The Advantages of Hobbies

    Hobbies provide entertainment and a chance lo continuously learn something new and develop a skill set. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Hobbies are praised as a key to stress reduction.Becoming lost in the mental concentration or physical action which you are deeply interested in helps you shift focus from the parts of life that are stressful. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And in turn you are more peaceful when working on other work.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Many people set goals with their hobbies that provide them satisfaction when these goals have been achieved.These goals can be simple,like improving a golf score,writing a certain number of pages for a novel each day or seeing an entire collection of classic films.

    Hobbies provide a sense of community when you meet other people who enjoy similar activities. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} More populated cities typically have numerous clubs or groups for people to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about a particular hobby.Becoming a member of one of these organizations allows greater growth within your hobby,as well as a chance to make new friends.

    Having a hobby can develop a talent that makes a person feel proud and satisfied.For example,a tennis hobby developed at a young age can lead lo a career as a professional athlete one day. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}For example, writer Vladimir Nabokov also collected butterflies,which allowed him to do better in his chosen fields because he used learned skills from one to improve the other.

A.There are a variety of hobbies.

B.Hobbies provide a sense of achievement.

C.Some hobbies affect other aspects of your life.

D.Focusing on something enjoyable can calm the mind.

E.They also provide many other social and health benefits.

F.Having a hobby increases the chances to interact with like-minded people.

G.Some hobbies containing physical activities offer an enjoyable way to stay healthy.

    You might dream of fluency in this or that language, and maybe you've already achieved fluency in a foreign language.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Fluency, like all abstract terms, has no universal meaning. Each individual must determine what the term means.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Perfect fluency means knowing every word you encounter, speaking quickly, clearly and easily and having no accent.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. You aren't familiar with every word of your native language, and sometimes you have to search for the right word, even in your mother tongue.

    Quick fluency is the type of fluency you see in advertisements, because “Master a Language in Two Months!” sounds way catchier than “Fluency in Twenty Years!”{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. It is possible to achieve quick fluency, but the fluency achieved after such a short time frame will be a very thin, superficial fluency.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Native-like fluency means that you generally know all the same words that a native knows and can speak at the same pace with the same amount of ease as a native speaker. You will likely have an accent, but as long as your conversation partner can understand you, it doesn't matter.

    Literary fluency is like graduating from native-like to educated-native-like fluency. It focuses on the more intellectual（知识性的） side of a language: indulging in literature, attending university, composing song lyrics, etc.

    There are a ton of other things that fluency could potentially（可能地） be, but that's up to you to figure out.

A. It sounds too good to be true.

B. However, Nobody is “perfectly fluent” in any language.

C. Quick fluency is good if you have some sort of deadline.

D. But have you ever considered what fluency really means?

E. But does fluency have the same meaning to other person as it does to you?

F. Unlike perfect fluency, native-like fluency is a reasonable and attainable goal.

G. To assist you in determining what fluency is, I'll describe a few different types of fluency.

    Being a fit and healthy person is very important for lots of people today.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Thanks to fitness apps and gadgets (小玩意) , people can measure every step they take, what they eat and every calorie they burn. They might wear a watch that tells them their heartbeat, own smart shoes that track their steps, or use different apps on their phone to record what they eat.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}All of their friends can see where they've run, what workout (健身) they've done or what they had for lunch. Sounds familiar?

    Doctor Daniel Kraft from the US makes gadgets for people like this. He told the Digital Health Summit that these people, known as “trackaholics”, might become the norm (常态) in the future.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}I can see the world of health and fitness changing around me every day.

    One of my friends is always using the latest fitness gadgets. Her favorite is an app called Argus. She uses it on her phone to measure her steps, heart rate and amount of calories she has burned. She always posts this information, and pictures of herself exercising, on social media. “{#blank#}4{#/blank#}” she said. “That way, I can keep pushing myself to improve.”

