Eyesight plays a very important role in our daily life. Every waking moment, the eyes are working to see the world around us. Over forty percent of Americans worry about losing eyesight, but it's easy to include steps into our daily life to ensure healthy eyes. Here are five suggestions for a lifetime of healthy eyesight:

    Schedule yearly exams. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Experts advise parents to bring babies 6 to 12 months of age to the doctor for a careful check. The good news is that millions of children now can have yearly eye exams and following treatment, including eyeglasses.

    Protect against UV rays (紫外线). Long-term stay in the sun creates risk to your eyes. No matter what the season is, it's extremely important to wear sunglasses. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Two-thirds of Americans spend up to seven hours a day using computers or other digital (数字的)products.   This frequent eye activity increases the risk for eye tiredness. Experts recommend （建议）that people practice the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} As part of a healthy diet, eat more fruits and vegetables each day. Vitamins C and E help protect eyesight and promote eye health.

    Practice safe wear and care of contact lenses (隐形眼镜). Many Americans use contact lenses to improve their eyesight. While some follow the medical guidance for wearing contact lenses, many are breaking the rules and putting their eyesight at risk. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Otherwise, you may have problems such as red eyes, pain in the eyes, or a more serious condition.

A. Have your eyes checked as early as possible.

B. Give your eyes a break.

C. Parents usually don't care about their own eyesight.

D. They can properly protect your eyes.

E. Stay in good shape by taking more vitamins.

F. Always follow the doctor's advice for appropriate（恰当的；合适的）wear.

G. Eat your greens.

    A kiln (窑) is a type of oven or furnace used to cure (加工处理), harden, or burn certain materials. Depending on which materials are heated in it, a kiln may be square, tunnel shaped, or beehive shaped, and usually made of brick or stone.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} It may be set as low as sixty-five degrees to cure grain or as high as 3,200 degrees to transform limestone to quicklime (熟石灰).

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They have a variety of purposes. The cement (水泥) industry uses revolving kilns to heat and separate raw materials. Bricks, pottery, and china made from clay must be fired, or hardened, in kilns. Certain kinds of coal and wood must be kiln-dried （在窑里烘干的）before they can be used. Hobbyists use small kilns to fire a variety of ceramic (陶瓷) objects.

    There are two main types of kilns. A periodic kiln, used to fire certain kinds of delicate china, is raised to a high temperature and then completely cooled before its contents are removed. A continuous, or tunnel kiln contains several chambers, or zones, which heat, bake, and cool a product. Stacks of clay bricks move through a tunnel kiln on tracks{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Gas, oil, and coal are all used to heat modern kilns{#blank#}4{#/blank#} But for special jobs, where cleanliness and careful heat（绝热）are important, kilns must be heated by electricity oven though it is more expensive. Small kilns used in the home or in craft shops are also heated electrically because electricity is clean and convenient.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When ancient people discovered that heat hardened some materials, they were able to make durable household objects such as jugs and bowls. Today our museums display many kinds of ancient statues and art objects that have lasted because they had been kiln-dried. They come from lands as far apart as China and Greece.

A. Its temperature may vary.

B. Then they come out, hardened, and cooled.

C. Kilns are used in industry and in craft-making.

D. Kilns have been in use for thousands of years.

E. An electric kiln is a heating chamber used to transform materials.

F. Most manufacturers use whichever material is cheapest in their area.

G. Clay, when heated properly, becomes hard enough to form bowls and plates.

    Remembering names is an important social skill. Here are some ways to master it.

    Recite and repeat in conversation. When you hear a person's name, repeat it. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. You could also repeat the name in a way that does not sound forced or artificial.

    Ask the other person to recite and repeat. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. After you've been introduced to someone, ask that person to spell the name and pronounce it correctly for you. Most people will be pleased by the effort you're making to learn their names.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Admitting that you can't remember someone's name can actually make people relaxed. Most of them will feel sympathy if you say, "I'm working to remember names better. Yours is right on the tip of my tongue. What is it again?"

    Use associations (联想). {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. For example, you could make a mental note: "Vicki Cheng—tall, black hair." To reinforce (强迫) your associations , ,write them on a small card as soon as possible.

    Limit the number of new names you learn at one time. When meeting a group of people, concentrate on remembering just two or three names. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Few of the people in mass introductions expect you to remember their names. Another way is to limit yourself to learning just first names. Last names can come later.

A. Admit you don't know.

B. Recite and repeat names.

C. Free yourself from remembering everyone.

D. You can let other people help you remember their names.

E. If you can't remember someone's name, you may tell him the truth.

F. Immediately say it to yourself several times without moving your lips.

G. Link each person you meet with one thing you find interesting or unusual.

    Earth is home to around 7, 000 languages, around half of which are expected to disappear by 2100.

