Your school asked parents about the social development in children in the last Parents' Meeting. Here are some opinions. Read the following information and answer the questions.

    One of the greatest gifts one generation can give to other generations is the wisdom it has gained from experience. This idea has inspired the award-winning photographer Andrew Zuckerman. He interviewed and took photos of fifty oversixty-fiveyearsold all over the world. His project explores various aspects of their lives. The photos and interviews are now available on our website. Click on the introductions to read the complete interviews.

    Let us now have a culture of peace.——Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Spain Federico Mayor Zaragoza obtained a doctorate in pharmacy (药学) from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1958. After many years spent in politics, he became Director General of UNESCO in 1987. In 1999, he created the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, of which he is now the president. In addition to many scientific publications, he has published four collections of poems and several books of essays.

    Writing is a discovery.——Nadine Gordimer, South AfricaDue to a weak heart, Nadine Gordimer attended school and university briefly. She read widely and began writing at an early age. She published her first short story at the age of fifteen, and has completed a large number of works, which have been translated into forty languages. In 1991, Gordimer won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

    Jazz is about the only form of art today.——Dave Brubeck, USADave Brubeck studied music at the University of the Pacific and graduated in 1942. After World War Ⅱ he was encouraged to play jazz. In 1951, he recorded his first album(专辑). Brubeck's 1959 album has become a jazz standard. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.For more figures CLICK HERE.

    Seven years ago,back in 2010,some reports covered a story that the world's longest railway tunnel was under construction in Switzerland.At that point it had already been under construction for over a decade.It had been voted to be built nearly a quarter of a century ago!The idea to build it could date back to nearly 70 years ago—about as old as some of your grandparents!

Yesterday,it was finally ready!

    It's 35 miles long and runs 7,500 feet beneath the Swiss Alps,a famous mountain range in Switzerland.It even runs under an old tunnel that was there before.It took a total of 17 years to build at a cost of $12 billion.128 million tons of rock were dug.Two million truckloads of earth were removed!

    The tunnel connects northern and southern Europe.The opening of this runnel was such a big deal that the Germany's leader,Chancellor Angela Merkel,France's president,Francois Hollande,and Italy's prime minister,Matteo Renzi,were an there to celebrate,as was Austria's chancellor Christian Kern.

    It's called the Gotthard Base Tunnel.Eventually,325 freight and passenger trains will go through the tunnel,relieving a lot of traffic on the roadways there and making it a more environmentally friendly option.The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a wonder of engineering!Make us want to visit it!

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

    You may not know a lot of people when you start high school. Even if you know some new students, you still feel nervous that you don't know any upperclassmen (高年级学生) and teachers. How are you going to make friends among this sea of unknown faces?

    Most high schools welcome new students before school actually starts. These are helpful not only because you learn your way around the buildings and get to meet some of your teachers, but also because you get to meet new students. That way, when you show up on your first day of school, you may already recognize a few familiar faces.

    When you talk to people, you'll probably find that a lot of them are feeling just like you. They're all new to the school and don't know what to expect. Talking about a common concern with your classmates can help you develop friendships.

    The work in high school is something freshmen are probably worried about. The work in high school builds on what you learned in middle school, giving you a more advanced knowledge of many subjects. So you may find you have more work to do or that it's a bit more challenging (有挑战性的). If you ever find your work too difficult, teachers can give you extra help.

    High school also has more activities after class than middle school, such as clubs, music and theater groups and sports teams. This is a good time to explore your interests and try new things.

    Middle school taught you the basics of academics, time management, and social skills while providing you with a little extra support and guidance. High school gives you the chance to learn how to be more independent (独立的) and responsible (有责任的).

    Next month, I'm traveling to a remote area of Central Africa and my aim is to know enough Lingala — one of the local languages — to have a conversation. I wasn't sure how I was going to manage this — until I discovered a way to learn all the vocabulary I'm going to need. Thanks to Memrise, the app I'm using. It feels just like a game.

    "People often stop learning things because they feel they're not making progress or because it all feels like too much hard work," says Ed Cooke, one of the people who created Memrise. "We're trying to create a form of learning experience that is fun and is something you'd want to do instead of watching TV."

    Memrise gives you a few new words to learn and these are "seeds" which you plant in your "greenhouse". When you practice the words, you "water your plants". When the app believes that you have really remembered a word, it moves the word to your "garden". And if you forget to log on (登录)，the app sends you emails that remind you to "water your plants".

    The app uses two principles about learning. The first is that people remember things better when they link them to a picture in their mind. Memrise translates words into your own language, but it also encourages you to use "mems". For example, I memorized motele, the Lingala word for "engine", using a mem I created — I imagined an old engine in a motel (汽车旅馆) room.

    The second principle is that we need to stop after studying words and then repeat them again later, leaving time between study sessions. Memrise helps you with this, because it's the kind of app you only use for five or ten minutes a day.

    I've learnt hundreds of Lingala words with Memrise. I know this won't make me a fluent speaker, but I hope I'll be able to do more than just smile when I meet people in Congo. Now, I need to go and water my Vocabulary!

    Nature calms our stressed-out soul. Nature is the best medicine, but new research is showing how little time we need to set aside to harvest the benefits.

    In one new study, researchers tried to find the most effective "dose" (药剂) of nature within the context of normal daily life. As more doctors prescribe (开药方) nature experiences for stress relief and other health benefits — sometimes referred to as a "nature pill"— the study's authors hoped to make the details of these treatments clear.

    "We know that spending time in nature reduces stress, but until now it is unclear how much is enough, how often to do it, or even what kind of nature experience will benefit us," says lead author MaryCarol Hunter in a statement. "Our study shows that for the greatest payoff, in terms of efficiently lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisone (压力荷尔蒙激素), you should spend 20 to 30 minutes sitting or walking in a place that provides you with a sense of nature."

    A nature pill can be a low-cost, low-risk way to curb the negative effects of urbanization and indoor lifestyle. To find the most efficient dosage, Hunter and her co-authors asked 36 city citizens to have nature experiences of at least 10 minutes three times per week over eight weeks.

    Every two weeks, the researchers collected saliva (唾液) samples to measure levels of the stress hormone cortisone, both before and after the participants took a nature pill. The data showed that just a 20-minute nature experience was enough to significantly reduce cortisone levels. The effect was more efficient between 20 and 30 minutes, after which benefits continued to increase but at a slower rate.

    That fits with the findings of another recent study, which found that spending 20 minutes in an urban park can make you happier, no matter whether you use that time to exercise.

    For this study, 94 adults visited 3 urban parks in Mountain Brook, Alabama, completing a questionnaire about their subjective well-being before and after their visit. An accelerometer (加速计) tracked their physical activity.

    A visit lasting 20 to 25 minutes showed the best results, with a roughly 64% increase in the participants' self-reported well-being, even if they didn't move a great deal in the park. That last point is particularly positive, since it means anyone can benefit from visiting a nearby park, whatever his or her age or physical ability.

    "There is increasing pressure on green space within urban settings," said a UAB professor Gavin Jenkins. "Planners and developers look to replace green space with residential (住宅的) and commercial property. The challenge facing cities is that there is increasing evidence about the value of city parks but we continue to see the disappearance of these spaces."