,   we were returning to work and stopped at an intersection as the lights turned red.

We were in the middle lane and I became aware of an SUV(越野车）coming up behind us at speed;at the last moment,it switched to the righthand lane and carried straight on past the red light into traffic moving west to east.It crashed into another vehicle,causing it to veer off(转向），then they both skidded to a stop.

There was a loud"Bang"and flames leapt from the SUV 's front.I had been a volunteer firefighter for many years and had attended automobile accidents before.As the flames grew fiercer,I knew the car's battery had exploded and that there was no time to lose.I dashed round to the passenger side.The door was locked,but by pulling on the window frame,I managed to tear it open.I leaned in,unbuckled the driver's belt and pulled him across to the passenger side.

Other than some cuts,he was fine.I left him with my workmates and went to check on the driver of the other car,who was also unhurt.Then I headed back to the intersection, where I directed traffic around the burning vehicle until the emergency services arrived.

On the way back to work,I said to my colleagues:"What you saw,keep it under your hats,OK?"But an hour later I had a call from a friend on a local TV station."Brad,"he said,"I have a picture here that someone's sent in of you helping out at a traffic accident."

I hoped that would be the end f it,but the story was to have an unexpected ending. A couple of weeks after the accident,I agreed to a televised reunion with Michael Walker, the guy I'd pulled from the car.He thanked me,and then he introduced me to his daughter, Amber.It turned out she had been separated from her mum and dad,but returned home after the accident.Knowing this family had been reunited was greatly comforting to me-a real Christmas gift.

1. The car crash was caused by

A．the SUV driver's running the red light

B．the traffic chaos at the intersection

C．the heavy traffic during Christmas

D．the author's car blocking the way

2. Who saved the trapped driver from the burning car?

A．The emergency services.	B．The author.
C．The author's workmates.	D．A pedestrian.

3. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Cover up the hair.	B．Hide the face.
C．Keep it secret.	D．Bear it in mind.

4. What was a real Christmas gift to the author?

A．The reunion with the saved driver.

B．Acquaintance with Michael' s daughter.

C．Raising money for disadvantaged kids.

D．Michael' s family reunion after the accident.

【推荐1】Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center mapped brain changes after a year of aerobic workouts and uncovered a potentially significant process: Exercise increases blood flow into two key areas of the brain associated with memory.

The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, showed this blood flow can help even older people with memory issues improve cognition, a finding that could guide future Alzheimer’s disease research, according to UT Southwestern Medical Center.

In the study, researchers followed 30 participants who were 60 or older and had memory problems. Half experienced a year of aerobic exercise while the other half did stretches. “We’ve shown that even when your memory starts to fade, you can still do something about it by adding aerobic exercise to your lifestyle,” said Binu Thomas, a senior research scientist of UT Southwestern Medical Center who led the study. “The aerobic exercise group showed a 47% improvement in some memory scores after a year; the other group showed slight change. Brain imaging of the aerobic exercise group, taken while at rest at the beginning and end of the study, showed increased blood flew into the specific brain areas that played important roles in memory function.”

Many teams across the world are trying to determine if aerobic exercise might fight memory loss. Evidence is growing that it could at least play a small role in delaying or reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. For example, a 2018 study showed that people with lower fitness levels experienced faster retrogression of vital nerve fibers in the brain called white matter related to memory.

“Blood flow in the brain connected with memory improvement is still a part of the puzzle, and we need to continue piecing it together,” Thomas says. “But we’ve seen enough date to know that starting a fitness program can have lifelong benefits for our brains as well as our hearts.”

1. What is the study mainly about?

A．Old people have memory issues.	B．Exercise improves memory.
C．Aerobic workouts benefit mental health.	D．Alzheimer’s disease can be cured.

2. What does the underlined word “retrogression” mean in the fourth paragraph?

A．Growth.

B．Recovery.

C．Decline.

D．Increase.

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Further research work requires doing.

B．More people experience memory loss.

C．Mystery of brain blood flow has been solved.

D．Signs of memory loss can be discovered earlier.

【推荐2】When baby turtles first come out of eggs, they head to the sea by nature. The beach surface goes down, which is one directional clue they follow. Another is light: The horizon (地平线) over the sea is brighter than the horizon over land.

But lights from towns and beach developments can confuse the baby turtles. The sky shining above a city can mislead them to wander. And particularly bright lights can draw them away from the sea.

You’d think the extra time crawling (爬行) might wear out baby turtles, which need energy   once they get in the water to swim for about a day to get to their destination in the sea. In a normal trip from nests to waves, the babies build up chemicals that show they have been pushing themselves.

