The Advantages of Hobbies

    Hobbies provide entertainment and a chance lo continuously learn something new and develop a skill set. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Hobbies are praised as a key to stress reduction.Becoming lost in the mental concentration or physical action which you are deeply interested in helps you shift focus from the parts of life that are stressful. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And in turn you are more peaceful when working on other work.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Many people set goals with their hobbies that provide them satisfaction when these goals have been achieved.These goals can be simple,like improving a golf score,writing a certain number of pages for a novel each day or seeing an entire collection of classic films.

    Hobbies provide a sense of community when you meet other people who enjoy similar activities. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} More populated cities typically have numerous clubs or groups for people to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about a particular hobby.Becoming a member of one of these organizations allows greater growth within your hobby,as well as a chance to make new friends.

    Having a hobby can develop a talent that makes a person feel proud and satisfied.For example,a tennis hobby developed at a young age can lead lo a career as a professional athlete one day. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}For example, writer Vladimir Nabokov also collected butterflies,which allowed him to do better in his chosen fields because he used learned skills from one to improve the other.

A.There are a variety of hobbies.

B.Hobbies provide a sense of achievement.

C.Some hobbies affect other aspects of your life.

D.Focusing on something enjoyable can calm the mind.

E.They also provide many other social and health benefits.

F.Having a hobby increases the chances to interact with like-minded people.

G.Some hobbies containing physical activities offer an enjoyable way to stay healthy.

    On many websites, experts share advice on how to achieve your life goals. Most of the experts agree on one thing. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are some ideas on how to start your day on the right foot.

    Get up an hour early.

    People who get up early in the morning get a jump on the day. In American English, we like to say, “The early bird gets the worm.” Here, if you were a bird, the worm would be the reward. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Therefore, they are more likely to succeed.

    Exercise!

    Some people may disagree with this one. Exercising in the morning may not be for everyone. Some people like to exercise after work or at night. However, at the end of the day, you may not have the tune or energy to exercise. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Think about your day at night.

    Take time at the end of the day to think back on all the things that have happened. And spend a little time thinking about tomorrow. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} But it may help you to prepare if you take a few minutes to think about what you need to do next day. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You probably won't have time to do everything you've planned. But that's fine. If you have done one thing, that means you are one step closer to your goal.

A. This is not the best way to start your day.

B. Starting your day in a right way is most important.

C. Also, know that your day will probably change.

D. You've already gotten your exercise!

E. Exercising in the morning prevents that from happening.

F. So this expression means that people who rise early have an advantage.

G. Some people who talk about “living in the present” may disagree with this.

    Warren Harding was the 29^th President of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} One was a successful international conference (会议).

    After World War One, Britain, Japan and the United States expanded their navies (海军). They built bigger and bigger ships. Many members of the United States Congress worried about the cost. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They asked President Harding to organize a conference to discuss these issues.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} President Harding invited representatives from the major naval powers of the time--Britain, Japan, France and Italy. He also invited representatives from countries with interests in Asia and Europe--China, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands. He did not invite the new Soviet leaders in Russia.

    Mr Harding's Secretary of State, Charles Evans Hughes, spoke. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} He proposed that the world's strongest nations should stop building warships for ten years. He also proposed that Britain, Japan, and the United States should destroy some ships to make their navies smaller immediately.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It involved the misuse of underground oil owned by the federal government. Warren Harding was an honest man. But he did not have a strong mind of his own. He was easily influenced. And he often accepted bad advice. He explained the problem with these words, “I listen to one side, and they seem right. Then I listen to the other side, and they seem just as right. I know that somewhere there is a man who knows the truth. But I do not know where to find him.”

A. He is remembered mostly for two events.

B. The conference was not a complete success.

C. They also worried about increased political tension (紧张) in Asia.

D. The conference was held in Washington in November, 1921.

E. President Harding appointed several men of great ability to his cabinet (内阁).

F. He offered the conference a detailed plan to reduce the size of the world's major navies.

G. The second thing for which President Harding is remembered is the Teapot Dome scandal (丑闻).

    Every animal sleeps, but the reason for this has remained foggy. When lab rats are not allowed to sleep, they die within a month.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    One idea is that sleep helps us strengthen new memories. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We know that, while awake, fresh memories are recorded by reinforcing (加强) connections between brain cells, but the memory processes that take place while we sleep have been unclear.

