Cold weather has a great effect on how our minds and our bodies work. Maybe that is why there are so many expressions that use the word cold. For centuries, the body's blood has been linked closely with the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings, for example, are said to be cold –blooded. Cold –blooded people act in merciless ways. They may do cruel things to others, and not by accident. For example, a newspaper says the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer. The killer murdered someone, not in self-defense. He seemed to kill with no emotion.

    Cold can affect other parts of the body, the feet, for example. Heavy socks can warm your feet, if your feet are really cold. But there is an expression—to get cold feet –that has nothing to do with cold or your feet. The expression means being afraid to do something you had decided to do. For example, you agree to be president of an organization. But then you learn that all the other officers have given up the position. All the work of the organization will be your responsibility. You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.

    Cold can also affect your shoulder. You give someone the cold shoulder when you refuse to speak to them. You treat them in a distant, cold way. The expression probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face-to-face. You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you. Or, to someone who has lied about you to others.

    A cold fish is not a fish. It is a person. But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth. A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.

    Out in the cold is an expression often heard. It means not getting something that everybody else got. A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise. He was left out in the cold. And it is not a pleasant place to be.

    How to prepare for exams?

    Here are some tips you can read with your child.

    The first step in preparing for examinations is to set a fixed time each day to study and a schedule to say when to start the revision and for which subject. The plan should include how many chapters to revise and how many worksheets (活页练习题) to work on. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Parents who do not know the examination schedule can search “exam timetable” to see the official examination schedule. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    The second thing is to decide on the place to study. Some need total silence in a library before they can concentrate while others like to have some background music like in the cafeteria, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}So there is no need to tell your child to change the study place if he is producing the desired results.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}For lessons, pupils must participate in lessons and discussions actively. For exercise, work on the simple ones in the textbook. For theory, pupils can use the mind map method to summarize the facts.

    At last, be smart. Focus on chapters that are the core of the subject or difficult chapters. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Next the most effective way to revise is to use an active approach.

B. Making good preparations counts.

C. The mind map can help you a lot in your revision work.

D. Your child has to be self-disciplined (自律的) to follow the plan.

E. It is not necessary to read from the first to the last page.

F. The best time to start revision is one or two months before the examination.

G. Both are alright as long as your child is comfortable with it.

    New research brings some good news for lovers of spicy(辛辣的) foods, after finding that eating hot red chili peppers might help to extend lifespan（寿命）.

    Consuming hot red chili peppers might reduce death risk, say Chopan and Littenberg from the research team. In hot peppers, such as Mexico peppers, the strong flavor comes from a compound(复合物), which does not exist in sweet peppers or onions. Studies have suggested that this compound can offer a welth of health benefits.

    A study of more than 16,000 people in the United States revealed that individuals who consumed red chili peppers had a lower risk of death from all causes over an average of 18 years than those who did not eat the spicy food. Compared with participants who did not consume hot red chili peppers, those who did were found to be at 13 percent reduced risk of all-cause death.

    For example, a recent study reported by Medical News Today, found that the compound might have the potential to stop breast cancer, while an earlier study linked the compound to a reduced risk of digest system cancers. Still, the available data suggested that hot red chili pepper consumption was most strongly associated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease.

    While the researchers are unable to identify the concrete compound by which red chili peppers might extend lifepan, the team says that it is likely due to the compound that is effectively against obesity(肥胖症).

    Overall, the team says that these latest findings support those of the 2015 study, linking spicy food intake to reduced risk of death by showing “a significant decrease in death associated with hot red chili pepper consumption.” However, Chopan and Littenberg note that the earlier study was only conducted in Chinese adults, so the now research makes these findings more credible.

    To someone stuck in a traffic jam, the ability to fly right over other cars seems like a dream. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} That may be changing. Nearly a dozen companies around the globe are competing to be the first to develop a flying car. One of the ideas being developed is a car with wings that unfold for flight. But, most aren't cars at all. They are more like helicopters and are operated by a battery-powered motor.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Companies have to convince the government that the flying cars are safe. They will also need longer-lasting batteries. And, cities will have to figure out how to handle thousands of flying cars in the sky.

