“Did you hear what happened to Adam Last Friday?” Lindsey whispers to Tori.

       With her eyes shining,tori brags，“You bet I did, Sean told me two days ago.”

Who are Lindsey and Tori talking about? It just happened to be yours truly, Adam Freedom, I can tell you that what that what they are saying is (a) not nice and (b) not even true. Still, Lindsey and Tori aren't very different from most students here at Linton High School, including me. Many of our conversations are gossip(闲话)。I have noticed three effects of gossip: it can hurt people, it can give gossipers a strange kind of satisfaction, and it can cause social pressures in a group.

An important negative effect of gossip is that it can hurt the person being talked about. Usually, gossip spreads information about a topic-breakups, trouble at home, even dropping out-that a person would rather keep secret. The more embarrassing or shameful the secret is, the juicier the gossip it makes. Probably the worst type of gossip is the absolute lie. People often think of gossipers as harmless, but cruel lies can cause pain.

If we know that gossip can be harmful, then why do so many of us do it? That answer lies in another effect of gossip: the satisfaction it gives us. Sharing the latest rumor(传言)can make a person feel important because he or she knows something that others don't. Similarly, hearing the latest rumor can make a person feel like part of the “in group.” In other words, gossip is satisfying because it gives people a sense of belonging or even superiority(优越感).

Gossip also can have a third effect: it strengthens unwritten, unspoken rules about how people should act. Professor David Wilson explains that gossip is important in policing behaviors in a group. Translated into high school terms, this means that if everybody you hang around with is laughing at what John wore or what Jane said, then you can bet that wearing or saying something similar will get you the same kind of negative attention. The do's and don'ts conveyed through gossip will never show up in any student handbook.

   The effects of gossip vary depending on the situation. The next time you feel the urge to spread the latest news, thing about why you want to gossip and what effects your “juicy story” might have.

    Taking a math test can be pretty stressful. Even if you know the material, you can still get the problem wrong. Knowing how to go through your math test and check your work can save you from handing in a test full of mistakes that can be avoided. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Write it out

    You can also check a math problem by writing everything out on paper. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Writing out math problems reduces your chances of missing anything to the lowest possible level, which is a common cause of incorrect answers.

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    Make sure your answers work by doing the opposite procedure of what your problem calls for, including the answer you got the first time around. In other words, you would use the opposite of this addition problem—subtraction (减法)—to determine whether or not your answer is the correct one.

Plugging in

    You may find that a variable isn't good enough or have a problem where you have to solve for a variable (变量). {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This is the only real way to assure yourself that the answer you've found is correct.

Check for a reasonable answer

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} For example, if you get an answer in the millions and you know it should be in the thousands, you've likely misplaced a point. Go back through the work on your paper to make sure all of your formulas and calculations are correct. If everything looks okay, do the problem again and compare the result of the second try to what you've got on the first try.

    China plans to launch 156 small satellites by 2025 to provide Internet services in low signal areas and places with adverse natural environment, according to China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).

    Due to environmental conditions of deserts, mountains and seas, half of the world's population has no access to the Internet, and the information deficiency hampers local development.

    It will be China's first broadband Internet access system with small satellites hovering in low orbit, which will also help meet the needs of commercial space development.

    The project, named Hongyun, plans to send the first satellite by 2019, and launch four more by 2020. By the end of 2025, CASIC plans to have all of the 156 satellites in operation.

    The Hongyun Project, which focuses on communication, remote sensing and navigation, can offer communication and Internet services for China and less-developed 3 countries with reduced latency. Meanwhile, the project can also benefit emergency communication, sensor data collection and remote control of unmanned equipment.

    Currently, international maritime satellites are widely used in communications in mountainous areas and airplanes, but those satellites, 36, 000 kilometers above the Earth, have time and signal delay as well as high cost for providing services.

    The small satellites sent by the Hongyun Project will hover in low orbits only hundreds of kilometers to 1, 000 kilometers above the Earth, and thus could improve the Internet access. However, the low orbit satellites may face challenges in power supply, as they need more energy to reduce the influence of air-resistance compared to high orbit satellites. Experiments are needed to determine whether solar energy alone is enough.

    I always felt sorry for the people in wheelchairs. Some people, old and weak, cannot get around by themselves. Others seem perfectly healthy, dressed in business suits. But whenever I saw someone in a wheelchair, I only saw a disability，not a person.

