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    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.

    If you see a group of people dancing and singing on the street or in the railway station, you don't need to feel surprised. They are a flash mob(快闪族), which is a group of people who come together suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly break up. They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communication network. At a predetermined(预先决定的) time, they gather and perform some distractions(消遣) such as waving their hands and exchanging books. Then, they quickly break up before the police can arrive. Using mobile phones, the flash mob can change its location if the first one has been replaced for any reason.

    Bill Lasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine, organized the first flash mob in Manhattan in May 2003 and the first successful flash mob came together on June 3, 2003 —after the first attempt failed at Macy's department store. Lasik claimed that the activity was designed to make fun of hipsters(赶时髦的人), and call attention to the cultural atmosphere.

    Flash mob gatherings can sometimes shock people. Such an activity might seem amusing and untrue, but it also might frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place. Undoubtedly, flash mobs can serve as good political tools in any direction. They also have great economic potential, such as using flash mobs to advertise a product.

    The flash mob is now becoming more and more popular. People use it to do many things. For example, in 2009, Michael Jackson's fans took part in a flash mob to remember him. Hundreds of his fans gathered singing and dancing Michael's famous song “Beat It” together. Flash mobs give people from all walks of life an opportunity to come together to create a memory.

    Life can be so wonderful, full of adventure and joy. It can also be full of challenges, setbacks and heartbreaks. Whatever our circumstances, we generally still have dreams, hopes and desires —that little something more we want for ourselves and our loved ones. Yet knowing we can have more can also create a problem, because when we go to change the way we do things, up come the old patterns and pitfalls that stopped us from seeking what we wanted in the first place.

    This tension between what we feel we can have and "what were seemingly able to have is the niggling suffering, the anxiety we feel. This is where we usually think it's easier to just give up. But we're never meant to let go of the part of us that knows we can have more. The intelligence behind that knowing is us—the real us. It's the part that believes in life and its possibilities. If you drop that, you begin to feel a little "dead" inside because you're dropping "you".

    So, if we have this capability but somehow life seems to keep us stuck, how do we break these patterns?

    Decide on a new course and make one decision at a time. This is good advice for a new adventure or just getting through today's challenges.

    While, deep down, we know we can do it, our mind—or the minds of those close to us—usually says we can't.

    That isn't a reason to stop, it's just the mind, that little man or woman on your shoulder, trying to talk you out of something again. It has done it many times before. It's all about starting simple and doing it now.

    Decide and act before over-thinking. When you do this you may feel a little, or large, release from the jail of your mind and you'll be on your way.

    About one hundred years ago many educated people learned and spoke French when they met people from other countries. Today most people speak English when they meet foreigners. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} There are more people who speak English as a second language than people who speak English as a first language. Why is this?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} One of them is that English has become the language of business. Another important reason is that popular American culture (like movies, music, and McDonald's)has quickly spread throughout the world. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Is it good that English has spread to all parts of the world so quickly? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It's important to have a language that the people of the earth have in common. Our world has become very global and we need to communicate with one another. On the other hand, English is a fairly complicated language to learn and it brings its culture with it. Do we really need that?

    Scientists have already tried to create an artificial language that isn't too difficult and doesn't include any one group's culture. It is called Esperanto. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Maybe the popularity of English won't last that long either. Who knows? There are more people in the world who speak Chinese than any other language. Maybe someday Chinese will be the new international language.

A. People like English.

B. But it hasn't become popular.

C. It has brought its language with it.

D. There is no doubt about the question.

E. This is why English was widely spoken.

F. It has become the new international language.

G. There are many reasons why English has become so popular.

    Ask fishermen why they fish and you will get a variety of answers. The book and movie ARiverRunsThroughIt tried to answer that question. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    What are mine? Like most fishermen, I love the peace and quietness of most trips. Imagine the still water at your feet, not a ripple(涟漪) on it. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And everything around you looks soft. A splash(飞溅的水) breaks the calm, letting you know there is a fish feeding there. You are totally alone with your thoughts, almost as if you were floating in an isolation(隔离) tank.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Trying to make a fish think your lure(诱饵) is its food is not easy. Figuring out where the fish is and why it is there is another part of the challenge. And learning enough about them to consistently catch fish is a challenge most of us don't overcome.

    The pull of the fish you hook and the efforts to land it without losing it are part of the fun. Struggling with a fish on a rod and reel is very interesting. Good fresh food is another reason why many people go fishing. Getting your own food is another basic need that fishing provides.

    Competition has become a big part of fishing. I like it, where a group of people go out and try to catch fish. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It is nice when you win, but you try to listen and learn from the winner when you are not on top.

    For many years, I had an irresistible desire to go fishing. I could not wait to get to the waterside and try to show my skills against those fish. I was not happy except when fishing. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} However, that strong urge is no longer there. Sometimes I miss it.

A.The challenge of being cleverer than fish is part of it.

B.You must have enough patience when fishing beside a river.

C.The truth is that every fisherman has his or her own reasons.

D.The fog is just thick enough so trees disappear in the distance.

E.As I get older, I still enjoy fishing and all the things mentioned here.

F.At the end of the day, you get to compare how many fish you have caught.

G.That part of the fishing experience lasts for only a few minutes each day.

    Have you ever taken a test that you thought you could have passed easily, only to make some silly mistakes that really hurt your grade? More than a few students have done that. And some seem to do it over and over again.

    There are several problem areas that can cause students to goof up or do poorly in a test that they could have passed.

    Some students can become overconfident in their knowledge of the subject matter. They think they know the material better than they actually do. It is easy for students to misjudge their own knowledge, and when they realize that they don't know the material, it is too late.

    What happens more often, though, is that some students feel they are smart enough to be able to guess their way through a test. So they don't bother studying the material. They are overconfident in their ability to figure things out.

    In either case, overconfidence can result in lower grades in tests. Does this apply to you?

    Another thing that can happen is that students underestimate (低估) the difficulty of the test. They expect an easy test, but the teacher throws in a real tough test that they haven't prepared for. Sometimes the teacher may cover material in the test that students weren't expecting. That can happen, especially if you weren't paying attention in class.

    Finally, there are students who don't feel that getting a good grade is important to them, so they don't bother to study or even try to do well. Such students may be trying to punish their parents, have a poor image of themselves, or are just plain foolish. Hopefully, you are not one of these students.