Dear Doctor,

    My husband and I got married in 1990 and for the first ten years of our marriage, I was very happy to stay home and bring up our three children. Then four years ago, our youngest child went to school and I thought I might go back to work.

    My husband agreed and helped me to make my decision. He said he thought I could be a great success in business. After several weeks of job hunting, I found my present job—working for a small public company. At first, my husband was very proud of me and would tell his friends, “My clever little wife can run that company.”

    But as his joke was becoming true, my husband stopped talking to me about my job. I have received several promotions (升职) and pay increases, and I can earn more money than he can. I can buy my own clothes and new car.

    But things begin to change. My husband is not happy. My husband is very unkind to me in front of our friends. For the first time in our marriage, I think our marriage may come to an end. I love my husband very much, and I don't want him to feel bad, but I also love my job. I think I can be a good wife and a working woman, but I don't know how. Can't you give me some advice? Will I have to choose one or the other or can I keep both my husband and my new career?

    Please help me.

Mary

    It's 9 a.m.,the morning rush hour in Toronto.A man has fallen down on a downtown street suddenly.Several passers-by stop to help the man.One woman reaches into her purse for her cellphone and hits 911,the emergency number.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Within ten minutes,the stricken man is in the back of an ambulance and is sent to the hospital for life-saving treatment.

This scene is fairly common in Toronto and other major cities.Over the years,cities have developed systems to respond quickly to emergencies{#blank#}2{#/blank#}But none of this would be possible without the cooperation of car drivers who yield（让路）to emergency vehicles on busy downtown streets.In fact,it's against the law for drivers not to yield.

    To yield means to give away or,more specifically,to get out of the way{#blank#}3{#/blank#}As yet,China doesn't have any specific laws that require drivers to yield,whether it is for slower cars to move over to the inside lane of a highway or for all cars to give way to emergency vehicles{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Drivers did not yield when they heard the ambulance's siren.

    In Canada,failing to yield to an ambulance vehicle can result in a fine of $400~$2,000 and reduction of three points off your license.That's for a first offense.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}This punishment is severe because lives are in danger.

    A.It has resulted in many lives being saved.

    B.A second offense results in a bigger fine,the loss of your driver's license for two years and a possible jail sentence.

    C.It saves lives and,who knows,someday it may save your own.

    D.Three minutes later,sirens（警报）are heard in the distance as a police car,an ambulance and a fire truck race to the area.

    E.It means pulling to the side of the road to let others pass.

    F.Recently,an injured Beijing cyclist died on the way to hospital because the ambulance carrying him got stuck in city traffic.

    G.Safe driving depends on driver's being aware of the traffic around them and yielding when necessary.

注意：每空一词。

    A recent study points out a so-called “gender-equality paradox(性别平等悖论)”: there are more women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) in countries with lower gender equality. Why do women make up 40 percent of engineering majors in Jordan, but only 34 percent in Sweden and 19 percent in the U.S.? The researchers suggest that women are just less interested in STEM, and when liberal Western countries let them choose freely, they freely choose different fields.

    We disagree.

    From cradle to classroom, a wealth of research shows that the environment has a major influence on girls' interest and ability in math and science. Early in school, teachers, unconscious prejudice push girls away from STEM. By their preteen years, girls outperform boys in science class and report equal interest in the subject, but parents think that science is harder and less interesting for their daughters than their sons, and these misunderstandings predict their children's career choices.

    Later in life, women get less credit than men for the same math performance. When female STEM majors write to potential PhD advisors, they are less likely to get a response. When STEM professors review applications for research positions, they are less likely to hire “Jennifer” than “John,” even when both applications are otherwise identical—and if they do hire “Jennifer,” they pay her $4,000 less.

    These findings make it clear that women in Western countries are not freely expressing their lack of “interest” in STEM. In fact, cultural attitudes and discrimination are shaping women's interests in a way that is anything but free, even in otherwise free countries.

    “Gender-equality paradox” research misses those social factors because it relies on a broad measure of equality called the Gender Gap Index (GGI), which tracks indicators such as wage difference, government representation and health outcomes. These are important markers of progress, but if we want to explain something as complicated as gender representation in STEM, we have to look into people's heads.

    Fortunately, we have ways to do that. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a well-validated tool for measuring how tightly two concepts are tied together in people's minds. The psychologist Brian Nosek and his colleagues analyzed over 500,000 responses to a version of the IAT that measures mental associations between men/women and science, and compared results from 34 countries. Across the world, people associated science more strongly with men than with women.

    But surprisingly, these gendered associations were stronger in supposedly egalitarian (主张平等的) Sweden than they were in the U.S., and the most pro-female scores came from Jordan. We re-analyzed the study's data and found that the GGI's assessment of overall gender equality of a country has nothing to do with that country's scores on the science IAT.

    That means the GGI fails to account for cultural attitudes toward women in science and the complicated mix of history and culture that forms those attitudes.

    As is well-known, drinking water benefits one's health. Especially when you get up early in the morning, you'd better drink water. Here are some reasons why you should do so.

    Improves Your Metabolism(新陈代谢)

    Studies have shown that drinking water on empty stomach can help increase metabolic rate up by 30%. This means that the rate at which calories are burned increases by nearly one third. Do you know what that means? Quicker weight loss!

    If your metabolic rate is high, then you will be able to digest food faster and maintain a slim figure despite eating those extra calories. However, this doesn't mean that you could bite down on all that junk food. Furthermore, you will need to drink around four litres of water daily for best results.

