For the rest of March,a disease will sweep across the US.It will keep kids home from school. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Employees will suddenly lose their ability to concentrate.

    The disease, known as “March Madness”, refers to the yearly 65－team US men's college basketball tournament (锦标赛). {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Teams compete against each other in a single－elimination (单局淘汰) tournament that eventually crowns a national champion.

    Nearly 20 million Americans will find themselves prisoners of basketball festival madness. The fun comes partly from guessing the winners for every game. Friends compete against friends. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}  Colleagues against bosses.

    Big－name schools are usually favored to advance into the tournament.But each year there are dark horses from little－known universities.

    This adds to the madness.Watching a team from a school with 3,000 students beat a team from a school with 30,000,for many Americans,is an exciting experience.Two years ago,the little－known George Mason University was one of the final four teams. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    College basketball players are not paid, so the game is more about making a name for their university and themselves. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} About $4 billion will be spent gambling (赌) on the event.According to Media Life magazine,the event will bring in $ 500 million in advertising income this year,topping the post －season income of every US professional league,including that of the NBA.

A. Husbands against wives.

B.The players will go all out for the games.

C.But that doesn't mean money isn't involved.

D.College students will ignore piles of homework.

E.People are willing to spend more money on watching it.

F.It begins on March 15 and lasts through the beginning of April.

G.Many people had never even heard of the university before the tournament.

    Homework is a major part of going to school: It's your teachers' way of evaluating(评价) how much you understand of what's going on in class.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Luckily, you can do a few things to make homework less work.

    Be sure you understand the homework.

    Write your homework down in your notebook or day planner if you need to.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}It's much easier to take a minute to ask the teacher during or after class than to struggle to remember later that night!

    Use any extra time in school.

    Many schools have study halls that are specifically designed to allow students to study. It's tempting(诱惑) to hang out with friends during study periods or unstructured(松散的) time.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Take a break.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} So take some breaks while doing your homework. Sitting for too long without stretching or relaxing will make you less productive than if you stop every so often. Taking a 15 minute break every hour is a good idea for most people.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    If you don't finish your homework during school, think about how much you have left and what else is going on that day, and then budget your time. Most high school students have between 1 and 3 hours of homework a night. If it's a heavy homework day and you've got an assignment in every subject, you'll need to devote more time to homework. It's a good idea to come up with some kind of homework schedule, especially if you are involved in sports or activities or have an after school job.

A. Make a homework schedule.

B. Settle down to do homework.

C. And it helps digest important concepts.

D. Most people's attention spans (跨度) aren't very long.

E. Don't be afraid to ask questions about what's unknown.

F. Once your homework is done, you can check over it if you have extra time.

G. But the more work you can get done in school, the less you'll have to do that night.

    Some students bring good luck charms（幸运符）to school on test days. They might keep a four-leaf clover in their pocket or wear a pair of lucky underwear. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}  there are better ways of doing well on a test.

    When you get the test, don't forget to put your name on it. Then, take a quick look at each page. A long test may have different sections. Notice how many marks each section is worth. Like a runner, you will want to be careful about your pace. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} you will want to leave yourself enough time for the sections that are worth the most marks.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Read the instructions and questions very carefully. Make sure you understand what you are being asked to do. If you do not understand a question, ask your instructor. If you feel nervous, you may want to build your confidence by starting with the questions that arc easiest for you.

    During a reading test, it can help to do a quick pre-reading exercise you have been taught, even if it is not part of the instructions. For example, try scanning the text to figure out the topic before you rend the whole thing more carefully. Then think about what you already know about the topic. Predict the details that might be in the reading. For a writing test, pre-writing is a very important first step, Brainstorm your ideas and organize them before you start writing. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

     Before you hand in your test, review your answers. Check your grammar and spelling. Make sure your instructor will be able to read your handwriting. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Follow these tips and, if your lucky underwear doesn't work, you will have a solid back-up plan in place.

