【推荐3】Here's one very simple but lifechanging piece of advice that I first heard from Brian Tracy. Cut down on the TV at night by just one hour. Instead, use that hour to read books that could improve your life.
If you're a salesman, google for the best and most useful books on improving your sales.
This applies to all fields, not just the work-related ones. Maybe you want to improve your health, become a more energetic person. Or maybe you want to improve your study, your relations or perhaps do some personal development.
One hour a day is not much. But if you read for one hour a day on weekdays, that's about 260 hours a year. That's a large number of books and a lot of useful advice.
If you follow the ideas, who knows what great things and feelings could come into your life. Also, all that information and advice will start to open up your mind. You will start to see more chances in your life.
Now, you might think something like this:
1. I really don't have the money...
Answer: Visit your public library or search the database. Or look for books that are used in places like amazon.com.
2. I really don't have the time...
Answer: Buy audiobooks and listen to them in the car while driving to and from work. Or copy them to your MP3-player and listen while riding your bike /bus to work or school. Recently selling audiobooks through MP3-downloads has become popular...
Shut off the TV a little earlier and start reading.
1. What is Brian Tracy's lifechanging advice about?

A．Watching TV.

B．Listening to MP3.

C．Surfing the internet.

D．Reading helpful books.

2. Which is NOT true about reading an hour a day?

A．It will open up your mind.

B．You will have about 260 hours a year to read.

C．You will read lots of books and get much useful advice.

D．It will probably bring great things and feelings into your life.

3. What should you do if you really don't have the money to read?

A．To buy some books from amazon.com.

B．To download MP3 free.

C．To visit the public library.

D．To borrow audiobooks and listen to them.

4. What is the writer's idea about audiobooks?

A．They are more useful.

B．Listening to audiobooks is easier than reading books.

C．It's dangerous to listen to audiobooks while driving or riding.

D．Audiobooks are a good solution to the problem of having no time to read.

【推荐1】Urban Transportation in Canada

Public transportation &Transit passes

All cities and most major towns in Canada have a public transportation system with one or more modes of transportation (bus, subway, train, etc.). The bus is the most common form of urban transportation in Canada. To use public transportation, you must buy a ticket or a transit pass. Transit passes allow you unlimited use of public transportation for a specific period (one month or more). They are usually cheaper than buying many tickets if you plan to use public transportation often.

Transportation for people with disabilities

Public transportation often has features to assist people with disabilities. In many cities and towns, there are also transportation services available specifically for people with limited mobility, such as specially equipped buses. You can find out about these services in the same way you would learn more about other public transportation options.

Manners on public transportation

When taking public transportation such as a bus or train, it is important to understand the unspoken rules of conduct in the shared space. Here are a few things to note:

◆ Be polite and respectful to others around you. For example, maintain an appropriate noise level when talking or making a phone call.

◆If you are carrying a backpack or a large shoulder bag in a crowded public transit vehicle, keep it close to you, preferably at your feet to avoid hitting people with it as you walk by.

◆Avoid pushing or touching others in order to make more room for yourself. Sometimes public transit can become very crowded, but it is important to keep calm and give others appropriate personal space.

◆Have your proof of payment accessible in case you are asked to show it.

1. What is the advantage of using transit passes over buying tickets?

A．Safer trips.	B．Lower costs.
C．More use of transport.	D．Longer service hours.

2. Which of the following statements is true about the transportation system for the disabled in Canada?

A．Some cities limit their mobility on city buses.

B．It provides free rides for them in towns and cities.

C．All cities don’t run special transport services for them.

D．For safety, it offers fewer transportation options for them.

3. Which is considered proper while you are on public transportation?

A．If possible, keep a certain distance from others.

B．If possible, place your backpacks on a vacant seat.

C．If necessary, raise your voice to make yourself heard.

D．If necessary, you can pull others to make room for yourself.

【推荐2】In the US, people prefer waiting for a table to sitting with people they don’t know. This means a hostess may not seat a small group until a small table is available, even if a large one is. If you are sitting at a table with people you don’t know, it is impolite to light up a cigarette without asking if it will disturb them.

At American restaurants and coffee shops you are usually served tap water before you order. You may find the bread and butter is free, and if you order coffee, you may get a free refill.

Most cities and towns have no rules about opening and closing time for stores or restaurants, though they usually do make rules for bars. Especially in large cities, stores may be open 24 hours a day.

Serving in restaurants is often large, too large for many people. If you can’t finish your meal but would like to enjoy the food later, ask your waitress or waiter for a “doggie bag”. It may have a picture of a dog on it, but everybody knows you’re taking the food for yourself.

Supper and dinner are both words for the evening meal. Some people have “Sunday dinner”. This is an especially big noon meal.

Tips are not usually added to the check. They are not included in the price of the meal, either. A tip of about 15% is expected and you should leave it on the table when you leave. In some restaurants, a check is brought on a plate and you put your money there. Then the waiter or waitress brings you your change.

1. Which statement is true?

A．American people like sitting with people they don’t know.

B．A hostess always seats a small group at a large table.

C．American people never sit with people they don’t know.

D．American people will not light a cigarette if the people who sit at the same table mind their smoking.

2. What do American people always do when servings are too large for them?

A．They take the food home with a “doggie bag” for their dogs.

B．They leave the food on the table and go away.

C．They take the food home with a “doggie bag” and enjoy the food later.

D．They ask the waitress or waiter to keep the food for them.

3. What can you learn about “tips” according to the passage?

A．Customers often add tips to their check.

B．The price of the meal usually includes the tip.

C．People are not expected to pay tips in addition.

D．Tips are supposed to be left on the table when customers leave.

【推荐3】Feel tired lately? Has a doctor said he can’t find anything wrong with you? Perhaps he has sent you to a hospital, but all the advanced equipment there shows that there is nothing wrong with you.
Then, consider this: you might be in a state of sub-health（亚健康）. Sub-health, also called the third state or gray state, is explained as a borderline（界限）state between health and disease.
According to the survey by the National Health Organization, over 45 percent of sub-healthy people are middle-aged or elderly. The percentage is even higher among people who work in management positions as well as students around exam-week.
Symptoms include a lack of energy, depression, slow reactions, insomnia, anger, and poor memory. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, sweating and aching in the waist and legs.
The key to preventing and recovering from sub-health, according to some medical experts, is to form good living habits, alternate work and rest, exercise regularly, and take part in open air activities.
As for meals, people are advised to eat less salt and sugar. They should also eat more fresh vegetables, fruits, fish because they are rich in nutritional elements — vitamins and other elements that are important to the body.
Nutrition experts point out that it is not good to eat too much at one meal because it may cause unhealthy changes in the digestive tract（消化道）. They also say that a balanced diet is very helpful in avoiding sub-health.
1. According to this passage, which of the following is true?

A．When you are in a state of sub-health, you should stay at home and keep silent.

B．When you are in a state of sub-health, you should go to see a doctor and buy some medicine.

C．When you are in a state of sub-health, you should have yourself examined in foreign countries.

D．When you are in a state of sub-health, you should find out the reasons and relax yourself.

2. It may be easy for middle-aged people to get sub-healthy because _________.

A．they have used up their energy	B．they have lost their living hopes
C．they have more pressure in life and work	D．they begin to get older

3. The key to preventing you from falling into a state of sub-health is that you should ________.

A．work hard	B．sleep more
C．form good living habits	D．take more medicine

4. The underlined word “alternate” in this passage is closest in meaning to _________.

A．arrange by turns	B．cause to take place
C．keep oneself busy with	D．get tired of