How to read more and learn more

    These days, more and more Chinese people enjoy sending and receiving message on the phone. It can help the to get the latest news and communicate with friends. But I think I should read more books besides the textbooks, the more, the better. It can broaden my mind and improve my language skills.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here are some tips for you.

Clear your purpose for reading

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Most people read for two main reasons, pleasure or knowledge. Clearing about your reading purpose can not only help you choose the books you really need to read, but also remind you why reading the book is important to you, so you will keep reading and complete the book faster.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    No matter what you are reading, it is important to enjoy what you read. Your friends may tell you the books they love, but those books might not necessarily be the ones you enjoy.

Give up books that you don't enjoy

    You may have chosen books that you are interested in, and they are right to your purpose. But while you are reading them, there may still be some books that you don't enjoy reading. Whenever you realize that you aren't enjoying the book you are reading, give it up.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Set a reading goal

    It is interesting that I read the books borrowed from libraries faster than those I bought. The reason is the books I bought don't have a due date! I don't need to return those books. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Before you read each book, ask yourself what time you need to complete this book by.

A. Read only what you are interested in.

B. Read the books borrowed from others

C. Remember reading shouldn't be a chore

D. Of course, it also can help me to get good grades

E. We need to get the latest news and communicate with friends

F. Before you start reading, ask yourself why you are reading this book

G. Having a reading goal helps you work out how much reading you need to do in a week or even a day.

Oxford English Language Center

Information for New Students

    CLASS TIME：8:30a. m. —10:00a. m.，10:30a. m. —12:00a. m.，1:30p. m. —3:00p. m..

    The Language Center is open Monday to Friday. Each class has one afternoon free per week. On the first day, go to the lecture hall to check your timetable.

    SELF—ACCESS：The language laboratory（Room 1110）is open Monday to Friday from 3:15p. m. to 5:00p. m. for all full-time students.

    You can learn how to use computers for language games or word-processing. There are tapes for students to borrow to practice their English. Go in and ask the teacher to show you. If you plan to take public examinations, there are dictation and listening comprehension tapes for you to practice with. There are cloze exercises on the computers. Ask your class teacher for a list of past exam essays. Students can borrow tapes to take home but they must be returned after two days.

    ATTENDANCE: All students are expected to attend classes as it is required. Students who do not attend classes will be reported to OSS. Eighty percent attendance is required for students to receive their certificates when they finish their courses. It is also required by OSS for an extension to your visa.

    BOOKS: If students are given course books, the books are their responsibility. If a book is lost, the student will be expected to pay for it. If students wish to buy books, there is a bookshop in the college specializing in English books（Room 3520.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

The Scar of Love

    Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.In a hurry to dive into the cool water,he ran out of the back door,leaving behind shoes,socks and shirt as he went.He flew into the water,not realizing that as he swam toward the middle or the lake,an alligator（短嘴鳄）was getting close.The mother in the house was looking out of the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer together.In great fear,she ran toward the water,yelling to her son as loudly as she could.Hearing her voice,the little boy became alarmed and made a U—turn to swim to his mother.It was too late.Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him.From the dock,the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched（抓住）his legs.That began an unbelievable tug-of-war（拔河比赛）between the two.The alligator was much stronger than the mother,but the mother was much too passionate to let go.A farmer happened to drive by,heard their screams;rushed from his truck,took aim and shot the alligator.

    Remarkably,after weeks and weeks in the hospital,the little boy survived.His legs were extremely scarred by the terrible attack of the animal.And on his arms,were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

    The newspaper reporter,who interviewed the boy after the trauma（外伤）,asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted the pant legs.And then,with obvious pride,he said to the reporter,"Look at my arms.I have great scars on my arms,too.I have them because my mum wouldn't let go."

    You and I can identify with（认同）that little boy.We have scars,too.Not from an alligator,but the scars of a painful past.Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret.But,some wounds,my friends,are because we have refused to let go.

    When was the last time you told someone they inspire you to go to work each morning?

