Dear Sam,

    I hear that you'll travel to China next month. Now I'll tell you anything about it. Beijing is capital city of China. There are so many amazed places we cannot miss. For example, the Great Wall -- one of the seven wonder in the world, the Palace Museum and Yuan Ming Yuan. And you may also go to Hua Shan -- a dangerously steep mountain. At last I advise you to visit Hu Nan, that is famous for Zhang Jia Jie. In the way, have you ever heard of Mao Zedong, one of the greatest leaders in Chinese history? If you go to Shao Shan, you'll know many about him. Oh, I must be stop now, but I will get ready for my final exams.

                                                                                                                                                                         Yours,

                                                                                                                                                                         Ahfang

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    It is very common for you to find yourself in an unfamiliar situation. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Yes, everyone tells you to stand on your own two feet and take responsibility for your action, but if you haven't experienced a situation before, how can you know what to do?

    We usually try our best to do everything on our own and not to rely on others, but at certain times calling for help is the best way forward. You can picture the scene of the man-it is usually a man-driving blindly around an unfamiliar town looking for an address he doesn't know. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}And he could get to his appointment on time. It is obvious to everybody in such a case that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but rather the sensible thing to do.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, you are looking for a new job and need to write your resume（简历）. If your pride prevents you from getting help and you just do the writing yourself, it may well cost the opportunity you are seeking. Similarly, when you just started a new job, you often don't want to admit that you haven't got the knowledge to finish a particular task, so you keep going and eventually make things worse than they were. This may lead to a diminishing(贬低) of you in the eyes of the boss. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Now you can see that asking for help is not a sign of weakness but is the sensible and mature thing to do.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Making your life easier by asking for and using knowledgeable help is not a sign of weakness, but is actually quite a clever thing to do.

    The art of growing dwarf trees, or "bonsai"（盆景） as their Japanese planters call them, is increasing in popularity in the United States. Growing bonsai can make a fascinating hobby for anyone who enjoys plants and creating beautiful effects with them.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}．

    In growing bonsai, in fact, one must be careful in choosing the type of tree, as the growing conditions are unusual.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}．Varieties of pines with small needles and hardwood trunks are especially suitable.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}This is necessary because the major growth of bonsai is kept confined(被限制) to the tree's trunk and leaves, not its root system-a process quite unlike what is done with other plants.

    Another thing the bonsai-grower must do is to trim （修整） the roots and branches of the tree periodically （定期地）. Unless this is done, the plants will not have the proper proportions(比例) and will look unnatural.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The last thing one must do is to be careful to keep the tree well-watered. Because bonsai are grown in smaller-than-usual containers, they often need more water than ordinary houseplants do.

    As can be seen from the above, the art of bonsai-growing is one which requires a certain amount of time and effort.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Imagine having such a tree in your living room and passing it down through several generations of your family. That is exactly what bonsai-growing is all about: establishing a tradition of beauty which lasts for years and years and is a symbol of the beauties of the natural world.

注意：每个空格只填1个单词。

    The 17^th-century French tragedian Pierre Corneille wrote: The manner of giving is worth more than the gift”. He had a point, according to Charles Spence, head of Crossmodal Research Laboratory at the University of Oxford.

    The professor's work focuses on how our brains sense the world around us. His research has shown that high-frequency sounds and curved shapes seem to increase the sweetness wine tastes better if it is accompanied by the popping sound of a cork and drunk from all these created multisensory experiences.

    So, what's his advice if you want to impress this holiday season?

Bulk it up hide

    “We've just published research on eating a box of chocolates，” Mr Spence said. “If you are 30-gram weight in a box of chocolates, that weight translates to a significant increase perceived(感知)quality of the chocolate.”

    There are exceptions, but the association between weight and the perception of luxury(奢侈)applies to many items including tableware， perfume(香水)and wine， Mr. Spence said. “That's why in a restaurant， a waiter might artfully give you the bottle to weigh in your hand,” he added.

    Black is basic

    Black is the color most associated with luxury because, Mr. Spence said ，“it seems to be the color that we perceive to be the heaviest.”

    Such luxury indications are learned, rather than inborn, so they can change over time. I'm doing a lot of work on transparency(透明) at the moment; high-quality packaged goods should have a transparent window because it suggests freshness or quality,” he said.

    But the trend is recent， the professor added, because “traditionally luxury goods used to have nontransparent packaging. I think it has to do with the current desire for originality.”

