【推荐1】How Arts Promote Our Economy

When most people think of the arts, they imagine the end product, the beautiful painting, a wonderful piece of music, or an award-winning __________ in the theater. But arts groups bring broader value to our communities. The economic impact of the arts is often __________ and badly judged.

The arts create jobs that help develop the __________.Any given performance takes a tour bus full of artists, technical experts, mangers, musicians, or writers to create a(n) __________ piece of art. These people earn a living wage for their professional knowledge and skills.

Another group of folks is needed to help market the event. “If you build it they will come” is a misleading belief. Painters, digital media experts, photographers, booking agents and promoters are hired to sell tickets and __________ the event. According to the Dallas Area Cultural Advocacy Coalition, arts agencies employ more than 10,000 people as full-or part-time employees or independent __________.

A __________ arts neighborhoods creates a ripple effect （连锁反应）throughout a community. In 2005,when the Bishop Arts Theatre was donated to our town, the location was considered a poor area of town. After investing more than 51 million in __________ the building, we began producing a full season of theater performances, jazz concerts, and year-round arts education programs in 2008.Nearly 40 percent of jazz lovers live outside of the Dallas city limits and drive or fly in to enjoy an evening in the Bishop Arts District.

No doubt the theater has __________ the area’s development and economic growth. Today, there are galleries, studios, restaurants and newly built work spaces where neighbors share experiences, where there is renewed life and energy.__________,arts and culture also serve as a public good.

Teco Theatrical Production Inc. made use of Bloomberg’s investment of $35,000 to get nearly $40,000 in public and private sector support during the two-year period. Further, Dallas arts and arts-based business produce $298 for every dollar the city spends on arts programming and facilities. In Philadelphia, a metro area smaller than Dallas, the arts have an economic impact of almost $3 million and support 44,000 jobs,80 percent of which actually lie __________ the arts industry, including accountants, marketers, construction workers, hotel managers, printers, and other kinds of art workers.

The arts are efficient economic __________ and when they are supported, the entire small-business community __________.

It is wrong to __________ arts groups cannot make a profit. But in order to stay in business, arts groups must produce returns. If you are a student studying the arts, chances are you have been ill-advised to have a plan B. But those who __________ understand the economic impact and can work to change the patterns can create a wide range of career possibilities.

【推荐2】Scientists in Norway have more good news for coffee drinkers. Researchers have already found evidence that the drink -- or the beans can help with weight loss, _______ one’s risk of developing some diseases, _______ muscle growth, protect against certain types of cancers and can even reduce ones risk of _______ death. Now comes word that a cup of coffee reduces physical pain.

The surprising finding is based on study _______ 48 volunteers who agreed to spend 90 minutes performing fake computer tasks meant to mimic office work. The tasks were known to _______ pain in the shoulders, neck, forearms and wrists, and the researchers wanted to _______ how people with pain and those who were pain-free tolerated the pain of such tasks. As a matter of convenience, the scientists allowed people to drink coffee before taking the test “to avoid _______effects of caffeine deprivation, e.g. decreased vigor and alertness, sleepiness, and fatigue,” they reported.

But when it came time to analyze the data, the researchers from Norway’s National Institute of Occupational Health and Oslo University Hospital noticed that the 19 people who drank coffee reported a lower _______ of pain than the 29 people who didn’t. In the shoulders and neck, _______, the average pain intensity was rated 41 (on a 100-point scale) among the coffee drinkers and 55 for non-coffee drinkers. Similar gaps were found for all pain sites measured, and coffee’s apparent pain- reduction effect ________.

However, the authors of the study, which was published this week in the journal BMC Research Notes, cautioned that since the study wasn’t designed to test coffee’s influence on pain, the results came with many ________. For starters, the researchers don’t know how much coffee the coffee drinkers consumed before taking the computer tests. ________ they doubt whether the coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers were ________ in all respects except for their coffee consumption. Problems like these tend to ________ the importance of the findings. But those doubts are ________ to trouble the coffee drinkers looking for any reason not to cut back on their daily caffeine habit.

【推荐3】The scent of coffee appears to enhance performance in math

Drinking coffee has benefits. ______ the physical improvement, coffee may reduce our risk of heart disease. Coffee may even help us live longer. Now, research also reveals that the scent（气味）of coffee may help people perform better on the analytical portion of the Graduate Management Aptitude Test, or GMAT, a computer adaptive test ______ by many business schools.

The work, led by famous professor Adriana Madzharov, not only ______ the hidden force of scent and the cognitive（认知）improvement it may provide on analytical tasks, but also expectation that students will perform better on those tasks. Madzharov, with his colleagues, recently published their findings.

