A few things to do during weekends

to improve your life

Weekend at last! Something you’re so looking forward to after a tiring week at work. Here are several tips on how to make the most of your weekends.

Spend time with loved ones. Reconnect with family members or friends you neglected(疏忽) lately. Don’t do it out of guilt or because you have to. Do it because you want to. Reach out to them to see how they are doing. 1. Return their calls if you were busy when they last tried to reach you. Talk to them. Listen to them. Be there for them.

2. Stay away from TV, iPad, iPhone and any other electronic devices. Unplug! Your brain needs to clear up from all the stress you’ve put on yourself during the week. Why not read a book instead? A paper one. Seriously, when was the last time you did that?

Laugh, laugh and laugh again. You can never have enough of it. Laugh is the best medicine ever. 3. For example, it helps you manage stress, strengthen your immune system and you are 40 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack.

Express appreciation. 4. Be grateful for your family, friends, health, the food you put on the table, the clothes you wear and the air that you breathe.

There you are. Doing a few things during weekends will have a positive long-term effect on your life. 5. .

A. Apply the “no technology” rule.

B. Pause and pay attention to your thoughts.

C. Friendship is the best source of happiness.

D. Don’t call them only when you need them.

E. Put them into practice and you’ll beat the Monday Blues.

F. It benefits your mental and physical health in so many ways.

G. This is something you should be doing every day, not only on weekends.

Julie enjoyed reading when young. She grew up in 1. key middle school in her city, 2. her parents both taught Chinese. That meant she was surrounded by either teachers who were busy teaching or students who 3. (devote) to their studies. So she developed her love of 4. .

Her interest 5. reading also benefited from the fact that 6. parents only let her watch half an hour of TV a day. She learned to use her mind and imagination to entertain 7. . It’s not really 8. (surprise) that reading became her vocation. When not reading she enjoyed watching films, walking and relaxing with her friends. Reading brought her much 9. (please) and she never wanted to stop learning. Not only did reading enrich her knowledge 10. it improved her learning scores.

Most cars have seat belts as part of their equipment. Seat belts protect drivers and passengers in case of accidents. They also reduce the effect of a crash on the body. 1. Worldwide, the devices have protected up to a million people.

America first recognized the invention of an automobile seat belt in 1849. The government gave a patent to an engineer named Edward Claghorn of New York City so that others would not copy his invention of a safety device. 2. This early version of safety belt was said to include hooks and other attachments for securing the person to a fixed object.

Other inventors followed with different versions of the seat belt. 3. It resulted from the work of a Swedish engineer, Nils Bohlin. His three-point, lap and shoulder seat belt first appeared on cars in Europe 50 years ago.

Nils Bohlin recognized that both the upper and lower body needed to be held securely in place. His invention contained a cloth strap（帶子）that was placed across the chest and another strap across his hips. 4.

Volvo was the first company to offer the modern seat belt to its cars. This company also provided use of Nils Bohlin's design to other car-makers.

5. He received a gold medal from the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in 1995. He died in Sweden in 2002.

A. The Swedish engineer won many honors for his seat belt.

B. Claghorn was a promising young engineer with many honors all his life.

C. The design joined the straps next to the hip.

D. There are many companies adopting Nils Bohlin's invention of the belt.

E. Safety experts say that seat belts save thousands of lives a year in America alone.

F. But more than 100 years passed before the current seat belt was developed.

G. Claghorn called his invention a safety belt.

Tim: Hi, Susan. I've been wondering when I'd run into you. What are busy with?

Susan: Nice to meet you here, Tim. I'm buying some Christmas gifts for those 1. work with me, but it's really 2. headache?

Tim: Maybe I could give you some advice. Firstly, you should consider 3. (divide) them into different groups. Who are the people that are your friends as well as your workmates and who are the people you do not know well 4. see pretty much daily.

Susan: OK, then 5. should I do?

Tim: For the friends, you want to buy 6. personal gifts. Chocolate, for example.

Susan: This is what I always give, but I know one of my friends, Mary, is 7. a diet.

Tim: Does she like fruit or coffee? Anyway, think the gift that you know your friend likes.

Susan: Well, I think fruit is helpful to keep 8. (health). What about others?

Tim: You can send them cards.

Susan: Christmas cards?

Tim: Yes, you can afford them. More 9. (important), it reminds them that you're thinking of them.

