【推荐1】When talking about colds (感冒), maybe some people say it is very common. During the cold winter days, many people will complain (抱怨) the cold winter makes them catch a cold, and what they feel upset are not only the headache, cough but also the runny nose. It is so embarrassing when they forget to take a handkerchief or tissue along with them.

Want to stay away from colds? Put on a happy face.

Compared to unhappy people, those who are cheerful and relaxed are less likely to suffer from colds, according to a new study. It's possible that being happy helps the body fight illnesses, say the researchers from New York University.

"It seems that positive (积极的) feelings may reduce (减少) the danger of illness, " said the study's chief researcher Sheldon Cohen.

In an earlier study, Cohen found that people who were cheerful and lively caught coughs and colds less often. People who showed feelings were also less likely to tell their doctors that they felt ill.

In this study, Cohen has interviewed 193 adults every day for two weeks. During the interviews, the people told researchers that they were given colds by doctors and had to stay alone in a room for six days.

The results showed that everyone in the study was equally (相等地) likely to get ill. But for people who said they felt happy during the research period, their illness are less serious and lasted for a shorter time.

Cohen believes that when people experience positive feelings, their body may produce a chemical that helps fight illness and disease. So if you are worried about your health, look on the brighter side more often.

1. The underline part in Paragraph 5 is probably means ______ .

A．were sad	B．were bad-tempered
C．were thoughtful	D．were outgoing

2. What did the study find? ______

A．People who felt happy never got ill.

B．People with positive feelings had less serious illnesses.

C．People with good feelings became ill more easily.

D．People's feelings didn't influence their health.

3. According to Cohen, which of the following may help fight illness? ______

A．Eating.	B．Laughing
C．Crying	D．Sleeping.

4. What is the best title for this passage? ______

A．Smiles can fight colds	B．Cause of colds found
C．The danger of colds	D．How people get sick

【推荐2】Mountains of smoke and fire

Deep under the Earth’s surface, it’s so hot that even rock melts. Sometimes this molten rock, called “magma”, is pushed up to the surface.    1    And the opening or vent that lets the lava out is a volcano.

A volcano may explode violently, throwing out rocks for miles around.    2    Some volcanoes release clouds of poisonous gas or huge clouds of ash. Volcanoes can even do all these things underwater.

Most volcanoes have been around for a very long time. Many haven’t erupted for years and have cooled off. Volcanoes that are not going to erupt again are called “dead volcanoes”. Some volcanoes still give off smoke. These “sleeping volcanoes” may “wake up” one day and erupt again.     3     But one day in AD 79 it suddenly woke up. Its eruption threw out hot ash and rocky fragments (碎片) that buried the city of Pompeii. A hot mud-flow buried nearby Herculaneum. Because the remains are so well preserved, the area has been named a World Heritage site.

But not all volcanoes are destructive. When a volcano throws out vast amounts of lava and debris (岩屑), it piles up into a mountain.    4    

Other volcanoes help provide heat and energy. Many Icelandic homes get their hot water from springs heated by volcanic steam.    5     Plants grow very well in the rich soil left by volcanoes. And valuable gems, such as diamonds, can sometimes be found in the rocks that are thrown out by volcanoes.

A．At this point it is referred to as “lava”.

B．The molten rock is formed inside the Earth.

C．This steam can also be used to produce electricity.

D．Mount Vesuvius in Italy slept for a thousand years.

E．Or it may push lava out so that it flows away, cools and hardens.

F．Japan has many active volcanoes within its narrow national territory.

G．The Hawaiian Islands and the island of Iceland were created in this way.

【推荐1】In the days before the Internet, critical thinking was the most important skill of informed citizens. But in the digital age, according to Anastasia Kozyreva, a psychologist at the Max Planck Institute of Human Development, and her colleagues, an even more important skill is critical ignoring.

