Everyone needs a break, and vacations are not meant for serious study.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}The Spring Festival is coming up so this is the perfect time to discuss some great English language literature to take on a long train journey.

    Before getting into the recommendations, you need to determine your English reading comprehension level. If you're at the beginner level, there are two options: reading a children's book or reading a book that you've read in Chinese translation. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If you're at the intermediate level, popular books like pop fiction, mysteries and thrillers are good options. For advanced readers, classic works of literature or modern prize winners (Nobel, Pulitzer) are good options.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When I pick up a book I like, even though the first few chapters are really hard to get through, I would try to get accustomed to the language the author uses. Generally, after the first few chapters, things get a lot easier, especially if I get involved in the story.

    Another great way to keep yourself motivated is to find a friend who's interested in reading the same book. You can make goals that you both want to achieve. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Some quick recommendations: Harry Potter, start with the first book and go on from there; the Narnia series; anything by U.S. writer Michael Crichton; and if you like horror, U.S. writer Stephen King is always unusual and fun. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Happy reading!

A. If you pick a book which is so challenging, it will be too stressful.

B. The most important thing is to pick a book that you're really interested in.

C. You may also enjoy your reading when hanging out with your family.

D. You should just find a topic or author you're interested in, and the rest will go from there.

E. You can also discuss plot lines or vocabulary issues with each other by SMS or e-mail.

F. Instead, they're a great way to take a break and enjoy a good book.

G. This will help you get over any unfamiliar words or phrases, since you're already familiar with the story.

    Every animal sleeps, but the reason for this has remained foggy. When lab rats are not allowed to sleep, they die within a month.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    One idea is that sleep helps us strengthen new memories. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We know that, while awake, fresh memories are recorded by reinforcing (加强) connections between brain cells, but the memory processes that take place while we sleep have been unclear.

    Support is growing for a theory that sleep evolved so that connections between neurons (神经元) in the brain can be weakened overnight, making room for fresh memories to form the next day.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Now we have the most direct evidence yet that he is right.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} The synapses in the mice taken at the end of a period of sleep were 18 per cent smaller than those taken before sleep, showing that the connections between neurons weaken while sleeping.

    If Tononi's theory is right, it would explain why, when we miss a night's, we find it harder the next day to concentrate and learn new information — our brains may have smaller room for new experiences.

    Their research also suggests how we may build lasting memories over time even though the synapses become thinner. The team discovered that some synapses seem to be protected and stayed the same size. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} "You keep what matters," Tononi says.

A. We should also try to sleep well the night before.

B. It's as if the brain is preserving its most important memories.

C. That's why students do better in tests if they get a chance to sleep after learning.

D. Similarly, when people go for a few days without sleeping, they get sick.

E. The processes take place to stop our brains becoming loaded with memories.

F. Tononi's team measured the size of these connections, or synapses, in the brains of 12 mice.

G. "Sleep is the price we pay for learning," says Giulio Tononi, who developed the idea.

    May the first is an important date in the college admission process in the United States. This is the last day for high school seniors to accept or reject offers of admission in the fall. But according to a recent report, there is a great change. Acceptance rates at the top colleges this year were lower than ever. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    These days, college applicants are applying to more colleges because online and common applications make the process easier. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}On the other hand, deciding students for top colleges to accept can be difficult because it takes much time. Students may not like being put on waiting lists. Also, common colleges work more to get the students they accept to accept them. Some colleges hold visiting days that offer a chance to attend classes and stay overnight. Some universities send gifts. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    For many families, the most important thing colleges can do is show them the money, especially this year; the weak economy makes parents nervous. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The recent problems that spread from the housing market to credit markets have even affected student's loans. So lately, top schools have to spare lots of money to increase their financial aid for students. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The Education Department expects the number of high school graduates to start to go down. This will happen as the last of the children of the baby boom generation finishes high school. The number is not expected to start rising again until 2019.

