An Interesting Experiment

    Put an ice cube(冰块) from your fridge into a glass of water.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Thus, you can take out that piece of ice with the help of the string. But you must not touch the ice with your fingers.

    You may ask your friends to try to do that when you are having dinner together.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You must use salt when you carry out this experiment.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Then put some salt on the ice. Salt makes ice melt(融化). The ice round the string will begin to melt.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} The cold ice cube will make the salt water freeze again.

    After a minute or two you may raise the piece of string and with it you will raise your piece of ice!

    This experiment can be very useful to you. If, for example, there is ice near the door of your house, you must use very much salt to melt all the ice.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. If you don't put enough salt, the water will freeze again.

B. The string must be at least 10 centimeters long.

C. First you put the string across the piece of ice.

D. We can learn a lot from this physical experiment.

E. But when it melts, it will lose heat.

F. You should have a piece of string 10 centimeters long.

G. There is a salt bottle on the table.

    Improve your memory

    Do you find yourself forgetting where you left your keys or blanking out information on important tests?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Before your next big exam, be sure to check out some of these tried and tested ways of improving memory.

    Focus your attention on the materials you are studying. Attention is one of the major components (组成部分) of memory. In order for information to move from short-term memory into long-term memory, you need to actively attend to this information.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Structure and organize the information you are studying. Researchers have found that information is best organized in related groups.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Or you can make an outline of your notes and textbook readings to help group related concepts (概念).

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}When you are studying unfamiliar material, take the time to think about how this information relates to things that you already know. By establishing relationships between new ideas and previously existing memories, you can greatly increase the likelihood of recalling (回想起) the recently learned information.

    Pay extra attention to difficult information. Remembering information at the beginning or end of an article is easy. However, recalling information from its middle can be difficult.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Another way is to try restructuring what you have learned so it will be easier to remember. When you come across an especially difficult concept, devote some extra time to memorizing the information.

A.Use this approach in your own studies.

B. Try grouping similar concepts and terms together.

C. Relate new information to things you already know.

D. Repeat the information you are studying to improve memory.

E. Try to study in a quiet place and concentrate on your learning.

F. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to help improve your memory.

G. You can overcome this problem by spending extra time memorizing this information.

    Many of us deal with the rush every morning in preparation for work or school, but it doesn't have to be this way. With a little time management, these steps can help you cut down on your morning stress.

    Create an evening preparation routine.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} These simple tasks will take you less than 30 minutes to complete each evening and will save you a huge headache every morning.

    Get a good night's sleep.

    Make sure you start winding down for bed at a reasonable hour to allow enough time for a healthy night's sleep. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If needed, set a bedtime reminder alarm on your alarm clock. Always keep the temperature in your bedroom comfortably cool 

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    An extra 30 minutes in the morning will make a difference. As long as you go to bed on time, waking up 30 minutes earlier should seem natural after just a few days. Use this time to think, shower and eat breakfast.

    Plan a realistic day.

    Writing things down means you don't have to worry about forgetting to do them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Write down anything that cannot be put off to the following day.

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    Getting up to face a new day is far more satisfying when you have something to look forward to. Make sure you manage your time better so that you have time to do something you love on a daily basis.

A. Morning stress is very common.

B. Schedule something you love daily.

C. Never fill your mind with unnecessary worries.

D. Make a summary of what you did in the daytime.

E. Wake up 30 minutes earlier.

F. Iron your clothes, locate your keys, plan a nutritious breakfast, etc.

G. Most people require between seven and eight hours' sleep each night.

    On December 22, 2016 I landed in the land of the “American Dream.” {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here is one of the things I've struggled with during my almost one year in the States.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} My uncle and aunt joked that I brought rain from Saigon to America. Saigon, where I come from, is the old name of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Vietnam is a tropical country where it rains most of the year. Before going to the U.S., actually, I had no idea what to expect about its weather, but the big rain on my arrival gave me the first expectation of what the weather here might be like.

    California is known for having a great climate — more sunshine, cooler in summer and warmer in winter. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} However, having been here for a pretty long while now, I have experienced various forms of climate in California.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Most of the time I was living in Silicon Valley, where the weather is a bit colder than where I study in Orange County. But I was really surprised to find chill-to-the-bone weather in San Francisco — a big shift from Silicon Valley in only about an hour's drive. How strange!

