On the day the tornado hit, there was no indication that severe weather was on its way—the sky was blue and the sun bad been out. The first alert my husband,Jimmy,67,and I,65,got came around 9 p.m., from some scrolling text on the TV Jimmy was watching. He ran upstairs to find me in our third-floor bedroom, and we changed the channel from the presidential primary debate I had been watching to our local Pensacola, Florida, station.

    No sooner had we found coverage of the tornado than it was on top of us. It was the loudest thing I have ever heard. The bones of the house shook, and the power went out. The wind began to roar through the house, most likely through blown-out windows and the door to our garage. We had three flights of steps to navigate to get to the relative safety of the first floor, because the cupboard down there is underneath a brick staircase.

    I didn't know how or if we would make it down the steps. It felt as if there were no floor underneath me as the wind lifted me off my feet. I tried to move forward, but this intense pressure held me in place.

    As we reached the last flight of steps, our front door blew out. Pieces of glass that looked like crushed ice flew everywhere. Suddenly, a three-foot-long tree branch crashed into the door frame. It flew over our heads, missing us by inches. Had we been one step up, it would have hit us.

    By the time I reached the cupboard, the tornado had been over us for about a minute. Jimmy pushed me down to the cupboard floor, but he couldn't get inside himself because of the wind. I held Jimmy's arm and tried to bring Jimmy with it. My knees were full of glass, but at that moment, I felt no pain. If I had let go, Jimmy would have flown right out the back of the house and into the bay.

    All of a sudden, Jimmy lifted off his feet like people in tornadoes do in the movies. I thought he was gone. And then everything stopped. He landed on his feet. In those first quiet moments, I couldn't believe it was over, Jimmy said he'd go outside to check. "No,"I said. "Don't leave me. Don't leave me."

    Our neighbor says the storm lasted four minutes. In that time, four of the twelve town houses in our unit were completely destroyed. Of the houses left standing, ours suffered the most damage. Amazingly, none of us were severely injured.

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。

    Two of the hardest things to accomplish in this world are to acquire wealth by honest effort and, having gained it, to learn how to use it properly. Recently I walked into the locker room of a rather well-known golf club after finishing a round. It was in the late afternoon and most of the members had left for their homes. But a half-dozen or so men past middle age were still seated at tables talking aimlessly and drinking more than was good for them. These same men can be found there day after day, and, strangely enough, each one of these men had been a man of affairs and wealth, successful in business and respected in the community. If material prosperity were the chief necessity for happiness, then each one should have been happy. Yet, it seemed to me, something very important was missing, else-there would not have been the constant effort to escape the realities of life through scotch and soda. They knew, each one of them, that their productivity had ceased (停止). When a fruit tree ceases to bear its fruit, it is dying. And it is even so with man.

    What is the answer to a long and happy existence in this world of ours? I think I found it long ago in a passage from the book of Genesis which caught my eye while I was looking through my Bible. The words were few, but they became memorably impressed on my mind. “In the sweat of the face shall you eat the bread.”

    To me, that has been a challenge from my earliest recollections (memories). In fact, the battle of life, of existence, is a challenge to everyone. The immortal words of St. Paul, too, have been and always will be a great inspiration to me. At the end of the road I want to be able to feel that I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.

    You can't always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belyaev doesn't think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet. That's why he created Lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain-sensing umbrella.

    The designer says he came up with the idea after watching people get wet on streets in Russia. “Once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy(伞蓬) built into a street lamp,” he said.

    The Lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy. It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand Sensors(传感器) then ensure that the umbrella offers pedestrians shelter whenever it starts raining.

    In addition to the rain sensor, there's also a 360°motion sensor on the fiberglass street lamp which detects whether anyone is using the Lampbrella. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed.

    According to the designer, the Lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to the pedestrians. Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lightning strike. Each Lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people. Being installed(安装) at 2 metres off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians.

    While there are no plans to take the Lampbrella into production, Belyaev says he recently introduced his creation to one Moscow Department, and insists his creation could be installed on any street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter.