As the researchers point out, we live in an attention economy where content producers on the Internet compete for our attention. They attract us with a lot of emotional and eye-catching stories while providing little useful information, so they can expose us to profit-generating advertisements. Therefore,we are no longer customers but products, and each link we click is a sale of our time and attention. Toprotect ourselves from this, Kozyreva advocates for learning the skill of critical ignoring, in which readers intentionally control their information environment to reduce exposure to false and low-quality information.

According to Kozyreva, critical ignoring comprises three strategies. The first is to design ourenvironments, which involves the removal of low-quality yet hard-to-resist information from around. Successful dieters need to keep unhealthy food out of their homes. Likewise, we need to set up a digital environment where attention-grabbing items are kept out of sight. As with dieting, if one tries to bank onwillpower not to click eye-catching “news”, he’ll surely fail. So, it’s better to just keep them out of sightto begin with.

The next is to evaluate the reliability of information, whose purpose is to protect you from false and misleading information. It can be realized by checking the source in the mainstream news agencies which have their reputations for being trustworthy.

The last goes by the phrase “do not feed the trolls.” Trolls are actors who internationally spread false and hurtful information online to cause harm. It may be appealing to respond to them to set the facts straight, but trolls just care about annoying others rather than facts. So, it’s best not to reward their bad behaviour with our attention.

By sharpening our critical ignoring skills in these ways, we can make the most of the Internet while avoiding falling victim to those who try to control our attention, time, and minds.

1. What can we learn about the attention economy from paragraph 2?

A．It offers little information.	B．It features depressing stories.
C．It saves time for Internet users.	D．It seeks profits from each click.

2. Why does the author mention dieters in paragraph 3?

A．To discuss the quality of information

B．To prove the benefits of healthy food.

C．To show the importance of environments.

D．To explain the effectiveness of willpower.

3. What should we do to handle Internet trolls according to the text?

A．Reveal their intention.	B．Turn a deaf ear to them.
C．Correct their behaviour.	D．Send hard facts to them.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Reasons for critical thinking in the attention economy.

B．Practising the skill of critical ignoring in the digital age.

C．Maximizing the benefits of critical ignoring on the Internet.

D．Strategies of abandoning critical thinking for Internet users

【推荐2】Artists always treat businessmen as money-obsessed ( 迷 恋 金 钱 的 ) bores. Or worse, many businessmen, for their part, assume that artists usually consider themselves to be more intelligent than others. Bosses may stick   a few modern paintings on their office walls. But they seldom take the arts seriously as a source of inspiration.

The prejudice starts at business school, where “hard” things such as numbers rule. It is reinforced by everyday experience. Bosses constantly remind their employees that if you can't count it, it doesn't count. Few read deeply about the arts. Sun Tzu's The Art of War does not count while some tasteless business books are pleasing to them: consider Wess Roberts' Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun.

But lately there are welcome signs of a thaw (缓和) on the business side of the great cultural divide. Business presses are publishing a series of books such as The Fine Art of Success by Jamie Anderson. Business schools such as the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto are trying to learn from the arts.

Mr. Anderson points out that many artists have also been superb enterprisers. Damien Hirst has been one of the most enterprising. He upturned the art world by selling his work directly through Sotheby's, an auction ( 拍 卖 ) house. Whatever they think of his work, businessmen cannot help admiring a man who parted art lovers from £ 75.5 million on the day that Lehman Brothers collapsed.

Studying the arts can help businessmen communicate more effectively. Most bosses spend a huge amount of time “messaging” and “reaching out”, yet few are good at it. Half an hour with George Orwell's Why I Write would work wonders.

Studying the arts can also help companies learn how to manage bright people. Rob Goffee of the London Business School points out that today's most productive companies are dominated by what they call “clevers”, who are very hard to manage. They hate being told what to do by managers, whom they regard as being stupid. They refuse to submit to performance reviews.

In short, they are prima donnas. The art world has centuries of experience in managing such difficult people.

Directors persuade actresses to cooperate with actors they hate. Their tips might be worth hearing.
1. Which book combines the arts with business?

A．Why I Write.	B．The Art of War.
C．The Fine Art of Success.	D．Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun.

2. What kind of person is Damien Hirst actually?

A．An artist who is good at doing business.

