“If you want to see a thing well, reach out and touch it!”  That may seem a strange thing to say. But touching things can help you to see them better. Your eyes can tell you that a glass ball is round. But by holding it in your hands, you can feel how smooth and cool the ball is. You can feel how heavy the glass is. When you feel all these about the ball, you really see it. With your skin, you can feel better. For example, your fingers can tell the difference between two coins in your pocket. You can feel a little drop of water on the back of your hand, too.
All children soon learn what “Don’t touch!” means. They hear it often. Yet most of us keep on touching things as we grow up. In shops, we touch things as we might buy: food, clothes. To see something well, we have to touch it.
There are ways of learning to see well by feeling. One way is to close your eyes and try to feel everything that is touching your skin. Feel the shoes on your feet, the clothes on your body, the air on your skin. At first, it is not easy to feel these things. You are too used to them!
Most museums are just for looking. But today some museums have some things to touch. There you can feel everything on show. If we want to see better, reach out and touch. Then you will really see.
【小題1】 By touching things,________.

— What are you going to do this weekend?
— I don’t know. I ______ visit a friend.

New findings suggest that brainy card games such as contract bridge may temporarily(臨時地) raise production of a key blood cell including in fighting off illness. After 90 minutes of play, bridge players had increased levels of immune(免疫) cells, according to the research reported last week.
A researcher, Diamond, studied bridge players from a women’s bridge club. She chose bridge players because the game includes skills stimulating(刺激) a part of the brain called the dorsolateral cortex. Earlier animal research suggests that this part of the brain may play a role in the immune system.
The findings are based on blood samples drawn from 12 women players. Their blood samples showed a rise in levels of white blood cells called T cells after they played bridge for 90 minutes. T cells are produced by the thymus gland(胸腺) and used by the immune system against diseases.
The T cell count jumped significantly in eight of the bridge players, and slightly in the other four. The findings contribute to the field of neuroimmunology(神經(jīng)免疫學), whose name reflects the fact that the nervous system and the immune system are not considered separate and isolated(獨立的) systems. What isn’t clear is whether the help to the immune system from an activity like contract bridge is lasting or temporary. It is also not clear whether the increase in T cells could finally be targeted against special illnesses.
【小題1】Playing bridge can help one to fight off diseases because it can _______.

Beldon and Canfield are two seashore towns, not far apart．Both towns have many hotels, and in summer the hotels are full of holiday-makers and other tourists．
Last August there was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel in Beldon．The next day, this news appeared on page two of the town’s newspaper．The Beldon Post:
FIRE AT SEABREEZE
Late last night firemen hurried to the Seabreeze Hotel and quickly put out a small fire in a bedroom．The hotel manager said that a cigarette started the fire．We say again to all our visitors： “Please don’t smoke cigarettes in bed．” This was Beldon’s first hotel fire for five years．
The Canfield Times gave the news in these words on page one：
ANOTHER BELDON HOTEL CATCHES FIRE
Last night Beldon firemen arrived just too late to save clothing, bedclothes and some furniture at the Seabreeze Hotel．An angry holiday-maker said, “An electric lamp probably started the fire．The bedroom lamps are very old at some of these hotels．When I put my bedside light on, I heard a funny noise from the lamp．” We are glad to tell our readers that this sort of adventure does not happen in Canfield．
What are the facts, then? It is never easy to find out the exact truth about an accident．There was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel last August: that is one fact．Do we know anything else? Yes, we know that firemen went to the hotel．
Now what do you think of the rest of the “news” ?
【小題1】Which of the following best gives the main idea of this text?

Wings of Angel
I used to hate myself because I wasn't "normal". Everyone else could play on the monkey bars and ride on a bicycle, but not 36 . I had a severe spinal cord disorder(脊髓病) and I knew I would always be much 37 than others. I hated going to school and I hated  others  38  at me. I hated seeing others smiling broadly and standing 39 and tall. And most of all, I hated looking in the 40 and seeing an ugly  hunchback(駝背).
My friends found me 41 because I didn't let other get close to me. I thought I was going to go on like this for the rest of my life 42 Angela appeared.
That afternoon, I was sitting by myself in a corner of the school—a spot where no one would 43 me. That's when I first heard your voice. "Hi. Can I sit down?"
I raised my head and there she was, with an irresistible smile on her round face. "What are you looking at?" you asked. "Ants." "What are they doing?" "No 44 ." "I bet they're playing games and make friends. Don't you think so?" That was how our 45 started and it didn't stop. We talked about everything under the sun—the ants, the clouds, my little niche(處境)—until it was sunset. Then suddenly, you saw my 46 . She just stared. My heart 47 . What I feared most had happened and I knew for sure she would 48 me now. She stood up, pointed at my back and said, "I know 49  your back is hunched." I closed my eyes like a criminal waiting to be 50 . I begged in my heart for her to 51 , but she just kept on going. "I know what you've got there. Do you?" "No," I answered 52 . She bent and whispered in my ears. "Your back is bunched because you've got a pair of wings from the angels."I was 53 . I looked into her eyes and her 54 touched my heart. From that day on, I started to learn to 55 myself because I have the wings of an angel and a kind_hearted friend.