Our room was on the second floor but you could still hear the roar of the ocean and see the stars at night. I used to take long walks along the water. The food in town was wonderful and the people were very friendly. The area was very quiet and peaceful, and fairly deserted.

    The last evening of our vacation, however, we all heard strange footsteps following closely behind us as we were walking up to our room in the holiday centre. We turned around and noticed a fairly young man moving very rapidly across the beach and getting closer to us. He was tall and wore a baseball cap. We couldn't see his face and he was approaching us very rapidly. The man's actions made my dad very nervous. Dad warned us that we'd better try to make it to our hotel room as quickly as possible. I didn't like my dad's voice; I could hear fear in it. It was late and we were all alone. We didn't have any cell phones on us. I never saw Dad as worried as he was then and I knew that something was terribly wrong. The sense of fear started to overwhelm Mom and me. We had had such a good time in town. Now, the night was rapidly turning into a dangerous situation.

    We could hear the man's footsteps getting closer. Dad's face was almost pale. The so-called intruder (侵入者) had moved nearer and nearer when all of a sudden, the nearby vending (自动贩卖) machine started going crazy and spitting out cans of soda! The noise actually scared the intruder and he ran out of sight. My parents were shaking, but we all turned around to see who had put money into the vending machine downstairs, and actually saved us, but no one was around at all. Not a soul.

    It's one vacation I will never forget.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    Wolves travel shorter distances and move slower during snowfall events, according to new research by University of Alberta biologists. The effects were most pronounced at night, when wolves hunt, and behaviour returned to normal within a day. Wolf tracks across snow in northeastern Alberta.

    "Our findings suggest that there is something about actively falling snow that causes wolves to slow down," said Amanda Droghini, a former MSc student in the Department of Biological Science and lead author on the study. "We don't know the exact mechanism behind that. It's unlikely that they were staying still because they were feasting on a recent kill. Instead, active precipitation（降雪量）might affect wolves' hunting abilities. Like rain, snow clears the air column of scent molecules. So, maybe falling snow makes it harder for wolves to detect the smell of prey."

    Over the course of two winters, the researchers used remote cameras to disclose snowfall events and estimate snow depth. To study wolf movement, they collected telemetry（测距仪） data from 17 wolves to calculate travel speed and duration, as well as resting periods. It is the first study to examine how large flesh-eating animals respond to snowfall events.

    With the effects of climate change on precipitation in the north forest region uncertain, it is difficult to predict the implications for wolf populations. Studies such as these increase our understanding of how large mammals react to normal snowfall events, but the type and amount of winter precipitation will likely have an impact on animal behavior and the energetic cost of movement.

    "Winter is already challenging for many wildlife species because moving through snow requires more energy. Snow can also make it harder for animals to access food resources," said Droghini, who conducted the research under the supervision of Professor Stan Boutin, Alberta Biodiversity Conservation Chair.

    "Anything that increases those costs, such as increased rain-on-snow events, could lead to lacking in nutrition, poor body condition, and even starvation as animals are unable to make up for those additional costs. That is one of the worst-case scenarios（设想）but, in truth, we know very little about potential changes to precipitation patterns and how wildlife will respond to those changes."

    As a college student, I have planned my future career goals. I would like to work as a sales assistant in a computer company, then a sales manager and finally boss of my own company.

    At the very beginning, I plan to find a job in a famous company producing computers, in which all the staff are fully happy at work and I can experience job satisfaction most of the time. Only such kind of company can provide me with good working atmosphere and eagerness to learn more so as to get well prepared for my future profession.

    At first I want to be a sales assistant and always keep myself busy working in and out of the company, such as, answering telephones, doing repair work, even cleaning the rooms. Although the salary may be low, I will seize every chance to learn from other staff. In my spare time, I will take some courses so as to get more qualifications and experience in this field. In three or five years, I am determined to become a sales manager who is responsible for the selling of the computers. I will interview as many customers as possible and do market research and improve our products. Meanwhile I will take care of my staff to make them eager to work to the best of their abilities.

    As is known to us, it is hard to manage a company, but I will make every effort to achieve my goal step by step, and I am sure "There is nothing difficult in the world if you put your heart into it."

