They say the average person makes 35，000 decisions a day．Yet in her new book，How Woman Decide，Therese Huston explores a widespread phenomenon that many women fail to notice．“There’s a huge double standard when it comes to how men and women are viewed as decision makers，”explains Therese，a psychologist from Seattle University．Therese decided to write the book after looking at her bookshelf：At one end，there were bestselling books about how to be a brilliant decision maker—all written by men and featuring interviews with men like athletes．At the other end were books aimed at women on gaining leadership skills and confidence．

    “Once those women are at the table，will their decisions be taken as seriously as men’s?”Therese wondered．“Men are respected as decision makers more than women，especially in the workplace，largely because there’s this cultural belief that women are unable to make smart choices at work．”

    So，Therese set out to pick apart the stereotypes(固有印象)to see what scientific research had found．“Scientific research shows that men and women struggle with decision-making equally．The only disadvantage I found was that during the teenage years-teenage girls are more indecisive than teenage boys．Otherwise，there’s little difference between the genders(性别)．”

    However，there are some differences．“Women are more collaborative(协作的)，”says Therese．“A female boss is more likely to ask the opinions of those around her when making a choice．Women ask for input，which helps make better decisions．However，this is often seen as a weakness rather than a strength．”

    Therese also found that during times of stress，men and women make different choices，and the outcomes are often better when women are involved．

    Study after study backs this view up．Neuroscientists Mara Mather and Nicole Lighthall from the University of Southern California studied the way men and women make decisions and found that in times of stress，they react very differently．

    During their study，which involved playing a virtual gambling(赌博)game，they found that when the females became stressed，they made smart decisions—quitting while they were ahead or taking safe bets．But when the men became stressed，they did the opposite，risking everything for a slim chance of a big win．

Many of us live with a roommate at times. Sometimes, there can be problems. Who hasn't had an argument about whose turn it is to take out the trash, or who should be the one to dear up after dinner? However, living with another person also comes with many benefits.

    You know that there's always someone else around that can help you feel safer. There's always someone to talk to, so you need never be lonely. Beside a these obvious benefits, there are some you may not notice. For example, we're actually more likely to eat healthier food when living with others.

    To examine the effect of living alone, Australian university researchers did much research and found that people living alone tended to eat less fresh food including fruits and vegetables, which can have side effects on long-term health. However, those living with others generally got benefits from a more varied diet compared to those living alone.

    What could explain this? The researchers believe the social and cultural roles played by cooking, food preparation and eating may be important considerations, those living with friends have someone else to go shopping with, and thus, they are more likely to buy higher-quality fresh food regularly.

    Cooking skills may be another factor. If people living alone find they don't have the knowledge required to prepare a particular dish or cook a certain food, they may fall back on ready-made, less healthy food. However, if they live with at least one other person, they may be able to ask for help.

    In addition, people living alone can eat want at any time of the day. However, it's helpful to have someone around who questions your decision to eat frozen pizza at 3:00 am. In other words, roommates can draw your attention to such an unhealthy routine.

    So, if you now live alone, fighting a losing battle against poor eating habits, why not consider sharing a home with someone rise?"

Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.

Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.

There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives.

There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime, it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food. What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.

The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steer them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.

The sun’s ultraviolet(UV) rays can do more a tan(棕褐色) or burn. Indeed, their influence goes more than skin deep, a new study finds. It showed that exposure to ultraviolet light causes mice to make a feel-good chemical, and this chemical may explain why so many people want to get a tan. The study may also help explain why people flock o beaches and coasts for relaxation, Steven Feldman said. He studies public health and skin diseases.

   High-energy, UV rays come from the sun and the special lights used in tanning booths. Even though people know UV radiation can be dangerous, they continue to risk sunburns for a tan. Rates of skin cancer have been going up. David Fisher wanted to know why. He is an oncologist- a doctor who treats people with cancer- at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “We know UV light is dangerous,” Fisher says, but many people choose not to protect themselves.

   Fisher and his colleagues exposed mice to a moderate amount of UV light five days a week, for six weeks. The scientists shaved the mice so the light would reach their skin. The animals received an exposure to UV light that was similar to what a fair-skinned person gets after 20 or 30 minutes in the Florida sun. After just a week of the UV treatment, mice had higher levels of molecule in their blood called beta-endorphin (内啡肽) than mice not exposed to this radiation did. Similar to drugs such as heroin and opium, beta-endorphin activates feel-good processes in the brain. Previous studies had found beta-endorphin in the skin. This new study showed the molecule also ends up in the blood. UV light didn’t boost beta-endorphin for very long, though. Levels returned to normal a week after the UV treatments stopped. And the mice didn’t seem to have wanted those treatments to end. In fact, they showed signs of an addiction to this light.