    Then I fainted(昏倒) at Euro Disney due to low blood pressure. This was the first time I had ever fainted, and my parents said that I must rest for a while after first aid. I agreed to take it easy, but as I stepped toward the door, I saw my dad pushing a wheelchair in my direction! Feeling the colour burn my cheeks, I asked him to wheel that thing right back to where he found it.

    I could not believe this was happening to me. Wheelchairs were fine for other people but not for me. As my father wheeled me out into the main street, people immediately began to treat me differently.

    Little kids ran in front of me, forcing my father to stop the wheelchair suddenly. Bitterness set in as I was thrown back and forth.

    "Stupid kids! They have perfectly good legs. Why can't they watch where they are going？"I thought. People stared down at me，pity in their eyes. Then they would look away, maybe because they thought the sooner they forgot me the better. "I'm just like you!" I wanted to scream "The only difference is that you've got legs，and I have wheels."

    People in wheelchairs are not stupid. They see every look and hear each word. Looking out at the faces, I finally understood: I was once just like them. I treated people in wheelchairs exactly the way they did not want to be treated. I realized it is some of us with two healthy legs who are truly disabled.

    I grew up on a farm outside Port Clinton, Ohio. I was the youngest son, with four brothers and four sisters, plus a girl my relatives took in when she was in sixth grade and was raised along with us.

    By the late 60s, most of us were married and had families of our own. One day, while we were visiting my parents in late summer or early fall, Dad mentioned he'd always wanted a Crimson King maple tree for the yard. Mom agreed that they were pretty.

    Like many parents, mine were hard to shop for, so I figured this was a great opportunity to get them something they'd appreciate. I checked the price at work and decided it was a bit more than I could afford but all of my brothers and sisters agreed to help.

    In northern Ohio, people don't plant maple trees at Christmas, so we decided to surprise Mom and Dad with a special Christmas in October before the ground froze. We asked my aunt if she'd help us with the trick, and she called my parents in advance to say she was coming for a Sunday visit. Then my sisters and sisters-in-law went into action, planning a big holiday turkey dinner.

    On the chosen Sunday, we all met at my house and loaded the trees in a pickup truck. I dressed up as Santa Claus, though at the time I weighed about 140, so all the padding(填料) in the world couldn't make me look like St. Nick. Then off we went, nine or ten cars loaded with people and food, plus the pickup truck.

    When the truck arrived at my parents' house, Dad came out of the back door, convinced something was wrong. He and Mom were amazed when we told them why we were there.

    When Christmas rolled around, of course, we couldn't go to our parents' house empty-handed, so Mom and Dad got double presents that year. Almost half a century later, I still drive by the old farm and smile when I see those big, handsome trees.

We all love eating out.But,is it bothering you because you are on a diet and have to dine with a friend?Sure,you will be concerned about the amount of calories,fat or salt in a restaurant's menu items. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Choose the right place.

Always plan ahead when you know that you have to dine out.Look for the restaurants that serve delicious meals that are low in fat.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You're more likely to overeat there.Once you've decided the place,get familiar with their food menu.Decide what you're going to order before you go.

Start with a soup.

One easy approach to stick to your diet when eating out is starting with a soup.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} This will keep you from sitting hungry and filling you up.A soup is the first course that you order when eating out.

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Salt improves food's flavour and is often used heavily in restaurant meals.When you dine out,ask the attendant to prepare food without added salt.Ask about the ingredients to see if there are items that may be higher in salt.Moreover,it is better to limit the use of condiments(调料)such as mustard,ketchup,pickle and sauces as they may contain salt that you don't need.Instead of salty appetisers(开胃小吃),choose fruit and vegetable salad.

Don't eat it all.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} To avoid overeating,you can split a meal with a companion or put half the meal in a plate and leave the rest.

Sticking to a healthy diet doesn't mean you have to turn down everyone's offer when asked to eat out.

A.You have to be very particular about serving sizes when dining out.

B.Just make sure you make healthier choices.

C.Avoid eating at places that offer all-you-can-eat buffets(自助餐).

D.Here are four tips for eating out while you are on a diet.

E.Cut the salt intake.

F.Avoid eating too much.

G.Order vegetable or bean-based but avoid cream-based soups.