    On October 23, 2016, David Pologruto, a high school physics teacher, was stabbed by his smart student Jason Haffizulla. Jason got straight A's and was determined to study medicine at Harvard, yet this was his downfall. His physics teacher gave Jason a B, a mark Jason believed would undermine his entrance to Harvard. After receiving his B, Jason took a butcher knife to school and stabbed his physics teacher.

    How can someone as smart as Jason do something so dumb? Studies show there is little or no connection between IQ and emotional intelligence.

    During my early university years, I regarded myself as an intelligent guy. I got good marks in mathematics, physics, and other subjects. I thought such skills would surely give me a bright future. After one year of study with decent marks, I began to see two major classes of students. The first category of students turned up to few lectures, partied every weekend, enjoyed a great social life, and did minimal work to pass courses. The second category of students were intelligent and hard workers who got good grades and were very focused on their studies. Surely would these intelligent and hard-working students find the great jobs before the other lazier class of students?

    Not so. Students are often shocked upon graduation that their qualifications are not as important as they once thought. Graduates enter the workforce only to realize that co-workers hate them and less intelligent people are the ones receiving promotions (晋升).

    Educational skills are useless in some industries when interpersonal skills are absent. You can have great ideas, theories, and solve complex problems, but if you cannot effectively communicate with your colleagues, you will face difficult situations. It's not that people dislike you because of your intelligence; it's that people dislike you because you're rude and not understanding. The intelligent person with poor communication skills is unaware of others' emotions.

    I was in the seventh grade, and we had moved to New Jersey in November. By then, everyone already had had their own friends, and no one wanted to talk to a new girl. To make things worse, they put me in "Section L". I found out later that everyone called Section L "Loserville". It was sort of an open secret that it was the section for troublemakers and not-so-smart kids. When I found out, I wanted to scream. I had always been a good student and had amazing friends, and now everyone thought I was a loser!

    I did text my friends in Illinois almost every night, especially my best friend, Ana. At first my friends wanted to hear all about it. But then some stopped texting back once I said something about how miserable I was. One night when I was texting with Ana, I complained about another friend who had just done that.

    Ana's texts came really fast for the next few minutes and they surprised me. She said that she was tired of hearing about how bad everything was in New Jersey, too. She said she did not want to hurt my feelings but that I needed to stop feeling so sorry for myself all the time, I had to try to make things better.

    The next day, I thought a lot about what Ana had said. She was right!

    I wish I could say that everything changed overnight after that, but it didn't. I was still stuck in "Loserville", and some people were still mean to me, even though I tried to just stay out of their way.

    But what did change was me—I stopped feeling so sorry for myself and did something about making friends. I signed up to make sets for the school play. I met a lot of new people there, and suddenly I had friends to say hi to in the halls!

    I still miss Illinois sometimes  but life in New Jersey isn't so hard anymore. Even though I couldn't change my situation, I could change my attitude—and that made all the difference.

There are thousands of puzzles to choose from for you, such as jigsaw puzzles, puzzle books and more. They all have something in common: they test your skills or knowledge. Here are four of the most common:

Word puzzles

One of the most popular word puzzles — the crossword. It can be done with paper and pencil or online. Sometimes word puzzles involve finding new words within a large group of letters. This type of word puzzle is called a word search.

Word puzzles usually test your vocabulary. Knowing the language that the game is designed in is required for success, however.

Mechanical puzzles

Mechanical puzzles have pieces that must be arranged in some way. The world's best-selling puzzle, the Rubik's Cube, is a mechanical puzzle. As of 2020, over 450 million Rubik's Cubes had been sold.

Jigsaw puzzles also fall into this category. They typically involve putting pieces in the right place to form a picture. Jigsaw puzzles have from two to over 550,000 pieces — the largest one on record.

Logic puzzles

Figuring out the solution to a logic puzzle requires careful thought rather than guessing. Sudoku and Mine Finder are examples of logic puzzles. In Mine Finder players must determine where the mines are hidden in a grid.

Math puzzles

Math puzzles involve numbers, words or objects and the use of math. Surprisingly, the ever-popular Candy Crush is classified as a math puzzle. Math skills are required for players to successfully move and match colored candies.

There are many other kinds of puzzles. But no matter which you prefer, puzzles are a great way to entertain.