“As easy as falling off a log” is often used to describe a job that does not take much effort. You might hear a student say to her friend that her spelling test was “as easy as falling off a log”. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. It is easier to fall off the log than to stay on it.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. One is “easy as pie”. Nothing is easier than eating a piece of sweet, juicy pie unless it is a “piece of cake”.

    “Piece of cake” is another expression that means something is extremely easy to do. A friend might tell you that his new job was a “piece of cake”.

    Another expression is “as easy as shooting fish in a barrel”. It is hard to imagine why anyone would want to shoot fish in a barrel. But, clearly, fish in a barrel would be much easier to shoot than fish in a stream. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Sometimes, things that come to us easily, also leave us just as easily. In fact, there is an expression —“easy come, easy go”—that recognizes this. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Easy come, easy go.

    When life itself is easy, when you have no cares or problems, you are on “Easy Street”. Everyone wants to live on that imaginary street.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. It means to treat a person kindly or gently, especially in a situation where you might be expected to be angry with him. A wife might urge her husband to “go easy on” their son, because the boy did not mean to damage the car.

    Have you ever felt a sudden feeling of joy because you heard a favorite song playing? Then you know that music can have a strong effect on your emotions.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It can help get you out of a bad mood (心情) or stay in a good one, says Alicia Ann Clair, professor at the University of Kansas. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    To cheer up, listen to Latin music or anything with a strong beat or a fast speed {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When you want to relax after a busy day, music with a slower speed can calm you down.

    Listen to calming music before you start any stressful activities, advises Dr. Clair. "Once you' re in a good state of mind, it' s easier to keep it." You can lower stress at work with music, too, by playing relaxing tunes (曲调).{#blank#}4{#/blank#}"If you listen to them all day long, you' 11 stop noticing them," Dr. Clair explains. Then the music won't have any effect.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}"To feel energetic, start with something relaxing, and then gradually increase the speed and beat," says Dr. Clair. For example, first play some nice slow love songs, and then listen to something more energetic. When you want to calm down after a busy week at work, just do the opposite.

A. Music can also help you relax and feel active.

B. Try to take advantage of this power of music.

C. But only play them when you really need them.

D. Loud and fast music can fill you with energy.

E. There are different kinds of music around the world.

F. Put on your favorite song, but only if it is one that can lift your spirits.

G. You can change your mood by changing from one kind of music to another.

    Traveling with kids, regardless of the age, is a terrible thing for new parents. Responsibility is high and travel expenses might be unexpected at any point of the trip. If you are planning your first road trip or vacation with children, there are several important things to consider.

    Get a child locator. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} and many parents sometimes lose their kids Popular tourist destinations are overcrowded, too. So, if you are afraid of losing your children, get a child locator to be aware of where your kids are going when they accidentally get lost.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. You do not need to pack tons of toys, sweets and a tablet full of games in order to keep your little ones entertained. You can encourage them to create a travel journal or smash book, read, tell each other stories, or give them a camera to capture the most precious moments during your trip. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. This is a must even during the shortest road trip. You can handle a headache, but your child can't. If you do not know what to put in your first aid kit (急救箱), consult your children's doctor, because all children are different and the medicines either.

    Apart from the above, money, passport, avoiding heavy luggage, pick a family­friendly destination and family friendly accommodation are also needed. Traveling with kids is exciting and interesting. Your first trip might not be so exciting, but with a careful preparation, your family trip will be the most memorable one. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. Keep them careful

B. Keep them entertained

C. Pack a small, kid­friendly first aid kit

D. Board games might be a god choice, too

E. Airports and train stations are usually overcrowded.

F. Avoiding your little ones in the panning of the trip is a good idea.

G. Involve your little ones in the planning of the trip, which will help you

    When a laptop or smartphone battery starts losing its power, the only options are to buy an expensive replacement, or just keep it plugged in all the time. But a woman Mya Le Thai may have found the answer to this problem.

    Thai was frustrated that the batteries for her wireless devices degraded(降级)over time, until they failed to charge fully. She did not like having to keep her laptop connected to an electrical outlet to keep it powered on. So, she decided to do something about that problem. At first, she and her team at UC Irvine thought about inventing a new battery. But as they experimented, Thai discovered something that might permit lithium—ion(锂离子)batteries to last forever.

