【推荐1】One of the areas of our body which conveys most about how we feel is how we move our hands and arms.       1    , but most often they occur unconsciously and naturally.

    2    . Open hands and arms, especially extended, and with hands up in front of the body at chest height, indicate that what you’re saying is important, and, especially when people are speaking in public, a pointing finger or a hand waving above the shoulders stresses a personal point. However, research shows that people often find speakers who point their fingers a lot rather annoying.

Openness or honesty.     3    , they will often hold one or both of their hands out to the other person. Footballers who have just committed a foul (犯规)often use this gesture to try to convince the referee that they didn’t do it.

Nervousness. If a person puts his hand to his mouth, this either indicates that he is hiding something, or that he is nervous.     4    , and so does holding a bag or briefcase very tightly in front of the body.

Feeling defensive. Arms folded tightly over the chest is a classic gesture of defensiveness and indicates that you are protecting yourself. It is often seen among strangers in queues or in lifts or anywhere where people feel a bit insecure. People also sometimes use this gesture when they are listening to someone, to show that they disagree with what is being said.     5    !

A．Saying something important

B．When people want to be open or honest

C．Hand and arm gestures are sometimes intentional

D．But this gesture can simply mean that the person is cold

E．Playing with your fingers, like tapping the table, also shows anxiety

F．This gesture is typical of lawyers, accountants, and other professionals

G．When someone puts up his both hands, he probably gives in to his enemies

【推荐2】Successful public speaking centers on the physical message of presentation. Some call this “body language”     1    .

We have all seen nervous presenters in classrooms and meetings. One effect of being nervous is moving from side to side.     2     In fact an audience can lose interest in a speaker who does not move. How a speaker moves is important. Whole-body movement should slow and planned to control attention. Such movement helps to communicate confidence.

    3     They’ll be looking at their notes, the screen or the floor. The problem of having note and trying to talk from notes is often a big problem. So they have trouble with eye contact. The best way to avoid this problem is to use images and few words for notes instead of sentences. The image should help communicate the point you want to make. Writing a few words with the image on your slide helps you remember that point.     4     .

A good way to change your body language is to make a video of your presentation and watch yourself.     5     . An important part of public speaking is practice. When you practice remember these important tips: Be aware of your posture, eye contact and gestures. Record yourself using a phone, tablet or camera. Watch yourself and plan what you will do to improve.

A．A speaker needs to focus on his speech all the time.

B．A presenter does not need to stand perfectly still.

C．Then you can look at the audience while speaking.

D．It includes posture, eye contact and gestures.

E．Your eyes will speak your mind secretly.

F．This helps you to become aware of what you need to change.

G．Some speakers find it difficult to make eye contact with the audience.

【推荐2】Young girls are waiting in long lines to shop at Brandy Melville, an Italian fashion brand. You can find small skirts, tiny T-shirts and skinny jeans there.     1    

With celebrities (明星) and fashion vloggers posting photos of Brandy Melville clothing online, the brand has got popular all over the world. However, many girls are finding that the brand’s clothes are too small. The brand’s idea of “one size fits all” has made them feel uncomfortable.

“    2     Everyone has a different shape,” a girl named Allison told Buzzfeed.

“It sends a message that if you don’t fit into the clothing, whether it’s too big or too small, you’re not ‘normal’, which leads to all sorts of body dissatisfaction,” Allison added.

    3     According to a survey by Girl Guiding UK, 47 percent of girls aged 11-21 say the way they look holds them back. In China, more than half of teenagers want to lose weight to make themselves look better, according to a survey by Southern Weekly.

Fashion trends set by companies like Brandy Melville are “ruining the girl’s self-esteem (自尊心)”, as Nicolette Simons wrote for Odyssey. The unrealistic sizes of their clothes can make girls feel like they are too fat.     4     They might not even realize that this is not their fault, but the fault of the trend.

“Girls should learn to accept different body shapes and show themselves with confidence,” as TMT Post said. Nobody needs to be a “Brandy Melville girl”.     5    

A．Just be yourself.

B．Your clothes say a lot about you.

C．There’s clearly no such thing as one size fits all!

D．They might try to lose weight at the cost of their health.

E．Everything in the shop is designed only for one body type: thin.

F．In fact, it’s common for teenagers to feel unhappy with their bodies.

G．Following fashion trends has little to do with your personal comfort.

【推荐3】Last year, Americans spent over $30 billion at retail(零售) stores in the month of December alone. Aside from purchasing holiday gifts, most people regularly buy presents for other occasions throughout the year, including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and baby showers. This frequent experience of gift-giving can generate ambivalent feelings in gift-givers. Many believe that gift-giving offers a powerful means to build stronger bonds with one’s closest peers. At the same time, many worry that their purchases will disappoint rather than delight the intended receivers.

Anthropologists describe gift-giving as a positive social process, serving various political, religious, and psychological functions. Economists, however, offer a less favorable view. They think that gift-giving represents an objective waste of resources. People buy gifts that receivers would not choose to buy on their own, or at least not spend as much money to purchase. Givers are likely to spend $100 to purchase a gift that receivers would spend only $80 to buy themselves.

