【推荐2】How to Get the Sleep Your Body Needs

◆Boil three to four large lettuce leaves in a cup of water for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add two mints, and drink just before you go to bed. Lettuce contains a sleep-inducing substance called lactucarium, which affects the brain similarly to opium. Unlike opium, of course, you won't run the risk of addiction!

◆Give yourself a massage. Slowly move the tips of your fingers around your eyes in a slow, circular motion. After a minute, move down to your mouth, then to your neck and the back of your head. Continue down your body until you find you're so relaxed you're ready to drop off to sleep.

◆Take a hot bath 90 to 120 minutes before bedtime. A research study found that women with sleeplessness who took a hot bath during this period of time (water temperature approximately 105°F), slept much better that night. The bath increased their center body temperature, which then immediately dropped once they got out of the bath, readying them for sleep.

◆Keep a notebook at your bedside along with a gentle night-light and pen. Then, if you wake in the middle of the night and your mind starts going, you can quickly write what you dream about on the page, returning to sleep quickly by knowing you “caught” those thoughts.

If you're tired of feeling like you're not at your best or like you're not getting the sleep you need, then it's time to take action! Sign-up for the National Sleep Foundation's Sleep Challenge today!

1. What is the advantage of the first tip?

A．It makes you feel relaxed.	B．It is harmless to your health.
C．It provides vegetable nutrition.	D．It is the most effective in the text.

2. What makes you go to sleep more easily after taking a hot bath?

A．Body temperature change.	B．Comfort of the whole body.
C．Tiredness from the hot bath.	D．High temperature of the water.

3. Why are you advised to write down things in your dream?

A．To work better next day.	B．To avoid forgetting them.
C．To fall asleep again soon.	D．To record sleeping condition.

【推荐3】Sometimes, when considering our own beliefs, we can find it challenging to accept other ways of life and rituals. However, close-mindedness and prejudice (偏见) are not the way to go, especially when there is so much we can learn about other cultures. Learning to accept and respect other cultures is an important step that opens your mind to the world around you and everyone’s unique differences.

Develop an open mind. Open the doors of your mind to accept what other people believe in. Try not to stereotype or brush things off when you haven’t actually taken a closer look yet.     1    

Take a look at history. The way some civilizations developed can be fascinating!     2     When you start studying, you’ll understand how things moved together to form the world we live in today. It’s a great piece of knowledge to have, so don’t rob yourself of it! There are plenty of books and sites available to fuel your curiosity. Appreciate the way different people fought for what they believed in, even if those beliefs differ from yours.

    3    .Sample some Italian or try your hand at cooking curry. Enjoy different foods and the different way meals are prepared. Don’t limit yourself, try everything and smile.

Talk to people.     4    It will help you understand that though they may believe and practice different things. That doesn’t make them strange or backward. Developing friendships with those from other cultures can be a really great experience.

Watching movies from different countries, like Bollywood movies or those on ancient happenings can be eye opening and help you appreciate different societies. If you’re into fashion, try sampling different culture’s dress and styles     5     If you’re having issues with racism and discrimination, try talking to someone to understand why you feel this way.

A．Try some new cooking.

B．Try doing something magical.

C．Try studying about ancient times.

D．Learn as much foreign culture as possible.

E．Talk with people from different cultures.

F．Try to get away from the personal opinions.

G．There are lots of magazines available on different fashions.

【推荐1】It’s apparently become a trend in schools around the world to ban students from using the term, “best friends,” according to psychologist Dr. Barbara Greenberg. The movement, which is believed to have started in Prince George's school in South London, isn't intended to discourage close friendships, but rather encourage a wider friend group, Greenberg says.

“Let’s face it. You can’t ban somebody from having a close relationship, and you can’t really ban somebody from having a best friend but what the schools are trying to do is foster the idea of kids having more than a single friend,” Greenberg said.

The idea is to increase the number of interactions a student may have with different members of his or her peer group.   “I see kids come in all week long who are feeling awful because they are either nobody’s best friend or their best friend has moved on,” Greenberg says.

