Ways to sleep smarter

    Studies show that poor sleep influences people to make good decisions, concentrate on tasks or even manage a friendly mood(情绪) at work. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Today we've got our top favorite sleep tips and facts.

Set a regular bedtime

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Choose a time when you normally feel tired. Try not to break this routine(惯例) on weekends when you will probably stay up late. If you want to change your bedtime, make the change gradually, such as 15 minutes earlier or later each day.

Eat the right food

    Some foods are more helpful to a better night's sleep than others. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Others like bananas, potatoes, and whole-wheat bread are also helpful.

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    Exercising provides lots of good health benefits(好处). A good night's sleep is one of them. But make sure you exercise in the morning or afternoon. The National Sleep Foundation reports that exercise in the morning or afternoon can help deepen sleep. However, those who worked out in the evening hours saw little or no improvement in their sleep.

Reduce(减少) screen time before bed

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A recent study shows that people who use electronic media(媒体) just before bedtime report lower-quality sleep even when they get as much sleep as those who don't.

    We eat in our cars, at our desks, on the go, and in front of die TV. We eat take-out, packaged and prepared meals. Why? Because it fits our not-enough-time-in-the-day lifestyles.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Well, I'm certainly not the first one to think it-or say it-but we all need to slow down.

    Consumer trends around the globe show that over the past three decades people are purchasing more prepared foods at grocery and eating out more than ever before. It's predicted that we'll spend more at restaurants in the coming years.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} However, we're getting less healthy.

    While debates can be seen in different media over diet food industry's contribution to our growing waistlines and our health problems, the bottom line is this:{#blank#}3{#/blank#} We can choose to eat a fast—food lunch on the go. We can throw a frozen meal in the microwave and call it dinner. We can eat without thinking, in front of the tube, at our computers, and while driving a car.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Studies have shown meaningful links between family meals and kids' mental and physica I well— being. Eating sensibly doesn't take much time or money, but it does require you to make a conscious decision to do so. Wrapped in endless work, appointments and social activities, we often fail to enjoy a relaxing meal with our families.

    While it can be a challenge to always put healthy eating first, just do your best. Remember that diet food you eat has a more significant intact on your health, weight and well-being than almost any other activity you do.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Every meal made at home—even just once or twice a week—is a step closer to a healthier body and a slower food lifestyle.

A. Lunch is the biggest calorie intake when it comes to eating out.

B. Treat it with the importance that it deserve, but start small.

C. Our food matches our lives.

D. Purchase food locally and skip as many packaged items as you can.

E. What we eat, where we eat and how we eat are all under our control.

F. We're consuming an increasing number of calories.

G. We can devote an hour of the day to enjoying a meal with our families.

    Training for a marathon requires careful preparation and steady, gradual increases in the length of the runs.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, buy the best-fitting, best-built running shoes you can find. No one can say which brand will work best for you or feel best on your feet, so you have to rely on your experience and on the feel of each pair as you shop. When you have found shoes that seem right, walk in them for a few days to double-check the fit.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.As always, you should stretch(伸展) at least ten minutes before each run to prevent injuries.

    During the first week, do not think about distance, but run five minutes longer each day.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}, it is wise to take a day off to rest. But during the next week, set a goal of at least a mile and a half per run.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} After two weeks, start timing yourself.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.Depending on the kind of race you plan to enter, you can set up a timetable for the remaining weeks before the race.

A. For a good marathon runner

B. After six days

C. Before you begin your training

D. With each day, increase the distance by a half mile

E. Time spent for preparation raises the quality of training

F. If they still feel good, you can begin running in them

G. Now you are ready to figure out a goal of improving distance and time

    The rules about how to talk, eat and sit, which are highly limited, are observed in most Western restaurants and homes. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Many Westerners have no idea how to act at the Chinese dinner table. No forks or knives for them to use! The Chinese host makes great, sweeping arm movements that go over large sections of the table, passing over both food and friends alike. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} However, it leaves many foreigners at a loss for what to do.

    In my childhood home, dinner was enjoyed with low voices, and the topics that we could discuss were very limited. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If I had to leave the table to use the toilet, I had to excuse myself without mentioning what it was that I was going to do. “May I be excused, please? I need to wash my hands.” I would say. My mother would say, “Sure.” My father would often play a joke on me by saying, “{#blank#}4{#/blank#}”

    As for eating, we did it quietly. No eating noises were allowed. Everything must be done as quietly as possible. If any sound was created by eating food or drinking, it would be considered as bad manners!

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}He is to sit up straight with the recessive hand (usually the left) in one's lap holding a napkin while the dominant hand (usually the right) holds the fork or spoon. The only time one is allowed to have both hands on the table is when he is using a knife to cut something.

A. The scene is fantastic.

B. Your hands don't look dirty!

C. How one sits at the table is also prescribed.

D. Can't you think up a better excuse than that?

E. In general they were all strictly forbidden topics.

F. They're completely different from what we find here in China.

G. We were not allowed to talk about anything that made listeners uncomfortable.

    Each year there is an increasing number of cars on roads and streets as millions of new cars and trucks are produced. One out of every six Americans work at putting together the parts of cars, driving trucks, building roads or filling cars and trucks with gas. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Because most Americans find they are using their cars in almost every aspect of their life. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The polluted air becomes poisonous and dangerous to health.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} That's what several of the large car factories have been trying to do. But to build a clean car is easier said than done. Progress in this field has been slow.

Another way is to take the place of the car engine by something else.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Many makers believe that it will take years to develop a practical model that pleases man.

To prevent the world from being polluted by cars, we'll have to make some changes in the way many of us live. Americans, for example, have to cut down on the number of their total cars. They are encouraged to travel and go to work by bicycle. Bicycling is thought to help keep the air clean. But this change does not come easily. A large number of workers may find themselves without jobs if a car factory closes down.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Although cars have led us to a better life, they have also brought us new problems.

A. Americans know cars very well.

B. Americans won't live without cars!

C. Inventors are now working on steam cars as well as electric cars.

D. However, the number of vehicles has continued to increase in recent years.

E. One way to get rid of the polluted air is to build a car that does not pollute.

F. Thus the problem of air pollution would become less important than that of unemployment.

G. However, some have realized the serious problems of the air pollution that is caused by cars.

    Directions: Complete the following passage by using the sentences in the box. Each sentence can only be used once. Note that there are two sentences more than you need.

    Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they are meant to be there. They serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be your roommate, neighbor, professor, long-lost friend, lover or even a complete stranger whom you lock eyes with. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Sometimes things happen to you. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}But in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength and willpower. Everything happens for a reason and nothing happens by chance or by means of good or bad luck.

    The people you meet affect your life. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most important ones.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possible can, for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people you have never talked before, yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself. You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your won life and then go out and live it.

A. And the successes and downfalls you experience, create who you are.

B. At the time they may seem horrible, painful and unfair.

C. Humans have sought to discover the meaning of life for a very long time.

D. Each person has his or her own purpose and distinct path, unique and separate from anyone else's.

E. But you know that every moment they will affect you life in some deep way.

F. Make every day count.