1 . The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was invented by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers. It is a self-report questionnaire indicating differing psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. The MBTI personality inventory (量表) sorts people into 16 type categories, each of which is represented by four-letter codes such as INFP and ESTJ. Every year, about 1.5 million people have enjoyed discovering their personality type by completing the MBTI. Many companies, as well as hundreds of universities, use it in hiring and training.

Nevertheless, the MBTI has received a noticeable criticism from the academic community. Some research suggests the MBTI is unreliable because the same person can get different results when retaking the test. Other studies have questioned the validity of the MBTI, which is the ability of the test to accurately link the “types” to outcomes in the real world -for example, how well people classified as a certain type will perform in a given job.

Merve Emre, a professor a Oxford University, points out that it would be more scientifically advisable to score the MBTI scales continuously to show people the degree to which they resemble the types. Even when the MBTI’s results don’t quite match your intuition (直觉) about yourself or are just wrong, they can still provide self-insight and insight into differences and similarities between people.

Scoring and interpreting the MBTI the way other personality inventories are scored and interpreted might be less fun than finding. All of the folklore (民间看法) about INFPs, ESTJs, etc. would have to be dismissed. But, in the end the MBTI is sufficiently reliable and valid enough to be useful in a number of real-world contexts.

2 . The discovery of the ruined palace in the Mosul Dam reservoir on the banks of the Tigris River inspired an archeological dig that would improve understanding of the Mittani Empire, one of the least-researched empires of the ancient Near East, a team of German researchers said. “The find is one of the most important archeological discoveries in the region in recent decades,” Kurdish archeologist(考古学家) Hasan Qasim said.

The palace would have originally stood just 65 feet from the river on a terrace(梯田). A terrace wall of mud bricks was later added to make the building stable. Ivana Puljiz, an archeologist from the University of Tübingen’s Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Studies, describes the palace, known as Kemune, as a carefully designed building with mud-brick walls up to 2 meters (6.6 feet) thick.

The team also found wall paintings in shades of red and blue, which were probably a common feature of palaces at the time but have rarely been found preserved. “Discovering wall paintings in Kemune is an archeological sensation,” Puljiz said in a press release, “Kemune is only the second site in the region where wall paintings of the Mittani period have been discovered.”

Ten clay tablets covered in cuneiform, an ancient system of writing, were also discovered and have been sent to Germany for translation. “From the texts we hope to gain information on the inner structure of the Mitani Empire, its economic organization, and the relationship of the Mittani capital with the administrative centers in the neighboring regions,” Puljiz added.

Archeologists first became aware of the site in 2010 when water levels in the reservoir were low, but this is the first time they have been able to dig. However, the site was submerged(淹没) shortly after the dig, Puljiz said, adding“It is unclear when it will come out of water again”.

3 . Are you relatively skinny but growing a “beer belly”?

Then don’t be surprised at your next checkup if the nurse measures your waistline to determine your healthy weight. That’s because research is showing that a protruding (鼓出的) belly may be a sign of VAT — a dangerous form of fat around organs deep inside your body. “Studies confirm that visceral (内脏的) fat is a clear health risk,” said Dr. Tiffany Wiley, a senior expert at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Unlike the fat just under your skin, visceral fat raises your risk for heart disease. Experts think that’s because visceral fat raises blood pressure and inflames (使发炎) tissues and organs.

However, you can’t assume you’re safe from visceral fat if your overall weight is healthy, experts stress. That’s because you can have dangerous visceral fat even if you’re not considered overweight — and not have any visceral fat even if you are overweight.

How do you know if your stomach is protruding into dangerous size? Do a check. Non-pregnant women with a waist size greater than 88 cm and men with a waist larger than 102 cm, are at higher risk according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you’re Asian, it drops to 80 cm for women and 90 cm for men. But it is only a rough measure. “The only sure way to know is to check your visceral fat levels on a CT scan or MRI,” say experts.

According to the AHA committee, the most salutary physical activity to “shrink” belly is aerobic exercise. Aerobic means “with oxygen”, so aerobic exercise increases your breathing rate and promotes the circulation of oxygen through the blood. This type of exercise makes the heart work more effectively and improves its ability to move oxygen-carrying blood with every beat. Speed walking, jogging, stair climbing, cycling and swimming are all examples of aerobic exercise.

“However, more studies are needed to determine the best physical activity, food and other lifestyle changes to reduce heart disease risk,” Dr. Tiffany Wiley added.

4 . I live in a town near Prague(布拉格), the capital of the Czech Republic. Besides cars, bikes are the most important _________ of transportation(运输). As it _________ you to go almost anywhere you want, cycling is a big _________ for Czech people. On weekends, you can see cyclists _________ through the towns wearing helmets (头盔) and cycling clothes.

Some people _________ that living in a town is inconvenient (不便利的), including me. _________, I find life in towns much more _________ than that in big cities after living here for a while. I was _________ given a bicycle by my host family. _________ it is only an ordinary bike, I was still __________ and couldn’t wait to take a cycling trip alone.

One sunny Sunday afternoon, I took my first cycling trip to a village nearby. I cycled for a while, alongside a river. But then, something happened: One of my tires __________. There was no choice but to __________ my bike back home, which took an hour.

I didn’t give up though: One week later, I __________ again. This time, however, there was__________ wrong with my tires. It was a very beautiful town, with a typical Czech castle and a park full of peacocks. People were taking part in a marathon that day. There were also stands selling __________ Czech foods and drinks, such as potato pancakes and beer.

It was already sunset when I __________ to head home, and I saw almost no one on the way back. As the warm breeze softly stroked (轻抚) my face. I felt very __________ and happy.

I believe many of us need a(n) __________ like this to take a break from our __________ life sometimes. So, I really do encourage all of you to take a cycling trip alone, even just to a nearby village. Just look around you, and you’re sure to __________ some hidden beauty.

5 . A new technology project in southern Greece is helping visitors experience the ancient birthplace of the Olympic Games.

The project used Augmented Reality (AR) to recreate temples and competition areas in the ancient city of Olympia. It was recently launched in the city, one of the world’s major archaeological sites. Augmented Reality is a technology that can project computer-created imagery onto special eyeglasses. Through the eyeglasses, the images appear along with other physical objects in the environment.

The project is a partnership between American software maker Microsoft and Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sport. The ministry helped Microsoft map and build virtual representations of Olympia. The city was used for nearly a thousand years to host the games in ancient Greece that served as the model for the modern Olympics. The experience provides users the chance to virtually walk through the ruins of Olympia. At the Olympic Museum in Athens, people can also use Microsoft’s AR headsets for a similar experience.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis joined a group of schoolchildren who were using the app for the first time. “I’m absolutely thrilled that we’re able to present to the world a completely new cultural experience utilizing technology to recreate the ancient world of Olympia, ” Mitsotakis told the media.

Students from a local middle school looked at statues and structures that were brought to life on their phones. One of the children, Panagiotis Christopoulos, called the project “impressive”. “I think it can help with teaching in schools, ” the student said. They were able to virtually visit inside and outside settings to explore where ancient Olympians had competed in different sports.

The project began 18 months ago with a series of imaging flights to help map areas across Olympia. Microsoft is to build several data centers in and near Athens as part of a $ 1 billion investment agreement with the Greek government.