When Joe was about to start school, all signs pointed to success. Yet things turned out  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(be) quite disappointing. The fourth grade even found him at the bottom of the class. Joe struggled day and night, but  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}made him upset was that it did not work—until one stormy afternoon.

    On that afternoon, the math teacher was introducing difficult concepts  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}dark clouds covered the sky, and the storm set in. Although she tried to make the kids concentrate, the thunder won the battle for their attention. No one grasped the concepts. Except for Joe. He understood{#blank#}4{#/blank#} and answered all the questions correctly. The teacher patted him on the back and told him to go around to the others and explain how he had managed it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(encourage) by his newfound success, Joe moved quickly throughout the room. Soon math time  {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(follow) by the time for art. All children  {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(natural) drew dark pictures on such a day. Except for Joe.

    Since then, Joe started to work even  {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(hard) than before. His math teacher was always curious about the  {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(amaze) change: Why had that stormy day changed Joe?

    At the graduation ceremony, Joe presented the teacher with his most familiar  {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(possess) — the picture of bright yellow sun. On the picture Joe had written: This is the day I woke up to my brightness.

When people {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(face) with health or nutrition questions, it is {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(increasing) common to go online and diagnose themselves. But the Internet is full of conflicting health warnings with no regulations to get rid of the wrong advice, some of {#blank#}3{#/blank#} is extremely dangerous! Also, search engine's rank results from popularity rather than accuracy, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} solid facts can be tricky to find. It is worth {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(check) if the writer of an online piece is properly qualified as an expert. Anyone can call {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(they) a "diet expert" "nutritionist" and even a "doctor" — given it could refer to qualifications like a PhD. But remember, only officially {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (recognize) practicing doctors as well as dietitians have degrees in giving medical {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(suggest). So if you are unsure and still wondering {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the chocolate diet really does work or not, then it pays to make {#blank#}10{#/blank#} appointment with your dietitian or doctor. The truth is out there, and you just need to look in the right place.

    Ever wondered how many calories are in the human body? Or ever wondered why old people have {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (big) ears than they used to? The winners of Ig Nobel Prizes (搞笑诺贝尔奖) have got the answers.

    He Ig Nobel Prizes, founded in 1991, are to honor achievements {#blank#}2{#/blank#} first make people laugh, and then make them think, The ceremony {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (take) place at Harvard University every year. Winners' acceptance {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(speech) are limited to 60 seconds, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (strict) policed by an eight-year-old girl.

    The honored research might seem ridiculous {#blank#}6{#/blank#} first sight, but that doesn't mean it lacks scientific value. For example, the research in 2006 on why dry spaghetti tends to break into more than two pieces was important {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (discover) failure in bridge spans (跨度) or human bones And a follow-up paper {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (publish) by MIT physicists several years later. But people are more likely to read about {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (break) spaghetti than to read an academic paper. Even when there is no immediate usefulness, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} is still good to encourage people to observe and think.

    "Living within 300 metres of green space {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (associate) with greater happiness, sense of worth and life satisfaction," says a new study. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (use) data from UK government's Annual Population Survey (APS) of 25518 people, the researchers show that people {#blank#}3{#/blank#} live within 300 metres of green space have significantly better mental well-being. "A lot of research focuses {#blank#}4{#/blank#} poor mental health, or single aspect of well-being like life satisfaction. What makes our work different is the way we consider multi-dimensional mental well-being in terms of happiness, life satisfaction and worth," said Victoria Houlden from the University of Warwick.

    The study, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (publish) in the journal Applied Geography, found that there is a very strong relationship between the amount of green space around a person's home {#blank#}6{#/blank#}  their feelings of life satisfaction, happiness, and self-worth. Green space within 300 metres of home made the greatest {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (differ) to mental well-being. The study found that access to green space was {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (important) than lifestyle factors such as employment, income and general health. "By {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (combine) advanced statistical and mapping methods, we've shown that the effect is real. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (basical) we've proven what everyone has always assumed was true," said Scott Weich, Professor at the University of Sheffield.

For much of history, reading was a fairly noisy activity. Today, however, the majority of us bottle the words in our heads as if {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(sit) in a library.

Recent studies provide ample evidence {#blank#}2{#/blank#} the ancient art of reading aloud has a number of benefits, from helping improve our memories {#blank#}3{#/blank#}strengthening emotional bonds between people.

According to a research on the impacts of reading on memory, people consistently remember words and texts {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(well) if reading them aloud than if reading them silently. This phenomenon has been named the "production effect", which means that producing {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(write) words-namely, reading them out loud-improves our memory of them. Even just silently mouthing the words makes {#blank#}6{#/blank#} more memorable.

One reason why people remember the spoken words better is that it gives us {#blank#}7{#/blank#} additional basis for memory. We are {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(general) better at recalling events that require active involvement. For instance, producing a word in {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(respond) to a question makes it easier to remember.

In time when our interactions with others and the large amount of information we take in {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(be) all too transient (转瞬即逝的) , perhaps it is worth making bit more time for reading out loud.