【推荐1】Being alone in outer space can be frightening—that is one reason why astronauts on solo space flight were given plenty of work to keep them_________. They were also in constant communication with people on the earth._________, being with people from whom you cannot get away might be even harder than being alone. This is what happens on long submarine(潜水艇)voyages. It will also happen on_________space flights in the future. Will there be special problems of adjustment under such conditions?

Scientists have studied the reactions of men to one another during long submarine voyages. They have found that the longer the voyage lasts, the more serious the problem of_________is. When men are_________together for a long period, they begin to feel uneasy. Everyone has little habits of speaking and behaving that are ordinarily acceptable. In the limited space over a long period of time, however, these little habits may become very_________.

Apparently, although no one wants to be_________all the time, everyone needs some degree of privacy. When people are enclosed together, they are in what is called a stress situation. That means that they are under an unusual amount of _________or stress.

People who are well-adjusted are able to_________stress situations better than others. That is one reason why so much care is taken in__________our astronauts. These men undergo a long period of testing and training. One of the things tested is their behavior under stress.

【推荐2】Reading award-winning literature may boost your ability to read other people, a new study suggests. Researchers at the New School for Social Research found that when they had volunteers read works of acclaimed (受到称赞的) “literary fiction”, it seemed to temporarily improve their ability to _________ other people’s emotions. The same was not _________ of nonfiction or “popular” fiction, the mystery, romance and science fiction books that often dominate bestseller lists.

Researchers _________ a series of five experiments which participants read either literary fiction, popular fiction, nonfiction or nothing at all before taking some standard tests. One of the tests is known as “Reading the Mind in the Eyes”. People have to look at photos of actors’ eyes, and then guess what emotion is being expressed in each. The test is considered a(n) _________ of empathy. Overall, study participants scored better after reading literary fiction, versus the other three _________.

It was a(n) _________ improvement, according to the principal researcher David Comer Kidd, “It’s not like taking people from a ‘C’ to an ‘A’ ,” he said. But, Kidd added, the effect was seen after only about 10 minutes’ reading, and it was a statistically strong finding, meaning it’s unlikely to have been due to _________.

What’s so _________ about literary fiction? It’s usually more focused on character than on plot. There is usually no single “dominant narrator” who takes readers through the story. It _________ that the readers should think about the characters and fill in the gaps. The author doesn’t tell you what to think. Readers have to make__________ about characters. And that’s often what people are doing in the real-life conversations.

“This is great study!” said Raymond Mar, an associate professor of psychology at York University, who was not involved in the new study. __________, he added that the overall research in this area is “still in its infancy” and one key question is whether literary fiction really __________ other types of fiction. So, it’s too early to tell people to __________ their romance novel for Nobel literature, at least if the goal is boosting empathy.

But it is __________ that the findings suggest literature is important beyond entertainment or improving vocabulary. “There’s a common belief that reading literature is frivolous (可笑的), or not practical,” Mar said. “But there’s a growing body of evidence that it’s important in __________ that we need in our lives.”

【推荐2】When the Italian traveler Marco Polo came to Hangzhou in the 13^th century, he thought he was in the most charming (迷人的) city in the world. And Hangzhou often __________ “Paradise on Earth”, remains as __________ today.

It was named one of the top ten “Foreigners’ Favorite Cities in China” on Nov. 6, according to a survey jointly (共同地) __________by a magazine and a government department.

The West Lake is __________ the most famous landmark in the city. It is __________ by low mountains on three sides. Su Dongpo, a great poet of the Song Dynasty, best described the __________ by comparing it to the famous beauty Lady Xizi. He said, “How charming she looks whether richly made of only slightly so!”

Hangzhou is a city with a history of more than two thousand years, so there are dozens of __________ sites around the lake, many of which have __________ to build the romantic nature of the city. The Broken Bridge is one of the best examples. It isn’t __________ broken. It got its name because after it snows and the __________ comes out, the snow on the sunny side of the bridge melts (融化) first, while the rest __________ . Thus, from a distance, the bridge appears to be __________. Legend (传说) has it that a young man named Xu Xian and the White Snake, a spirit (妖) who changed into a beautiful woman, __________ and fell in love on the bridge during a rainy day.

Hangzhou’s romantic characteristics are shared by both the local people and __________ from home and abroad. Once you are here, you’d feel blessed by nature. Isn’t it like in paradise on earth to __________ a cup of green tea in a quiet teahouse beside the West Lake?

【推荐3】Do you like history? Ancient history can seem so far ________ daily life, ________ when you just learn it from a textbook. Lists of dates and people and pictures of places ________ little interest ________ you’re studying for an exam. But going to locations and seeing famous structures for yourself make history come ________. Pictures may be worth a thousand ________ , but the real thing is worth much more! You will be in awe (惊叹) when you visit Xi’an, one of China’s oldest cities. Rulers of several dynasties including Zhou, Han, Sui and Tang made Xi’an their ________. An ________ wall surrounds the city center, originally built during the Tang Dynasty but ________ in the Ming Dynasty. The wall has 18 gates, and several allow ________ to the city. The South Gate is the most spectacular (壮观的) and has recently been beautifully ________. Two museums near the south gate ________ treasures from the city’s past.

One of the main reasons why people visit Xi’an ________ 35 kilometers from the city. They go to see the burial site of Emperor Qin Shihuang. He wanted an army to ________him in the afterlife, so he had craftsmen create 8,000 terracotta soldieries and horses. These were buried in pits(深坑) ________ Qin’s own tomb. About 2,000 ________ the 6,000 warriors and horses buried there have been unearthed. Visitors walk on a walkway ________the pit to view row upon row of soldiers. It’s an amazing ________.

There is much more ________ to discover in Xi’an. And it’s much more exciting than reading about it in a ________!