    Lithium-ion batteries power most wireless devices. Over time, the batteries lose the ability to hold a charge. Most of these batteries have a life span of about 7,000 charging cycles before they die. One of the reasons lithium—ion batteries degrade is their use of nanowires to carry electricity. Nanowires are extremely thin. A human hair is thousands of times thicker, for example. Nanowires are extremely efficient carriers of electricity, which makes them useful in batteries.

    But, Thai had a theory—the nanowires might last longer if covered with a gel(凝胶). She and her team tested this theory. "It was a long process and a lot of work, "Thai said. The team tried many coverings for the wires. PMMA, a type of plastic, was one of them. The nanowires were coated with PMMA and cycled through charges 200, 000 times. The PMMA-coated nanowires showed no evidence of damage. The results suggest that batteries could last forever, without losing charging ability.

    Thai hopes to continue her research to understand why this gel works so well and to see if any other gel could create better results and she is enjoying the publicity about her discovery. She said she never expected her research to get media coverage. "It's kind of cool," she said. "I'm really glad people are showing interest in my work and not just in the work itself, but also in technology and energy."

    Your children are watching you. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} According to the Health Program, developing healthy habits is an important part for your children. And when it comes to developing healthy habits, parents influence their children more than anyone else.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} What happens during those early years can influence children for the rest of their lives. This includes some eating and exercise habits. Children are very careful, even at a young age. Children watch what others do carefully and imitate the behaviors of those closest to them. As parents, you should do the following: {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you do that, your children are more likely to be enthusiastic about developing theirs.

    Let your children see you taking care of your own physical health by eating fruit and vegetables. Talk to them about healthy habits in appropriate terms and at a proper time. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Computers, televisions and other forms of technology are a major part of life in the 21st century. Unfortunately, as the use of technology in the home increases, so does the time spent watching TV or playing on the computer. So as parents, you should also arrange the time for your children wisely.

A. Don't get rid of technology, but use it wisely.

B. Take part in physical activities and exercise regularly.

C. Be enthusiastic about developing healthy habits of your own.

D. Your actions are speaking to them louder than your words will.

E. Children prefer to imitate their parents rather than listen to them.

F. This can be helpful to teach your children to form good eating habits.

G. It's easy for the children to form their healthy habits when they are young.

    Although books are still popular with teenagers, most of them spend more of their leisure time staring at their phone than reading a paperbook. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Instead of publishing whole book at once, they produce very short chapters, which they send once a week to their readers by text message.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Many are written by high school or university students who are very familiar with the topics that teenagers are interested in. Common themes are love, tragedy and betrayal, and the stories often deal with difficult or controversial issues.

    Twenty-one-year-old Rin wrote her novel over a six-month period in spare moments, often while commuting on the train. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Her book sold 40000 copies and was number five in the Japanese bestseller list. Rin said that her mother had had no idea that she had been writing a novel and was therefore very surprised when she saw a book with her daughter's name on it

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Chapters have no more than 200 words, and often just 50-100 words. Sentences are short and there are no descriptions of anything or anybody because there isn't space. The text mostly consists of dialogue and the language is direct, conveying a lot in a few words.

    In 2009, a young Japanese writer called Takatsu, who lives in Canada, began writing the first English language cell phone novel, Secondhand Memories. Takatsu had read an English translation of Rin's story and had been impressed by its simple and emotional language. It was a feature he deliberately copied when he started writing Secondhand Memories. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}He now believes that, in English, cell phone novels have a powerful and poetic identity of their own. Cell phone novels encourage young people to engage in fiction, even those who would not normally pick up a book. They could be described as ten novels for the 21st century.

A. Books are sometimes regarded as old-fashioned and difficult to read.

B. In response 10 this trend, some smart young authors have changed the way they write.

C. However, as the story progressed, the style gradually evolved into something different.

D. She typed out chapters on her phone and uploaded them onto a popular website for cell phone authors.

E. No money is made from cell phone novels unless they are published as books.

F. The style of cell phone novels has evolved to suit the medium.

G. Although the idea originated in Japan, cell phone novels have also appeared in the rest of world.