2 . Americans often say that there are only two things a person can be sure of in life: death and taxes. Many people feel that the United States has the worst taxes in the world.

Taxes are money that people pay to support their government. There are generally three levels of government in the United States: federal (联邦的), state, and city; therefore, there are three types of taxes.

Salaried people who earn more than four to five thousand dollars per year must pay a certain part of their salaries to the federal government. The percentage varies for different people. It depends on their salaries. The federal government has a two-level income tax, that is, 15 or 28 percent. $17,850 is the cutoff. The tax rate is 15 percent below 17,850 and 28 percent above.

The second tax is for the state government: New York, California, or any of the other forty-eight states. Some states have an income tax similar to that of the federal government. Of course, the percentage for the state tax is lower. Other states have a sales tax, which is a percentage charged to any item which people buy in the state. Some states use income tax and sales tax to raise their revenues (税收).

The third tax is for the city. This tax comes in two forms: property tax (residents who own a home have to pay taxes on it) and excise tax, which is collected on vehicles such as cars and trucks in a city. The cities use this money for education, police, public works, etc.

Since Americans pay such high taxes, they often feel that they are working one day each week just to pay their taxes. People always complain about taxes. They often say that the government misuses their tax dollars. They all believe that taxes are too high in this country.

In 2002, an Australian man went to his friend’s 21st birthday party. He got drunk, fell off some steps and cut his lip. He took a picture of his injuries and shared it with his friends online. “And sorry about the focus,” he wrote, “it was a selfie(自拍).” That was the first recorded use of the word “selfie”, according to some experts at Oxford Dictionaries.

Oxford Dictionaries declared “selfie” Word of the Year for 2013, in honor of the term having taken over the world thanks to millions of smart phone self­portraits and the resulting shares on social media. In recent years, the act of taking a picture of oneself with a mobile phone, placing the subject center­stage, has won great popularity with everyone from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ to US with former President Barack Obama joining in.

But the rise of selfie photography in some of the world’s most beautiful, dangerous places has also inspired a lot of risk­taking behavior, such as hanging from a tall building, standing in front of a rushing train and crossing a busy street. People who get addicted will never stop taking selfies, completely ignoring where they are. In fact, there have been several reports about people losing their lives while taking selfies. Several governments have now begun treating selfie as a serious threat to safety, warning visitors to pay attention to the dangers when taking selfies.

“Walt Disney World is also banning selfie­sticks from its theme parks because selfie­sticks have become a growing safety concern for our guests,” Disney World spokeswoman Kim Prunty said. Under the new policy, guests will be checked for the equipment during the routine bag check that happens near the parks’ entrances.

4 . How many phone numbers can you remember by heart? It’s probably fewer than you would like. Actually, you’re not alone. Out of more than 1,000 Americans who were surveyed, more than half said that they couldn’t recall the phone numbers of their friends and neighbors. And 44% said that they couldn’t remember their relatives’ phone numbers. In their eyes, there is no point in filling their heads with phone numbers if they’re all stored in smart phones that are with them almost all the time.

In fact, most people are suffering from a sort of digital amnesia (健忘症). More than 90% of those surveyed agreed that they used the Internet as an online extension of their brains. Rote memorization (死记硬背) was once an important part of modern education, but we just need a click or slide now. That’s making us worse at remembering things.

Researchers found that when people expected to have access to information online, they were less likely to remember actual facts, but more likely to remember how to find them. As a result, we are already becoming one with our computer tools, growing into interconnected systems that remember less by knowing information than by knowing where the information can be found.

However, some believe it isn’t necessarily a bad thing — maybe it gives them more chances to think through things. We certainly have access to more knowledge now than ever, even if it isn’t all stored in our brains.

Even so, I still believe that there are more risks to this new world of memory beyond losing our ability to recall some information such as who the 15th President was. That kind of information may always be a click away, but the important things are personal ones, like the way your parents smiled at your wedding. It’s harder to recall or find online. If you’re relying on yourself to keep track of those memories, they will be much more meaningful.

6 . An Olympic Village is a place that houses Olympic competitors. It is a place where they prepare for what might be the most important moment in their life. But we want to know more about this mysterious (神秘的) place: What really happens in the village?

We asked swimmer Natalie Coughlin, a three-time Olympian and 12-time medalist. She says, “People think it’s a lot more attractive and interesting than it is. It isn’t. It’s like a huge college campus, including a bank, a salon, a post office, and a huge cafeteria — except that everyone is anxious (焦虑的), getting ready for their biggest event under unbelievably high pressure.”

But some other Olympians look differently at their campus. “It’s like the first day of college,” water polo player Tony Azevedo says. “You’re super excited. Everyone’s meeting people and trying to socialize with others.”