   Fisher’s group gave a drug, called naloxone(Naa-LOX-ohn), to the UV-treated mice. Doctors prescribe this drug to people who have been abusing heroin. It blocked the places in the brain where heroin triggers the feel-good response. When a heroin addict receives naxolone, the drug can set off withdrawal symptoms within minutes. In the UV-treated mice, the drug seemed to block the feel-good effects of UV exposure. It also caused chattering teeth and shaking in the animals. Those symptoms looked similar to what people go through when they are suffering from withdrawal from heroin.

  The new data is “fascinating”, David Fisher said. Still, she says, the new study falls short of proving the mice had become addicted to UV light. “Addiction” means craving, loss of control and tolerance,” he explains. And the new study “didn’t look at any of those things.”

Urban citizens(市民)can enjoy a more colorful life than rural citizens（农村人）. Townspeople are well-informed because they have the easier access to news，while country people are uniformed because these districts are hard to get to. Urban traffic is so well-developed that the residents there often visit exhibitions and parks which are only a short bus ride away. For country people this is a major operation which involves considerable planning. Shopping，a necessary activity in everyday life is more convenient in the city than in the countryside. Townspeople can buy what they want at any time of a day. But rural residents go to town at most once a week. So after shopping they always stagger home loaded with heavy purchases. As far as meals and clothes concerned，townspeople are well-fed and well-dressed as there is an adequate(足够的)supply of goods. But rural residents are too busy to pay particular attention to them. It is for these reasons that more and more people are moving into the city and looking for a rest there.

On the contrary，some people are attracted by the rural area. Air pollution，noise and overcrowding which are the biggest problems confronting townspeople seem strange for rural residents. Medical studies have proved that rural residents can live longer than urban residents, because they are free from a polluted environment. In addition，the crime rate in the city is several times higher than in the countryside. As is known to all，the life in any city is much more expensive than in the countryside. So the safe, quiet and cheap life in the country appeals to(对……有吸引力)many city residents.

Either an urban or a rural area gives pleasure and trouble. But，I believe，the suburban area has the excellencies(优点)of both and is superior to both. As the automobile industry develops，more and more people will make their homes in suburban areas.

Is It Worth Buying Organic Food?

        Organic food, grown without artificial chemicals, is increasingly popular nowadays. Consumers have been willing to pay up to twice as much for goods with organic labels (商标). However, if you think paying a little more for organic food gets you a more nutritious and safer product, you might want to save your money. A study led by researchers at Stanford University says that organic products aren't necessarily more nutritious, and they're no less likely to suffer from disease-causing bacteria, either.

           The latest results, published in the Annuals of Internal Medicine, suggest that buyers may be wasting their money. "We did not find strong evidence that organic food is more nutritious or healthier," says Dr. Crystal Smith-Spangler from Stanford. "So consumers shouldn't assume that one type of food has a lower risk or is safer."

          For their new study, Smith-Spangler and her colleagues conducted a review of two categories of research, including 17 studies that compared health outcomes between consumers of organic against traditional food products, and 223 studies that analyzed the nutritional content of the foods, including key vitamins, minerals and fats.

         While the researchers found little difference in nutritional content, they did find that organic fruit and vegetables were 20% less likely to have chemicals remaining on the surfaces. Neither organic nor traditional foods showed levels of chemicals high enough to go beyond food safety standards. And both organic and traditional meats, such as chicken and pork, were equally likely to be harmed by bacteria at very low rates. The researchers did find that organic milk and chicken contained higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy fat also found in fish that can reduce the risk of heart disease. However, these nutritional differences were too small, and the researchers were unwilling to make much of them until further studies confirm the trends.

           Organic food is produced with fewer chemicals and more natural-growing practices, but that doesn't always translate into a more nutritious or healthier product. The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that "whether you buy organic or not, finding the freshest foods available may have the biggest effect on taste." Fresh food is at least as good as anything marketed asorganic.

兰州市近来实行了公共环保自行车出行行动，受到了市民的欢迎。假设你是李华，请你写一篇词数100词的小短文，介绍兰州公共自行车。主要内容包括：

1.使用方法：凭身份证办卡，60分钟内免费使用；自行车点遍布全市，全市范围内通租通还；

2.骑自行车的益处：可以节约道路资源、减少环境污染、帮助锻炼身体；

3．希望更多人骑车出行。

参考词汇：bicycle stops；energy-saving; identification card

Have you ever been tempted to cut a corner or to take the easiest route,though you know it may not necessarily be the best one?Or have you ever made a  (1)  because it was quick and simple,knowing that it might come back to bite you later?