    Still, some companies are moving forward. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Especially as cities grow more crowded and people spend more time stuck in traffic. These taxis would deliver passengers to the rooftops of office buildings during rush hours.

    "In as little as 10 years, products could be on the market that revolutionize urban travel for millions of people," said Zach Lovering. He is the leader of a project to develop a self-flying taxi for Airbus, a European company that makes airplanes. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Although Uber doesn't have any plans to develop a flying car itself, the company is advising several companies that are developing them.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Designers think that if enough people want to buy them, prices can be kept affordable.

A. Some flying cars are designed for human pilots.

B. It's still unclear how much flying cars will cost.

C. They see a need for "air taxis" and personally owned flying cars.

D. Companies will also have to get permission from the government.

E. The Uber ride-share company sees air taxis as the future of on-call transportation.

F. Inventors and business people tried to make flying cars, but have never been able to.

G. There are many challenges that could keep flying cars from becoming part of everyday life.

    Once eating alone was just that: sitting down in a restaurant on one's own and eating a meal. Everyone did it sometimes, and when they did so, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. To eat alone might suggest that you didn't have any friends. There was a kind of shame attached to it.

    Nowadays, however, there is more and more solitary (独自的) eating for pleasure. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. "Foodies"—people with a passionate interest in cuisines—do it because all they need is the chance to eat good food. They don't want company or conversation, but only the joy of eating some special dish. Other people eat alone because it's simply practical for them to do so. For instance, it's estimated that nearly a third of all the customers of fast-food restaurants eat alone. They are served with their food fast, eat it fast and then leave fast. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    But the appeal of eating alone is quite different. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . For the hour or so that it takes to have a meal, they can forget all the pressures of their lives. They don't have to deal with their family or job. They can relax and let their mind wander. Maybe they'll bring a book, a newspaper to enjoy a quiet time.

    David Annand, editor of Conde Nast Traveler magazine, who delights in dining alone, speaks of his pleasure in the "rhythm of a meal in a restaurant—its ebb and flow (人来人往), the periodic arrival and departure of the waiter". {#blank#}5{#/blank#} .

A. It's an experience of freedom

B. they might be a little embarrassed

C. People choose to eat alone for various reasons

D. none of them would feel bad about themselves

E. Sometimes staying alone is quite cosy when you don't work

F. This restaurant rhythm allows him to sit back, observe and think

G. It saves time if they have a meeting or a child to pick up from school

    Failure is an unavoidable part of life. Though science has named some life skills that promise success, we're told over and over again that no great success was ever achieved without failure -- or many failed attempts. One of life's most important lessons, therefore, has to be how to handle failure best. But what is the message?

    For starters, ignore advice from anyone that tells you, "Don't beat yourself up about it," no matter how well-meaning they are. According to the new research from the University of Kansas, we absolutely should be beating ourselves up when we fail. Marketing professor Noelle Nelson and her team found that the more emotional a person's response is to failure, the more likely they are to achieve better results the next time they deal with a related task.

    The researchers carried out two experiments in which undergraduate students were required to perform specific tasks. In one experiment, they were asked to search online for a squeezer and report the lowest price they could find with the possibility of winning a $50 cash prize. However, the task was controlled, and all participants were told (by a computer) that the lowest price was $3.27 less than their reported price. Consequently, no participant won the cash prize. When the results were announced, some participants were asked to focus on their emotional response, and others on their cognitive (认知的) response. During the next similar task, participants who focused on their emotional response to failure made more effort than those who focused on a cognitive response.

    Everybody has their own unique challenges, responsibilities, duties, and projects, but these findings are related to all of us. Your personal failure may be a cake that fails to rise, a presentation that goes wrong, or a deadline that gets missed—it doesn't matter. What matters is how you react to it. Instead of thinking about the failure, let yourself feel bad about it. Then follow this advice on how to bounce back after your failure.