    Support is growing for a theory that sleep evolved so that connections between neurons (神经元) in the brain can be weakened overnight, making room for fresh memories to form the next day.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Now we have the most direct evidence yet that he is right.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} The synapses in the mice taken at the end of a period of sleep were 18 per cent smaller than those taken before sleep, showing that the connections between neurons weaken while sleeping.

    If Tononi's theory is right, it would explain why, when we miss a night's, we find it harder the next day to concentrate and learn new information — our brains may have smaller room for new experiences.

    Their research also suggests how we may build lasting memories over time even though the synapses become thinner. The team discovered that some synapses seem to be protected and stayed the same size. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} "You keep what matters," Tononi says.

A. We should also try to sleep well the night before.

B. It's as if the brain is preserving its most important memories.

C. That's why students do better in tests if they get a chance to sleep after learning.

D. Similarly, when people go for a few days without sleeping, they get sick.

E. The processes take place to stop our brains becoming loaded with memories.

F. Tononi's team measured the size of these connections, or synapses, in the brains of 12 mice.

G. "Sleep is the price we pay for learning," says Giulio Tononi, who developed the idea.

The Ways of Getting Happiness

    Spend more time in your values. Living your values is one of the simplest ways to a more happiness to every day. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, the best way to make the most of it is to connect your work to your values. When you spend more time in your values, you enjoy the journey more.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. One of the best things you can do is find simple ways to gradually improve your overall happiness level. One of the worst things you can do is compare your happiness level to others, or beat yourself up for not being a shiny, happy person.

    Drive from happiness* Decide to drive from happiness. Happiness is a decision. This is where you have to look inside, and answer the tough questions. What do you like to do? What makes you happy? It's very easy to keep doing the things that we think others expect from us, or want for us. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Don't fall for the “If-Then” trap. Don't fall for the “if-then” or when-then traps.I'11 be happy if I get that job; {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, I'll be happy; I'll be happy if I get that relationship; etc. It's easy to put your happiness “out there” instead of “right here.

    Point your camera on purpose. Point your camera at the things that you want more of.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. You can point your camera at more pain, or more pleasure. That's a powerful choice. It's easy to test. Simply start pointing your camera at better scenes each day, and watch what unfolds in yourself, and the world around you.

A. If it doesn't happen

B. If I get that house

C. You get what you focus on

D. Set your own happiness level

E. If you spend a lot of time at work

F. Don't get mad by the traffic, and leave earlier

G. Instead, look inside and find the things that really do make you happy

Tips for healthy travel with children

    Children make up a small but important group of travellers. Their smaller bodies and developing immune(免疫) systems make their travel health needs important. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Vaccines(疫苗) for children

    In general, there is a higher risk for most vaccine-preventable diseases when travelling abroad. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. If you are planning to travel, check whether your child's normal vaccine schedule needs to be changed to make sure that they are fully protected before travelling.

    Malaria(疟疾) and children

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Children are particularly at risk of developing severe malaria. If you must travel with children to a malaria risk area, visit a doctor to determine if anti-malarial medication is recommended. If anti-malarial medication is allowed to take, keep them in child-proof containers and out of reach of children.

    Transportation risks

    Air travel is safe for healthy children. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Some airlines will not allow newborns to fly. Ear pain caused by changes in pressure during landing is more common in children than in adults. To lessen the pain, babies should bottle or breast feed. Older children can chew gum or be encouraged to swallow or yawn.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Signs and symptoms(症状) of altitude sickness in children are often mistaken for other illnesses. A child with altitude sickness may throw up, hate to eat, or be anxious. Older children may also show headaches, or difficulty breathing. As it is difficult to tell if a child is developing altitude sickness and since altitude sickness can develop rapidly in children, you may travel to no higher than 2,500 m (8,200 feet).

A. High altitude sickness

B. Pack a travel health kit

C. Avoid taking children to areas with a risk of malaria

D. And these diseases tend to be more severe (严重的) in children than in adults

E. There are many facts to take into consideration when travelling with children

F. It may be difficult to give children anti-malaria medication because it tastes unpleasant

G. However, it is necessary that you wait until newborns are one to two weeks old before flying