A. While these things can't hurt,

B. Whenever you finish your test,

C. Be sure that you answered every question.

D. You can answer your questions one by one.

E. Now you are ready to begin answering the questions.

F. If you have a limited amount of time to complete the test,

G. These activities warm up your brain so that it will work more efficiently.

    Some people are naturally better than others at social activities. There are the lucky few that draw people to them without any effort. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Put yourself at ease and remember these tips:

    Smile! A smile is understood in any culture and any age as a sign of friendship. So go ahead! It will put the other person at ease. You will seem approachable and happy. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Make eye contact. Good eye contact engages the other person to you. When you are introduced to someone, shake their hands and repeat their names. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Making eye contact shows you have confidence and shows you are interested in the other person.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Having a trusted friend next to you makes it less frightening to walk into a room full of people. But remember that even if you walk in as a pair, it doesn't mean you just stick together the whole time. The point in a social gathering is you make friends with other people.

    Go to social settings with a shared interest. For example joining an art class automatically puts you in a setting with other people you already have a common interest in. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A.Go with friends.

B.Ask the other person questions.

C.That will help you remember their names.

D.This is the worst impression to make in any setting.

E.It will let the other person know that you are safe to talk to.

F.But for most of us, we feel shy and awkward in social activities.

G.You now have something to talk about and work it from there.

    Recently, crazy rich Asians are posting photos of themselves facing down and surrounded by luxury goods in a new trend sweeping social media.

    Falling down in public is embarrassing for most people. However, the new social media craze(时尚)called the "Falling Stars Challenge" has turned falling into something fun to do.

    The craze began in Russia. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Items like handbags, accessories (配饰) and cash were spread out on the ground around them in the photos. People shared these photos to show off their wealth.

    The craze soon became popular around the world. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} People are using it to show off their hobbies and professional talent. The items in their pictures show what they do for a living and what they have achieved in their lives.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, students fall down on textbooks and test papers. Police officers fall in front of their police cars with handcuffs (手铐) in their hands. Famous people are also taking the challenge. Writer Liu Tong took a fall with dozens of copies of his new book.

    More than 1.08 million Chinese have taken this challenge on Sina Weibo. Their pictures have been viewed more than 2.22 billion times. Internet users also comment on these posts. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} One Weibo user wrote: "This shows the positive energy of fighting and working hard. Applause for these young people!"

    However, some also think the craze is just another example of a successful internet meme (网络爆红). {#blank#}5{#/blank#} What do you think? Will you try this challenge?

A. They think people are just imitating others.

B. Most of them speak highly of the craze.

C. However, in China, it is taking on a new meaning.

D. The challenge is particularly popular among young people.

E. The biggest reason for the success of the challenge is simple.

F. People from all walks of life are taking part in it.

G. People posted pictures of themselves faking a fall.

Do we have a movement signature?

As humans, we have several qualities that separate us from one another, such as our fingerprints. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

According to a recent study, each person has a unique movement signature (鲜明特征). Depending on the person, these differences can be subtle or pronounced.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} For the study, scientists attached electrodes (电极) to muscles in the legs of volunteers. The volunteer were then asked to perform activities such as walking on walking machines and riding stationary bikes (健身车), which were adjusted according to each person's physical appearance in order to make sure everyone was judged using the same standards.

Scientists fed the information to a computer along with the volunteer's name. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Next, the computer was fed information without the user's name and it could identity the person correctly 99% of the time. The outcomes of the study showed that each of us does have something unique about our general movements.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Since this is just a pilot study, scientists will do more tests to see if the signature changes with age and weight changes. But with a deeper understanding of the science of movement, doctors could possibly develop more intricate prosthetics (复杂精细的假肢). {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Whether that's cool or frightening is up to you to decide.

A. How could this study be of use to scientists?

B. What do you think of the findings of the study?

C. Volunteers are expected to write a report on the activities.

D. Is it possible that we also have unique qualities in our movement.

E. Scientists could also program robots to copy humans' movements more exactly.

F. In this way, the computer could learn the unique movement quality of each person.

G. The study was conducted by inviting people to take part in a couple of physical activities.