All around the world, people are working hard to make their cities safer and more pleasant for pedestrians (行人). Cities havepainted crosswalks on their streets, made streets narrower, put in traffic lights and speed bumps (减速带) and madeplans to help more kids walk or bike to school.

    Many people have learned from a man from Brisbane, Australia,named David Engwicht. His book Reclaiming Our Cities and Towns has a simplemessage{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Kids playedthere, and neighbors stopped there to talk.

    But now, streets are just for cars and trucks. People stay inside to get away from the noise and dangerous traffic, and we lose contact with our neighbors{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.  People needto take back their streets. Engwicht travels around the world, helping people think differently about pedestrians, streets, and neighborhoods.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}． He has workedin neighborhoods from Honolulu to Scotland.

    While Engwicht was writing his book, he learned how neighbors in the city of Delft, in the Netherlands, stopped dangerous traffic on their street. They put old couches, tables, and planters in the street.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. When the police arrived, they saw how these illegal actions made the streets safer. Soon city officials started planning ways to make cars slow down, and“calm”thetraffic.

    Engwicht says we should think about streets as our “outdoor living room”.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}．

    In the future, streets will be safe places for children again,and our neighbors will become our friends.

a. Cars and pedestrians crowded the street.

b. Calming the traffic is just the beginning.

c. Cars could still pass, but they had to drive slowly.

d. He says that in the past, streets belonged to everybody.

e. It's hard to take measures to solve the traffic problems.

f. Besides his books and articles, he gives many speeches.

g..  Engwicht says that we should use streets for more than just transportation.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”—Lao Tzu

If you are in a city where everyone rushes, realize that you don't have to be like everyone else. You can be different. You can walk instead of driving in rush hour traffic. You can be on your iPhone or Blackberry less, and disconnected sometimes. Your environment doesn't control your life—you do. I'm not going to tell you how to give you a step-by-step guide to moving slower.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    ⒈Do less.

Cut back on your projects, on your task list, on how much you try to do each day. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Pick 2-3 important things— or even just one important thing— and work on those first. Save smaller, routine tasks for later in the day, but give yourself time to focus.

    ⒉{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Meeting are usually a “big waste of time”. And they eat into your day, forcing you to squeeze the things you really need to do into small windows, and making you rush.

    ⒊Start to put off or cancel the unnecessary.

    When you do the important things with focus, without rush, there will be things that get pushed back, and that don't get done. And you need to ask yourself:{#blank#}4{#/blank#}What would happen if I stopped doing them?

    ⒋Practice mindfulness.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Don't care so much about future or the past. When you eat, fully appreciate your food. When you are with someone, be with them fully. When you are walking, appreciate your surroundings, no matter where you are.

    Try these things out. Life is better when unrushed. Remember the quote: if nature can get everything done without rushing, so can you.

A. Have fewer meetings.

B. How necessary are these things?

C. Simply learn to live in the present.

D. Focus not on quantity but on quality

E. Give yourself more time to get ready and get there.

F. The world likely won't end if you don't pass one of the examinations.

G. But here are some things to consider and perhaps adopt, if they work for your life.

    English has been called one of the most difficult languages for non-native speakers to learn. One reason is that English has so many rules.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Sometimes, this leaves learners confused(混淆). For example, the order of words in a sentence can be tricky.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The pronunciation of English words cannot always be judged by their spelling. For example, there are at least six ways to pronounce the group of letters spelled o-u-g-h. And, maybe the worst thing of all is that there are many idioms, or expressions, in English.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    So, it is comforting to know that learning root words can help a non-native speaker use English.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Root words can help you to break down large, new words into smaller units to discover their meanings.

    Learning just one root word can help you understand several words in English.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Then where can a root be found? A root can be any part of a word that carries meaning: the beginning, middle or end. Prefixes, bases, and suffixes are types of roots. The prefix appears at the beginning of a word, the base in the middle and the suffix at the end.

A. A root word is the most basic form of a word.

B. The English have always been fond of all kinds of rules.

C. You could say we use idioms like they're going out of style.

D. And there are almost as many exceptions(例外)of those rules!

E. Most English root words came from the Greek and Latin languages.

F. Another reason why English is hard to learn is the pronunciation of its words.

G. So, by learning 20 or 30 root words, you can increase your vocabulary to hundreds of more new words.

    In a few months you'll go to college. Are you ready for some of the newness that is about to come your way? Take a look at this “mental preparation” checklist and make sure you have given these topics some thought.