B．A businessman who just cares about money.

C．An artist whose works changed the art world.

D．A businessman who had prejudice toward the arts.

3. The underlined words “prima donnas” probably refer to those who are _______.

A．quite stupid	B．rather proud
C．really bright	D．very efficient

4. What does the author mainly discuss in the text?

A．Good management takes skill and patience.

B．Artists should show respect for businessmen.

C．Painting is a special form of communication.

D．Businessmen have much to learn from artists.

【推荐3】Last night's meteor (流星) shower left many people in Emerald Valley dissatisfied. They gathered in the suburbs of the city with heavy telescopes, expecting to watch the brightly burning meteors passing through the sky. However, what they found was a sky so brightened by the city's lights that it darkened the light of the meteors passing overhead.

“My family was so frustrated,” admitted town resident Duane Cosby, “We wanted to make this an unforgettable family outing, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment.”

Astronomers—scientists who study stars and planets—have been complaining about this problem for many years. They say that light pollution prevents them from seeing objects in the sky that they could see quite easily in the past. They call on people and the government to take measures to fight against it.

Besides professional and amateur (业余的) star observers, there is yet a population that suffers even more from light pollution. This population consists of birds, bats, frogs, and snakes etc. For example, outdoor lighting severely affects migrating(迁徙的)birds. According to the International Dark­Sky Association, “100 million birds a year throughout North America die in crashes with lighted buildings and towers. ”

Countless animals injuries and deaths result from the use of artificial lighting. Clearly, people enjoy the benefits of lighting their evenings, but some scientists think it can be harmful to humans, too. They worry that exposure to light while sleeping can increase people's chances of getting cancer.

Emerald Valley is only one community that is becoming aware of the negative effects of light pollution. For years, Flagstaff, Arizona has enforced lighting rules in its city in order to help astronomers with their observations. Similar efforts have been made worldwide, and a movement is underway to remind us to turn off lights when we are not using them, so that other creatures can share the night.

1. It happened last night that ________．

A．the city's lights affected the meteor watching

B．the meteors flew past before being noticed

C．the city’s lights show attracted many people

D．the meteor watching ended in a social outing

2. According to Paragraph 4, we know that ________．

A．birds may take other migration paths

B．animals' living habits may change suddenly

C．varieties of animals will become sharply reduced

D．animals' survival is threatened by outdoor lighting

3. Lighting rules in Flagstaff, Arizona are put into effect to ________．

A．reduce the chance of getting cancer

B．create an ideal observation condition

C．ensure people a good sleep at night

D．enable all creatures to live in harmony

4. What can we learn from the text?

A．Saving wildlife is saving ourselves.

B．Great efforts should be made to save energy.

C．Human activities should be environmentally friendly.

D．New equipment should be introduced for space study.

【推荐1】Languages will continue to diverge. Even if English were to become the universal language, it would still take many different forms. Indeed the same could happen to English as has happened to Chinese: a language of intellectuals which doesn’t vary hugely alongside a large number of variations used by local peoples.

We will continue to teach other languages in some form, and not just for reasons of practical use. Learning a language is good for your mental health; it forces you to understand another cultural and intellectual system. So I hope British education will develop a more rational approach to the foreign languages available to students in line with their political importance. Because so many people believe it is no longer important to know another language, I fear that time devoted to language teaching in schools may well continue to decline. But you can argue that learning another language well is more exhausting than, say, learning to play chess well—it involves sensitivity to a set of complicated rules, and also to context.

Technology will certainly make a difference to the use of foreign languages. Computers may, for instance, relieve the hard work that a vast translation represents. But no one who has seen a computer translation will think it can substitute for live knowledge of the different languages. A machine will always be behind the times. Still more important is the fact that no computer will ever get at the associations beyond the words associations that may not be expressed but which carry much of the meaning. In languages like Arabic that context is very important. Languages come with heavy cultural baggage too—in French or German if you miss the cultural references behind a word you’re very likely to be missing the meaning. It will be very hard to teach all that to computer.

