Vegetarian UK

Vegetarians and vegans

    Vegetarians (people who don't eat meat) and vegans (people who don't eat or use any animal products) are becoming increasingly common in UK culture. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} A recent survey showed that three million people were vegetarian. Visit a British supermarket and you will see a wide range of vegetarian ingredients and prepared meals on the shelves, including vegetarian sausages and vegan cheese.

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    So why are Brits cutting out meat? Many are unhappy about the poor treatment of animals and the effects of meat and fish production on the environment. Worries about food safety (for example BES or “mad cow disease”) also play a part. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} According to the Vegetarian Society, a meat-free diet could help reduce the risk of certain cancers and heart disease, as well as obesity and high blood pressure.

    Organic farming

    Another rising trend is in how UK food is produced. Many people are rejecting GM (genetically modified) food and intensive farming practices. They want their food to be organically produced. Organic farmers use very few or no chemicals, pesticides or fertilizers and organic meat is produced without the use of drugs and antibiotics. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  

    Organic food

    According to the Soil Association, three out of every four UK households now buy some type of organic food. Some get organic meat, fruit and vegetables from farmers' markets, where products are sold directly to the consumer. Others have a box of organic fruit and vegetables sent to their homes every week. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Although it\s often more expensive, fans of organic food say it tastes much better!

A. A healthy diet

B. A balanced diet

C. Many people buy organic products in their local supermarket.

D. More and more people are deciding not to eat meat or use animal products.

E. A healthy soil reduces disease and helps crops grow strong and healthy.

F. Others choose to change their eating habits to improve their general health.

G. Organically farmed animals also have more living space and more nutritious food.

How can I fight laziness?

    Lazy people will never amount to anything in life. However, laziness can be defeated once a few changes have been made in your mind.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Many people lack sleep constantly, since they stay up too late and get up too early to prepare for work. These people have little motivation once they arrive home. Laziness works hand in hand with a lack of motivation and a tendency to put off things. By adjusting your sleep schedule to provide a few more hours of meaningful rest, you can fight laziness throughout the day.

    Another way to fight laziness is to change your mind from passive to active. Some people treat their lives as if they were pushed from task to task. Others take a more protective approach, viewing each task as a challenge they must overcome alone. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Some people fight laziness by removing the temptations(诱惑) that surround them. A television in the living room may provide entertainment, but watching too much TV often contributes to laziness. Create a reward system for yourself, just as parents do for a child to promote responsibility. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Spouses(配偶) and children may all have different energy levels, but laziness can be spread if not dealt with immediately. To fight household laziness, lead by example. Be the first to collect and wash dishes after a meal. Others in the home may eventually follow your example and perform their own task. It is difficult to practice laziness when you are surrounded by motivated people.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} enough exercise and a balanced diet can help you to develop a healthy lifestyle, thus enabling you to have more energy and help lift your spirits.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning. We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else. Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive. Conditioned as we are to passive learning, it's not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay and rumor.

    Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn't show it to anyone. Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person. That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game. The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it. Then the two written statements are compared.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}．

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story. Then, too, most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping it with their own personal style. Yet those who hear it think they know.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A statement of opinion by one writer may be restated as a fact by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts.

A. Typically, the original message has changed.

B. Finally everybody gets the meaning.

C. Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem.

D. Knowledge is passed down from generation to generation.

E. That's what happens in daily life.

F. This process is also found among scholars and authors.

G. We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively.

                                                                             Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp

Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit一and that can be a very annoying thing.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Read on for some techniques worth trying.

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    People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance of Alzheimer's disease (早老性痴呆症)，according to a recent study.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There's evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short-term goals appear to do better. In other words, keep your brain looking forward.

    ⒉Go for a walk.

    Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that are good for your brain.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    ⒊Learn something new.

    Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation (刺激) limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Or go dancing with your friends.

A. Focus on the future.

B. This can be especially harmful to the aged.

C. It should be something like learning gardening.

D. So take a few minutes each day to do some reading.

E. But don't worry if your schedule isn't filled with life changing events.

F. Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments

G. In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.

    Why do people travel? There are many reasons one can think of when asked questions like this.

    To travel far enough to meet yourself

    Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You find out your abilities. When you are offered a different lifestyle, you can find out what you are made of. The farther you go from your home, the nearer you come to your true self.

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    If you look back at all the amazing memories of your life, you will realize that most of them were out of your comfort zone. Traveling is dangerous, full of life threatening possibilities and will not always be comfortable, but at the same time, it gives irreplaceable memories.

    To slow down and relax

    A wise man once said that never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. Money is worth nothing if you cannot spend it on a little adventure. While we are deeply involved in making money, we forget that time is going through our fingers. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The feeling of being away from your workplace is pure happiness. The feeling of not having to worry about the never ending piles of files is pure joy. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    To celebrate life

    Life is short and the world is wide. One day you might wake up and realize that you don't have time to do everything that you have always wanted to do, anymore. Once in a while, make time to appreciate the fact that you are alive, young, free and healthy. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. To break through your comfort zone.

B. To become a storyteller.

C. Escape life for a little while because experience is far more valuable than money.

D. You can relate to the world and connect to others.

E. And the feeling of being away from your boss for a few days is pure pleasure.

F. So, go traveling to celebrate life itself.

G. Traveling lets you discover yourself.

    Penguins are flightless birds that spend half their time on land and half in the water.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They have dark and white feathers, and their wings have evolved into flippers(脚蹼).Most penguins feed on fish, squid and other forms of sea life caught while swimming.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They are mostly found in groups that include thousands of penguins. Penguins each have their own unique mating call, and they use that to locate their mate and chicks in such a large group.

    Although almost all penguin species are native to the Southern Hemisphere, they are not found only in cold Antarctica.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Several species are even found in the temperate zone, and one species, the Galátpagos penguin, lives near the equator(赤道).

    Unfortunately, many penguin species worldwide are facing threats. The biggest is climate change and global warming. As the earth warms up, the sheets of ice have melted, and the algae(藻类)that grow under the ice decrease. The algae are eaten by tiny creatures called zooplankton. When there is a drop in zooplankton, it affects the fish that depend on it.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Another major threat is from oil spills. If coated with oil, penguins cannot float or swim in water. Also, if oil is swallowed, penguins will die from poison.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. These birds are very social.

B. In fact, only a few of them live so far south.

C. Penguins are highly adapted for life in the water.

D. The biggest threat for penguins comes from humans.

E. They have a tendency to live in a community together.

F. As a result, penguins have less fish to eat and thus starve.

G. Others include overfishing, illegal egg harvesting, and natural enemies.