Jay Jacobs, who operates Timber Lake Camp in New York, stresses the downside of not fostering multiple relationships at a young age, for exactly that reason. “I think that there are problems in just having one friend,” Jacobs says. “Remember as you grow up, interests change, and children go in different directions.” Jacobs adds that teachers at Timber Lake, which changes positions between Glen Cove in winter and Shandake in summer, have made it a point to promote a more inclusive environment for years.

Jacobs reminds people that, “As you grow up, interests change, and children go in different directions,” so having only one friend can be risky. He holds the belief that children will be better set up for success later in life if they get used to having a wider friend group at a young age. “It’s about promoting kindness, looking to children to be kind to one another and to be aware of what it looks like when you’re not,” Jacobs says.

1. Why do schools ban the term “best friends”?

A．To make students concentrate on their studies.

B．To encourage students to make more friends.

C．To prevent students from falling in love at a young age.

D．To discourage students from having a close relationship.

2. Why are some kids feeling awful according to Greenberg?

A．Their best friends have moved house.

B．They are banned from making best friends.

C．They are under great pressure from study.

D．Their best friends have started new friendships.

3. What does the underlined word “downside” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Mistake.	B．Difficulty.
C．Drawback.	D．Burden.

4. What would be Jay Jacobs’ attitude to Greenberg’s idea?

A．Supportive.	B．Doubtful.
C．Opposed.	D．Unconcerned.

【推荐2】Being in an unfamiliar school can be frightening. If you start a new school, you'll have to worry about making friends. Here are some simple tips which help you make new friends more easily.
·Try speaking to the students you're sitting next to in class. As they're close by, it is easy to chat to them first.
·Try to speak to everyone in your class. You will study here for three years, so it helps if you get along well with them.
·If you don't have many friends in your class, try and make new friends in your neighbor classes. You can also chat to them at lunchtimes and after school.
·Join a lunchtime or afterschool club. You'll get to meet kids of all years that way.
·Ask your teacher to pair you With another student.
·Use your "celebrity status"(名人身份）! Since you're the new person, you'll have got celebrity status, which you can use for a couple of weeks.
·Talk to classmates, remember to smile, and be open and friendly. Don't break in while your classmates are speaking. When your classmates talk to you, you should listen carefully and look at them in the eye to make them feel important.
·As you grow older, it's natural to make new friends and sometimes that means you begin to grow apart from your old friends. So try and make time for all your friends. But what if a friendship group is pushing you out? If this is happening to you, ask someone you're friendly with what has happened .If the friendship is hopeless, try to find new friends.
1. According to the passage, moving to an unfamiliar school is_______.

A．interesting

B．exciting

C．uncomfortable

D．boring

2. What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To explain how to make new friends easily.

B．To show how to be used to new school life．

C．To encourage people to make new friends.

D．To introduce how to live in a new school.

3. It is suggested that you should ________.

A．try to study well to be popular with the classmates

B．try all your best to help your new classmates

C．sit close to a familiar classmate in the classroom

D．catch every opportunity to communicate with others

4. To make your classmates feel that they are important to you, you can

A．smile while talking with them	B．watch and listen to them carefully
C．be friendly and open to them	D．make use of your celebrity status

5. If a friendship group is leaving you out, you should

A．make your different friends know each other

B．forget them and make new friends at once

C．try to know the reason from a close friend

D．turn to your teachers or parents for help

【推荐3】Who needs friends? According to most psychologists (心理学家) we all do, especially nowadays when so many other aspects (方面) of modern life are changing. It seems that having friends keeps us both healthy and happy.

The number of TV series about groups of friends shows just how important friendship is to us. Psychologist Dorothy Rowe says that many of us now turn to our friends, instead of our families, for advice, comfort and security. One woman named Rebecca she interviewed even told her that if she had got to choose between her husband and her friend, she would choose her friend.