All the predictions are that English will be spoken by a declining proportion of the world’s population in the 21^st century. I don’t think foreign languages will really become less important, but they might be perceived to be— and that would in the end be — a very bad thing.

1. According to the text,we can infer that Chinese _______.

A．is a language full of cultural background

B．is narrowly used by local peoples

C．will be regarded as important as English

D．will soon become the universal language

2. Which of the following best describes the author’s opinion ?

A．Foreign languages should be taught for political importance.

B．Learning another language is just like learning to play chess well.

C．British education lacks a rational approach to the teaching of foreign languages.

D．Learning a language need to know a country’ cultural and intellectual system.

3. Why can the computer translation make a difference to the use of foreign languages?

A．It can replace for live knowledge of the different languages.

B．It can always keep the pace with the times in the translation.

C．It can reduce the hard work that a vast translation represents.

D．It can express the implied meaning beyond word associations.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Learning foreign languages is a challenging job.

B．Learning a language is good for your mental health.

C．Cultural background blocks the understanding of a language.

D．Computers play an important role in learning foreign languages.

【推荐2】Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is also the color of most growing plants.

Sometimes, the word “green” means young, fresh and growing. For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience. In the 15th century, a greenhorn was a young cow or an ox whose horns(角) had not yet developed. A century later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had no experience in war. By the 18th century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today—a person who is new in a job.

Someone who is good at growing plants is said to have a green thumb(大拇指). The expression comes from the early 20th century. A person with a green thumb can make plants grow quickly and well.

Green is also the color used to describe the powerful feeling, jealousy(嫉妒). The green-eyed monster(怪物) is not a dangerous animal from outer space. It is an expression used about 400 years ago by the British writer William Shakespeare in his play “Othello”. It describes the unpleasant feeling when someone has something he wants. For example, a young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if you get a pay rise and he does not.

In most places in the world, a green light means to move ahead. In everyday speech, a green light means agree to continue with a project.

1. A greenhorn now refers to ________.

A．a person who is new in a job

B．a new soldier

C．a young horse

D．a cow without horns

2. A person with a green thumb is a person ________.

A．who is good at growing plants

B．whose thumbs are of green color

C．whose garden is greener than others’

D．who is younger than his neighbors

3. A man may meet the green-eyed monster if ________.

A．he sees a dangerous animal

B．he reads a sad play

C．his friend gets a prize that he wants

D．he can’t get something

4. The main idea of the passage is ________.

A．a greenhorn

B．a green thumb

C．the Green Revolution

D．the word “green” and its story

【推荐3】Fatima Bushin was losing her sight and was scared. She said what worried her most wasn’t the fear of a long, painful journey to blindness. She feared being unable to feed her family because blindness would keep her from working, as mothers do. The tragedy is that Bushin’s condition was preventable and, if caught in time, stoppable. She was among thousands of women in Tanzania who suffered from trachoma (沙眼), an infectious disease affecting largely poor communities in developing countries. Trachoma is one of neglected tropical diseases, or NTDs, so named because they receive less attention than other tropical diseases.

All NTDs can be controlled or cured entirely with known public health approaches and interventions. Improved sanitation (环境卫生), medicines and medical procedures have produced truly remarkable results in preventing and controlling NTDs, including trachoma, in some of the world’s poorest communities. Preventing, controlling and curing these diseases puts out poverty’s fire at its base.

We know it can be done. Through long-term efforts, several of these NTDs have been stamped out in some countries such as Laos. To wipe out extreme poverty around the world. many countries continue to invest in what is one of the most successful foreign assistance programs. For example, U.S. Agency for International Development programs to combat NTDs have reached nearly 300 million people affected by diseases that can spoil the patients’ appearance or weaken the patients physically.

For Bushin, the story ends well. Through foreign assistance program, she was able to lave the surgery needed to treat trachoma and save her eyesight. The surgery is relatively simple, performed in an hour at an outpatient clinic, and costs less than $300. In return, Bushin avoided a lifelong disability that would have recondemned her family to poverty with little hope for escape.

