阅读理解

     Most of you know this mathematical game, of course. You and your friend draw crosses and circles on a sheet of paper. You do it one after another. The first pupil who gets three marks in a row wins. But do you know that you can play this game another way and it will become more interesting? You must try to make your friend win. If you get your three marks in a row, you don't win — you lose!

     It is more difficult to play this game the other way. The second pupil can always win (if he plays the right way), but he may not win if the first pupil begins with his mark in the center. Then if the first pupil always takes a place on the other side of his friend's mark, nobody will win.
     If your friend does not know the secret which we have explained, you must play each time so as to leave him the greatest number of ways to win. You may try a few games and you will see how interesting it is to play the game this way.

    These days haze(雾霾) is around us here and there. In fact, everyone has the power to change their living habits to help reduce it. Many local governments call on their people to take action to make the air cleaner.

    Transport is one of the biggest contributors(促成物) to haze. When, where, bow, why and what you drive all affect air quality. When one drives to work for one year, he uses as much energy as a bus rider uses in 10 years. So walk or ride your bicycle to work or school whenever possible. If it is necessary, you can use public transport instead of your car. Each person using public transport for a year instead of a car can save nearly a tonne of pollutants, including CO₂, from going into the atmosphere.

    Carpooling is another way to reduce carbon emissions (排放). Carpooling is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car. It immediately reduces your car's emissions by half.

    What you do inside your living space can have a big effect on the air quality outside it. You can do a lot of things inside and around your home that will help you pollute less and save some money.

    A large amount of our energy supply comes from burning coal, another contributor to haze. By cutting down your electricity use, you are cutting down on haze. So you may try to reduce your use of electricity by turning off lights, using your air conditioner wisely during the summer months, or updating some of your electrical appliances to low-energy models. For example, you can use energy-saving lamps that require less energy and last 10 times longer than common bulbs.

    Each year more than2,500 people die and 12,600 are injured in home fires just in the UnitedStates, with direct property(财产) lossbecause of home fires at about $7.3 billion every year. Every day Americansexperience tile horror(惨状) of fires, but most people don'tunderstand fires.

    To protect yourself, itis important to learn something about home fires.

    In less than 30 secondsa small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire. Itonly takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house or for it to be inflames. Most deadly fires occur in the home when people are asleep, lf yourealize a fire, you won't have time to take valuables because the fire spreadstoo quickly and the smoke is too thick. The fire uses up the oxygen you needand produces smoke and poisonous(有毒的) gases that kill. Breathing even small amounts of smoke and toxicgases can make you tired and sleepy, and short of breath. The smoke can causeyou to be a deep sleeper before the flames reach your door. You may not wake upin time to escape.

    Room temperatures in afire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level.Breathing in this super-hot air will burn your lungs. It can melt clothes toyour skin. In five minutes, a mom can get so hot that everything in it startsto burn at once.

    Fires are bright atfirst, but quickly produce black smoke and complete darkness. If you wake up toa fire you may be blinded, confused about where you are or which direction you shouldgo in and unable to find your way around the home you've lived in for years.

    Only when we know thetrue nature of fires can we prepare our families and ourselves.

Is It Better to Read Books or Listen to Them?

    We often think how fast we learn something depends on how smart we are. If your brain is taking in material quickly, you're clever; if not, well, that doesn't say great things about your IQ. But science shows context (上下文) and technique (技术) actually play a big role in how fast we learn, and even small changes – like the way you use to read – can make a big difference.

    Audio (音频的) books have plenty of advantages: you can enjoy them anywhere, even in the car, and not printing books saves trees. Poor readers also often find them more interesting. But according to the latest research, if your goal isn't to pass the time in traffic, but instead to learn something difficult, you should choose a physical book.

    In a recent opinion piece in the New York Times, psychology (心理学) professor Daniel T.

    Willingham mentioned a 2010 study where 48 students either read or listened to an article about child psychology. Although the students spent the same amount of time with their material and did about the same number of distracting (分散注意力) activities while they absorbed the information, they scored very differently on a 10-item quiz later. Generally, the readers scored 81 percent but while the listeners scored 59 percent. Why does listening vs reading material have such a great effect on learning?

    Willingham explains that first, most of us read more slowly than we listen (especially when pausing and rereading), and when you're trying to absorb new information, slower seems to be better. "About 10 to 15 percent of eye movements during reading are actually regressive – meaning the eyes are going back and re-checking," he explains to TIME. "This happens very quickly…"

    Second, books offer visual cues (可视线索) that help our brains organize and understand new information. Things like chapter breaks, subheadings, and lists help us in making sense of the material and understanding how it fits together. You lose all that when you go the audio way.

    The bottom line is simple: Don't feel shame about passing your time in traffic with an audio book. However, be aware of audio's limitations when it comes to studying, and seriously consider choosing good old-fashioned reading instead.