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。

    It is one of the most annoying words in the English language and it seems there is no escaping it．The word “huh?” is in worldwide use, a study found.

    Researchers discovered that languages spoken in countries from Ghana and Laos to Iceland and Italy all include “huh?”, or something that sounds very like it. They said that while the study may sound silly，the word is an absolutely necessary part of speech. Without it and similar words, it would be impossible to show that we haven't heard or understood what had been said and this would lead to constant misunderstandings.

    But while other words used in the same context, such as “sorry” or “what”, vary widely across languages, “huh?” remains unchanged.

    The Dutch researchers carefully studied ten languages from around the world, including Siwu, which is spoken in Ghana, and an Australian Aboriginal language, as well as Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Mandarin Chinese.

    They analysed tapes of recorded conversations for words that sounded like‘‘huh?”and were used to request that whatever had Just been said be repeated. All contained a version of “huh?” The word was also found in another 21 languages. While there were subtle differences in each country, all sounded basically the same.

    This is surprising because normally unrelated languages will use very different words to describe the same thing. For instance, the Japanese for “dog” is “inu”, while the French is “chien”. It is thought that languages around the world have developed their own version of “huh?” because the sound is quick and simple to form, as well as being easily understood.

    The researchers，said that it might seem unimportant to carry out scientific research into a word like “huh?” but in fact this little word is an essential tool in human communication．They also have an answer for those who claim that “huh?” isn't a word. They say that it qualifies because of the small differences in its pronunciation in different languages. It also can be considered a word because it's something we learn to say, rather than a grunt or cry that we are born knowing how to make.

    Teenagers in America know that they'll possibly need technical skills to find good jobs, but a new survey reveals that interest in technology-related careers may be decreasing.

The percentage of boys aged 13 to 17 who are interested in science, technology, engineering and math —or STEM —careers dropped from 36 percent in 2017 to 24 percent this year, according to a survey by Junior Achievement USA. The amount of girls interested in STEM careers stayed unchanged at II percent.

    But the 1, 000 survey participants still named technology as one of two key skills that will be necessary to prepare them for their future careers.

    "Kids don' t understand how technology can be applied to careers in addition to computers, and maybe robotics, "said Tammera L. Holmes, president of aviation consulting firm AeroStar Consulting （航空资询公司）.“That's all they know, so they can't really translate that interest to career pathways."

    When Holmes was in high school, her mom sent her to an event that featured (以......为专题)the pilots from World War II. One of the pilots took her for a ride and let her take the wheel immediately that was the career for me." she said.

    Women remain outnumbered(超过) by men in fields like technology. For people working to increase the number of women in these areas, the lack of growth in girls interest in STEM careers is concerning.

    Teenage girls are more interested than their male classmates in running after careers in which they can help others, said Ed Grocholski from Junior Achievement. Even with all the programs aimed at increasing girls' interest in STEM, "I don't think we really talk that much about how we improve people's lives through STEM," Grocholski said.

    Society needs to do better at making those connections for kids, said Katherine Latham, founder of an engineering firm. She used civil engineering as an example of a career that will continue to be important.

    However, the fact that students know they will need tech skills in their future careers is encouraging.

    The second skill they said they need is relationship-building.

    "That's going to be the new type of engineers," Latham said.

    The secret to happiness is keeping busy, research has found. Keeping the mind occupied with tasks—no matter how meaningless—keeps off negative emotions, the study found.

    However, the bad news is that humans are seemingly born to be lazy in order to save energy, according to Professor Christoper Hsee, a behavioral scientist at Chicago University.

    In a study, 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first, they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever option they chose, they received a chocolate bar. It turned out that about two-thirds (68 students) chose the lazy option. Those who had taken the walk reported feeling happier than those who had stayed put.

    Professor Hsee concluded that keeping busy helped keep people happy. He said the findings, reported in the journal Psychological Science, had policy implications (暗示).

    “Governments may increase the happiness of idle (无所事事的) citizens by having them build bridges that are actually useless,” he proposed.

    At the personal level, he advised, "Get up and do something. Anything. Even if there really is no point to what you are doing, you will feel better for it." He added, "Incidentally, thinking deeply or engaging in self-reflection counts as keeping busy, too."

    “You do not need to be running around. You just need to be engaged, either physically or mentally.”

    Warford is an optometrist (验光师) in Florida. He has seen an increase in "computer vision syndrome (电脑视力综合症)"in children. "A lot more children come into the office either because their parents have noticed that they have headaches or red or watery eyes or discomfort, or because their nearsightedness appears to be increasing and they're worried," he says.

    Dr. Watford says part of the problem is that children may be more likely to pay no attention to early warning signs than adults. "Even if their eyes start to feel uncomfortable or they start to get a headache, they're less likely to tell their parents, because they don't want to have the game or whatever taken away," he explains.

    He says another part of the problem is that people blink (眨眼) less often when they use digital devices. He says, "A person who uses an electronic device blinks about one third as much as we normally do in everyday life. And that can result in the front part of the eye drying and not staying protected like normal."

    Eye doctors offer suggestions like the 20 /20 /20 rule. That means every twenty minutes look away twenty feet or more for at least twenty seconds from whatever device you're using.

    Other suggestions include using good lighting and spending less time looking at screens. Many experts say children should spend no more than two hours a day using digital devices—with no screen time for children under two.

    But not all eye doctors have noticed an increase in problems in children. Dr. David Hunter, for instance, says, "While it is possible to develop fatigue looking at screens for a long time, there's certainly no proof that it actually causes any damage to the eyes."

    The fridge is considered necessary. It has been so since the 1960s when packaged food list appeared with the label: "Store in the refrigerator."

    In my fridge less Fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthy. The milkman came every day, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times each w eek. The Sunday meat would last until Wednesday and the bread and milk left became all kinds of cakes. Nothing was wasted, and w e w ere never troubled by rotten food. Thirty years on, food deliveries have stopped, and fresh vegetables are almost impossible to get in the country.

    The invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation. Many well-tried techniques already existed — natural cooling, drying, smoking, salting, sugaring, bottling...

    What refrigeration did promote was marketing — marketing hardware and electricity, marketing soft drinks, marketing dead bodies of animals around the world in search of a good price.

    Consequently, most of the world's fridges are to be found, not in the tropics where they might prove useful, but in the rich countries with mild temperatures where they are climatically almost unnecessary. Every winter, millions of fridges hum (make a low continuous sound) away continuously, and at vast expense, busily maintaining an artificially-cooled space inside an artificially-heated house —while outside, nature provides the desired temperature free of charge.

    The fridge's effect upon the environment has been clear, while its contribution to human happiness has been unimportant. If you don't believe me, try it yourself, invest in a food cupboard and turn off your fridge next winter. You may miss the hamburgers, but at least you'll get rid of that terrible hum.

Improve your reading, writing and math skills

    Through the Literacy and Basic Skills program, you will learn reading, writing, math and other basic skills (e. g. computer) to help you prepare for:

    ● employment

    ● college studies

    ● independence

    ● school credit

    These courses(课程) are free and available in English or French. There are courses designed for local people and Deaf people as well.

    Requirements(要求)

    To take these courses you have to:

    ● be an Ontario resident

    ● be 16 years old or older

    ● have reading, writing and math skills below the grade 12 level

    Learn in a classroom

    You can take these free classroom courses at more than 300 locations across the province.

    Find out more by contacting Employment Ontario.

    Learn online

    You can also learn online as one way of the Literacy and Basic Skills program.

    Four different organizations in Ontario offer free online courses tailored to you. Find out more about learning online:

    ● in French

    ● in English

    ● as a local person

    ● as a Deaf person