Jan. 30 marks the World NTD Day, a day that global public health experts say is needed to focus attention on the fight against tropical diseases. The success of the global fight against NTDs is good news for millions of people. It has been life-changing for a mother in Tanzania who continues to be able to provide for her family thanks to the constant efforts being made that kept her family out of poverty by saving her eyesight.

1. What was the greatest concern of Bushin?

A．The possible loss of her eyesight.

B．The slim chance of getting rid of poverty.

C．The potential inability to support her family.

D．The deliberate neglect of her by her parents.

2. What does the underlined part “stamped out” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A．Caught.

B．Removed.

C．Tracked.

D．Analyzed.

3. In what tone does the author describe the treatment of NTDs?

A．Critical.

B．Regretful.

C．Humorous.

D．Positive.

4. What can we infer from the text?

A．NTDs could be cured earlier than expected.

B．Poverty and disease tend to be largely connected.

C．Infectious diseases will be the biggest global issue.

D．International cooperation is a must for treating a disease.

【推荐1】The practice of students endlessly copying letters and sentences from a blackboard is a thing of the past. With the coming of new technologies like computers and smartphone, writing by hand has become something of nostalgic (怀旧的）skill. However，while today’s educators are using more and more technology in their teaching, many believe basic handwriting skills are still necessary for students to be successful---both in school and in life.

Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says it’s important to continue teaching handwriting and help children acquire the skill of writing by hand.

Berninger and her colleagues conducted a study that looked at the ability of students to complete various writing tasks---both on a computer and by hand. The study, published in 2009, found that when writing with a pen and paper, participants wrote longer essays and more complete sentences and had a faster word production rate.

In a more recent study, Berninger looked at what role spelling plays in a student’s writing skills and found that how well children spell is tied to know well they can write. “Spelling makes some of the thinking parts of the brain active which helps us access our vocabulary, word meaning and concepts. It is allowing our written language to connect with ideas.” Berninger said.

Spelling helps students translate ideas into words in their mind first and then to transcribe(转换）“those words in the mind written symbols on paper or keyboard and screen,” the study said. Seeing the words in the “mind’s eye” helps children not only to turn their ideas into words, says Berninger, but also to spot spelling mistakes when they write the words down and to correct then over time.

“In our computer age, some people believe that we don’t have to teach spelling because we have spell checks,” she said. “But until a child functional spelling ability of about a fifth grade level, they won't have knowledge to choose the correct spelling among the options given by the computer.”

1. What makes writing by hand a thing of the past?

A．The absence of blackboard in classroom.

B．The use of new technologies in teaching.

C．The lack of practice in handwriting.

D．The popular use of smartphones.

2. Berninger’s study published in 2009 .

A．focused on the difference between writing by hand and on a computer.

B．indicated that students prefer to write with a pen and paper.

C．found that good essays are made up of long sentences.

D．discussed the importance of writing speed.

3. Which of the following best shows the role of spelling?

A．Spelling improves one’s memory of words.

B．Spelling ability is closely related to writing ability.

C．Spelling benefits the translation from words into ideas.

D．Spelling slows down finding exact words to express ideas.

4. What does “mind’s eye” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Window.	B．Soul
C．Picture.	D．Imagination.

5. What conclusion could be drawn from the passage?

A．Computers can help people with their choice of words.

B．Spell checks can take the place of spelling teaching.

C．Handwriting still has a place in today’s classrooms.

D．Functional spelling ability develops fast in the fifth grade.

【推荐2】The artificial lighting which lines the world’s coastlines could be having a significant impact on species that rely on the moon and stars to find food, new research suggests.

Creatures such as the sand hopper(沙蚤) orientate(确定方位)their nightly migrations based on the moon’s position and brightness of the natural night sky. However, a study by Bangor University and the University of Plymouth shows the presence of artificial light originating from cities several kilometres away (also known as artificial sky glow) disrupts the lunar compass they use when covering long distances.