Since our friends mean so much to us, it is not surprising that the happiest marriages are also friendships. “Once the romantic stage of a relationship has passed, it is friendship that holds people together,” says Rowe. If the couple do not make some change, they will either get tired of each other and break up or stay together and seek friendship with others.

But is friendship equally important to women and men? According to author Rhonda Pritchard, women are more likely than men to have close friends. “ You tell a friend things that you’d never tell a partner”，says one woman she interviewed. For men, friendship is usually based on doing things together rather than the private conversations that are typical of women friend. Men share time and activities like building a fence or a business, running, riding a bike, fishing or watching football, but they don’t often share their feelings.

Although many women find their relationships with a husband or boyfriend is not enough, many men say that their partner is their best friend. Even women who are very happily married are likely to become very unhappy without a close friend and can even find the breakup of a close friend as painful as the end of a marriage.

Lasting friendships can provide a lot of the same support that families provided in the past, but the perfect situation is to have your family there for as well. Friendships and family relationships can both change, but a friend will not consider you when making really important decisions in the same way that a family member will.

1. What did Rebecca think about friendship?

A．Families are reliable forever.	B．Her friend means more to her than her husband
C．One needn’t have too many friends.	D．Friends are as important as families.

2. Some couples look for friends outside their relationships because         .

A．they are encouraged by their partners.

B．they are not fairly treated by their partners

C．they don’t get what they need from their partners.

D．they think their friends are more romantic.

3. What is the main different between men’s and women’s friendships?

A．Women often do things together.

B．Women often talk about business with friends.

C．Men seldom talk about their feelings.

D．Men often talk to their friends about work and family.

4. When a friendship ends, some women may      .

A．feel as upset as when a marriage ends.	B．share feelings with their partners.
C．treat their partners as friends.	D．turn to their husband for comfort.

【推荐1】In the coming decade, space agencies and private space companies like SpaceX are planning to build a base on the Moon and Mars. While scientists are already building rockets for the journey, for long-term human settlements on them, astronauts will need fuel to carry out daily tasks. Many have suggested hydrogen (氢) But a group of scientists is working on turning CO₂ in the atmosphere into jet fuel. As Mars is rich in CO, and the lunar surface has a high concentration of CO₂, it may be a feasible solution.

For now the team of scientists at the University of Oxford is focusing on making jet fuel for the aviation (航空) industry. As the aviation industry releases over 900 million tons of CO₂ every year, to battle climate change, it is necessary to turn the tide. So far aviation scientists have tried to use other energy resources like electricity to fly. But such flights are limited to short distances. For long-distance flights, there is no alternative yet.

The concept of turning CO₂ into jet fuel is not new. Previously, other similar methods had to rely on expensive catalysts (催化剂) like cobalt to speed up the chemical reaction. But what Oxford scientists suggest is adding a cheap iron—based catalyst and hydrogen to turn CO₂ into liquid fuel. As the process would not require using fossil fuel, it will make the industry carbon neutral (碳中和的).

The scientists tested the new catalyst in a lab at 300℃ and at 10 times the air pressure at sea level. The entire process took 20 hours and turned 38 percent of CO₂ into new chemicals. About 48 percent of the chemicals were jet fuel hydrocarbon and the rest were other by-products that are used in the production of plastic.

Professor Peter Edwards, a lead scientist in the project, said the new method could be improved in two to three years to produce jet fuel in large quantities. “This is a really exciting, potentially revolutionary advance. Our vision is that the world can see that CO₂ collected can be used as an energy carrier to enable sustainable aviation.”

1. Which word can best explain “feasible” underlined in Paragraph 1?

A．Unique.

B．Practical.

C．Time-tested.

D．Quick.

2. What problem does the aviation industry face?

A．It is suffering from a serious fuel shortage.

B．The traditional jet fuel is much too expensive.

C．Climate change partly disturbs long-distance flights.

D．Its alternative energy resources are not powerful enough.