    Layer it on

    Unnecessary wrapping(包裹)can be an ecological concern but, when it comes to luxury goods like wine in a presentation case, it does make an impression.

    “Tissue layers are really good,” Mr. Spence said， “because the crinkle adds an extra sense to the experience.”

    Consider a little perfume in the box or wrapping, and, if you want to involve other senses, work out some way for classical music to be playing when the gift is opened because we associate it with quality.

    Engaging several senses at once is beneficial.“ The brain combines the inputs from each sense, both to determine what something is, but also to determine a reward value,”Mr. Spence said. Also, the more stimuli(刺激)to the senses， the more activity is produced in the orbitofrontal cortex, a small part of brain situated just beside the eyes. And the more activity there, the more rewarding something is perceived to be.

    You can go too far

    “Engaging an extra sense is more effective, but you can potentially have a disagreement if that extra sense doesn't match the others.” the professor said.

The Cost of Thinking

    Despite their many differences, all human beings share several defining characteristics, such as large brains and the ability to walk upright on two legs.

    The first unique human characteristic is that humans have extraordinarily large brains compared with other animals. It seems obvious that evolution should select for larger brains. Mammals (哺乳动物) weighing sixty kilograms have an average brain size of 200 cm². Modern man has a brain averaging 1200-1400 cm². We are so fond of our high intelligence that we assume that when it comes to brain power, more must be better. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

    The fact is that a huge brain is a huge drain—consumption of energy—on the body. I's not easy to carry around, especially when boxed inside a massive skull (倾骨). It's even harder to provides energy. In modern man, the brain accounts for about 2-3%of total body weight but it consumes 25% of the body's energy when the body is at rest. By comparison, the brains of apes (类人猿) require only 8%of rest-time energy. Early humans pad for their large brains in two ways. Firstly, they spent more time in search food. Secondly, their muscles grew smaller and weaker. It's hardly an obvious conclusion that this is a good way to survive. A chimpanzee (黑猩猩) can't win an argument with a modern man, but it can tear the man apart like a rag doll.

    Another unique human characteristic is that we walk upright. Standing up, it's easier to find food or enemies. In addition, their arms that are unnecessary for moving around are freed for other purposes, like throwing stones or signaling. As a result, humans can perform very complex tasks with their hands.

    Yet walking upright has its disadvantage. The bone structure of our ancestors developed for millions of years to support a creature that walked on all fours and has a relatively small head. Adjusting to an upright position was quite a challenge, especially when the bones had to support an extra-large skull. Humankind paid for its broad vision and skillful hands backaches and painful necks.

    We assume that a large brain makes huge advantages. It seems obvious that these have made humankind the most powerful animal on earth. But humans enjoyed all of these advantages for a full 2 million years during which they remained weak and marginal creature. Thus humans who lived a million years ago, despite their big brains and sharp stone tools, lived in constant fear of meat-eating animals.

    After we all came to the conclusion that our family could responsibly care for dog; my husband and I started our search at a local animal shelter.

    We discovered a medium-sized male dog named Duke. This dog was a approximately only two years old and seemed to have the sweetest character. He looked at us through intelligent eyes and already knew how to fetch a ball. My husband and I immediately adopted him Duke quickly fit into our family's lifestyle. And he quickly learned the tricks like "sit", and "come".

But there was one skill that Duke could not seem to grasp—that of a watchdog. My husband was trying to teach him to remind us by giving a single warning bark when someone came into the yard. Duke would listen carefully to my husband's commands, but would cock （竖起）his head to one side in confusion and disappointment as if to tell his master that he just didn't understand what my husband was asking him to do. My husband would give his "watch" command. Duke would stand up—muscles tightened in readiness, but would not have a clue as to what he was in readiness for.

    One morning we heard the garbage collectors come up the driveway to get our garbage.

    My husband went to the open bedroom window so Duke could hear and see the men through the screen.

    "Watch" my husband commanded. Duke rose in readiness, looked at my husband as sudden comprehension dawned on him, gave a quick tail wave, and leaped through the window screen jumping happily out to greet the garbage men.

    Seeing that, I couldn't help laughing. My laughter did nothing for my husbands mood when he found what was happening and he just went away to repair the screen with no expression on his face.

    Duke brought our family so much fun. We never scolded or beat him. He was one of our family members.