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The worst is that I get n runny nose whenever I wake up in the morning. Because I am allergic to the cold and windy weathers, I keep sneezing badly, and even more badly if I get caught in the cold. I think that my body needs more time to get used to this climate, but as many people said, I am luckier to be in California where I don't have to fight with extreme weathers as in other states.

A. I am sensitive to weather change.

B. Such strange weather has affected my health.

C. So the amount of rain this year is considered unusual.

D. LAX airport in California welcomed me with a big rain.

E. So I quickly get used to the unchangeable climate in California.

F. The weather varies widely depending on where you are in the state.

G. Since then, I have discovered tons of dilemmas about life in America.

    Can We Stop Food Longing Through Imaginary Eating?

    Are you fighting an urge to reach for chocolate? Then, let it melt in your mind, not in your mouth. According to the recent research, imagining eating a specific food reduces your interest in that food, so you eat less of it.

    This reaction to repeated exposure to food—being less interested in something because you've experienced it too much—is called habituation.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    The research is the first to show that habituation can occur through the power of the mind. "If you just think about the food itself—how it tastes and smells—that will increase your appetite," said Carey More wedge, a well-known psychologist. "It might be better to force yourself to repeatedly think about chewing and swallowing the food in order to reduce your longing.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Visualizing yourself eating chocolate wouldn't prevent you from eating lots of cheese," he added.

    More wedge conducted an interesting experiment. 51 subjects were divided into three groups. One group was asked to imagine putting 30 coins into a laundry machine and then eating three chocolates.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Another group was asked to imagine putting three coins into a laundry machine and then eating 30 chocolates. Lastly, a control group imagined just putting 33 coins into the machine—with no chocolates.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}When they said they had finished, these were taken away and weighed. The results showed the group that had imagined eating 30 chocolates each ate fewer of the chocolates than the other groups.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Physical signals—that full stomach feeling—are only part of what tells us we've finished a meal. The research suggests that psychological effects, such as habituation, also influence how much a person eats. It may lead to new behavioral techniques for people looking to eat more healthily, or have control over other habits.

A. What's more, this only works with the specific food you've imagined.

B. People were advised to try different methods to perform the experiment.

C. For example, a tenth bite is desired less than the first bite, according to the study.

D. All of them then ate freely from bowls containing the same amount of chocolate each.

E. It meant those who repeatedly imagined eating would concern about some specific food.

F. This requires the same motor skills as eating small chocolates from a packet, the study says.

G. This study is part of the research looking into what makes us eat more than we actually need.

    "Post-truth" was chosen by Oxford Dictionaries as the Word of the Year 2016. Indeed, digital misinformation is on the rise and it is hard for people to distinguish. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Before the dawn of the Internet, Canadians regularly turned to trusting their preferred newspapers or radio stations for the latest news. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It's now coming at you from so many different sources that you need to take responsibility for what you're seeing.

    Experts recommend relying on a range of sources instead of just one, but looking into them first. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, the people connected where they're based, and their intention. A lack of information is certainly a warning.

    Next, learning to recognize misinformation is important. False news spreads mostly through social media. So if you're looking at news on Facebook, you have to handle it in a wiser way.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Is it from a well-informed relative or a friend who regularly expresses extreme views? And whatever you do, only by clicking through can you see whether the information is accurate.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It has no limits in achieving that goal, so it plays on feelings and uses improper language. Therefore, if you feel excited to share something immediately, that's the time you should stop and ask, "Is it accurate?" If we all take that extra little pause, we'll be able to stop this false thing from spreading.

A. Sources that are reliable tell you about themselves.

B. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to tell facts from fiction.

C. Consider who's sharing it if it's not posted directly from the source.

D. Today 42% of them use social media at least once a day to get their news.

E. Someone sets up "Hot Global News", hoping the ad dollars would pour in.

F. False news is designed to seek attention in order to sell ads or make an idea public.

G. Evaluating sources and getting reliable news is important in the age of misinformation.