Everyone knows that fish is good for health. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}  But it seems that many people don't cook fish at home. Americans eat only about fifteen pounds of fish per person per year, but we eat twice as much fish in restaurants as at home. Buying, storing, and cooking fish isn't difficult. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}  This text is about how to buy and cook fish in an easy way.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Fresh fish should smell sweet: you should feel that you're standing at the ocean's edge. Any fishy or strong smell means the fish isn't fresh.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}  When you have bought a fish and arrive home, you'd better store the fish in the refrigerator if you don't cook it immediately, but fresh fish should be stored in your fridge for only a day or two. Frozen fish isn't as tasty as the fresh one.

     There are many common methods used to cook fish. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} First, clean it and season it with your choice of spices(调料). Put the whole fish on a plate and steam it in a steam pot for 8 to 10 minutes if it weighs about one pound. (A larger one will take more time.) Then, it's ready to serve.

A. Do not buy it.

B. The easiest is to steam it.

C. This is how you can do it.

D. It just requires a little knowledge.

E. The fish will go bad within hours.

F. When buying fish, you should first smell it.

G. The fats in fish are thought to help prevent heart disease.

Oxford English Language Center

Information for New Students

    CLASS TIME：8:30a. m. —10:00a. m.，10:30a. m. —12:00a. m.，1:30p. m. —3:00p. m..

    The Language Center is open Monday to Friday. Each class has one afternoon free per week. On the first day, go to the lecture hall to check your timetable.

    SELF—ACCESS：The language laboratory（Room 1110）is open Monday to Friday from 3:15p. m. to 5:00p. m. for all full-time students.

    You can learn how to use computers for language games or word-processing. There are tapes for students to borrow to practice their English. Go in and ask the teacher to show you. If you plan to take public examinations, there are dictation and listening comprehension tapes for you to practice with. There are cloze exercises on the computers. Ask your class teacher for a list of past exam essays. Students can borrow tapes to take home but they must be returned after two days.

    ATTENDANCE: All students are expected to attend classes as it is required. Students who do not attend classes will be reported to OSS. Eighty percent attendance is required for students to receive their certificates when they finish their courses. It is also required by OSS for an extension to your visa.

    BOOKS: If students are given course books, the books are their responsibility. If a book is lost, the student will be expected to pay for it. If students wish to buy books, there is a bookshop in the college specializing in English books（Room 3520.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    Generally, the skills and attitudes you form as a student will be especially important to your development. The following tips can help you become an active student.

    Don't be satisfied with yourself{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Leave no room for the average of the ordinary. If you can do good things, try hard to become better. If you have become better, try to become the best.

    Give yourself new challenges{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Any new things will give you the chance to understand yourself better. You should try anything. What you learn from these activities can be useful in the future.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}One reason why a student is not active may be that he has a defeated(挫败的) attitude. As much as possible, you should face each challenge with the willingness to succeed.

    Think over your mistakes, if there are any. Being active doesn't mean you will always be successful{#blank#}4{#/blank#} However, they will never succeed if they don't realize the meaning of failure.

    Keep a to-do list. This can serve as a reminder when a student becomes lazy{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. To achieve this, you have to desire to become excellent.

B. Have strong faith that you will succeed.

C. Try to take an active part in group discussions.

D. Don't be afraid to attend activities you wouldn't normally do.

E. There are students who would give up the moment they fail.

F. You can't be active if you don't know what is going on.

G. It can keep you on the right track and help you organize your tasks for the day.

    When you're feeling anxious or stressed, the strategies (策略) listed below can help you deal with it.

    Eating and sleeping well.

    Living a healthy lifestyle is important. From sleep to nutrition, the healthier your body is, the better it works, and the better it works, the less you'll experience anxiety. These aren't anxiety cures. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Simply sleeping more isn't going to magically take it away. However, they'll greatly reduce the symptoms, which should help you deal with anxiety much more easily.

    Yoga.

    Yoga is a type of exercise that has great benefits to reducing anxiety.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Those with anxiety need an opportunity to slow their lives down so that it feels more manageable.

    Relaxation Strategies.

    Many relaxation strategies exist that help you deal with anxiety. Flying your imagination is a great one.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Creating memories is another great one. You can go to the museum or try a new cuisine. These strategies give your mind an opportunity to be calmer so that you can cope with stress naturally.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Your thoughts tend to be your enemy when you suffer from anxiety. So stop focusing on those thoughts and give yourself a break to simply calm down. Talking on the phone with someone you like about positive things can be more powerful than you realize.

    Journaling.

    Writing thoughts down in a journal may seem like something you only did as a child.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}It not only gives you a chance to let out your thoughts, but tells your brain that it doesn't have to focus on remembering them as much as it did previously.

A. Distracting yourself.

B. Actively face your fears.

C. The key is to reduce their severity.

D. However* it's a powerful healing tool.

E. It is a slower form of exercise that is not challenging.

F. Simply imagine yourself and your five senses in a more relaxing place.

G. Anxiety is more of a mental health disorder developed through years of experiences.

    Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.

    Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调).

    One of the study's authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music "actually tunes our sensory system" .This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr. Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.

    Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A single­syllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.

    For this study，the researchers looked at 20 non­Chinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.

    As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings: squint，bewilder and rice. The researchers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.

    The lead author of the study，Patrick C.M. Wong，said it might work both ways. It appears that native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.

Apologizing the Right Way to a Friend

    Why are apologies so difficult? Saying you are sorry can be one of the most difficult things you do. But we all make mistakes, so you'll probably have an occasion when you need to apologize.

    Perhaps you had a big blow up and realized later you reacted poorly.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Whatever the reason, apologizing can help you both heal and move on from the situation.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} First, you acknowledge that you did something wrong. With an apology, you take responsibility for your actions, which allows your friend to forgive you. Second, an apology gives you sincerity as a friend.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}, but that doesn't mean you still shouldn't apologize.

Now,  what are elements of a proper apology? {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, depending on what the offense was, where it was done, and who you are apologizing to. In general, a good apology should include the following: a request for their attention, an acknowledgment of what happened, sincerity in admitting you did something wrong and the words. "I'm sorry" or "I apologize."

    Here are things never to say when apologizing. Note that the art of apologizing involves taking responsibility. Never apologize as a way to "shut someone up" when they are saying you hurt their feelings and you don't think you did.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}, you should talk things through with your friend until you see why they are hurt or how you came across. You'll really need to self﹣reflect so you can see things from your friend' s point of view.

A. When you make your apology in person

B. If you really believe you did nothing wrong

C. Apologies benefit friendships in a variety of ways

D. The way you apologize is going to be slightly different

E. Or maybe you just didn't show support when you needed to

F. Apologizing the right way, however, may take a little practice

G. Sometimes our pals forgive us easily for the minor things we do wrong