The days when a cellphone was used for nothing beyond calling and texting are gone. Today, we turn smart phones into magical machines with apps that transform them into musical instruments or business machines or video players. But it turns out that we are only searching the surface. Who knew that smart phones would make pretty good satellites?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Smart phones forecast the weather

      Networking expert Open Signal has discovered something interesting: the sensors in Android phones designed to measure battery  temperature, light, pressure and 80 on can be used to generate surprisingly accurate weather reports. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Smart phones save the rainforests

       Detecting illegal logging(盗伐) may sound like a novel app, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}: in Indonesia, the non-profit organization Rainforest Connection' wants to use donated Android phones to detect illegal logging. As Newscientist reports, “The phonesare equipped with solar panels specifically designed to take advantage of the brief periods when light reaches the forest floor. Their microphones stay on at all time, and the software listens for the sound of a chainsaw(链锯).”

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        Researchers at the university of Illinois have developed an iPhones app that turns the phone into a fully featured mobile medical lab that uses the phone's camera to detect proteins, bacteria, viruses and other organisms.

Smart phones drive cars

        Google's self-driving cars carry around  $30,000 ofhigh-tech hardware and sensors, but students at Australia's Griffith University think they can get the job done with asingle smart phone.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. but it's a serious business.

B. Here are someuses for smart phones the makers probably didn't imagine.

C. so it can beused to detect the sound of a chainsaw.

D. It has been used in many fields.

E. Get enough phones involved and you will have a weather sensing network.

F. Smart phones serve as mobile medical labs.

G. They have built a model that relies mainly on the phone's camera and built—in GPS.

    Whoever wrote the song “it's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” must have never experienced Holiday blues. Fortunately, psychological research suggests some effective ways you can beat the holiday blues. The key point is that sadness and other tough emotions are not what we should try to avoid. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Here are four strategies to help you make your own happiness recipe this holiday season.

    Don't force cheer

    At family gatherings with cousins you secretly can't stand, you tend to put on a happy face. Indeed, that might even seem like the most mature response—no drama, no conflict. But a 2011 study followed dozens of bus drivers, looking to see when they gave forced or honest smiles at their passengers. The results showed when the drivers pretended to have a good mood, their actual moods got worse. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Let off sadness

    The results of the bus-driver study can be explained by researchers, who find that negative feelings like sadness or anger only increase when we try to control them. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. We don't like contradictory behavior.

    Respond cautiously

    Recently, scientists have been paying special attention to the benefits of caution. When you respond cautiously to an emotional trigger (e.g. overcooking the holiday turkey), you pause rather than reacting at once. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Besides, it is associated with less anxiety, and may even carry physiological benefits.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    Of course, the holidays will bring a mix of highs and lows, but the most important lesson to keep in mind is that this variety of emotions might be the best thing possible for your overall well-being. In other words, sadness, anger, and other difficult emotions are nothing to fear. Just make sure you're balancing them with lighter experiences. And don't forget to give yourself a break.

A. Relax your mind

B. Enjoy a mix of emotions

C. We tend to deny the important function emotions serve

D. Instead, they can help contribute to a healthy and happy life

E. So trying to force happiness seems to have the opposite effects

F. A cautious response to a negative event reduces sadness we experience

G. We feel bad when our appearance contradicts how we truly feel inside

How to Find Something You Like to Do

    Finding something you enjoy doing can improve the quality of your life and reduce your stress levels.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} It can also help you make friends or even provide a purpose in your life. Then how can you find something you like to do?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Some hobbies, such as albums and gardening, can take up a lot of time. Other hobbies, such as video games or reading, can be done at your own pace and do not require any extended time.

    Research the hobby or activity you would like to get involved in. Find out how much time and money you will need to devote to starting and continuing the activity. For example, some sports—related interests might require special equipment. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Your local library or phone book should also have information on hobbies and activities in your area.

    Talk with other people who are involved in some of the activities you are interested in.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Ask if you could tag along (跟随) to a meeting or spend some time with this person while he is involved in his hobby to see if it is something you would enjoy.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Challenge yourself to try a new activity you are interested in for a week or so. Allow yourself to learn about the hobby and determine whether you will enjoy the activity or not.

A. Think about how a hobby benefits you.

B. A hobby can connect you with other people.

C. Take a chance on a hobby and see how it turns out.

D. Think about how much free time you can devote to a hobby.

E. You can find information about hobbies and interests on Find My Hobby's website.

F. You can get first—hand knowledge by interviewing someone about a particular hobby.

G. It takes a long time and energy to decide whether a particular hobby is right for you.

    Today it is common to see people who walk about with colored wires hanging from their ears wherever they go. They move about in their personal bubbles, sometimes unaware of what's happening around them. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Outside life is shut out. So are you one of them"?