A. What contributes to it?

B. Besides, top colleges are facing changes in the population.

C. But a mistake can be costly if it happens.

D. It can mean several acceptances to choose from.

E. They have international students who know English.

F. But top colleges ignore them.

G. They cannot afford college as planned.

    Rivers play an important role on the earth, and we can't imagine what the earth would be like without rivers. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    With a length of 6, 650 kilometers, the Nile is the longest river in the world. The Nile River has been the source of human civilization since ancient times. The Nile has two main branches—the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile starts from the Great Lakes region of East and Central Africa through Lake Victoria.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} The Blue Nile carries with it a lot of fertile soil which turns out to be very important to farming in Egypt.

    The Amazon River is the world's largest river with a width of about 40 kilometers during the rainy seasons but about 10 kilometers wide when it is not flooded. The Amazon River has such a big water volume that it accounts for(占.....比例) more than 20% of all the world's fresh water—far more than any other river. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}The main Amazon River flows mostly through Brazil and Peru but its tributaries can also be found in many other countries.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It has a depth of about 250 meters. Its length is 4, 700 kilometers. The sources of the Congo River are in the highlands and mountains in the Eastern Africa Rift Valley. It's the second largest river in terms of water volume. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The Congo River basin(盆地) is the catchments(流域，集水区) area of the Congo River. It lies in both north and south of the Equator, making its flow very stable as there are always some tributaries experiencing a rainy season at any time.

A. Some of them are worth mentioning.

B. The Congo River is the world's deepest river.

C. Do you know which is the deepest river in the world?

D. The Blue Nile originates from(发源于)Lake Tana in Ethiopia.

E. Without rivers, there would be no living life in and along them.

F. And it flows through the second largest rain-forests in the world.

G. Streams that begin in the Andes Mountains are its sources.

    If you seriously and honestly take a look at how you think, act and respond to life, you will quickly realize that in most cases your actions and responses are from fear rather than from love and joy.

    Why is it so? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Humans, unlike animals or plants, are able to image hundreds of different possibilities about our future. But we cannot decide which will really take place and therefore we often feel confused and worried about our future. However, if we were certain about one outcome, we could get rid of any anxiety or anger. This is possible, only when we move from fear based living to love and joy based living. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    The only way out is to be aware of our fears. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Then we can try taking baby steps and move up the uncertainty. When faced with any situation next time, try to change the habit of being you and try to act out of love. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} One step at a time, and try to change your habitual responses.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They can be in a parent, a teacher or in yourself. Once you are able to develop unshakable faith in the process of life, you won't bother about the outcome of most things. Instead, you will let go of your fears and learn to enjoy the process of life.

A. And see how things change for better.

B. The best way to lose your fear is to develop love and faith.

C. Only after we have the awareness can we accept our current position and uncertainty.

D. But how can we go from fear to love?

E. The main reason for this is that the future is unpredictable.

F. So it is from the fearful unknowing background that we act.

G. The amount of uncertainty we can think up about the future is unimaginable.

Dear Boris,

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}After I had spent a week with my English family, I slowly began to understand their English a little better. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Students in my group are from different cities of Britain and their dialects are different too! Some of their accents are quite strong and they also have their own words and expressions. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Before I came to England I had thought that fish and chips were eaten every day. That's quite wrong! I get rather annoyed now when I hear all the foolish words about typical English food. I had expected to see "London fog". Do you remember our texts about it? We had no idea that most of this "thick fog" disappeared many years ago when people stopped using coal in their homes. But the idea to speak about weather was very helpful. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}On the other hand, habits are different. People tell me what is typical British here in London is not always typical in Wales or Scotland. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}But what is ordinary for all British is that they follow traditions(传统). Probably Britain has more living signs of its past than many other countries. And people have always been proud of having ancient (古老的) buildings in capitals, big cities and the countryside. I will tell you more about Britain in my other letters. Love from Britain.

A. The weather in London is really changeable.

B. I have difficulty in understanding my classmates.

C. Thanks for your nice letter.

D. The family I live with are friendly.

E. It's very different from what I learned at school.

F. Local habits and traditions are not the same as what we knew.

G. But it's not the language that's different and surprising.