I appreciate a parable（寓言）Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard told about the  (2)  of taking the easy route.It is story about a  (3)  duck.Though life was difficult  (4)  ,the beautiful creature  (5)  the boundless heavens and the endless stretches of wilderness.Soaring about treetops and towns,the duck was a symbol of freedom to its tame counterparts（相对物），who could not  (6)  .

One evening during fall migration,he  (7)  to enter a barnyard where a farmer was feeding his ducks.The beautiful creature ate the  (8)  the farmer sprinkled（撒）about and liked it so much that he stayed the night in a bed of  (9)  straw.He ate the duck’s corn again the next day.And the next.And the next…

When  (10)  came,he heard his old companions flying overhead and an almost forgotten longing deep  (11)  him awoke.The duck had reduced his instinct for freedom over the  (12)  winter.Now he longed to  (13)  his comrades in the sky,but he had grown fat and unable to fly.The wild duck had become a tame duck.The easy way through our problems,though  (14)  ,may not be the best way.Always remember.The only place you will find success before  (15)  is in the dictionary!It’s a always easier to borrow than to  (16)  ;easier to jump in now than to do the hard work of planning;easier to  (17)  than to do it right;easier to  (18)  the same than to make changes.

  (19)  you want to fly,you may have to pay a price.But  (20)  is worth it-at any cost!Are you ready to soar?

Thousands of taxi drivers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, reportedly blocked streets with their vehicles on Sunday in protest against unlicensed vehicles using taxi-hiring apps (打车软件) and apps-based car rental companies providing passenger services, including high-end cars. Although the drivers also complained about the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy by the government, their main complaint was the loss of business because of the rising number of Internet-based car services companies.

On Wednesday, news reports came that Beijing transport authorities will take measures to stop the illegal“taxi business” of private cars through the newly rising Internet apps, following the footsteps of Shenyang and Nanjing.

It is not yet clear how the Shenyang city government will handle the issue and whether it will declare the services offered by market leaders such as Didi Dache, a taxi-hiring app provider backed by Tencent Holdings, and Kuaidi Dache illegal. But Shanghai transport regulators have set a rule, by banning Didi Zhuanche, or car services offered by Didi Dache in December.

Such regulations will cause a setback to the car-hiring companies and investors that are waiting to cash in on the potentially booming business. Just last month, Didi Dache got $700 million in funding from global investors, including Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings, Russian investment company DST Global and Tencent. Besides, the market i s uncertain that Kuaidi Dache is about to finalize its latest round of funding after getting $800 million from global investors.

Regulatory uncertainties, however, could cast a shadow on the future of the Internet-based car-hiring services, which have become popular in most of China’s big cities. To be fair, these companies’business model is anything but bad. For example, Didi Zhuanche works side by side with established car rental companies to provide high-end car service mainly for business people through the Internet and mobile phone apps.

Every link in this business model chain has legal companies and services. Hence, it is hard to define it as illegal and ban it.

One of our expectations about education is that it will pay off in terms of upward mobility. Historically, the relation between education and income has been strong. But in the early 1970s, a contradiction developed between education and the economy. Our value of education and our average educational attainment（获得）run faster than the capacity of the economy to absorb the graduates.

Since the 1970s, high-school graduates have experienced a striking decrease in earnings, making them the first generation since World WarⅡ to face a lower standard of living than their parents had. Experts have argued that this contradiction is at the heart of the problem of public education today. It is not, as business leaders claim, that the schools are failing to properly educate students, that they are turning out young people who are inadequately prepared to function in the workplace. The real problem is a shortage of economic opportunities for students who are not continuing on to college. College graduates also are having difficulty finding jobs. Even when they do, the jobs may not be consistent with their training and expectations. Part of the problem is that too many young Americans expect to have professional jobs, making disappointment and frustration unavoidable for some.

Many students assumed that what was true of an individual— that the higher the education, the better the job opportunities — would also be true for an entire society. But when the numbers of better-educated young people became too great, the economy could no longer absorb them. Another part of the problem is the assumption that greater educational attainment guarantees career advancement. In fact, employers do not routinely reward educational attainment; rather, they reward it only when they believe it will contribute to the employee’s productivity.

We should not overlook the fact that there is still a strong relationship between education and occupation and income. College graduates have a strong advantage over those with less education. But the payoff is neither as large nor as certain as it once was. Unfortunately, Americans have focused so strong on the economic payoff that many consider their college education useless if it does not create a desirable, well-paying job. Only in this sense can we speak of an “oversupply” of college graduates. 

We could argue that all or at least the majority of Americans would profit by some degree because higher education can enable the individual to think more deeply, explore more widely, and enjoy a greater range of experiences.