    ⒈Remind yourself that it's new for everyone.

    Going to college is a big change, and it's important not to get overwhelmed (压垮). {#blank#}1{#/blank#} That's OK. Accept that you're in a new stage of life and it won't feel familiar for a bit.

    ⒉Commit to time management.

    Organizing your time properly will make your life in college much easier.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Create a detailed daily schedule that blocks out time for classes, homework, studying, and anything else. Stay organized and spend a few minutes each evening planning ahead for the next day.

    ⒊Be open to new things.

    College will open your eyes in more ways than one. It's a time to find yourself, discover new passions, challenge old ways of thinking, and meet new people from all backgrounds and places.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Embrace (欣然接受) the idea of exploration!

    ⒋Don't be afraid to ask for help.

    With anything new, it's best to go in with a positive attitude. But life has its ups and downs.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Take a moment to find out the college services that can help you: disability services, tutoring services, and any other services that will give you support when you need it.

    Congratulations on this exciting time of your life.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} You'll be glad you have done.

A. So, try something different.

B. Knowing where to turn for help is important.

C. Things might feel a bit uncomfortable for a while.

D. Plan to pay them a visit early in your first semester.

E. Get yourself a time planning app or a good old day planner.

F. Remember that you're in college to build a foundation for your future job.

G. As you get prepared for the first day of classes, get mentally ready for this new life stage too.

    Dream is strength. The strength can bring us wherever we want to get to and it can bring us a lot of wonders on our way to the place in our dreams.

    Dream is beauty. Maybe you can see the things full of magic and maybe you will be moved by your own dream.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. But should we have our life without dreams? Of course not.

    Everyone has his dreams and dreams are especially important to teenagers. As teenagers, you have many dreams. These dreams can be very big, such as winning the Nobel Prize. Or they can be small, for example, you may just want to become one of the ten best students in your class. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, what do you do with it? Do you ever try to make your dream come true?

    Andrew Matthews, an Australian writer, tells us that making our dreams come true is the biggest challenge in our life. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, or that it is impossible for you to become a writer. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. In fact, everyone can fulfill his dream. The first thing you must do is remember what your dream is. Don't let it leave your heart. Keep telling yourself what you want. Do this step by step and your dream will come true earlier because a big dream is made up of many small dreams.

    You must never give up your dreams. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. But the biggest one comes from yourself. You need to decide what is the most important and face all these difficulties bravely.

A. These kinds of thoughts stop you realizing your dream

B. There will be many difficulties on the road to your dreams

C. Once you find a dream

D. You may think you're not very good at some school subjects

E. Both big dreams and small ones are very important to our lives

F. The world is so real that the dreams seem weak

G. Your talent is one of the most important factors in living your dreams

    Why Stand in Line on Black Friday?

    Standing in line is a pain. At the post office. At the box office. At a restaurant.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}The first spot outside some Best Buy stores is usually claimed (认领) weeks in advance, often by a person in a tent. Shoppers at Walmart will print out maps of the store, with circles around their primary targets.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    "These queues are quite different than the usual annoying ones we come across day to day at the ATM or in the subway," said Richard Larson, a professor at MIT who has spent years studying line behavior. "Once a year," he said, "the lines are exciting. They're the kind you might tell your grandchildren about."{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Billie LeClere, 45, was first in line on Thursday at Walmart in Manchester, Iowa. She said she was a regular Black Friday shopper. But this year, she came with a specific purpose: to get a good deal on a new TV. She and her husband had recently separated, and he had taken the old TV earlier that day. "The marriage died, not the TV," she said.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} "It's going to be nice to have something that's newer-and it's mine, not his."

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The following are two of the typical results. The "gotta have it" atmosphere makes people more anxious. Sometimes the behaviour of the queue turns violent. Therefore，lines test patience，personal space especially on Black Friday, when the crowds can be overwhelming (势不可挡的).

A. Shoppers are excited to buy gifts.

B. But on Black Friday, it's an experience.

C. Moreover, the crowds are queuing for good deals.

D. Many families are queuing to chat with each other.

E. The experience gave her a sense of accomplishment.

F. They are trying to turn the experience into an adventure.

G. The behaviour of people in lines has inspired decades of research.