Snow falls in the Earth's extreme North and South throughout the year. However, the heaviest snowfalls have been reported in the mountains of other areas during winter. Snow is even known to fall near the Equator (赤道), but only on the highest mountains.

    Snow contains much less water than rain, but much of the water the world uses comes from snow. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In the western United States, mountain snow provides up to seventy-five percent of all surface water supplies.

    Snowfall helps to protect plants and some wild animals from winter weather. Fresh snow is made largely of air trapped among the snow crystals (晶体). Because the air has trouble moving, the movement of heat is limited. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The surface of the snow takes in, or absorbs, sound waves. As snow grows older or if there have been strong winds, it can become hard and flat. Then, the snow's surface will help to send back sound waves.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. Many people die in traffic accidents on roads covered with snow and ice or from being seriously stuck in the winter storm. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    People may not be able to avoid living in areas where it snows often. However, they can avoid becoming victims of snowstorms. People should stop driving and stay at home until the storm has passed. People living in these areas should carry emergency supplies in their vehicle. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. These include food, emergency medical supplies, and extra clothing to stay warm and dry.

B. Snow also influences the movement of sound waves.

C. Melting snow provides water for rivers, electric power stations and agricultural crops.

D. Mountain snowfall is heavier than that in the South and the North Poles.

E. In many places, streets were blocked; houses fell down and supplies were short.

F. Others die from heart attacks caused by too much physical activity out in the cold.

G. Snow may be beautiful, but it can be deadly.

    There is an old Spanish saying which states, “Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.” How many times have we put off our dreams tomorrow? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} We have to go for them now!

Tomorrow is not promised.

    Nobody likes to talk about death, but everybody is going to die at one point. None of us know the day or the hour. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Don't go to your tomb(坟墓) with unrealized dreams. Make the decision to go after every dream, big or small right now.

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    One of the biggest dream killers is fear. Many people could have achieved amazing things if only they weren't afraid. Just think about all the things you've wanted to go, but allowed fear to convince you that you weren't talented, or good enough. Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create.

Take action to realize your dream.

    You can dream about writing a great play, but it's never going to happen unless you actually put pen to paper. You can dream about finding a cure for cancer, but it will never happen unless you actually become equipped with the necessary tools to find that cure. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Possibilities are waiting on you.

    There are so many amazing opportunities and people waiting on you. How do you get to them? Simple! Follow your dream. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You'll never see those doors if you sit around waiting on a dream to happen, instead of actually working to make it happen.

Brainstorming for Ideas

    Try blind writing. When trying to get past a writing block or a brainstorming lag, take at least ten minutes to sit down and write. Force yourself to write for the full ten minutes, no matter what comes of it. The act of putting pen to paper will stimulate the part of your mind that generates ideas.

    Make a mind map. Mind mapping is a brainstorming strategy that allows you to map out different tangents of thought to stimulate new ideas. Get a piece of paper, poster board, or whiteboard and write your goal in the center. Write subtopics and related thoughts around the goal, and continue branching out from them to develop your train of thought. For example, a mind map about the environmental goal “Going Green” could branch into subtopics such as “Reducing Waste”, “Eco-travel”, and “Global Warming”.

    Attempt “rolestorming”. For a fresh perspective on a topic，attempt “rolestorming”. Picture yourself as someone else (e.g. a parent, friend, colleague, or partner) and imagine how you would approach a scenario as them. You can extend this brainstorming technique to famous people or historical figures (e.g. Albert Einstein, Bill Gates).

    Try meditation. To open your mind to new ideas, try meditation. Find a peaceful place to sit quietly and focus on the question at hand (e.g. “How can I promote my new business on my limited budget?”). Bring a pen and paper to jot down ideas, and meditate for about 30 minutes, or until a good idea comes to you. To avoid worrying about the time, set an alarm on your phone to signal the 30 minute mark.

    Remove limitations. Remove the limitations that may be hindering your brainstorming progress by approaching the subject as if there were no obstacles. While this process may not yield feasible solutions right away, it will open your mind to possibilities you would not look at otherwise. For instance, when planning a surprise party, you might overlook certain venues because of financial constraints, such as an expensive French restaurant that your friend would love to try. By allowing your mind to go there during brainstorming, you might get the idea to simulate the restaurant and meal for a house party.

    Discuss things in a group. Group brainstorming sessions can allow you to develop your thoughts by feeding off of the ideas of others. If you are working on a group project or collaboration, schedule brainstorming time in a quiet location with no disturbance. If you are working on your own project, ask friends or colleagues if you can bounce ideas off of them and get their input.

How to Do Man-on-the Street Interviews

    The man-on-the-street interview is an interview in which a reporter hits the streets with a cameraman to interview people on the spot. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But with these tips, your first man-on-the-street interview experience can be easy.

