A single cigarette sold on a street comer may not cost a lot; however, the total costs of smoking are huge.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. The World Health Organization says about 10 people die of a tobacco-linked disease every minute. That rate adds up to almost six million people dying from such diseases every year. Most of these preventable deaths happen in low-income and middle-income countries. The World Bank says each of these countries has a total national income of less than $ 12,746.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. The number is expected to rise to 8 million by 2030 unless immediate action is taken.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. For most people, stopping smoking is hard. Many began smoking as teenagers. They are used to it. Also, tobacco contains the powerful drug nicotine. Studies show people who want to stop smoking can do so with different treatments. Some get help from electronic cigarettes or medicine that reduce one's desire for the drug. Dr. Nancy Rigotti works at Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States. She says she finds that medicine and services together work best of all.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. It can influence the health of an entire country. The World Health Organization says low-income countries depend heavily on taxes from cigarettes. They use the money, in part, to pay the costs of health care for tobacco-related diseases.

    The World Health Organization is pushing United Nations member states to sign an agreement to end the illegal trade in tobacco products.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. But the agreement of 32 other countries is needed for it to become international law.

A. Stopping smoking

B. It isn't necessary to take action

C. Consider the cost of human life

D. Other countries also sign the agreement

E. Eight countries have agreed with the agreement

F. But smoking costs more than the life of a person

G. The World Health Organization says tobacco kills 6 million people yearly

    The key to losing weight is to understand what really interests you. Have you ever been excited about losing a few pounds? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} And to help you keep your weight under control, you need some coping strategies (策略).

Ask questions. When you're researching different dieting products and plans or even talking to a doctor about diets, ask as many questions as you can. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Ask questions like: Do I have to buy special meals? Does the program include a part to help me keep my weight loss?

    Get real. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Don't burden yourself with unrealistic expectations. Remember, large amounts of weight loss are not realistic and are most likely not safe or healthy. Talk with your health care professional to determine a healthy weight goal.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} To keep your weight, you must balance your intake of calories with the energy you burn. Just 30 minutes of fast walking in most days can take about 10 pounds off your weight each year.

    Weigh yourself weekly. It's important to track your weight on any diet or weight loss plan, but don't get on the scale every day. Weighing daily won't show you the big picture. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Stay balanced.

B. Once a week is fine.

C. Stick with your healthy eating plan.

D. Losing one to two pounds a week is a realistic goal.

E. Being well informed will help you choose the best diet for you.

F. Regular weight check-ins will show you your progress over time.

G. If so, you must find a way to turn that excitement into determination.

    Here's how yo-yo dieting affects your body and your mind

    Yo-yo dieting, also known as weight cycling, occurs when a person experiences periods of weight loss followed by weight gain followed by weight loss and so on and so on. The effects of this weight cycling are significant, even when the weight lost and gained is as little as 10 pounds.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    It can make you gain weight

    While dieting may help you lose a few pounds at first, it only works temporarily. Your body responds to the lack of calories by turning to lean muscle mass for energy. Once you have returned to your normal eating habits, the weight comes back on –{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Yo-yo dieting may increase the risk for heart disease and sudden death in post-menopausal（绝经后期）women. Studies found that when normal-weight women experienced periods of weight cycling, they were 3.5 times more likely to have sudden death than women whose weight remained stable. In the same study, yo-yo dieting increased a woman's risk of death by 66 percent.

It can be damaging to your skin

    Dermatologist (a doctor who studies and treats skin diseases) Robin Evans weighed in on the effect that yo-yo dieting has on the skin. “The up and down weight losses and gains can have harmful effects on the skin especially on the face with stretching and contracting the skin,” said Evans{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

It plays games with your mind

    Yo-yo dieting is hard on the body,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Repeatedly gaining and losing weight can leave dieters feeling more depressed about their weight and losing self-belief as a result.

    If you're a yo-yo-dieter, talk to your health care provider about lifestyle changes that can help you maintain a stable and healthy weight for years to come.