Some researchers took the baby turtles to a lab, where they ran on a treadmill and swam in a tank while their blood and breathing were monitored. The finding is surprising: even after hours of crawling, the turtles were fine by all measures and swam as well as turtles that didn't have an extra crawling period.

The reason is that they often stop while crawling if they are doing U for a long time, unlike the disturbed trip they make when heading straight to the water. So misled turtles are not worn out.

But the misleading lights are still a problem for the babies. The longer they spend on the beach wandering, the more they are exposed to natural enemies. They can also end up losing their lives in the heat of the sun.

1. What attracts the baby turtles away from the sea?

A．Bright lights.	B．Vast beaches.
C．Buildings in cities.	D．Noises from towns.

2. What does the underlined word “they” refer to in paragraph 3?

A．Chemicals.	B．Nests.
C．Waves.	D．Baby turtles.

3. Why don’t the baby turtles feel exhausted after long crawling?

A．They travel by night.	B．Their trip is undisturbed.
C．They take frequent breaks.	D．They are refreshed by city lights.

4. What may happen to the baby turtles exposed to misleading lights?

A．They are in great danger.

B．They avoid their natural enemies.

C．They will wander on the beach for a while.

D．They are more likely to find the destination.

【推荐3】Nao, the first robot able to show feelings, has been created by a European research team. When Nao is sad, he lowers his head and looks down. When he’s happy, he raises his arms for a hug. Nothing is out of the ordinary, except that Nao is a robot.

“We’re modeling the first years of life,” says Lola Canamero, a computer scientist at the University of Hertforshire. “The feelings are shown through physical gestures and body movements rather than facial or verbal(言语的) expressions.”

In the future, says the scientist, robots are likely to act as companions, provide support for old people, and help people shop online. In such uses, the display of feeling will be important in making the interactions(交往) more natural and comfortable.

Nao has been programmed to copy the emotional skills of a one-year-old child. It can memorize faces, and knows the basic rules of good and bad. Based on these it can decide how to react to what is going on. The actions going with each feeling are pre-programmed, but Nao decides for itself when to display them.

Nao is also programmed to have different personalities. A more independent robot is less likely to call for help when exploring a room, while a more fearful robot will show distress if it finds something in the room that may be harmful.

Canamero’s team will take its emotional programming forward into medical applications. Part of the project will look at ways to use robots in hospitals to support the roles of doctors, nurses and parents. Children might find that a small, friendly-looking robot that can understand their emotional states makes them less anxious. “We want to explore different roles—the robots will help the children to understand their treatment and explain what they have to do. We want to help the children to control their anxiety.” she says.

1. According to the text, Nao_______.

A．displays different feelings in different situations

B．is able to imitate adult emotional displays

C．can remember people’s feelings

D．learns emotions from facial expressions

2. What can we learn from the text?

A．Scientists worked on facial and spoken expressions to create Nao’s emotions.

B．The time when Nao displays feelings has been pre-programmed.

C．Emotional programming is used in medicine production.

D．Robots with emotional skills can help children feel more comfortable.

3. What does the underlined word “distress” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Courage.	B．Anxiety.
C．Anger.	D．Satisfaction.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The relationship between humans and robots.

B．The roles that robots play in different fields.

C．The first robot able to show feelings.

D．The long history of robots.

【推荐1】As data leak and identity theft become more and more common,the market is growing for fingerprint or iris scans(虹膜扫描）－to keep others out of private e-spaces.They're still expensive,though,and some people are unwilling to have personal identifiers taken and kept by a third party.

Researchers say they have come up with a low-cost device-a smart keyboard. It precisely measures the sound with which one types and the pressure fingers apply to each key.These patterns are unique to each individual,says Jun Chen,a doctoral engineering student.By measuring how somebody types a password(码），he says, the keyboard can determine people's identities,and thus,by extension,whether they should be granted access to the computer it's connected to-regardless of whether someone gets the password right.

It doesn't require a new type of technology that people aren't already familiar with."Everybody uses a keyboard...and everybody types differently,"Chen says.

The device powers itself by generating electricity when a person's fingertips touch the keys-multi-layer plastic materials,press down,and lift again,which completes an electric circuit with the keyboard.The keyboard could offer a stronger layer of security by analyzing things like the force of a user's typing and the time between key presses.

This phenomenon,called"contact electrification,"is the same process that creates static electricity,Chen says:"lt's like when you run your hand across a wool blanket and see sparks(电火花）in the darkness."