Susan: Thank you for your suggestion, Tim. You 10. (help) me out.

Flash Mob: The Pop Culture

If you see a group of people dancing and singing on the street or in the railway station, you don’t need to feel surprised. They are a flash mob. Who are they? Are they mobs (暴民)? 1. Actually, a flash mob is a group of people who gather suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly separate.

A flash mob is usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communications networks. 2. At a predetermined time, they gather and perform some tasks such as exchanging books, coming together to look at the sky, waving their hands and yelling something at the top of their lungs for 30 seconds. Then, they quickly disappear before the police can arrive.

Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper’s Magazine, organized the first flash mob in Manhattan in May 2003 and the first successful flash mob gathered on June 3, 2003 at Macy’s department store. More than one hundred people stepped onto the ninth floor carpet department of Macy’s department store, gathering around an expensive carpet. Following this flash mob, about 200 people flooded the lounge of the Hyatt hotel and applauded for about fifteen seconds. 3.

Flash mob gatherings can sometimes shock people. Such an activity might seem amusing, but it might also frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place. 4. They also have enormous economic potential, such as using flash mobs to advertise a product.

5. People use it to do many things. For example, in 2009, Michael Jackson’s fans took part in a flash mob to remember him. Hundreds of his fans gathered outside the railway station in Liverpool. They were singing and dancing Michael’s famous song “Beat It” together. And in another example, some people took part in a flash mob to tell more people not to use negative words.

Flash mobs give people from all walks of life an opportunity to come together to create a memory.

Don’t be confused by their name.

People are attracted by the silly and harmless activities.

The flash mob is now becoming more and more popular.

Using mobile phones, the flash mob can change their gathering place.

A later mob saw hundreds of people in Central Park making bird noises.

The messages may be forwarded to friends, who forward to more people.

Undoubtedly, flash mobs can serve as good political tools in any direction.

[1] Joshua Lionel Cowen，a New York inventor，was born in l 877．In 1 900，he created maybe the most popular Christmas toy of the last century —little electric trains that circle Christmas trees．More than 50 million Lionel train sets have been sold worldwide，and today Lionel produces more than 300 miles of track each year．

[2] Like many American inventors，Josh Cowen，who died in l965，was self-taught．According to history books．when he was 7 he carved a wooden toy train and tried to put a little steam engine on it．The engine blew up，but there were no complaints from his parents and eight brothers and sisters．

[3] As a 23-year-old working at an electric fan company，Cowen dreamed up putting a little battery—powered fan motor onto a wooden toy train he called the Electric Express．He took it to a toy store，and they put it in the window to replace a train you had to push around by hand．Within days，Christmas shoppers snapped up six Lionel trains, and the company business took off．

[4]While there were many toy train companies—the first electric train was exhibited at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago—Cowen’s invention beat them a11．probably because he tied it to Christmas and produced the toy villages and other things to put around the tree and the train．Still，competition has not stopped．Today there are many companies making toy trains of all sizes，some on tracks using electricity，some on the floor using wind-up springs(發(fā)條)．

[5] One of the best places in Washington to see a big toy train display is the U．S．Botanic Garden．The big glass building at the foot of the U．S．Capitol has a single train running in one room and a bunch of trains in another big room．____________________________ is one of the most popular holiday attractions in the city．

1.What does the author want to tell us about Joshua Lionel Cowen in Paragraph l?(no more than 8 words)

2.What was Cowen’s family’s attitude toward his devotion to invention?(no more than 6 words)

3.What made Cowen succeed at the 1893 World’s Fair?(no more than 8 words)

4.Explain the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 in English．

5.Fill in the blanks in Paragraph 5 with proper words．(no more than 8 words)

Have you ever noticed that the more you have the more you want? Let's face it. Thinking our life is good enough doesn't e naturally to many people. When we have high expectations of everything in life, we will run into disappointment. Only when we are aware that needs are different from desires can we live with satisfaction. 1.

2. Most people want things to be better than they are, or when things are going well, we forget to appreciate what we have. Learn to reflect on how much better things are than they could be. Write down 5 things you are grateful for right now.

When we hold onto regrets from decisions we have made, it can really poison our well-being. Many people regret something they can no longer change, which ends up holding them back from moving forward in a more positive manner. 3. so work to stay present and be mindful of the cur- rent moment to find more joy and fulfillment.