Coughlin says the best spot to be in the village is the cafeteria. Not only does it provide a place to talk with the rest of the athletes from your country, but it’s a great chance for people-watching. One of her favorite games was to tell what sport someone in front of her took based on their body type.

Living in the same village means athletes run into one another all the time. Coughlin shares this story: While in London in 2012, at one point applause (欢呼) broke out at the arrival of someone. Coughlin thought it was one of the British royals (王室成员), but it ended up being Jamaica’s Usain Bolt (the world’s greatest runner alive). Runner Allyson Felix — a winner of six gold Olympic medals — has also had her run-ins. In 2008, she came across the world-famous U. S. men’s basketball team, including Anthony, Bryant, Wade and other top players.

It’s “a pretty wild scene, the biggest melting pot — a place where large numbers of people, ideas, and cultures are mixed together — you’ve been in,” said swimmer Eric Shanteau. Felix agrees, saying, “You get to meet people from other countries that you wouldn’t even come into contact with. To me that’s the coolest thing.”

7 . “Old wives’ tales” are beliefs passed down from one generation to another. For example, most of us remember our parents’ telling us to eat more of certain foods or not to do certain things. Is there any truth in these teachings? Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time.

Did your mother ever tell you to eat carrots because they are good for your eyes? Scientists now report that eating carrots can help prevent a serious eye disease called macular degeneration.Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this disease by 40%. Garlic (蒜) is good for you, too. It can kill the type of virus that causes colds.

Unfortunately, not all of Mom’s advice passed the test of medical studies. For example, generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating. But research suggests that there is no danger in doing so. Do sweets cause tooth problems? Well, yes and no. Sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars.

Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water, there is still a lot of truth in the old wives’ tales.After all, much of this knowledge has been accumulated (积累) from thousands of years of experience in family health care. We should respect this body of knowledge even as we search for clear scientific support to prove it true or false.

8 .    

Cheating can happen in a lot of different ways.When people cheat,it’s not fair to other people，like the kids who studied for the test or who the true winners of a game were.

Many people like the action of cheating.In their opinion,it makes difficult things seem easy,like getting all the right answers on the test.But it doesn't solve the problem of not knowing the material and it won't help on the next test—unless the person cheats again.

Some people lose respect for cheaters and think less of them.The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they shouldn't get that good grade.And,if they get caught cheating,they will be in trouble at school，and maybe at home,too.

Some kids cheat because they're busy or lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying.Other kids might feel like they can’t pass the test without cheating.Even when there seems to be a “good reason” for cheating,cheating isn’t a good idea.

If you were sick or upset about something the night before the day and couldn’t study,it would be better to talk with the teacher about this.And if you don’t have enough time to study for a test because of swim practice,you need to talk with your parents about how to balance swimming and school.A kid who thinks cheating is the only way to pass a test needs to talk with the teacher and his or her parents so they can find some solutions together.Talking about these problems and working them out will feel better than cheating.

9 . Have you ever volunteered for something? Why did you do it? How did you feel when you finished?_______arrive early, stay late, go without breaks, and always smile. They do a job without being paid and they are willing to offer _______. Can you imagine what would happen to our work_______ everybody did that job in the volunteer spirit of “I want to” rather than in the contractual (合同的) spirit of “I have to ”? Contracts require you to do what you have promised to do. Volunteerism _______ requires you too, yet it leads to higher productivity at the same time.

Imagine what a(n)_______would be like without volunteers. Consider the organizations that _______volunteers in every area throughout our country. Our life would be less satisfying if no volunteers selflessly offer their time while _______no pay—and often little or no recognition.

What is the force _______helping others? Volunteers find volunteering _______ personal skills. It ________us to productively use time. More________, it teaches us it isn’t ________what you have, but more often what you ________that matters most in life. It teaches us to place a greater value on what we contribute to society than on what we ________.

Through volunteering, we make more than just a living with our lives—we make a ________ and create “ordinary” miracles.

10 . An executive was driving his new car on a street.He was _______for kids rushing out from between parked cars.

_______his car passed, a brick hit the car’s side door.He pressed hard the brake and drove the car back to the_______ from where the brick had been thrown.

He jumped out of the car,_______ a kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, “What was that all about and who are you?Just what the hell are you doing?”_______more and more angry, he went on “That brick you threw will_______much money. Why did it?” “Please, mister, please, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do!”_______the youngster. “My brother fell out of the wheelchair and I can’t_______him up.” Sobbing, the boy asked, “Could you help me? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy.”

_______beyond words,the driver tried to__________the rapidly swelling lump(块)in his throat. He helped the young man back into the wheelchair and used a __________ wiped the scrapes(擦伤)and cuts,__________ everything would be okay.

“Thank you,” the little boy__________his brother to the sidewalk toward their home.

After that, he never did__________the side door in order to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your__________.