Are you going into skiing? Is winter your favorite time of year? If you like snow and ice, maybe you should stay at Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada. But, you can only check in at this hotel during the winter. Why ? Because this hotel is built every December. It has 32 rooms and 80 people can stay there each night. The hotel even has a movie theatre, art gallery, and church. Of course, all of these parts of the hotel are made of ice. In fact, all the furniture, art, lights, and even plates and drinking glasses are made out of ice.

      Because this hotel is so unusual, it is becoming very popular. People from all over the world come to the Ice Hotel to look at the fantastic ice art, drink and eat from designed ice dishes and experience the unique atmosphere (独特的气氛). Some couples have even gotten married in the hotel's ice church. But all these guests keep their winter coats on! Because of all the ice, the temperature inside the hotel is always between - 2ºC and - 5ºC. Surprisingly, sleeping is not a problem in the freezing cold hotel rooms. Every guest gets a special cold-weather sleeping bag and some fur blankets. These keep the room cozy and warm until morning.

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.

When we are young, we are taught that it’s wrong to lie and we should always tell the truth. Unfortunately, most children lie even if they are told not to. Research carried out at the Institute of Child Study at Toronto University has shown that this might not be such a bad thing. Apparently(显然地), children who tell lies when they

are two years old have a good chance of becoming successful adults.

According to the research, at the age of two, 20 per cent of children lie. At the age of three, 50 per cent lie, and at four almost 90 per cent lie. By the age of 12 almost every child tells lies.

Lying needs much brain work, and the better the lie is, the more work the brain has to do. By training the brain early, researchers believe children will be able to think more clearly when they grow up.

Recent research, carried out by the Science Museum in London, has shown some interesting facts about the way we lie as adults. According to the research, the average British man tells three lies every day; that’s over 1,000 lies a year. However, the average woman apparently only lies twice a day.

Most people think women are better liars (说谎者) than men although in fact they tell fewer lies. Popular women’s lies include ‘Nothing’s wrong, I m fine’, ‘I don’t know where it is, I haven’t touched it’, and ‘It wasn’t that expensive’.

Some people say you can lie as long as it’s a white lie. A white lie is a lie told to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. One of the most common lies for both men and women is ‘it’s just what I’ve always wanted’, said after opening a present from their partner.

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.

 Body Language in the United States

Most people shake hands and make eye contact when they meet people for the first time. Among very good friends, a woman may give another woman a little hug, and a man may kiss a woman quickly on the cheek. Males don’t hug one another, which, however, is changing. Men usually shake hands with the right hand. Sometimes they use the left hand to either cover the handshake or lightly hold the other person’s arm. This shows greater warmth and friendship. Most people wave hello or good-bye by extending the palm(手掌) facing outward, and twisting the hand at the wrist. Another way is to raise the arm, palm outward, and move the whole arm and hand back and forth. This is important to know because in many other countries, the same movements mean “no”.

When people are waiting in a public place, such as the post office, they usually form lines. Some people get angry and complain if someone pushes their way into a line or jumps ahead of other people. Moreover, many women like men to open doors for them. They also like men to give up their seats on public transportation. However, some women do not like this type of behavior. They feel that men and women should be treated in the same way.

In the United States, it’s important to make direct eye contact in business and social situations. If you don’t make eye contact, people will probably think that you are bored or not interested. If there is silence in these situations, people usually try to make conservation. Periods of silence make many people uncomfortable. People in the United States usually stand about one arm’s length away from each other while talking or standing together. This space is called “the comfort zone”.

In the United States, mothers sometimes show that they are angry with children by shaking an index finger(食指) at them. People may show that they like children by patting them on the head.

 Increasing numbers of airports, especially in Europe, are promoting a "silent airport" idea. It is to reduce noise pollution, such as airport-wide announcements, without sacrificing timely and helpful updates of information.

   International airports were once characterized by their high voices, competing gate announcements and so on.

   This is all changing.