    Languages disappear for many reasons. Sometimes younger generations stop learning a language because parents want children to fit in.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Native American children of the late﹣19th century were required to attend boarding schools where educators forbade them from speaking their native languages.

    The United Nations ranks endangered languages according to their risk level. For example, a "critically endangered" language is one that even grandparents don't speak often. New York's Onondaga language is an example with only 50 speakers left. An "extinct" language has no speakers. It is gone forever. Alaska's Eyak language is one example.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In the same way, different languages contribute to cultural diversity. Saving these languages benefits our understanding of other cultures. Languages can show how a society looks at the world and what it values. A language may describe something in a way that is funny, too. In Welsh, it rains not cats and dogs, but old wives and walking sticks.

    The Endangered Language Alliance wants to save languages from disappearing.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} However, its efforts are limited. If an endangered language is going to make a real comeback, it'll probably get its start in schools. For nearly 100 years, public schools in Hawaii did not teach the Hawaiian language. Now students can keep learning in Hawaiian from elementary schools to college and beyond.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} At least one did. In 1881, a Jewish linguist named Eliezer Ben﹣Yehuda brought the 3,000-year-old language Hebrew back to life. Today it is one of the official languages of the country of Israel, with more than 4million speakers.

A. The last person who spoke it died in 2008.

B. Why should we save endangered languages.

C. Various animals and plants benefit our environment.

D. With just 5 speakers left, it is absolutely endangered.

E. Can a language with zero native speakers come back to life.

F. Sometimes societies force minorities to give up their language.

G. The non-profit group finds native speakers and records their stories.

    The history of writing instruments, with which humans have recorded and conveyed thoughts and feelings, is the history of civilization itself. This is how we know about our ancestors and their life.

    The handy sharpened-stone was adapted into the first writing instrument. Around 24 000 BC, the cave man started drawing pictures with the stone onto the walls of his cave. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Walls at the Apollo site in Namibia are believed to be the oldest rock paintings to date.

    Before paper came along, people used clay or wax tablets on which they wrote with sharp objects such as metal sticks or bones. Around 6000 years ago, the Egyptians invented the first paperlike material called papyrus. The word "paper" actually comes from the word "papyrus".

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Bones or metal sticks were no longer useful as the papyrus could not be scratched. So the Egyptians created a reed-pen perfect for the papyrus. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And thus, ancient Egyptians transformed bamboo stems (茎) into an early form of a fountain pen.

    Another writing instrument that remained active in history for a long period was the quill (鹅毛) pen. Introduced around 700 AD, the quill was a pen made from a bird feather. Goose feathers were most common. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} For making fine line drawings, crow feathers were the best.

    When writers had better inks and paper and handwriting had developed into both an art form and an everyday occurrence, man's inventive nature once again turned to improving the writing instrument. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Now something was needed to write upon the papyrus.

B. The papyrus became the most popular material at that time.

C. Swan feathers were of a high quality, being rare and most expensive.

D. Bamboo stems were better and much more expensive than goose feathers.

E. This led to the development of the modem fountain pen in the 19th century.

F. These were mostly the stems of grasses, especially from the bamboo plant.

G. These drawings showed events in daily life like the planting of crops or hunting victories.

With gas prices rising and airport security lines snaking longer than ever, why not book your next domestic vacation on a train? Compared to other alternatives, it's comfortable and relaxing. Here is some advice on how to make a trip by rail as pleasant as possible. 

Plan ahead. Most long-distance trains, especially the sleeping car accommodations, sell out very quickly.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}But no matter when you travel, it's a good idea to make your reservations at least 90 days in advance. 

Use a travel agent. Consider turning your travel plan over to a travel agent and letting him double-check all the details, make suggestions, and then handle the actual reservations. A good one can sometimes find you discounted tickets.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Then you won't have to walk through several cars on a moving train three times a day for your meals. 

Bring a blanket.When you're riding on trains, you won't be provided with a blanket for free, even if your trip is an overnight one.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}In the summer in particular, the air conditioning can make them quite cold. 

Arrive early. Most trains operate just once a day and some run only three times a week, so missing yours can be a disaster.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Note: The times listed on the schedules are departure times, not arrival times. 

Have fun.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Read a book, knit, do a crossword puzzle, or simply watch the world unfold outside the window. To calculate your speed as you do, divide 3,600(the number of seconds in an hour)by the number of seconds it takes you to travel one mile(the distance between two mileposts). If it takes the train 53 seconds to travel one mile, you're going 67.92 mph.

A.Train trips aren't for impatient types.

B.You'll have views from both sides of the train.

C.The temperature on rail cars is often hard to control.

D.That's particularly true during busy summer months.

E.You might have to wait longer than 24 hours to catch the next one.

F.Chances are the cost will be a lot less than the cost of one bedroom.

G.He may also book you in a sleeping car that's right next to the diner.