When we use other people as the measuring stick for our personal success and quality of life ,we are likely to be less satisfied. Social parisons can provide useful information when we try to learn from others. but they also hold our perspective in a discontented position. 4.

When you focus on your big ambitions and future goals, you might neglect the daily pleasures that surround you. 5. Stay present and focus on the task you're undertaking at the moment .Don't let the life pass you by because you're always on the go and distracted by ambitions.

Practice looking at life through the lens(鏡頭) of contentment and it will bee more natural.

A. Learn to create chances to achieve your goal.

B. What you should do is to put yourself in a good mood.

C. Here are a few ideas to help you be happier with what you have and who you are.

D. Focus on what you are thankful for.

E. What happened in the past is done and gone.

F. Compare yourself less with others so you can be satisfied more.

G. Learn to slow down and absorb the wonder and beauty around you.

Two businessmen 1. (fly) to Australia to play in a weekend golf match. Their team won and they both received green jackets. 2. their last night in Australia, they stayed up late drinking beer. They were still drunk in the morning, _3. they drove their rented car to the airport. The road was empty. Suddenly. something jumped in front of the car. The driver couldn't stop in time and the car hit it，

The men got out of the car and found a large kangaroo 4. (lie) on the road. The drunken men began to laugh and decided to take some photos with the "dead" kangaroo. One of the men decided to put the jacket on 5. kangaroo. So they dressed the poor kangaroo in a green jacket .Then they posed with it for some photos. Suddenly, something amazing happened. The kangaroo opened 6. eyes. It was not dead. But it was very 7. (anger). The kangaroo hit the two men and knocked them out. Then it ran 8. .In the kangaroo's new green jacket were the car keys ,a passport, and the air tickets.

Later that day, a motorist phoned the police .”You're 9. 90ing to believe this .”he said,“but a kangaroo in a green golf jacket10. (run) along the road to the airport ”The police finally found out the whole story, and they punished the two drunken men.

When I was in junior high school, darkness began filling my mind. I don’t know the reason why it began. All I know is that I started f_1.___ hopeless and worthless. I hid in my room, staring out of the window, thinking about all my ____2.(失敗). I even questioned whether being 3.____(活著) was worthwhile. My dark mood wasn’t constant. It would fade at t____4.___, but it always returned.

It was my parents and my friends that helped me get ___5.____ the dark mood. At the beginning when I was depressed, I was (6.___(尷尬) to tell anyone. I didn’t want to seem weak or needy. But later I found that when I told my friends my feelings, they never laughed at me. On the 7.______, they supported and encouraged me. So remember: no one can face depression a__8.___. If you’re depressed, find someone — a friend, parent or teacher — and tell them your feelings. Consider 9.__________ a doctor or psychologist, if it is getting worse.

In fact, t__10.___ depression affects many people all over the world, treatments are available and can bring hope and joy back into their life.

How to Keep a Relationship Healthy and Strong

Are you new to experiencing relationships? Well, let me give you advice on having a healthy and possibly long-term relationship.

1. Do not hide things from them, do not lie. Don ' t be afraid to say things that isn't very flattering about yourself. Getting them to trust you is the most important element in any relationship. If there ' s no trust, there ' s nothing there. So please be honest and they'll learn to . open up to you.

Make sure you give them respect. Now respect isn't just simply treating her or him nicely. There' s a lot more to it. You have to learn to adjust to their liking. _2. Don ' t just think about yourself ,think about what your partner needs out of it as well.

3. Always be willing to help them and give them honesty and positivity at the same time. Make them feel you are someone they can really count on and build a future with. This is an important step in a relationship. Your partner has to be able to count on you when needed.

Make sure you have a good sense of humor with them. Laughter is the key to happiness. Laugh a lot with them ,joke with them. Laughter may seem silly ,but it' s the secret to a lot in life. It will keep the sparks alive. 4.

Make sure the communication is good. This goes along with trust, but always communicate how you feel, even if it ' s something that upsets you. Instead of screaming, talk to them. 5. It ' s important to communicate this to them , not keep it bottled up.

A. Show them your personality.

B. Be an honest person with them.

C. Make sure you are encouraging to your partner.

D. Laughter keeps the relationship strong and lasting.

E. Don' t start to neglect them and make them feel unwanted.

F. Basically , learn to study your partners ' moods, wants . and needs.

G. If they did something that made you unhappy, tell them about it in a respectful manner.