A. It only works temporarily

B. It can damage your heart

C. but in the form of fat, not muscle

D. but it's even harder on the mind

E. but with a smaller size, you will make yourself less friendly

F. The result ends up more wrinkles and an overall effect of aging the skin

G. We turned to the experts to find out how yo-yo dieting can affect your body and your mind

House Sitting

    In many countries of the world people do what is called house sitting. It means that if owners of the house are going away, they want someone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets while they are away.

    In Australia, many people travel. After people retire, they might buy a van and travel all over the country. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, they might want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy. House sitters might have to care for pets. Also, quite a few people have swimming pools in their back yard and they need cleaning. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I feel it is a great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, get to meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} There are websites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and by replying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look after their home. There are some requirements to be a house sitter. You must be a trusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything. You must be able to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You need to be good with pets, able to care for cats and dogs, or other pets they may have.

    Some house sitting Jobs are just for a few days or a couple of weeks while the house owner have a short holiday. Sometimes it is for much longer. We have had one house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Then you can travel to many different countries and stay there. One of the important things to get are references from the home owners where you have stayed. A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthy and have looked after their home well. You can show these letters to prospective house sitting Jobs and they know you will do a good job.

A. I have done house sitting many times.

B. Thousands of people do this all the time.

C. It is also possible to do house sitting in other countries.

D. Generally you have many opportunities to get a house sitting job.

E. You must take a little care over what your description says about you.

F. This is an international house sitting service for all city and country areas.

G. You must have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country.

Tips for Cooking on a Tight Schedule

    From my experience, there are three main reasons why people don't cook more often：ability, money, and time. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Money is a topic I'll discuss another day. So today I want to give you some wisdom about how to make the most of the time you spend in the kitchen. Here are three tips for great cooking on a tight schedule:

    ⒈Think ahead. The moments when I think cooking is a pain are when I'm already hungry and there's nothing ready to eat. So think ahead of the coming week. When will you have time to cook？Do you have the right materials already？{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    ⒉Make your time worth it. When you do find time to cook a meal, make the most of it and save yourself time later on. Are you making one loaf of bread？{#blank#}3{#/blank#} It takes around the same amount of time to make more of something. So save yourself the effort for a future meal.

    ⒊{#blank#}4{#/blank#} This may surprise you, but one of the best tools for making cooking is to try new things. It gives you the chance to hit upon new ideas and recipes that can work well with your appetite and schedule. The more you learn and the more you try, the more ability you have to take control of your food and your schedule.

    Hopefully that gives you a good start. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And don't let a busy schedule discourage you from making some great changes in the way you eat and live!

A. Try new things.

B. Ability is easily improved.

C. Make three or four instead.

D. Understand your food better.

E. Cooking is a burden for many people.

F. Let cooking and living simply be a joy rather than a burden.

G. A little time planning ahead can save a lot of work later on.

    When we were kids, if our parents wanted us to stop the screen time, they would turn off the TV. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They grab the cell phone, the tablet or the laptop. Here we will talk about how to control their screen time.

    First, limit the time they use screens. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Kids are smart. Once you go back to your daily routine, they will quickly be back on a screen. Because they just don't understand that when you tell them to get off the tablet or computer, you mean for the rest of the day.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It can be going outside to play, reading a fun book or cleaning their room. Presenting them with an alternative helps the under-developed planning part of their little brains get past what they can't do and see what else is possible.

    And third, hide the screen device. That one may not seem very fair. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If they don't see the device around the house, they can't grab it. This way, works for us adult-types who may be a little too addicted to screens ourselves.

    Ultimately, the best way to help kids recognize how much is too much screen time is to limit our own. Yeah, you may have to stare at one all day for your job, but do you really have to come home and immediately turn on the TV or answer that email on your phone? Don't think your kids aren't taking excuses from your actions. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Second, give them an alternative.

B. So, it's necessary to set a limited time.

C. It may seem easy, but it can be challenging.

D. Now, kids often have a choice of which screen they want.

E. They watch you just as closely as they watch those screens.

F. Now go to find a screen and turn it off, for you and for your kids.

G. But the phrase “out of sight, out of mind” actually works sometimes.