    When returning to south-western Germany, where my parents live, it is compulsory for me to go on a hike to connect with nature and reconnect with myself. So, that is exactly what I did the first sunny Sunday back in the beautiful Black Forest. The Huzenbacher See is a tarn in the middle of the northern Black Forest with abundant nature surrounding it. Approaching it after a good hour walk, I saw fascinating blue dragonflies in quantity that attracted us by the way they flew around. They didn't stand still for a photo, as they landed on leaves for a split second. We were also surprised at the yellow water lilies that can be seen floating on its surface between June and July.

    Sitting down at one of the benches surrounding the lake for a picnic was satisfying in two ways. I was aware of the world's beauty that gave me the energy to continue up the mountain to reach the most amazing view looking over the lake. The other was to really fill myself up in order to continue the adventure adequately, full up on some snacks and refreshing water from the well.

    The hike up wasn't as hard as expected and a good path was provided with dirty rocks and slippery stones all under the shade of the tall trees. This took about an hour and a half until reaching the beautiful view of the lake and land below. Once we had taken in the astonishing views, the walk back down took another hour or so, making the hike a 3-to4-hour round trip, which was well worth it!

    Simply being back in the Black Forest and having such pleasant hikes is definitely good for the soul and I highly recommend getting yourself outside, be it in the Black Forest or anywhere outdoors. Get your intake of vitamin D and, most importantly, take in the moments that nature has to offer.

    A new study, a project of the researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, finds the fitness tracker probably does not help with weight loss.

    The devices are designed to record your physical activity. They are usually worn around the wrist, where they measure a person's heart rate. The research team looked at two groups of individuals. The first wore a fitness tracker and took part in health counseling (咨询) with experts to consider the best weight-loss plan. The researchers compared this group with people who only got health counseling.

    The study found that those only speaking with the health experts lost nearly 6 kilograms, but those using a fitness tracker lost only 3.5 kilograms. John Jakicic, the lead researcher, questioned the use of electronic devices for weight control in place of "effective behavioral counseling for physical activity and diet."

    The study involved 470 subjects aged between 18 and 35. Some of them were overweight, while others were considered obese (肥胖的). Over three fourths of the subjects were women. All the subjects were told to increase physical activity and start on a low-calorie diet. They had their weight measured once every six months. After six months, researchers divided the group into two parts: one continued with monthly counseling, while members of the other group were given a fitness tracker. Eighteen months later, both groups "showed significant improvements in fitness, physical activity, and diet," with no major difference between groups. However, when it came to losing weight, the people who only spoke with experts lost nearly twice as much weight.

    Jakicic said, "the study's findings are important because effective long-term treatments are needed to address America's obesity." More information is needed, he added, to learn how to best use these devices to change "physical activity and diet behaviors" in adults who want to lose weight.

Harvard Pre-College Program

    Our summer program for high school students is designed to pave the way for a successful college experience.

    HERE YOU CAN:

    Learn without limits

    Pursue your interests in courses focusing on physics, law, writing, philosophy, and a dozen other subjects.

    Live at Harvard

    You will live in a historic undergraduate house near Harvard Square.

    Your plan covers three meals a day, seven days a week.

    Have fun outside the classroom

    You might enjoy a Cirque du Sileil performance, a Red Sox game at Fenway Park, or a trip to the Museum of Science.

    ELIGIBILITY (申请资格)

    Students are academically motivated and will graduate in 2020 or 2021.

    TO APPLY

    Complete an online application and provide the following materials: the $50 nonrefundable application fee; transcripts (成绩单) with fall 2018 grades; signed rules and regulations.

    INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

    Participants should apply for the B-2 tourist visa. If English is not your native language, submit scores from the TOEFLor IELTS language proficiency exam.

    APPLICATION TIPS

    No fee is required to start your application. You will be asked to pay the application fee only upon submitting the application.

    The scores of successful applicants are typically above 103 on the TOEFL with 25 on the written section or at least 7.5 on the IELTS with 7 on the written section.

    Use a desktop or laptop. You will be asked to write short essays as part of your application. This may be challenging to do on a mobile phone.

    You will receive an email informing you of the application status approximately three weeks after you have completed your application.