【推荐1】A man named Jack came home from work and found his three children outside. They were still in their pajamas(睡衣), playing in the mud. Toys were lying all over the garden. The front door to the house was wide open.

Walking in the door, he found an even bigger mess. In the living room, the TV was turned up loud. There were toys and clothes all over the places.

In the kitchen, there was a broken glass under the table and dishes filled the sink(水槽). Breakfast food was still on the dining table. The door of the fridge was open. In the bathroom, the bathtub was full of water. Soap and toilet paper were on the floor. Toothpaste(牙膏) was all over the mirror and walls.

He quickly went upstairs, looking for his wife. He was worried that she was sick or that something bad happened.

As he ran into the bedroom, he found his wife in bed. Still in her pajamas, she was reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled and asked how his day went. He looked at her and asked, “What happened here today?”

She smiled again and answered, “You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what on earth I do all day?”

“Yes,” he replied.

She answered, “Well, I didn’t do it only today.”

【推荐2】Here are the results of the student activity survey at No 3 Middle School.    1    About 8% of students do homework three or four times a week.

Some students exercise after school every day.    2    Only a few students never exercise. Over 80% of students watch TV once or twice a week.    3    

    4     Nearly all students like this activity. About 26% of students use the Internet three or four times a week. But most students are too busy to go to the Internet bar every day.    5    

As summer gives way to autumn, many of us find ourselves lacking (缺少) warmth and sunlight. And the shorter days make some people feel upset (沮丧的) and lazy. They are having the so-called autumn sadness. In worse cases, however, some may suffer from seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.

SAD is a type of depression (抑郁症). It mostly starts in the late autumn or early winter and goes away in the spring and summer. People who have SAD oversleep, overeat, and lose interest in activities they once liked. They also feel sad and even desperate (绝望的).

The reason for SAD is not clear. Johns Hopkins University said that the lack of natural light during the autumn and winter months may disrupt (打乱) the body clock and the making of hormones (荷尔蒙). This disruption can lead to depression.

People with SAD often need medical (医药的) help. Light therapy (光疗法) is a common and useful way to treat(治疗) it. Doctors advise patients (病人) to get as much sunlight as possible. Light therapy helps to balance hormones and get a patient’s life back on track.

Also, living a healthy life, like sleeping early, exercising often, and eating well, can help people deal with SAD.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health of the US, in most cases (情况), SAD begins in young adulthood (青年时期). So, while studying inside the classroom, don’t forget to get some sunshine outside the classroom when you can!

【推荐2】Flu easily spreads from one person to another. This is especially true to people who are weak. If you are weak, you are more likely to catch the flu easily. Do you know how you can avoid flu?

Keep in good health

The best treatment (疗法) to illness is good health. You can eat everything you want but make sure that your diet is healthy. The healthier you are, the better it is for you to avoid any type of illness around. Most doctors suggest plenty of fresh fruit juice and water in order that one can avoid the flu.

Stay away from people with flu

If a member of the family or a friend has the flu, stay away from him/her until he/she is well. Flu is very communicable and you can catch it by going with the person with the flu. Wear a mask and avoid using things that the person with the flu is using.

Exercise

Exercising will make you stronger, which means a stronger immune (免疫的) system too. Exercise often so that your body will keep healthy. It doesn't matter what kind of exercise it is. What is important is that you are making your body stronger to prevent illness from attacking you.

Be happy

Happy people are healthy people. Their life is stress free, so they are more likely to be safe from illness. If you are unhappy, which affects your immune system, you will easily get sick.

Avoiding the flu is easy. Just boost (增强) your immune system and it will take care of the rest.

【推荐3】At midnight Mr. King coughed again. He got up and took some medicine. Before he lay down again, he smoked. And he couldn’t go to sleep any longer. He found the medicine book and began to read it. He was afraid he had lung cancer. He seemed to see death was waiting for him. Tears(眼泪) ran down his face. He didn’t see his wife was standing by him.

“What’s wrong with you, dear?” asked the woman.

“Nothing,” the old man answered and covered his face with his hands.

The old woman opened the book and understood at once. She said, “You must stop smoking right now.”

“I began to smoke when I was nine, you know. How can’t I do that?”

“But I think health is more important.”

Mr. King coughed again and his wife said, “Go to see a doctor tomorrow. He will be able to help you, I think.”

The doctor told Mr. King to have an X-ray examination of his lungs. And then he looked at the X-ray carefully for a long time.

“Tell me the truth, doctor.” said Mr. King, “Do you see any shadows(阴影) in my lungs?”

“No, I don’t see anything.”

“Yes?” the old man said happily. “Really?”

“Yes. Your lungs are turning black. How can I see any shadows?”

【推荐1】①Richard Blackson, the headteacher of an US art school, visited 23 schools in Philadelphia. He found a room full of broken musical instruments at each school. The schools said the instruments had been there for a long time. But Blackson also found that 1, 000 of the broken instruments could be repaired.

②In fact, many public schools in the United States don’t have enough musical instruments because of the available money cuts. Several students often have to share one instrument. So, Blackson started a project called “Symphony (交响乐) for a Broken Orchestra (管弦乐 团)” in order to repair broken instruments for students.

③To raise money, he reached out to David Lang, a Pulitzer Prize-winning US musician. The musician Lang came up with the idea of writing a symphony for the broken instruments. On November 23, 400 students and professional musicians held a concert. They performed Lang’s Symphony for a Broken Orchestra, which shares its name with the repair project.

④High school student Evelyn Mitka, 16, played a violin that was missing a string during the concert. She told Dogo News that the performance taught her a lesson. “You can learn music in an untraditional way.”

⑤ Now people can go online to see introductions of all of the broken instruments and give money to “adopt” one or more instruments. Blackson has raised over $237, 000 (1.5 million yuan) so far, The New York Times reported. In the autumn term of this year, Philadelphia students will receive the repaired instruments.

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【推荐3】

A salt seller used to carry big bags of salt on his donkey's back as he made his way to the market every day.

On the way there, they had to cross a river. One day, the donkey took a sudden fall into the river. The big bags of salt also fell into the water. The salt seller didn't notice, but some of the salt dissolved in the water, making the bags much lighter to carry. The donkey realized this and felt much more comfortable on his way to the market.

The next day, the donkey did the same thing, except this time, he fell in the water on purpose. Again, the bags were lighter and easier to carry.

The salt seller soon found out what was going on and decided to teach his donkey a lesson. The next day, he put two big bags of cotton on the donkey's back. Again the donkey played the same trick, hoping that the bags would become even lighter.

But the cotton that fell into the water instead became very heavy to carry. The donkey learned a lesson and didn't play this trick anymore after that day.

Sometimes. we might feel tempted (有诱惑力的) to take shortcuts (捷径) or cheat when we have a lot of hard work to do. However, taking shortcuts and cheating will often come back us later. It is better to simply work honestly.