【推荐3】Scientists have discovered the world’s largest known field of seagrass with the aid of some unusual helpers: tiger sharks.

Seagrass usually grows in shallow waters. It grows in thick fields, known as meadows (草地). These seagrass meadows help clean the ocean’s water, and provide shelter for lots of sea life. They are also a big help in the fight against climate change. That’s because they store huge amounts of carbon dioxide (二氧化碳). This harmful pollution is making global warming worse. Damaging these seagrass meadows will only further release (释放) this pollution back into the atmosphere.

Though they’re very important, scientists don’t have a good idea of the size and number of the world’s seagrass meadows. Trying to find these meadows from above the sea waters can be quite difficult. The world’s oceans are so large in size that it’s simply not possible to make a deep study of them by diving. So a team of scientists decided to have tiger sharks help with the research. These animals were chosen as research helpers because they spend a lot of their time in and around seagrass meadows.

Researchers attached cameras to the fins (鳍) of seven tiger sharks. The sharks then carried the cameras and travelled for miles over the sea floor. The cameras were designed to fall off after a few hours and then float back up to the surface. Tracking signals helped the scientists find the floating cameras and to collect the videos the sharks had taken.

The scientists learned that the waters around the Bahamas are home to the largest seagrass meadow ever discovered, which could be as large as 92,000 square kilometres. The discovery means that the world has about 40 per cent more seagrass meadows than scientists had thought.

The project demonstrates (示范) a powerful new way to explore the ocean. In other words, underwater animals can help us learn more about life under the sea. Animals like tiger sharks are going to take us to new places that we didn’t even know.

【推荐1】We all have our favourite music, films or books — but which are the most popular ever?

The most popular album (音乐专辑) Thriller by Michael Jackson At the time Jackson started writing his best-selling album Thriller, he hoped that his album would sell 50 million copies. He was wrong — it sold over ten million more than that. Even today around 130,000 copies are sold in the USA every year.

The most popular classical music Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony When Beethoven was alive, his Fifth Symphony wasn’t his most popular piece of music. But now most people know the da da da dah introduction. In the 20th century, the first four notes (音符) were used by other musicians to make different types of music like hiphop and rock and roll.

The most popular novel A Tale of Two Cities Many people think the best-selling book of all time is one of the Harry Potter books. It’s true that all the Harry Potter books together have sold about 450 million copies. But the most popular single novel is much older. A Tale of Two Cities was written by Charles Dickens in 1859 and has sold 250 million copies.

The most popular ________ The Shawshank Redemption The Shawshank Redemption, directed by Frank Darabont in 1994, didn’t make much money at the cinema. It only became popular later on video, DVD and TV. It was based on a book by Stephen King. The writer sold the story for only a dollar.

【推荐2】If you always put off doing things you should do or would like to do, you have experienced procrastination(拖延症).

Do you have procrastination because you are lazy? In fact, lazy people don’t do anything and are just fine with it. Procrastinators, however, want to do something but can’t force(促成) themselves to start.

There’s a goal in your brain, for example, what are the tasks to be completed today? What goals need to be achieved this year? Everything is in control.

But at the same time, your brain will also have a love of freedom, know how to enjoy yourself. Whenever you secretly make up your mind to complete a task, this “you” will give you a list of temptations. And you will fall step by step.

So if you are a procrastinator, perhaps you spend lots of time watching TV, playing video games, checking WeChat, eating, cleaning or walking back and forth through the room. Afterwards, you feel powerless and have the feeling of guilt(内疚) and trouble.

We all have procrastination more or less. __________ For example, it took Da Vinci(达·芬奇) sixteen years to complete the smile of Mona Lisa. In the middle of the delay(拖延), he went to study and changed his idea of light and shadow.