    Helps in Clearing Your Bowels

    Constipation(便秘) is one of the most irritating conditions which also results in deposit of poisonous materials inside the body. But did you know that one of the other benefits of drinking water is that it helps to clear out your bowels? The colon(结肠), which is in part responsible for bowel movements, require water to function properly. So just gulp down a glass of water and sit on your toilet for a clean colon.

    Improves Your Appetite

Early in the morning, with your stomach totally empty, it is natural you will feel hungry. So another benefit of drinking water is preparing you to have the most important meal of the day — breakfast. Besides this, we all know that having a healthy appetite is good for overall health.

Helps to Balance Your Nervous System

    Yes, drinking water on empty stomach especially if it's hot, can improve the health of your nervous system. Early morning, the stomach is most receptive. At this moment, if you indulge in coffee, which is a central nervous system stimulant, your nervous system will be affected from the get-go. On the other hand, if you just have a glass of warm water, it can ease your nervous system, which will help it function properly.

    Prevents Migraine(偏头痛) Attacks

    Again, if you tend to suffer from migraine attacks, then water can help fight it off. Your doctor might have already told you that migraines happen due to lacking water amongst other reasons. So just by increasing your water intake, you are basically preventing your chances from suffering another migraine attack.

    Prevents Early Aging

    And now to finish off, let's see how drinking water on empty stomach can prove to be some sort of good medicine. Water can help release toxins such as bacteria and other harmful elements from your system. This, in turn, can help your body fight the effects of free radicals(自由基) which can cause early ageing. Furthermore, if your skin doesn't lack water internally, it will feel refreshed, which can help it maintain a young state and shiny appearance.

    Now that you've learned the above benefit of drinking water early in the morning, why not develop the healthy habit from now on?

    Porridge doesn't have a very tasty name, does it? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. I'm here to try and convince you that porridge can be a delicious, convenient and very healthy way to start the day.

    Porridge is a type of food served for breakfast, usually a type of grain with either milk or water. It is thicker than liquid, but not solid. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, so it's a very good option for people who are ill, and it provides long-lasting energy for the day.

    Porridge preparation, such as the amount of materials and cooking time depends on what you choose to use as your porridge base. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, I put a very big handful of oats (麦片) in a pot, add a little bit of water and about 200ml of milk, and let the mixture boil. It takes about five minutes to cook.

    Once it's cooked, the fun part is adding the flavors (味道). Porridge alone doesn't have a very strong flavour. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, I think this is what makes porridge exciting! It is like a blank piece of paper-you can add almost anything you want to the porridge base. Seeds, nuts and dried fruits are very healthy options to add and can give you energy for the day. But if you don't like these, or you're allergic, then sugar and chocolate are also very tasty options.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Either oats or corn or both are "staple foods" for most people on the earth. You can usually buy big bags of either, then add local materials to make your porridge interesting-whatever is cheap and convenient to find, wherever you are.

Hopefully porridge sounds a lot tastier now!

A．If you've never eaten it

B．If I'm cooking for myself

C．The porridge base is very easy to digest

D．It doesn't have a very tasty reputation, either

E．It is often heated up but lacks all kinds of nutrition

F．You can make porridge almost anywhere in the world

G．Although some people think this makes porridge boring

    If you shower before bed, you've probably wondered whether sleeping with damp hair is a problem. Maybe you've heard it could make you sick, or that it can damage your hair or skin.

    What's the truth? Let's address the "it can make you sick" myth first. "{#blank#}1{#/blank#}" says Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine. While this idea persists, Schaffner says it was long ago disproved. It's true that you're much more likely to catch a common cold during the winter months. But this has to do with the ways respiratory (呼吸的) viruses spread, he says.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Illness-causing bacteria and viruses don't appear naturally, and so you're not going to make yourself ill by getting your pillow a little damp at night, Schaffner says. But there is a possible exception. Some research has shown that pillows—especially those made with synthetic materials—can contain asthma- or allergy-triggering molds (哮喘或致敏菌) and fungus, which tend to do well in damp environments, and so do dust mites, says Dr. Payel Gupta, a spokesperson for the American Lung Association.

    Gupta says there's no evidence that people who sleep with wet hair experience more allergy or asthma symptoms. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} But if you wake up with a stuffy nose, itchy or watery eyes, breathing problems or other allergy or asthma symptoms—or even if you don't—you should wash your pillow cases and sheets in hot water at least once a week to reduce your exposure to any potential irritants (刺激物).

    When it comes to the health of your hair and skin, there may be a few other reasons to worry about wet hair. "Generally, it's thought not to be good for hair to sleep with it wet," says Dr. George Cotsarelis, a professor of dermatology (皮肤病学), "{#blank#}4{#/blank#}"

    It's also worth noting that almost anything you do to your hair—from brushing and blow-drying it to coloring it or exposing it to the sun—can damage it.

A. Hence, any concerns about wet hair are theoretical.

B. In some cases, wet hair may actually be a helpful sleep aid.

C. Over time, it can lead to breakages, as well as a loss of shine.

D. There may be some mild risks associated with going to bed with wet hair.

E. Another wet-hair rumor (谣传) is the idea that harmful bacteria will colonize your pillow.

F. This idea seems to fit into the old bit of custom that getting yourself chilled and wet will cause you to come down with a cold.