    When your boss or professor sends you out to do man-on-the –street interviews for a story, think about the topic and develop a list of about ten general questions relating to it. For example, if your topic is about environmental problems in America, you might ask, "Why do you think environmental protection is important in America?" {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Hit the streets with confidence. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Say, "Excuse me, I work for XYZ News, and I was wondering if you could share your opinion about this topic," This is a quick way to get people to warm up to you.

    Move on to the next person if someone tells you she is not interested in talking on camera. Don't get discouraged.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Each interview that you get on the street shouldn't be longer than ten minutes. As soon as you get the answer you need, move on to the next person. Make sure that as you go from interview to interview, you are getting a variety of answers. If everyone is giving you the same answer, you won't be able to use it. A safe number of interviews to conduct is about six to ten. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    If your news station or school requires interviewees to sign release forms to appear on the air, don't leave work without them.

A. Limit your time.

B. As you approach people, be polite.

C. If you don't own a camera, you can buy one.

D. For new reporters, this can seem like a challenging task.

E. To get good and useful results, ask them the same question.

F. That number of interviews should give you all the answers you need.

G. With a question like this, you will get more than a 'Yes" or "No" reply.

Who's Really Addicting You To Technology?

    “Nearly everyone I know is addicted in some measure to the Internet”, wrote Tony Schwartz in The New York Times. It's a common complaint these days. A steady stream of similar headlines accuses the Net and its offspring apps, social media sites and online games of addicting us to distraction.

    There's little doubt that nearly everyone who comes in contact with the Net has difficulty disconnecting. Then who's at fault for its overuse? To find solutions, it's important to understand what we're dealing with. There are four parties cooperating to keep you connected: the tech, your boss, your friends and you.

    The technologies themselves and their makers are the easiest suspects to blame for our distraction. Online services like Facebook, Google, twitter and the like rely on advertising revenue, so the more frequently you use them, the more money they make. No wonder these companies employ teams of people focused on improving their services to be as attractive as possible.

    Good as these services are, there are simple steps we can take to keep them from coming too close. However, less than 15 percent of smartphone users are willing to adjust their notification settings  meaning the remaining 85 percent of us default to (默认)the app makers' every preset devices.

    While companies like Facebook harvest attention to generate revenue from advertisers, other technologies have no such agenda. Take email, for example. We check email at all hours of the day we're obsessed, because that's what the boss wants. For almost all white-collar jobs, email is the primary tool of corporate communication. A slow response to a message could hurt not only your reputation but also your livelihood.

    Your friends are also responsible for the addiction. Think about this familiar scene. People gathered around a table, enjoying food and each others' company. Then, during an interval in the conversation, someone takes out their phone to check who knows what. Barely anyone notices and no one says a thing.

    The reality is taking one's phone out at the wrong time is more than an impolite behavior because, unlike other minor offense, checking tech is contagious (传染). Once one person looks at their phone, other people tend to do the same, starting a chain reaction.

    Hie technology, your boss, and your friends, all influence how often you find yourself using (or overusing) these gadgets. But there's still someone who deserves careful examination the person holding the phone.

    When people are doing something difficult they'd rather not do, the phone is used to transport them elsewhere. They can easily escape discomfort temporarily, by answering email or browsing the web under the excuse of so-called “research”. The truth is that we are working unproductively out of our bad habits.

    Personal technology is indeed more attractive than ever, which doesn't mean we shouldn't attempt to control our use of technology, instead, we should come to terms with the fact that it's more than the technology that's responsible for our habits. Our workplace culture, social norms and individual behaviors all play a part.

    Eyesight plays a very important role in our daily life. Every waking moment, the eyes are working to see the world around us. Over forty percent of Americans worry about losing eyesight, but it's easy to include steps into our daily life to ensure healthy eyes. Here are five suggestions for a lifetime of healthy eyesight：

    Schedule yearly exams.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Experts advise parents to bring babies 6 to 12 months of age to the doctor for a careful check. The good news is that millions of children now can have yearly eye exams and following treatment, including eye- glasses.

    Protect against UV rays. Long-term stay in the sun creates risk to your eyes. No matter what the season is, it's extremely important to wear sunglasses.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Give your eyes a break. Two-thirds of Americans spend up to seven hours a day using computers or other digital products.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Experts recommend that people practice the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}As part of a healthy diet, eat more fruits and vegetables each day. Vitamins C and E help protect eyesight and promote eye health.

    Practice safe wear and care of contact lenses （隐形眼镜）. Many Americans use contact lenses to improve their eyesight. While some follow the medical guidance for wearing contact lenses, many are breaking the rules and putting their eyesight at risk.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Otherwise, you may have problems such as red eyes, pain in the eyes, or a more serious condition.

A.Eat your greens.

B.Eye care should begin early in life.

C.They can properly protect your eyes.

D.Stay in good shape by taking more vitamins.

E.Parents usually don't care about their own eyesight.

F.Always follow the doctor's advice for appropriate wear.

G.This frequent eye activity increases the risk for eye tiredness.