3. What do we know about the Oxford scientists’ method of fuel-making?

A．It is green and cost-saving.

B．It is complex and time-consuming.

C．It runs tests in natural environment.

D．It starts with immediate chemical reaction.

4. What does Professor Peter Edwards think about the new method?

A．It is produced in large quantities.	B．It can be seen by the world.
C．It will be promoted in the near future.	D．It will be used to carry CC2.

【推荐3】Not long ago, people could only buy organic food in small shops. Today it is common in most major supermarkets. The reason for the increase is that more and more people are demanding food grown without chemicals. Since the 1990s, organic farm production has gone up continuously. This pattern is expected to continue around the globe.

Australia leads the world in land used as for organic agriculture. It has four times as all of Asia. However, most of the land is not very fertile, and it only produces a modest amount of food. Argentina is a distant second, followed by Brazil, the United States and China. In Africa, only a very small amount of land is registered for organic farming. That does not mean Africa relies on chemicals. In fact, many farmers do not use chemicals because they cannot afford them. Yet there are no programmes for these farmers to prove they do not use chemicals. Without these programmes their food can never be approved organic.

India has had the most dramatic recent increase in organic farming. Like many other countries, India sees continual growth in organic food sales around the world. This, of course, leads to growth in profits. Sales of organic food were more than doubled from 2000 to 2005. Like India, many countries are trying to increase commercial organic farming to get a share of the sales. This has led to criticism. Some people believe that organic farming should not just be about making money. They think the goal is to help the environment. Others say organic farming will not continue if it is not profitable. They say that people should be able to make money while providing healthy food for mankind.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Organic food has become much more common.

B．Organic farming is growing around the world.

C．People do not want to eat food with chemicals in it.

D．Countries all want to make money from organic farming.

2. Why do people want to increase organic farming?

A．More and more people demand chemicals to grow food.

B．Organic food is good for Earth and the human beings.

C．There are fewer chemicals available to the human beings.

D．Profits from organic farming help make approval programmes.

3. From the passage, it can be said that__________.

A．India uses the least land to organic farming.

B．Brazil uses less land to organic farming than China.

C．the US is the fourth largest organic farming country.

D．China and India have the same amount of organic farmland.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that__________.

A．people who eat food with chemicals have shorter lifespan.

B．India will soon become the largest country of growing organic food.

C．more countries will farm organically as the environment gets worse.

D．there will be fewer organic farms if the demand for organic food goes down.

【推荐1】A photo of the late actor Robin Williams hangs with flowers left by people paying their respects, in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday at the home where his hit TV series Mork &Mindy was set.

Robin Williams, a brilliant shape-shifter who could channel his energy into delightful comic characters like Mrs Doubtfire or use it in delicate work like his Oscar-winning turn in Goodwill Hunting, died on Monday in an apparent suicide at the age of 63.

The office said the Initial investigation shows the cause of death to be a suicide due to a sphyxio(*g). The Marin County Coroner's Office said Williams was last seen alive at home at about 10 p.m. on Sunday. An emergency call from his house in Tiburon was placed to the Sheriff's Office shortly before noon on Monday.

"This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am heartbroken, said Williams' wife, Susan Schneider.

"On behalf of Robins family, we are asking for privacy during our time of deep sorrow. As he is remembered, it is our hope that the focus will not be on Robin's death, but on the countless moments of Joy and laughter he gave to millions.”

Like so many funnymen, Wiliams had dramatic ambitions. He played for tears in Awakenings, Dead Poets Society and What Dreams May Come, which led New York Times critic Stephen Holden to write that he dreaded seeing the actor’s "Humpty Dumpty smile and wrinkled moist eyes.” But other critics approved, and Willams won three Golden Globes, for Good Morning, Vietnam, Mrs. Doubtfire and The Fisher king.

“Robin was a lightning storm of comic genius and our laughter was the thunder that supported him. He was a friend and I can’t believe he’s gone,” Spielberg said.

