Social media and the mobile web have given rise to a strange phenomenon called the selfie(自拍). It refers to a picture of yourself, usually shared on any social networking website.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Some selfies are extreme close-ups(特写镜头), and others show part of an arm held straight outward. A few of them even feature the subject standing in front of a bathroom mirror.

    Everyone takes selfies, but the younger crowd seems to be especially involved in the trend. Young people are relatively heavier digital users. They are interested in staying connected to their friends.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    There are also kinds of psychological factors driving people to take a selfie and upload it to a social networking site.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} A quick and easy way to attract other's attention is to get "likes" and comments from friends. Secondly, it's human nature to show off your own great achievements. When you feel good about yourself or look good, it's far too easy to take out your phone and document it all through one or several selfies.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}That's right. Sometimes people are bored at work, bored at school, bored at home and even bored on the toilet. Last but not least, social media is about being social! If that means uploading as many selfies as possible, then so be it. It's fun, and it's a cool way to sort of document your own life.

    Finally, there are things to be mindful of when you're posting. It's easy to think you're sharing a photo with a few people.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}So don't post anything online, selfie especially.

A. There are lots of selfie styles.

B. The rise of selfies has become universal.

C. Social media, to some extent, is the driving force of their selfie activity.

D. The desire to take, post and get "likes" on selfies goes back to a biological behavior.

E. But the whole world of social media is public and every individual can get access to it.

F. There are also people who will take selfies because they have nothing else better to do.

G. The leading factor is that people want to get attention from as many people as possible.

    When it comes to the benefit of volunteering, a lot of people think it s all about the warm feeling after helping someone{#blank#}1{#/blank#} As is known, charity work requires a wide variety of people to do a wide variety of things for everything to work. It means that there are some surprising benefits for volunteers. For example, volunteering:

    Teaches you new skills.

    From helping making websites to teaching immigrant kids your native language, or to arranging events for charity, volunteering can really be almost anything. It means that when you get involved in charity work, a lot of the time you will face challenges{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Can teach you what truly matters.

    It's a great way to find new perspectives(角度) on life. When you've been at it for a while, you just might find yourself re-evaluating your advantages{#blank#}3{#/blank#} One of my friends went from wanting to be a lawyer to discovering a true passion for teaching

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Maybe it is not surprising, but what might surprise you is how genuine these friends are. Some of my long-term friends are people I've met through volunteering. I'm not that kind of guy that makes friends purely for connections, but sometimes it's very convenient to have a broad network.

    Summed up in one line: volunteering helps you grow{#blank#}5{#/blank#} You meet a wide variety of people who don't have a lot in common with. You learn to get along with people involved in many different walks in life. You learn to know what you are to do. So if you've ever considered volunteering, what are you waiting for?

A. You might even decide on a completely new path to take in life.

B. Helps you make new friends

C. As it turns out, that's far from the only benefit.

D. Volunteering helps you look outside yourself and your problems.

E. Through overcoming the challenges, you learn completely new skills.

F. Not only as a person, but it helps you develop your skill as well.

G. Can help improve social skills

Not all English is the same

    To many learners of English, it's easy to think that all native speakers have no trouble communicating with one another.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Well, it turns out that being a native English speaker from one country doesn't mean that you're able to perfectly understand a native English speaker from another country, and vice versa (反之亦然)

    Take the UK and the US for example.

    As a Briton, I grew up hearing American accents alongside British ones – on TV shows, movies and in songs.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} and how they would eat “cookies” instead of “biscuits”.  And it took me a while to figure out that the “trunk” (n. 后备箱) of a car is what us Britons call its “boot”.

    The confusion didn't stop at just vocabulary –{#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, when talking about shopping malls, Americans pronounce it “mawl” instead of “mal”. And for some reason that's hard for Britons to understand, Americans remove the “H” sound from “herb”, pronouncing it “erb”.

    These small differences may not change much in a day-to-day conversation between a Briton and an American.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Recently, for example, an American friend told me that she liked my pants. “You can see them?” I asked, shocked. Pants means “underpants” to most British people, which explains my horror.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} In the US, for example, a “bum” is a homeless person, while the same word in the UK is used to describe one's backside（n.臀部）.

    And, more amusingly, “trump” was only ever really used as a verb in the UK – meaning “to pass gas” – until the US' current president came into the spotlight.

But as long as you can speak one version of English, it's easy enough to understand any other – and any confusion just makes your day more interesting.

