This year, 25,310 students who have accepted places in higher education institutions have put off their entry until next year, according to statistics on university entrance provided by the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS).

    That is a record 14.7% increase in the number of students taking a gap year. Tony Higgins from UCAS said that the statistics are good news for everyone in higher education. “Students who take a well-planned year out are more likely to be satisfied with, and complete, their chosen course. Students who take a gap year are often more mature and responsible,” he said.

    But not everyone is happy. Owain James, the president of the National Union of Students (NUS), argued that the increase is evidence of student hardship – young people are being forced into earning money before finishing their education. “New students are now aware that they are likely to leave university up to￡15,000 in debt. It is not surprising that more and more students are taking a gap year to earn money to support their study for the degree. NUS statistics show that over 40% of students are forced to work during term time and the figure increases to 90% during vacating periods,” he said.

    How old are the apps on your smartphone? Is it time for an update? Here are three apps for you. Try them out and have fun.

Duolingo

    Learning a foreign language doesn't always mean you have to sit in a class and take endless exams. An app called Duolingo has been designed to help you memorize (记住) new words and grammar in creative ways，such as online lessons，games and interesting exercises. For example，one exercise asks you to put words in the right order to make the correct sentence. You can also try translation practice.

Douban FM

    A music app is a necessity for almost every smartphone now. Douban FM might be the right thing for you.

    There is no playlist on Douban FM--songs just keep streaming (播放) one by one. You can use the “heart”, “trash” and “skip” buttons (按钮) to mark the songs you like，don't like and want to cut short, respectively (分别地). Those marked with a heart will be stored in another list as your favorites for you to listen to anytime you want. Douban FM also has different channels (频道). There are many types of music, such as blues, jazz, and pop. You can choose the music for outdoor activities, work or studying depending on your mood (心情).

Flipboard

    It is one of the hottest news apps right now. With Flipboard, you can make everything personal to you. All you have to do is open up the app, “flip through” to select whatever interests you，and click the “+” button. At the end you'll have your own magazine, complete with a front page, new articles, and information.

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

    Are you sometimes a little tired and sleepy in the early afternoon? Many people feel this way after lunch. They may think that eating lunch is the cause of the sleepiness. Or, in summer, they may think it is the heat. However, the real reason lies inside their bodies. At that time—about eight hours after you wake up—your body temperature goes down. This is what makes you slow down and feel sleepy. Scientists have tested sleep habits in experiments where there was no night or day. The people in these experiments almost always followed a similar sleeping pattern. They slept for one long period and then for one short period about eight hours later.

    In many parts of the world, people take naps (小睡) in the middle of the day. This is especially true in warmer climates, where the heat makes work difficult in the early afternoon. Researchers are now saying that naps are good for everyone in any climate. A daily nap gives one a more rested body and mind and therefore is good for health in general. In countries where naps are traditional, people often suffer less from problems such as heart disease. Many working people, unfortunately, have no time to take naps. Though doctors may advise taking naps, employers do not allow it! If you do have the chance, however, here are a few tips about making the most of your nap. Remember that the best time to take a nap is about eight hours after you get up. A short sleep too late in the day may only make you feel more tired and sleepy afterward. This can also happen if you sleep for too long. If you do not have enough time, try a short nap—even ten minutes of sleep can be helpful.

    Sam Allred suffers from a rare and incurable kidney (肾脏) disease. One day, when his sister was playing a song repeatedly, Sam sang along. His sister thought it was funny so she recorded it and posted the video online. The video — and Sam — became a hit. Only 8 years old at the time, he couldn't have expected the response.

    "The Doctors (The television show) called and wanted me on their show so they paid for me to go to California," says Sam, now 13, "and we got to stay in a hotel where all the movie stars stayed."

    During that visit to California, Angie Allred, Sam's mother, had an idea about Sam writing a children's book. Together, she and Sam wrote Opening Hearts, which tells Sam's experience of living with a chronic (慢性的) illness.

    "I wrote the book to teach people to be kinder to people," Sam says. Moreover, Sam wanted to send pillows to sick children staying in hospitals around the country to make their stay more comfortable, an idea that came from a time when he was in the hospital.

    "A few kind boys came in with pillows and they gave me one and it meant a lot to me that someone cared about kids in the hospital," says Sam.

    Angie thought of starting a nonprofit organization to provide a way for people to contribute money to realize Sam's ideas. She named the nonprofit Kindness for Kids.

    Since then, Sam has taken pillows to children staying at Providence Hospital in Anchorage.

    Sam's father, Scott Allred, owns a small business that contracts (承包) shipping services with FedEx Ground. He asked the company for help.

    "FedEx Ground learned about Sam's pillow project," says Erin Truxal, manager of public relations for FedEx Ground. "We thought, 'What a perfect way for us to get involved.' "

    The company provided shipping services for Sam to ship about 5,000 pillows to hospitals.

    Sam wants to send more pillows to all of the children's hospitals in every state. His goal is simple: "Kids in the hospital as happy as they were before they got sick," he says.

My First Marathon

    A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

    I remember back to my 7^th year in school. In my first P.E class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn't do either well. He later told me that I was "not athletic".

    The idea that I was "not athletic" stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!

    The night before the marathon, I dreamt that I couldn't even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

    Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces became loose. So I stopped to readjust(调整). Not the start I wanted!

    At mile 3, I passed a sign: "GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!"

    By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

    By mile 21, I was hungry!

    As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.

    I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

    Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels(世俗标签), I can now call myself a "marathon winner".

    Barbara McClintock was one of the most important scientists of the twentieth century. She made important discoveries about genes and chromosomes (染色体).

    Barbara McClintock was born in 1902 in Hartford, Connecticut. Her family moved to the Brooklyn area of New York City in 1908. Barbara was an active child with interests in sports and music. She also developed an interest in science.

    She studied science at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Barbara was among a small number of undergraduate students to receive training in genetics in 1921. Years later, she noted that few college students wanted to study genetics.

    Barbara McClintock decided to study botany, the scientific study of plants, at Cornell University. She completed her undergraduate studies in 1923. McClintock decided to continue her education at Cornell. She completed a master's degree in 1925. Two years later, she finished all her requirements for a doctorate degree.

    McClintock stayed at Cornell after she completed her education. She taught students botany. The 1930s were not a good time to be a young scientist in the United States. The country was in the middle of the great economic Depression. Millions of Americans were unemployed. Male scientists were offered jobs. But female geneticists were not much in demand.

    An old friend from Cornell, Marcus Rhoades, invited McClintock to spend the summer of 1941 working at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. It is a research center on Long Island, near New York City. McClintock started in a temporary job with the genetics department. A short time later, she accepted a permanent position with the laboratory. This gave her the freedom to continue her research without having to teach or repeatedly ask for financial aid.

    By the 1970s, her discoveries had had an effect on everything from genetic engineering to cancer research. McClintock won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1983 for her discovery of the ability of genes to change positions on chromosomes. She was the first American woman to win an unshared Nobel Prize.