1. In paragraph 1, the word “shape-shifter” means ________.

A．all-round,   adaptable actor	B．actor in depression
C．unchangeable, settled figure	D．actor obsessed with his physical shape

2. From the passage we know Robin probably died at ________.

A．10:00 on Sunday	B．11:00 on Monday
C．13:00 00 on Monday	D．15:00 on Sunday

3. Robin’s families sincerely requested the public to ________.

A．help to uncover the cause of Robin's death

B．pay their respects to Robin every year

C．remember every happy moment Robin has left

D．share n their sorrow and accompany them

4. The best title for this passe is ________.

A．The Cause of a Famous Actor’s Death

B．The unexpected Fall of a Comic Star

C．The public’s Respect to a Late Actor

D．The shock at an everlasting Friend’s Death

【推荐2】Everyone likes talking about weather. When people meet, they usually say something like “Isn't it a nice day?” or “Do you think it will rain?”

Different people often want different weather. When a farmer needs water, he hopes it will rain. When people want to take a trip, they hope it will be sunny soon.

How will be the weather? Many people think they can tell it. But they often have different ideas. Some may say, “It's cloudy in the east. It will rain tomorrow.” But others may say, “No, it will be sunny tomorrow.” So people like the weather report. It sometimes makes mistakes Still, it can tell many things about the weather.

1. When people meet, they usually say something about            .

A．their clothes

B．food

C．their work

D．weather

2. The main idea of Paragraph 2 is that             .

A．different people often want different weather	B．farmers always want rain
C．sunny weather is good for a trip	D．people like to take a trip

3. People often           .

A．don't know the weather tomorrow	B．have different ideas about the weather
C．don't like the weather report	D．do different things in different weather

4. What does the writer think of the weather report?

A．People don't need it now.	B．It's interesting to watch it.
C．It's still useful.	D．It's not useful at all.

【推荐3】Smoking in your own home in Thailand may now be considered a crime, if the smoke is considered harmful to other people in the house.

The new law, Family Protection and Development Promotion Act, was initiated (启动) by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and was announced in the Royal Gazette on May 22, 2019. The law aims at limiting smoking at home which might be hazardous for others’ health living under the same roof. In that case, it will be considered as “domestic violence”. The new law came into force on August 20.

According to the center for research and knowledge management for tobacco control, at the Faculty of Medical Science of Mahidol University, there are about 4.9 million households where one or more family members smoke. An average of 10.3 million people have unconsciously become passive smokers because they’ve been breathing in smoke at home. Scientific studies show that passive smokers are at greater risk of being affected by cancer.

Of 75 child patients from houses where smoking is practiced, 76% of them were found to have nicotine traces in their urine (尿液), with 43% of them having nicotine content going beyond permitted levels. Smoking at home also may lead to physical or emotional violence because of aggressiveness (攻击性) when there is a lack of smoking, and might as well ruin relationships between smokers and non-smoker family members.

According to the new law, anyone who thinks they are affected by domestic smoking can report to officials concerned so that inspectors will be sent to investigate and take legal action against the smokers. Once confirmed, the court may order a person to receive treatment to quit smoking in an attempt to protect the person’s family. In February in 2019, Thailand had banned smoking at six of its airports along with a ban in public places.

1. What do we know about the new law in Thailand?

A．It came into effect on May 22.

B．It aimed at protecting the health of non-smokers.

C．It regarded smoking at home as a kind of domestic violence.

D．It clearly claimed that smoking at home is a crime.

2. What does the underlined word “hazardous” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Anxious.	B．Harmful.
C．Beneficial.	D．Essential.

3. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The purpose of initiating the law.

B．Responses to the new law.

C．Actions to quit smoking.

D．Bad consequences of smoking at home.

4. What can be inferred from the text?

A．Smoking is illegal anywhere in Thailand.

B．Passive smokers are not likely to suffer from cancer.

C．People tend to be more aggressive when they are smoking.

D．Thailand is making efforts to create a smoke-free environment.