    Teachers at Oak Park High School in Kansas City, Missouri, did just that this September, when they pulled individual students out of class to tell them just how much they appreciated them.

    The students' reactions, which were captured (捕捉) on video and shared on YouTube in a now-viral video, ranged from shy thanks to hugs and tears.

    “I have been challenged to find a student who makes me want to come to school every day,” says one teacher in the video, “and that's you.”

    Jamie McSparin, a teacher in charge of the school's academy program for at-risk sophomores （二年级学生）and juniors, posed the challenge, writes ABC News.

    “Initially when we pulled the kids out, they all thought they were in trouble,” McSparin told ABC News. “Any teacher-student interaction always seems to be negative (消极的), and that was something that bothered me, too. No matter if they're a good kid or a trouble maker or anything, they always thought they were in trouble,” she says.

    McSparin says she got the idea for the project after attending a professional development workshop this summer called the power of positivity.

    “I like the idea of letting students know they are appreciated, because we do appreciate them, I just don't think we say it enough,” she told local news outlet WDAF-TV.

    It's safe to say the challenge was effective.

    “I feel special,” said one of the boys in the video. “You should,” said his teacher. “You are special.”

    Astronauts in the space stations for long missions often work very long days. Tasks are scheduled(安排) so tightly that break times are often used to finish the day's work. It's especially hard for long missions on the International Space Station (ISS). ISS crew members usually live in space for at least a quarter of a year. They work five days on and two days off to mimic the normal way they do things on Earth as much as possible. Weekends give the crew valuable time to rest and do a few hours of housework. They can communicate with family and friends by email, Internet phone and through private video meetings.

    While astronauts cannot go to a baseball game or a movie in space, there are many familiar activities that they can still enjoy. Before a mission, the family and friends of each ISS crew member put together a collection of family photos, messages, videos and reading materials for the astronauts to look at when they will be floating 370 kilometers above the Earth. During their mission, the crew also receives care packages with CDs, books, magazines, photos and letters. Today, the Internet can be used on the ISS, giving astronauts the chance to do some “web surfing” in their personal time. Besides relaxing with these more common entertainments, astronauts can simply enjoy the experience of living in space.

    Many astronauts say that one of the most relaxing things to do in space is to look out of the window and stare at the universe and the Earth's vast land mass and oceans.

Pick up any packaged processed food, and there's a decent chance that one of its listed ingredients will be "natural flavour". The ingredient sounds good, particularly in contrast to "artificial flavours" since there is a common belief that ingredients from nature are necessarily safer than something artificially made. But it's not true. Then what exactly does the natural flavour mean? It refers to extracts (提取物) got from natural sources like plants, meat or seafood. When consumers see the "natural flavour" on a label, they are unlikely to assume that someone is squeezing the juice from oranges into their bottles. They know even though natural flavour must come from natural sources, it needn't all come from the plant or meat. For example, orange flavours might contain not only orange extracts, but also extracts from bark and grass.

So if flavours like orange are needed, why not just use oranges? The answer comes down to "availability, cost, and sustainability", according to flavour chemist Gary Reineccius of the University of Minnesota. "If you're going to use all your grapes on grape soda," Reineccius says, "you don't have any grapes for wine making; the products are going to be exorbitant; besides, what do you do with the by-products you create after you've squeezed all the juice out of the grapes?"

Actually, while chemists make natural flavours by extracting chemicals from natural ingredients, artificial flavours are made by creating the same chemicals artificially. The reason why companies bother to use natural flavours rather than artificial flavours is simple: marketing. "Many of these products have health titles," says Platkin, professor from Hunter College. "Consumers may be talked to believe products with natural flavours are healthier, though they are nutritionally no different from those with artificial flavours. Natural flavours may involve more forest clear-cutting and carbon emissions from transport than flavours created in the lab."

Platkin suggests getting more transparent (易懂的) labeling on packaging that describes exactly what the natural or artificial flavours are, so consumers are-not misled into buying one product over another because of "natural flavours". Reineccius also offers simple guidance: "Don't buy anything because it says ‘natural flavours'. Buy it because you like it."