Excellent people also need to procrastinate, so that inspiration(灵感) has more time in their heads to collide(冲突) with each other. So procrastination is not always terrible. What’s terrible is that we don’t know why we procrastinate. The best way to deal with procrastination is to really understand your heart and find out the reason why it’s not easy for you to start. Some people procrastinate to think, while others procrastinate to escape(逃避).

Do you have the habit of procrastination in your daily life? What is the reason?

【推荐3】When you’re feeling down, the right song can make you smile. It can also calm you down when you’re worried. Music may also help make your brain work better. It may even help keep you healthy.

Why does music have these powers? It may be because people’s bodies have natural rhythms (节奏). Different kinds of music can influence you in different ways.

Most stores play soft music, because soft music can make people relaxed and stay longer in a shop. And the longer shoppers stay in a store, the more things they buy in it. So, stores try to play soft music to make people buy more things.

For sick people, music can do more than just help them relax. It may enable them to get well again. Doctors believe that music is just as important as medicine in treating (治疗) patients.

When you’re sick, try to listen to the soft and relaxing music. If you’re upset, play a favorite song and tell someone how it makes you feel. A group of sad teenagers shared their favorite songs with each other. Each teenager explained why he or she liked the song. After talking about it, the teenagers said they felt better.

Many studies have tried to explain how music affects learning. Don Campbell, an expert on the powers of music, believes music can make people, even babies, smarter, healthier and happier.

Campbell wrote the book The Mozart Effect in 1997. However, not everyone believes the Mozart Effect. And people believe more research is needed to show that music has these effects.

【推荐1】Hi! We are Lucy and Lily. We are sisters. We are studying in a high school. We always want weekends to come. Because on weekends there are different kinds of outdoor activities (户外活动), such as(例如) going to the park, going shopping, playing ball games and so on.

We usually go to the park on Saturdays. We often take some bread, meat, water and milk with us. It’s Saturday today. We are in the park again. My father is fishing(钓鱼) in a boat on the lake(湖). My mother is sitting and reading under the tree. Now we are drinking some water. Do you think we are happy?

【推荐2】For a visiting scholar like me，it's fun to look for the differences between cultures. But sometimes I can also experience embarrassing moments.

One day，I invited some of my Chinese friends to a famous local restaurant in Moscow，Russia. The restaurant was almost full of people，but it was very quiet. My friend and I were very excited about our meeting. We were having a lively chat until the waiter told me that we were too loud. We lowered our voices. But this didn't last long. The waiter came over to us again with the same message. I felt embarrassed.

We must have left a bad impression on the local people. It's so difficult to fight against habits like this. In China，it seems only natural and even important for a host to create a lively atmosphere. However，in Russia，having a meal in a public place means you must keep your voice down to be polite to others. Anyway，we were not in our home country，so we believe this is the best for us: When in Rome，do as the Romans do.

Cultural differences do not only involve eating habits. I also found another special Russian habit. My Russian friend Andrey would always look around and think for a while before leaving home. I asked him，"Is that a ceremony or something？”

“Aha，”Andrey said，“in Russia many people always spend about a minute going over things and plans in their minds before leaving home so that they won't leave anything necessary behind. ”

Finding cultural differences can always bring you new and surprising experiences. And I would like to keep my eyes and mind open.

【推荐3】The other afternoon, I ordered some snacks on my phone. When I got home from work that evening, I saw they were already at my door. So fast!

Have you ever thought about how people in the past communicated and did things without mobile phones?

Before phones, if you wanted to keep in touch with someone far away, you needed to post a letter to him or her. When my mum was in primary school, she used to do this with her “pen friend”. My mum would write to her pen friend every few months, and then, after a little while, her pen friend would write back.

Later, email became a common thing. Sending letters in the post office felt so slow to people. It became known as “snail mail”!

What if you were at an airport in the time before mobile phones? My dad said that in the 1970s there used to be message boards at some airports. If you needed to leave the airport and wanted to leave a message for a friend, you could write him or her a message and stick it on the message board. Then, your friend could go to check the board later and see what you wrote to him or her!