A. English is changing as it spreads around the world.

B. After all, English is English, isn't it?

C. I soon noticed how Americans would put “gas” in their cars instead of “petrol” .

D. However, confusion can still happen every now and then.

E. There are different words that mean the difficult thing.

F. Some words can even be offensive (adj.无礼的) without you realizing it.

G. I discovered that many words are even pronounced differently.

    For some people, walking or running outdoors is a great way to exercise. What may not be so great is seeing rubbish all over the ground. Well, some people are doing something about it. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} "Plogging" began in Sweden. The name connects the Swedish word "plocka," which means to pick up, and the word "jogging," which means to run slowly.

    A Swedish man named Erik Ahlström, started the movement in 2016. He moved to Stockholm from a small community (社区) in northern Sweden. Each day he would ride his bike to work. He became worried about the amount of rubbish and litter he saw each day on his way to work. So, he took matters into his own hands. He began picking up the rubbish. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Today, plogging is an official activity, which is becoming more and more popular. People of all ages are welcome to plog. Exercise while helping your community. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It can also build closer social connections in a community. When the street looks bad and it's dirty, you're going to feel bad about the community. You may even feel less safe because of that. So if we're all doing our part and picking it up, it's very easy to help beautify it, and help build those social connection. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You get to feel some social duty when you do this.

    Along with cleaning up the environment, there may be another reason to choose plogging instead of just jogging. You may get a better workout. One fitness app, Lifesum, records one hour of plogging as burning 288 calories. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    As can be seen, cities around the world now hold plogging events. The goal is to spread the idea that littering is not acceptable. People would think twice before dropping a garbage on the ground.

A. Plogging is equal parts of exercise and community service.

B. And that is how plogging was born!

C. And plogging does good to your health.

D. Usual jogging burns about 235 calories.

E. They are plogging!

F. There are people all around the world doing this.

G. You get to know your neighbors.

    So how can you hear a lot of English when you're not in an English-speaking country or family? Fortunately, there are many ways of hearing English.

    Listen to English Radio

    You can receive English-language radio in most countries. Two international networks are the BBC and VOA. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Watch English Television

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. The pictures help you understand what is being said, If you don't have access to English-language TV, you may be able to watch TV on the Internet.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    It is now a lot easier to hear English on the Internet. If you're reading this at your computer or mobile device you can probably listen to some English-language radio news right now, without even moving! And of course, you can find endless videos in English on You Tube and similar websites.

    Listen to Songs in English

    Songs in English are everywhere, even on foreign-language radio and TV stations. Listen to them often. But choose one that is not too difficult. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Some pop songs are very unclear and are difficult even for native English speakers to understand fully!

    Get English--speaking Friends

    Try to make friends with English-speaking people so that you can practice your English through conversation. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. And if you don't have a lot of time to go out and meet people, at least you can chat a little by telephone.

A. Don't worry

B. Listen to English on the Internet

C. This will improve your speaking as well as your listening

D. Many large cities have cinemas that show films in English

E. Both of them have special programs for learners of English

F. TV is an excellent resource for hearing and listening to English

G. That means it should be slow, and with real words sung clearly

    Many of the most memorable ad campaigns nowadays tend to be funny. Advertisers use this strategy to attract customers to their products. Audiences like to be entertained not forced. People will pay more attention to a humorous commercial than a factual serious one opening themselves up to be influenced. The key to funny advertising is assuring the humor is appropriate to both the product and customers. The balance between being funny and being obnoxious can often be delicate, and a marketer must be certain the positive effects outweigh the negative before an advertisement can be introduced.

    The best products to sell using humor tend to be those that consumers think the least about. Products that are relatively inexpensive and often consumable can be represented without providing a lot of facts, and that's where there's room for humor. Candy, too, food, and entertainment-related products such as toys have got the most benefits from humor in their campaigns. One of the most important things to keep in mind is relevance to the product.

    Another point to consider when using humor in advertising is that different things are funny to different people. A commercial that may make one person burst into laughter may leave a bad taste in another's mouth. The target market must always be considered, what's funny in a client presentation may not be funny on an airplane, at a country club or in hospital.

    Humor in advertising tends to improve brand recognition but does not improve product recall message credibility, or buying intentions. In other words, consumers may be familiar with a good feeling towards the product, but their purchasing decisions will probably not be affected. One of the major keys to a successful humorous campaign is variety. Once a commercial start to wear out, it's impossible to save ii without some variation on the concept Humorous campaigns are often expensive because they have to be constantly changed. Advertisers must remember that while making customers laugh, they have to keep thing interesting because old jokes die along with their products.