“It’s not just that the coffee-like scent helped people perform better on analytical tasks, which was already ______,” says Madzharov. “But they also thought they would do better, and we demonstraded that this expectation was at least partly ______ their improved performance.” ________, smelling a coffee - like scent, which has no caffeine in it, has an effect similar to that of drinking coffee, suggesting a placebo（安慰剂）effect of coffee scent.

Madzharov’s team tested 100 undergraduate business students, divided into two groups, with GMAT algebra questions. One group took the test in the ______ of a coffee - like scent, while a control group took the same test - but in an unscented room. They found that the group in the coffee-smelling room scored significantly higher on the test.

Madzharov’s team wanted to know more. Could the first group’s performance in quick thinking be explained, in part, by an expectation that a coffee scent would increase ______ and consequently improve performance?

The team designed a follow-up survey, conducted among more than 200 new participants, quizzing them on ______ about various scents and their effects on human performance. Participants believed that they would feel more alert and energetic in the presence of a coffee scent, in contrast with a flower scent or no scent; and that ______ to coffee scent would increase their performance on mental tasks. The results suggest that ______ about performance can be explained by beliefs that coffee scent alone makes people more alert and energetic.

Madzharov is now looking to explore whether coffee-like scents can have a(n) ______ placebo effect on other types of performance, such as verbal reasoning. She also says that the finding - that coffee - like scent acts as a placebo for analytical reasoning performance - has many practical ______, including several for business.

“Sense of smelling is one of our most powerful senses,” says Madzharov. “Employers, architects, building developers, retail space managers and others, can use scents to help ______ employees’ or occupants’ experience with their environment. It’s an area of great interest and ______.”

【推荐1】When you’re leaving for an international trip, a passport is the single most important thing to double-check. Remembering to ______ it with you is very important. It’s also important for you to ______ about your passport. After all, it’s your one ______ to get out of the country—and get back in. Passports are powerful, ______ not all are equal.

Depending on what passport you ______, you’ll need a visa（签证）to enter different countries. For example, a U.S. passport is all you need to ______ Peru（秘鲁）. If you decide to______ to Brazil while you’re there, you’ll need to apply for（申请）a ______. But a Peruvian passport would let you ______ the border（国界）into Brazil without a visa.

Naturally, some passports will get you into more ______ visa-free than others. The organization Arton Capital listed every country’s passport from most ______ least powerful, based on how many countries it would give access（进入权）to without a visa. Nowadays, the United Arab Emirates is recognized as the most _______ passport in the world. It gets their ______ into 177 countries without a visa. In the ______   place are Finland, Luxembourg, and Spain which all give access to 169 countries. The United States, which has 168 visa-free countries on its______, doesn’t come in until the third group.

Count yourself ______ if you don’t rely on an Afghanistan passport ______is the least powerful, only letting their people into 34 countries without a visa.

Visa or not, make sure you ______these airport mistakes that could ruin your vacation.

【推荐3】Monaco Grand Prix

The air is fresh with the heat of early summer as you arrive in the beautiful country of Monaco on the day of the race. Your______ to the Monte-Carlo neighborhood is bursting with color as classic styles of European architecture catch your eye. When you reach the race course area, you are led to the harbor where you will watch the race from the ______ of   a   friend’s   yacht (游艇）.Soon, the Formula One cars will pull onto the starting point and the race will begin.

Each of the cars in the Monaco Grand       Prix is ______, but all of them are fast   and modern. The race course also ______ as   being   complex   and   difficult,   with     a   frightening hairpin (发夹）turn along a very narrow street. ______ these streets at speeds over 150 kilometers per hour, drivers must take over. Even       the slightest ______ could turn a multi- million dollar car into a pile of waste. The driver who claims first place receives an award and will go down ______ as one of the world’s finest drivers.

Indianapolis 500

On race day the grandstands (大看台）are filled with excitement as you enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You find your seat, ______ yourself against the harsh heat and marvel at the huge black oval (椭圆形的）track below. Moments later, a fleet of Indy Cars rolls onto the track, ______ themselves in 11   neat rows of three. The sound of 33 turning engines rings in your ears, and you cheer with the crowd as the powerful cars take off from the starting line.

Unlike Monaco Formula One cars, Indy cars are more uniform in their ______. They tend to be much longer, and reach 260 kilometers per hour. Since the drivers must race for 500 miles, the race is quite long, ______ three to five hours. The resulting wear and tear on each     car is managed with short stop. The driver’s excellent team performs ______ at amazing speeds. The dangerous nature of this   race requires ______ communication between the drivers   and their teams.   They   must   plan short stops ______ or the driver   loses precious time   and it   could ______ them the race.