What is surprising is that gift-givers have considerable experience acting as both gift-givers and gift-receivers, but nevertheless tend to overspend each time they set out to purchase a meaningful gift. In the present research, psychologists find a unique explanation for this overspending problem—gift-givers equate how much they spend with how much receivers will appreciate the gift. Although a link between gift price and feelings of appreciation might seem relevant to gift-givers, such an assumption may be unfounded. Indeed, we find that gift-receivers will be less willing to base their feelings of appreciation on the gift price than givers assume.

The thoughts of gift-givers and gift-receivers being unable to account for the other party’s perspective seems puzzling because people slip in and out of these roles every day. Yet, despite the extensive experience that people have as both givers and receivers, they often struggle to transfer information gained from one role and apply it in another.

1. What does the underlined word “ambivalent” in Para.1 probably mean?

A．Concerned	B．Conflicting.
C．Negative.	D．Positive

2. What can we learn from Para.3?

A．Gift-receivers link their appreciation closely to the gift cost.

B．Personal preferences are the least to be considered.

C．The assumption made by gift-givers is incorrect.

D．Gift-giving is a process of wasting resources.

3. According to the author, the different thoughts between the gift-givers and receivers are caused by        .

A．a trend of overspending

B．an inability to shift perspective

C．a growing opposition to gift-giving

D．a misunderstanding of intention

【推荐2】The year 2009 is the Year of Ox. The ox is a representative of the farming culture of China. In the farming economy (经济), oxen are the major animals pulling plows (犁).
Of course, the good of oxen is not limited to plowing. In fact, they are seen as “boats on land” for their ability to carry loads. Besides, the whole body of an ox is full of treasures. Their meat and milk are food full of nutrition, and their skin can be used to make clothes and shoes. With all these qualities, oxen are regarded as generous creatures.
In the past, oxen played an important role in the spiritual life of the Chinese. Even today, oxen still play a special part in some folk activities. For example, some people who live in southwest China will cook cattle bone soup and share it among family members when holding the ceremony for children who reach 13. They believe that the cattle bone soup represents the blood relationship among family members. In order to express their love for oxen, people in some other areas will run to shake off diseases on the 16th day of the first month by the lunar calendar (农历), and during their run they will take their oxen along, which indicates they regard the creature as human.
Because of the contribution of oxen in their lives, the Chinese people are very grateful to the animal. In addition, the use of oxen in ceremonies and the thanks people owe to oxen help to develop various traditional customs, which becomes an important part of the folk culture of the Chinese nation.
1. The words “boats on land” underlined in Paragraph 2 refer to ________.

A．animals for taking goods	B．creatures for pulling plows
C．treasures of the folk culture	D．tools in the farming economy

2. From the third paragraph, we know that ________.

A．oxen are no more important today than in the past

B．ceremonies are held when people cook cattle bone soup

C．oxen are treated as human in some areas of China

D．people run with oxen to shake off diseases every month

3. Which of the following helps to develop traditional customs?

A．The special role of oxen in frowning.

B．People’s respect and love for oxen.

C．The practical value of an ox's body.

D．The contribution of oxen to the economy.

4. Why does the author write the text?

A．To stress the importance of oxen in farming.

B．To introduce the Chinese folk culture.

C．To describe how to celebrate the Year of Ox.

D．To explain how to develop agriculture with oxen.

【推荐3】A study of almost 2,700 children aged between seven and ten in 38 schools in Barceiona, Spain, first researches the impact of traffic noise on child cognitive (认知的) development over time.

The children in the study are in a critical stage for the development of memory and attention skill, which are essential to learning. The research found that children exposed to about three times more traffic in the street than other children had memory development that was 23% slower and attention ability development 5% slower over a year.

Noise is the second most damaging environmental factor to health, after air pollution, and, for example, was already known to increase heart attacks in adults. The UN said that urban noise pollution was growing into a global public health threat, leading to 12,000 early deaths a year in the EU alone and affecting many cities.

But research on the impact of road noise on children was limited until now. “We do not know that noise can actually be toxic (有害的) from a physical point of view,” said Dr. Maria Foraster, from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, who led the study. “We think that we adapt to it, but research has shown that we don’t completely—we still have a physiological (生理的) response.

The research revealed that peaks of noise heard inside the classroom, such as the passing of loud trucks, had more impact than a higher average level of noise. It also found higher noise levels at school were more damaging than at home.

Prof. Iroise Dumontheil, at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, said, “This carefully designed study provides convincing evidence. Considering that many European children living in large cities are exposed to high road-traffic noise levels, this study has implications for public policy to reduce road-traffic noise near schools.”

The research follows previous work that showed higher levels of aircraft noise at school affected reading comprehension and cognitive development. Next, the authors said, they would like to see their findings replicated (复制) in different cities and towns, where schools may be

built differently and windows opened more or less often.
1. What can we learn from Maria Foraster’s words?

A．We are troubled by nose.

B．We lack confidence in her study.

C．We try hard to adapt to noise.

D．We aren’t fully aware of the harm of noise to humans.

2. What is Iroise Dumontheil’s attitude towards the study?

A．Curious.	B．Favorable.
C．Cautious	D．Unsatisfied.

3. What might the research team focus on next?

A．Finding solutions to reducing noise.

B．Helping students to realize the impact of noise.

C．Confirming their findings in different areas.

D．Studying the differences between various noises.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Policies on traffic noise should be improved

B．Traffic noise slows children’s memory development

C．Traffic noise has a growing impact on people’s health

D．Attention should be paid to the environment around schools