    My friends in China use WeChat to track how many steps they've taken each day.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. And I think he's right

B. They are very competitive about this, comparing their steps with each other all the time

C. Fitness apps also make exercise more fun and targeted

D. And most importantly, they share all this information on social media

E. There are many apps that can aid you in achieving your fitness goals

F. In fact, some people like running and exercising so much that they become obsessed (着迷) with keeping track of it

G. It's nice to know exactly how much exercise I have done, rather than guess

    Winter is a really fun time of the year—it's great to have snowball fights and build snowmen. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} When it's cold outside and you're not prepared, you can feel uncomfortable. Lucky for you, learning how to stay safe is not difficult.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Wearing thick clothes is the best way to stay warm in the cold. Depending on where you live and how cold it is, some kids may need more clothes, some less.

    Take that hat. You maybe wear a large overcoat and ready to go, but are you forgetting something?{#blank#}3{#/blank#}You'll stay much warmer with a hat than without one—tons of body heat escapes right from your head.

    Drink up. Sounds like advice for hot weather, not cold weather, right?{#blank#}4{#/blank#}When you're outside in the cold and breathing hard, your body loses a lot of water through your breath. And the best way to get that water back is to drink up!

    Take it easy. Sometimes if you're out having fun, it's easy to forget to pay attention to your body. But if your body temperature drops even 4 or 5 degrees while you're outside, it can make you feel terrible.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}And if you ever feel weak, those are signs that you have to take it easy indoors for a while.

    Rainbows (彩虹) are one of the most beautiful works that nature creates. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you've ever seen one, consider yourself lucky.

    Rainbows can be seen when light passes through raindrops, says Kristin Calhoun, a research scientist studying the conditions of weather.

    When sunlight passes through raindrops, the light bends, as it enters a droplet. As it leaves the droplet, the light separates into different wavelengths (波长). {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The seven colors — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet — bend in seven different directions. Red light, for example, bends in a different way than violet light. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It also explains why rainbows look like an arc (弧). Sometimes, however, rainbows can actually form a circle that you can see in a plane with the right conditions.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} "There is an even better chance when the sun is at a lower level, early or later in the day," Calhoun says. And another key is to face the rain and have your back to the sun.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} "Small showers and storms often form in late afternoon in this area," Calhoun says. "These types of showers often produce heavy rain, but remain isolated (孤立的) over the center of the island."

A．There are lots of stories relating to rainbows.

B．Rainbows are created by light through raindrops.

C．And each wavelength appears as a different color.

D．With the conditions just right, Hawaii gets lots of rainbows.

E．The best time to catch a rainbow is when it's sunny and raining.

F．But they can be seen only if you are in the right place at the right time.

G．This is why the person on the ground sees each color at a different location.

Take a Break from Technology

In today's world we are constantly surrounded by technology. It's true to say that technology makes our lives easier. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Otherwise we put ourselves at risk of developing hundreds of health problems. Over the summer the days are longer, sunnier and free from school. With all this free time, why not put it to good use and do something that doesn't involve technology?

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}There are hundreds of possibilities: crafts, cooking, learning a musical instrument or a new sport. Maybe you've always wanted to try out that recipe, but haven't had time? Perhaps you fancy learning how to knit, so you can have a new sweater for the autumn? You could use your free time to learn something new. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

If you just fancy relaxing, why not head to a beach? Take along your favourite book and relax on the sand or go for a walk along the coastline (just make sure you're aware of the tides!). If you don't live near a beach, you could go to your local park. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Whatever you choose to do with your summer, try something new!{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Also, you might make new friends along the way. Next time you find yourself aimlessly channel -hopping, have a think at what else you could spend your time doing.

A. To start with, you could learn a new skill.

B. Technology has become an important part of our lives.

C. And perhaps it'll lead to an exciting opportunity in the future.

D. You might surprise yourself and find a hidden talent within you.

E. Why not take along a picnic, or try and identify some of the local wildlife?

F. However, increasingly scientists are saying that we need to give ourselves a break.

G. In our increasingly technology-driven world, have we become addicted to technology?