In some cases, this can lead to animals travelling towards the sea and away from food, while in others it reduces the chance of them venturing out for food at all. Writing in Current Biology, researchers say this could pose a distinct threat not just to the health of sand hopper populations but also the wider ecosystem, since they play an important role in breaking down and recycling algae washed up on coastlines.

Dr. Thomas Davies, Lecturer in Marine Conservation at the University of Plymouth (UK), said, “Artificial sky glow is the most geographically widespread form of light pollution. Surveys have shown it can currently be detected above 23% of the world’s coasts nightly, and with coastal human populations set to at least double by 2060, its effects are only going to increase. Our results show it is already having obvious impacts on biological processes that are guided by celestial(天上的)light signals.”

Through the study, researchers find increasing evidence that light pollution from coastal cities can influence marine species inhabiting nearby beaches, rocky shores and even the seafloor. These results highlight how pervasive(遍布的)city lighting could be in shaping the ecology of coastlines kilometres distant from their nearest urban centres. They also highlight the potential for artificial sky glow to impact other species that undergo migrations using the moon as a compass.

“While our understanding of the impacts of street lights on nature has improved dramatically, artificial sky glow has been largely overlooked. More work is urgently needed to fully understand the extent to which it is shaping the natural environment.” Dr. Thomas Davies added.

1. Which of the following could best replace “disrupts” in paragraph 2?

A．disturbs

B．makes

C．unites

D．replaces

2. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The ways of creatures hunting food.

B．The causes of animals migrating at night.

C．The results of ecosystems being destroyed.

D．The influence of artificial light on creatures.

3. What have researchers found about light pollution?

A．It is the main pollution in cities.

B．It shapes the ecology of the ocean.

C．It has a great influence on surroundings.

D．It affects the migrations of sea creatures.

4. What does Dr. Thomas Davies think of the study of artificial sky glow?

A．It is useless.	B．It is essential.
C．It is doubtful.	D．It is challenging.

【推荐3】After moving to the United States, immigrant groups trying to fit in tend to choose high calorie fatty foods in an attempt to appear more American, a new study finds.   That's one reason why immigrants approach US levels of obesity within 15 years of moving to America.

The researchers also did an experiment that measured whether or not the threat of appearing un-American influenced respondents’ food choices. After being questioned about their ability to speak English , 75 percent of Asian-Americans identified a typical American food as their favorite. Only 25 percent of Asian-Americans who had not been asked if they spoke English did the same.

When their American identity was called into question during a follow-up study, Asian-American participants also tended to choose typical American dishes, such as hamburgers and cheese sandwiches.   In that experiment, 55 Asian-Americans were asked to choose a meal from a local Asian or American restaurant. Some participants were told that only Americans could participate in the study. Those who chose the more typical American fare ended up consuming an extra 182 calories,   including 12 grams of fat and 7 grams of saturated fat (饱和脂肪 ).

“People who feel like they need to prove they belong to a culture will change their habits in an attempt to fit in, ” said Sauna Cheryan , an author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Washington.

“If immigrants and their children choose unhealthy American foods over healthier traditional foods across their lives, this process of fitting in could lead to poorer health.” Cheryan added.

Social pressures, the study concluded, are at the heart of the problem.   “In American society today, being American is associated with being white. Americans, who don't fit this image even if they were born here and speak English, feel that pressure to prove that they’re American,” said Cheryan.

1. The author wants to show that _____

A．immigrants tend to eat American junk food to fit in

B．more and more Asians enjoy high-calorie snacks

C．most Americans are at the risk of heart disease

D．all the American people have a bad eating habit

2. According to the survey, _______

A．Asian-Americans care less about their health

B．25 percent of Americans like junk food

C．immigrants are forced to eat junk food

D．choosing food is related to Asian-Americans' situation

3. The underlined word “fare” in Paragraph 3 most probably means “________”

A．a person taking a taxi

B．food offered as a meal

C．money spent on food

D．an arranged thing to do

4. According to Sauna Cheryan, ________

A．what immigrants have done is ridiculous

B．immigrants risk their health in order to fit in

C．American traditional foods are healthier

D．American culture affects immigrants deeply