    For me; walking around in my own personal bubble is perfect. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}What's even better, wearing earphones seems to give a signal to people which says; "I'm not available for chatting at the moment!"

    Suppose, you're at work and about to make an incredible breakthrough, but a colleague suddenly turns up. At this precise moment, the slightest disturbance would break your concentration.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Once again, those wires hanging from your ears would be sure to give that "Go away!" signal.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It's probably part of the growing up stage when they just want to ignore their whole family. While their mothers give them lectures about why they should do their ' Yes. Mum." Problem solved.

    Pretty soon, not only will we have pretty colored wires hanging from our ears-but also our brains will be directly plugged into some new high-tech instruments. We'll be in a virtual (虚拟的) world, communicating with everyone else, or choosing not to, as we like. In this world, we will all be permanently plugged in.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}And they are changing our social habits along the way.

    In the end, there is a thin line between using technology as a tool for making life better and being a slave to it! It's so strange-suddenly, I don't feel like wearing my earphones anymore.

A.Our instruments are changing quickly.

B.I also have wires hanging from my ears.

C.In the home situation, teenagers love these wires.

D.I don't have to deal with the noise from the environment.

E.After all, I am listening to my favorite music and would rather not be disturbed.

F.Listening to music through earphones is the perfect way to ignore such interruptions.

G.They walk around in their own spaces, with their personal "digital noise reduction systems".

    Money can buy happiness. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} What would bring you greater, longer-lasting happiness: purchasing an expensive item you've been eyeing or honking the vacation you've been dreaming about?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them. Over time, he satisfaction with material objects decreased. Even though new cars may make us happy in the short-term, the freshness quickly wears off.

    Spending money on experiences — travel, outdoor activities, concerts, classes, movies — brings us more joy than buying material things. One reason is that our experiences are a bigger part of our identity than our possessions. You can really like your material stuff, you can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In contrast, your experiences really are part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences.

    Another reason we value experience even after they're over is that even negative experiences can become positive over time. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Why? Because even unpleasant experiences can later become funny stories or be looked at as character-building opportunities.

    Shared experiences are also looked upon me favorably because they connect us to others more than shared consumption does. We feel more connected to people who have also backpacked through Europe than people who happen to have purchased the same iPhone. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. But how you spend it matters.

B. Yet they remain separate from you.

C. You could use the material item every day.

D. One of the enemie s of happiness is adaptation.

E. Just talking about them made their evaluation improve.

F. Spending money on experiential purchases makes people more generous.

G. If weighing your options, buying experience promises promotion of well being.

Happier Babies Have an Edge

    Parents and teachers want children to grow up to be happy and successful.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} A wide range of research, however, indicates happiness brings success in adults, and achievements do not always make adults happier.

    Recently in new study, John K. Coffey II, assistant professor of psychology at Sewanee, the University of the South, found that happiness during infancy (婴儿期) predicted childhood IQ and adult educational success.

    In his 29-year study, Coffey used the Fullerton Longitudinal Study (FLS). In 1978 the FLS research team recruited 130 parents with babies for a study that now has run for more than 30 years. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} When each baby was 18 months old, one parent reported how often his or her baby expressed positive and negative emotions and researchers measured the infant's IQ. When babies were children (ages 6 to 8), they completed IQ tests. When babies had grown into 29-year-old adults, they reported how many years of education they had completed and their life satisfaction.

    As expected, Coffey found that regardless of intelligence during infancy or parents' wealth, happier babies were more likely to graduate from high school and college. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It suggests that happier babies learn more between infancy and childhood.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Parents wishing to help their children enjoy greater happiness can focus on small changes they can make in their day-to-day lives to create more positive moments. Parents do not need to aim for intense experiences or "best day ever" for their children. Although peak experiences can be fun, they also tend to be tiring for both children and their parents, which can lead to anxiety and conflict.

    Currently, Coffey and other researchers are exploring when and why some children are happier than others or whether we can increase it. Happiness during infancy and childhood is predicted by relationships with caregivers and teachers or by learning new skills. Inexpensive and easy-to-do activities like practising acts of kindness or appreciation can boost happiness. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. We often think that achieving success will ultimately make us happy.

B. We can use these activities to help children grow into happy and successful adults.

C. To test his theory, Coffey looked at how intensely children's emotions are experienced.

D. These happy babies aren't just growing up to be successful, but they are also happy adults.

E. Further, happier babies had more growth in their IQ scores between infancy and childhood.

F. Another important clarification is that happiness is about how often emotions are experienced.

G. Early on, parents reported on their background, for instance, education level and employment.