In a study describing the technology published in the journal ACS Nano,the researchers had 100 volunteers type the word touch four times using the keyboard. Data gleaned from the device could be used to identify individual participants based on how they typed,with very low error rates,Chen says.

So far,there is just one such keyboard.But,Chen says,it should be pretty straightforward to commercialize and is mostly made of inexpensive,plastic-like parts. The team hopes it could make it to market in about five years.

1. What is the feature of the smart device?

A．It's inexpensive.	B．It's a new type of technology.
C．It's inaccessible without a password.	D．It can recognize people's fingerprint.

2. How is the smart device powered?

A．By fingers touching it.	B．By replaceable batteries.
C．By producing power of its own.	D．By being connected to electricity.

3. What does the underlined word"glean"probably mean in Paragraph 6?

A．Collect.	B．Involve.
C．Contain.	D．Leak.

4. Which can be the best title for this passage?

A．Smart Keyboard Can Produce Electricity Itself

B．Smart Keyboard Can identify You by How You Type

C．Smart Keyboard Can Protect Personal Data Privacy

D．Smart Keyboard Can Measure Typing Forces and Time

【推荐2】When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Doctor Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard, but was always very kind.

When Doctor Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. He had some interesting theories about planting trees. He hardly watered his new trees, an attitude which flew in the face of conventional wisdom.

Once I asked why and he told me that watering plants spoiled them because it made them grow weaker. He said he had to make things tough for the trees so that only the strongest could survive. He talked about how watering trees made them develop shallow roots and how, if they were not watered, trees would grow deep roots in search of water.

So, instead of watering his trees every morning, he’d beat them with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the trees’ attention.

Doctor Gibbs died a couple of years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I'd watched him plant some 25 years ago. They were tall and strong.

Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I often pray that their lives will be easy. But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to encounter hardship. There’s always a cold wind blowing somewhere. What we need to do is to pray for deep roots, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we won’t be torn apart.

1. What did the author think of Doctor Gibbs’s planting trees at first?

A．Perfect .	B．Puzzled.
C．Amused.	D．Impractical .

2. What did Doctor Gibbs do to the trees he planted?

A．He let them grow quickly.

B．He beat them to get their attention.

C．He helped them search for water.

D．He read a newspaper near them.

3. Which of the following can best describe Doctor Gibbs?

A．Kind and wise.	B．Calm and brave.
C．Careful and ambitious	D．Strict and devoted.

4. What does the author learn from Doctor Gibbs?

A．Elders are treasures.

B．Two heads are better than one.

C．A man without distant care must have near sorrow.

D．Only those who bear the most become the highest.

【推荐3】A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,by Betty Smith

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn wasn't a new book when my mother was young. It's the story of Francie Nolan struggling up in a tenement slum(贫民区)through the cracks in the pavement to reach the sun.It may be the best book I've ever read about poverty,parenthood, the immigrant experience,and just about everything else.My firstborn daughter is named

Francie Nolan.
To buy:$18,amazon.com.
The Maltese Falcon,by Dashiell Hammett

My all-time personal favorite. I love this book, all of it: the plot,the characters,the dialogue,much of which was lifted verbatim(逐字逐句地)by John Huston for his screenplay for the beloved movie of the same name.The single best monologue in fiction appears toward the end,when Sam Spade tells Brigid O'Shaughnessy why he's giving her to the police.

To buy:$14,amazon.com.
Gilead,by Marilynne Robinson

Oh-so hard to choose!But I'll go with Gilead.An uplifting tale of love in its many forms,told in a style in which every word is perfect.A joyous read.

To buy:$15,amazon.com.
Far From the Tree:Parents,Children and the Search for Identity,by Andrew Solomon

If you think 700 pages on the many ways in which unusual kids(autistic, deaf, criminal, genius)can stretch(延伸)their families' conception(理解) of love doesn't sound like summertime reading,Far From the Tree:Parents,Children and the Search for Identity will teach you otherwise.

To buy:$37.50,amazon.com.
1. What is special about The Maltese Falcon?

A．It can't be bought online.	B．It was made into a film.
C．It's about how to be a parent.	D．It tells how to treat the loved.

2. How much should you pay for one Far From the Tree and one Gilead?

A．$52.50.

B．$29.

C．$32.

D．$55.50.

3. Which of the following tells us how to get along well with our family?

A．Gilead

B．The Maltese Falcon.

C．A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

D．Far From the Tree:Parents,Children and the Search for Identity.