1 . Once upon a time, there lived an ant and a grasshopper(蟋蟀)in a grass field by a river. The ant would work hard all day long from dawn to dusk _________ the grain. On the other hand, the grasshopper would spend all his time singing and dancing. He would _________ call the ant to join him in singing, dancing and making merry at the present time. However, the ant would _________ him and continue with her work.

Soon summer _________ to autumn and autumn to winter. It became freezing cold outside due to snowfall and the sun was barely seen and the nights were _________ and dark. Out of cold, the grasshopper lost his _________ in singing and making merry. He was cold and hungry and had no _________ to take shelter from the snow outside. He wondered how to save himself from this _________ situation.        

Suddenly he remembered about the ant and decided to _________ her for some food and shelter. Off he went to her place and knocked at her door for __________. When she opened the door, the grasshopper offered to sing for her __________ for some food and shelter.

To this, the ant replied that she had worked hard in summer to save enough __________ for winter and the grasshopper had laughed at her then. She gently asked him to sing somewhere else and __________ his food and shelter. It is then, the grasshopper realised that he should have __________ enough for the winter instead of wasting his time being __________ during summer in singing and dancing around.

2 . Highly Effective Study Habits

For students, sometimes it’s not easy to concentrate on studying. If you want better grades, you need more effective study habits. The key to effective studying isn’t studying longer but studying smarter.     1    

● Plan when you’re going to study.

Successful students schedule specific times when they are going to study—and then they stick to their schedule.     2     Even if you can catch up with your studies, creating a weekly routine will enable you to succeed in your education in the long run.

● Set a specific goal for each study.

    3     You need to know exactly what you need to achieve during each study session. Before you start, set a study goal that supports your overall academic goal (eg. memorize 30 vocabulary words for an upcoming exam).

●     4    

As your most difficult assignment or subject will need the most effort, you should start with it first. Once you’ve finished the most difficult work, it will be much easier to complete the rest. Believe it or not, this will greatly improve the effectiveness of your study sessions.

● Practice by yourself.

Practice makes perfect. You can practice by yourself by testing yourself with either practice exams, or flash cards. If a practice or old exam from a course is available, use it as a guide.     5    

We’re confident that if you develop the habits above, you’ll see a great improvement in your academic success.

3 . Why do animals migrate or move? They do so to find a place that will offer better living conditions. Not all animals migrate, but those that migrate are attempting to help the survival of their species. There are a variety of reasons why animals leave. Some migrate to avoid weather changes. Some leave because of the food supply. Unlike humans who migrate because of relationships, job changes, or other social reasons, animals migrate to survive.

There are different types of migration, but one of the most interesting is the seasonal migration. In seasonal migrations, animals move twice a year. These movements usually occur due to changes in the seasons or in the weather. For example, some birds migrate away from colder regions to warmer weather and then come back to a place once the colder weather has passed.

How do animals know when it is time to migrate? Some animals do not leave an are until the environment changes and becomes a place that is not favorable for them to live. Other animals seem to have inborn systems that tell them when it is time to leave.

Animals that migrate use many different ways to successfully reach their destinations. Scientists believe animals’ senses play a huge role in helping them find their way. For example, salmon(三文鱼)are thought to recognize specific smells that help them. Others are thought to use even the sun, moon, and stars to help guide them on their journeys. Although the animals use different methods to migrate, one thing is the same: migration remains an important journey for the survival of many of Earth’s most amazing species.

4 . “I like pop songs better before I actually got a chance to sing hua’er at the age of 19,” said Sa Lina, 36, who has since become a famous singer, devoting herself to this traditional art form for almost two decades.

Hua’er, which means flower in Chinese, is a Chinese folk song style. It is popular and shared by people of nine ethnic groups in Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia and Xinjiang for hundreds of years. Also known as a type of “mountain songs”, it was inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.

After graduating in 2005, Sa returned to her hometown in Ningxia, and soon got a chance to sing with Ma Handong, a famous singer of hua’er. “I had never sung hua’er before, so I practiced a lot.To my surprise, I soon fell in love with its beautiful melodies,” said Sa.

Since then, Sa has devoted herself to mastering the folk art, and further bringing this traditional local folk art to the national stage. In 2010, she sang a hua’er song at a gala on Chinese New Year’s Eve, winning nationwide attention. At the age of 27, she was named an inheritor of hua’er, becoming the youngest inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage at the time.

“Art should not only be inherited, but also improved. I don’t only want to be a hua’er singer, but also a promoter of this folk music,” she said. In 2014 Sa set up an art school, which offers hua’er training courses free of charge. She also regularly gives singing lectures in public schools and communities, benefiting tens of thousands of people.

5 . Anna and her husband, Gray, got an unexpected delivery earlier this month after a security guard from a local grocery store appeared at their front door.

Anna said when she was in a hurry shopping at a grocery store in Kahului, she lost her wallet. But luckily, one of the store’s security guards, Johnson, found the wallet. After he finished his work that day, he rode a bike over 5 miles to Anna’s address to return the wallet.

When asked, Johnson said, “You know, I once lost a wallet too and it’s the worst thing in the world. I was just doing what I felt was right.”

Anna and Gray were greatly moved because Johnson would put in so much effort to help a stranger. Gray was so thankful for Johnson’s kind act that he shared the story to Facebook. One of Gray’s friends, Adam, also praised Johnson’s selflessness and he organized a GoFundMe to raise money to buy him a car. Before Christmas, they sent the car to Johnson, who had been riding a bike to and from work for the past five years.

“It means a lot,” said Johnson when he received the gift. “It’s not only about having better transportation. I can do more for my family now. That’s the bigger part of the picture.” Johnson said he thanked the Anna family for their kindness, although he still believed he did not do much. He said he only did what he believed was right.

10 . A recent study has found that being exposed to low temperatures creates more good fat which burns calories in the body. Being cold is similar to the effects of exercise, protecting against being too fat and improving health. The researchers have discovered that exposure to cold changes the make-up of gut bacteria (肠道细菌), which can lead to burning fat and reduce body weight.

While ordinary white fat, known as bad fat, piles on when we eat more calories than we burn, brown fat seems to burn extra calories to produce heat. Babies have lots of brown fat — they need it to keep warm — but there are small amounts in the necks of adults, too. Studies have shown that staying in a cold environment can speed the formation of more brown fat in the body.

Researchers predicted the health benefits of being exposed to cold may have something to do with gut bacteria. They exposed the first group of mice to a cold temperature of 6℃for up to 10 days and discovered this caused a major change in the make-up of the mice’s gut microbes (微生物), preventing the mice from gaining weight.

Then, the gut bacteria were put into the second group of mice that did not have gut microbes. It was found that they increased tolerance (忍耐力) to cold temperatures. The mice also lost weight as the changes in gut bacteria promoted the formation of brown fat. However, after three weeks of cold exposure, the body weight began to remain stable.

Professor Mirko Trajkovski said, that they provide powerful evidence that gut microbes play a key role in people’s ability to adapt to the environment. They are excited about testing whether gut microbes could be a promising approach to preventing being fat.