A qualified doctor who rarely practiced but instead devoted his life to writing．He once said: “Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my lover．” Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, was a great playwright and one of the masters of the modern short story．

    When Chekhov entered the Moscow University Medical School in 1879, he started to publish hundreds of comic short stories to support his family．After he graduated, he wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper．

    As a writer he was extremely fast, often producing a short story in an hour or less．Chekhov's medical and science experience can be seen through the indifference (冷漠) many of his characters show to tragic events．In 1892, he became a full time writer and published some of his most memorable stories．

    Chekhov often wrote about the sufferings of life in small town Russia．Tragic events control his characters who are filled with feelings of hopelessness and despair．

    It is often said that nothing happens in Chekhov's stories and plays．He made up for this with his exciting technique for developing drama within his characters．Chekhov's work combined the calm attitude of a scientist and doctor with the sensitivity(敏感) of an artist．

    Some of Chekhov's works were translated into Chinese as early as the 1940s．One of his famous stories, The Man in a Shell, about a school teacher's extraordinarily orderly life, was selected as a text for Chinese senior students．

阅读短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

    Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror; you do not look like these stick -thin models seen across the media. Your legs are too big, your bottom is too small, and you are too pale. You are too “ugly” You stare in wonder and anger, “Why don't I look like them?" However, you don't need to imagine this situation, because this is a bitter truth for millions of people. In the media，one can quickly see the ideal body, the ideal face, and the ideal person. The advancement of unrealistic beauty on social media causes millions of people to become dissatisfied with their looks.

    Dissatisfaction with one's appearance can cause dangerous behaviors like dieting, which result in eating disorders like Anorexia Nervosa (神经性厌食症) and Bulimia Nervosa (神经性易饿病). Eating disorders have seen a dramatic increase following the rise of social media, 119% increase according to recent statistics. According to Brittany Tackett, a mental health professional,“30% -50% of patients in eating disorder hospitals used social media as a means of supporting their eating disorders.”

    Not only can social media become a support-system for unhealthy behaviors, but an article written by Rachel Simmons, a Time magazine writer, suggests that people who spend more time online tend to link their self-worth to their looks. A study conducted by Park Nicollet Melrose Center also says that in the 1990's, fifty-percent of women wanted to lose weight. Now it finds that eighty-percent of women want to lose weight. Although this higher percentage cannot be directly related to the rise of social media, one can argue that the unrealistic and damaging beauty expectations that social media presents contribute to this number.

    In addition, social media causes stress. A survey was conducted in which people were asked whether or not they used social media, and how stressed they felt they were. The study found that “social network users are, in fact, 14 percent more likely than non-users to characterize their lives as at least 'somewhat stressful.' Non-users are 28 percent more likely than users to say their lives are 'not at all' stressful”. Additionally, stress may have more connection to self-confidence than is believed.

    So，there you are again, standing in front of the mirror criticizing the parts of your body which do not follow the idealistic images of models seen on social media. Your legs are too big, your bottom is too small, and you are too pale. You are too “ugly”. Although this time, you realize it is not you who are the problem. The problem is the unhealthy and unrealistic standards that social media encourages. So the next time you are looking through Instagram, opening WeChat, or commenting on Twitter, ask yourself, “Is it worth it?”

    There are many programs for high school students today that help lonely teenagers deal with loneliness. However, loneliness is not only an issue for teens but also an important and rarely acknowledged one in the elderly.

    In Britain, Tracey Crouch was appointed to be the first Minister of Loneliness in order to address the issues caused by loneliness. This is the first time such a position has been created.

    In Britain, there are around 9 million people who say they are lonely frequently. In Germany, a study conducted by Ruhr University Bochum found that 20 percent of people over the age of 85 felt lonely, and 14 percent of those between age 45 and 65 felt socially lonely. In the United States, more than 25 percent of the population lives alone, more than 50 percent are unmarried.

    Loneliness is generally associated with heart disease, overweight, and anxiety. Additionally, the stress from loneliness can cause your cells to change on a molecular(分子)level that reduces its abilities to defend your body against diseases. In fact, doctors believe having feelings of loneliness is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day in regard to its effect on health!

    In Britain, the new Minister of Loneliness will help introduce government policies on the issue and fund a charity—an organization for helping people in need, to devote their efforts towards aiding loneliness. There are charities that link lonely seniors to high school students in order to give them a line of communication whenever they feel lonely!

    The possibilities for the new Minister of Loneliness are endless. For example, she can provide education services to household businesses so that they can identify lonely customers if they see one. Loneliness fits into the category of being a social issue that must be monitored by the entire community in order to help those in need. Therefore, government involvement in medical services and care for seniors and others is vital for happy seniors.

    Most people agree that eating healthy food is important. But sometimes making good food choices can be difficult. Now, there are apps that can help people learn about the food they eat to improve their health and their dining out experience.

    Open Table app

    Open Table app helps people choose restaurants when they want to go out to eat. It is a free service that shows users restaurant available based on where and when they want to dine. It gives users points when they make reservations(预定), which can add up to discounts on restaurant visits.

    Max McCalman's Cheese&Wine Pairing app

    Wine and cheese can be a great combination. But which wines go best with which cheeses? Max McCalman's Cheese&Wine Pairing app can help. It provides information about hundreds of different cheeses and suggests wines to pair with each. Max McCalman's Cheese&Wine Pairing app is free.

    HappyCow app

Vegetarians do not eat animal meat. Vegans do not eat any animal products. The HappyCow app is made for both groups. Users can search for vegetarian-vegan restaurants and stores around the world.

    LocalEats app

    Restaurant chains, like McDonalds, can be found almost anywhere a person might travel. But sometimes travelers want to eat like locals. The LocalEats app is designed for that. It can help you find local restaurants in major cities in the US and in other countries. It costs about a dollar.

    Where Chefs Eat app

    "Where Chefs Eat" is a 975-pagc book. Most people would not want to carry that around. But there is a much lighter app version of the same name for just $15. Six hundred chefs provide information on 3,000 restaurants around the world on the Where Chefs Eat app.

    Many studies have hinted(暗示) that alcohol, in moderation, can do a heart good. But new research suggests that moderate drinkers are no more likely than non­drinkers to have clear arteries(动脉).

    The scientists looked at almost 2,000 patients who underwent CT test. Overall, there was no association between people's drinking habits and their heart diseases. Researchers said an advantage of the new study is that it used objective measurements.

    “No prior studies have assessed the relationship between alcohol consumption and the presence of heart disease,” said lead researcher Dr Julia Karady. "We could not find any relation between the presence of heart disease and alcohol consumption," Karady said. At the same time, she added, there was no evidence that heavier drinking raised the risk of heart disease.

    However, groups like the American Heart Association(AHA) warn against excessive drinking, because it can raise blood pressure and contribute to heart failure and other problems.

    In general, "moderate" is defined as no more than one glass of alcohol a day for women, and no more than two a day for men. But those studies do not prove that alcohol, itself, protects the heart—in large part because alcohol also carries risks.