A brain can also simply be a smartperson,  If a person is called brainy,she is smart and intelligent. If a family has many children but one ofthem is super smart, you could say, "She's the brains in the family. "And if you are the brains behind something you are responsible for developing or organizing something. For example, Bill Gates is the brains behind Microsoft Brain trust is a group of experts who give advice. Word experts say the phrase "brain trust" became popularwhen Franklin D. Roosevelt first ran for president in 1932, Several professors gave him advice on social and political issues facingthe U.S.

    These professors were called his "braintrust." These ways we use the word"brain" all make sense. But other ways we use the word are not so easy to understand. Forexample, to understand the next brain expression, you first need to know theword “drain." As a verb to drain means to, remove something by letting it flow away. So abrain drain may sound like a disease where the brain flows out the ears. But, brain drain is when a country's most educated people leave their countries to live in another. The brains are, sort of, draining out of the country.

    However, if people are responsible for agreat idea, you could say they brainstormed it. Here, brainstorm is not an act of weather. It is a process of thinking creatively about a complex topic. Forexample, business leaders may use brainstorming to create new products, and government leaders may brainstorm to solve problems.

    If people are brainwashed, it does notmean their brains are nice and clean. To brainwash means to make someone accept new beliefs by using repeated pressure in a forceful or tricky way. Keep inmind that brainwash is never used in a positive way.

  “I honestly have no idea how that cat got up there. It's a hundred—foot—metal pole. There's no way he climbed that thing,”Jim said to the worried woman. It wasn't even her cat, but she was passing by and saw it. immediately calling the fire—station to come to save it. Jim saw a lotof strange things as a fireman, often sad or upsetting things, but this was new.

  “I suppose we could get the blanket and see if we can convince the poor cat to jump down. But he doesn't really look too scared…”Jim said to the woman.

  “Dave, get overhere!” Jim called over his shoulder to the fire truck driver. Dave walked over and looked where Jim was pointing.

  “How'd he get up there?”

    Jim shrugged, similarly puzzled.“Do you suppose we could get the blanket and convince him tojump?”

    Dave shrugged in response.“I don't seewhy not.”

    Jim looked up at the black mass on the top of the flagpole, the Americannag waving proudly beneath him. It was definitely a cat, and heregarded the people gathered below as if they were his subjects(臣民) and he their king, his yellow eyes scanning his surroundings with apparentd is interest.

    When the blanket was spread out below the cat, Jim and Davebegan striking the flagpole. The cat lookeddown, and then gazed into the sky as if it were looking for something. Jim and Davefollowed his gaze. Suddenly, out of theclear sky, appeared adark figure. The figures wooped(俯冲) low toward the flag pole. It was aneagle! As it got closer, the cat leaped down the pole swiftly onto the ground, and then got lost in the bushes.

    Jim, Dave, and the oldwoman were left with their mouths open. They all agreedit was the best way to get it down.

阅读理解

    A group of cultural calendars, with creative designs, informative content and delicate printing, were hot sellers last year and now posting photos of the calendars has become a new fad on social networks. Many people posted photos of their cultural calendars with their comments to arouse memories of traditional knowledge. Though the cultural calendars are a return to traditions, designers are racking their brains to make the calendars appear more attractive.

    The Taj Mahal, in Agra, India, is one of the most brilliant structures on Earth. It is nearly 400 years old. Emperor Shah Jahan had it built in memory of his wife. It took about 20 years to build the monument. Some 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants helped get the job done. Today, the Taj Mahal is not just a symbol of cultural history. It's also India's most famous tourist attraction. About 8 million people visit it each year.

    But pollution is turning the white marble monument shades of green, yellow, and brown. The Taj Mahal stands on the polluted Yamuna River. Insects are attracted to the dirty water. They leave greenish droppings on the building. Air pollution is also a big threat. Factories and cars release pollution into the air. It sticks to the Taj Mahal's suidEace. In the 1990s, India's Supreme Court ordered hundreds of factories near the monument to close. Also, car and bus traffic was restricted. From time to time, workers clean the Taj Mahal. But doing so is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. And it doesn't prevent the discoloration.

    On July 11, India's Supreme Court gave the city of Agra a warning: "Either you destroy the Taj Mahal or you restore it". Authorities in the city submitted a draft of an action plan on July 24. It suggests banning plastics and construction from the area. It also calls for the closing of more factories.

    "In order to preserve the Taj Mahal, people must come together to work toward a solution. There needs to be positive pressure on people to act. We need to act immediately," Sachchida Tripathi says. He worked on a 2014 study of pollution at the Taj Mahal. "We are trying," he adds, "but we need to try more."

    A telescope, called Gaia, is being designed by astronomers in Europe, and it couldn't be more different from Pan-STARRS, which is another telescope being designed. While Pan-STARRS will be looking for asteroids (小行星) and comets headed for Earth, Gaia will be looking at our entire galaxy (银河系).

    Gaia is designed to draw a map of the Milky Way, our home galaxy. Just as a map of your town gives you a picture of where things are located, Gaia's map of the galaxy will tell astronomers where the stars are. Over five years, Gaia will observe (观察) about a billion stars and other objects in our galaxy. Each object will be observed about 70 times.

    Gaia will be sent into space connected to a rocket. It contains two telescopes, each focused at a different angle (角度). These two telescopes act like Gaia's “eyes”. The reason why humans can see things in 3D is that we have two eyes focused on the same object, at slightly different angles. By using two telescopes like eyes, Gaia can produce the first 3D map of the positions of the stars it views.

    Gaia, which is to be sent into space, will be a powerful telescope. If you were to use it on Earth, for example, you could stand 600 miles away from your best friends and still get a clear picture of their hair.

    Gaia is one of more than a dozen telescopes being designed by scientists right now. The next generation of telescopes will reveal new parts of our universe that will seem surprising. The universe, with all its planets, stars and other strange objects, is a puzzle with pieces that we can see by using powerful telescopes.

    Better known by his stage name Kun, Cai Xukun is, without a doubt, one of the most popular stars in China.

    On July 26, the 21-year-old dropped his new single Young. Within just 20 seconds, it reached 1 million views and in only 3 days topped the music charts of Tencent's QQ music.

    Cai wrote the song by himself to share his understanding of modern-day youth. The singer has mixed R&B with electronic music to make his new beat cheerful. One reviewer wrote on QQ Music: "When you listen to the song, you just seem to go back to youth again."

    August 2 is Cai's birthday, and the song was a gift to himself. The singer hopes that he can always have the courage to follow his love of music, ignoring what anyone says. "My works are like my children and I have put my best effort into them. I want every piece of my work to have my own spirit in it. I feel more enjoyment when I am performing my own work." He told the Global Times.

    To find new inspiration, Kun attends different kinds of musical performances－from festivals to opera houses. "I just like to do everything, all for my music, all for my art," he told i-D.

    With talent and dedication(专注) to music, Cai is expected by many to make his mark in the competitive Chinese music industry.