   Angela Gittens, director general of Airports Council International (ACI), says there is a growing desire among airports and airlines they serve to "create a calm, relaxed atmosphere" without being disturbed by announcements.

   "Passengers can relax while they wait for their flight to board in the common airside lounges(休闲区), and food and drink areas," she says.

   In June, Helsinki Airport in Finland—a country where the tourism slogan is "Silence, Please" —became the most recent airport to adopt the silent concept.

   As part of its commitment to quieting things down, announcements for flights are made only in boarding gate areas.

   Lost track of time in the shop?

   Too bad.

   Nobody's going to call you to your flight, as announcements in all terminals will be made only in exceptional emergency circumstances.

   Heikki Koski, vice president of Helsinki Airport, says that improved flight information display systems and interactive kiosks(交互式自助服务机), together with advances in mobile technology, are changing the way airports communicate with passengers.

   At Munich Airport, InfoGate kiosks allow for video-based, face-to-face conversation with a live customer service representative in the traveler's language of choice. Interactive signs, on the other hand, give directions at the touch of finger. Passengers can tap a "you are here" display to get directions and approximate walking times to their destinations.

   Of course, an airport will never be as silent as a temple.

   There will continue to be a need for airport-wide emergency announcements, along with boarding calls.

   But at silent airports, the latter can be restricted to specific gates, as has been adopted in Helsinki.

My ears are recently full of joyous remarks from my friends such as, “Oh, Beckham is so handsome, so cool, that I can’t help falling in love with him.” or “What perfect skills he has?” Yeah, I  agree  (1)   some degree, though I sometimes do want to  (2)  them how much they know about Beckham, apart from his  (3)  and how much they know about football besides   (4)   goals. It seems funny that we are  (5)  about things, with which we are unfamiliar or about which we are   (6)  but we all, my friends as well as I, consider this one of life’s   (7)  .  

  We need these pleasures to   (8)   our lives. But that doesn’t  (9)   to craziness or nonsense. As a saying goes, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” We  (10)  not judge anything from its appearance. We should all know, it is one’s good   (11)   and great contribution that make one a star and unforgettable. Therefore we’d better say    (12)   about Beckham’s good looks.

  If we close our eyes, falling in deep  (13)  , we can find that the things that move us to be really happy or sad have a  (14)  meaning. If we don’t go deeper and are just satisfied with  (15)  things, sooner or later we’ll find we have not really gained anything because our first   (16)   has blinded and misled us, and we’ll remain ignorant(无知的)   (17)   we realize that and make some changes.

  It is believed that thinking and going deeper than before is a   (18)  of great progress. If one day we are willing to go deeper into everything, no matter how much it pains us, we will  (19)   prove how much we have grown up, how much more sensible, mature（成熟的), and intelligent we have   (20)   .

Getting caught in a traffic jam can be one of the most depressing things about traveling around a busy city. Now engineers in China have come up with a solution that could reduce traffic.

“Batie”, an elevated bus that is 4.8 meters high and 7.8 meters wide, allowing it to travel over vehicles (such as cars, buses, or trucks) with a height of less than 2 meters. holds passengers on its upper level and lets traffic pass under it, made its first test run on Aug 2 in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province.

 It can cut down on traffic greatly and therefore reduce the country’s increasingly worrying air pollution, the developers of the TEB told The Week.

 It is also expected to save costs compared with other public transportation (交通运输) like the subway. “Able to carry 1,200 people at a time, the TEB has the same functions as the subway while its cost of construction is less than one fifth that of a subway” Bai Zhiming, the engineer in charge of the TEB project, said in a video interview with CCTV News.

 While it has been said that the bus could be a solution to world’s traffic problems, it has also caused criticism (批评) and doubt.

Yao Tao, head of the Nanjing Institute of City and Transport Planning, listed some other possible problems, including the fact that present traffic facilities (设施) and rules would have to be changed.

“Safety is the most important thing,” Liu Daizong, China transport program director at the World Resources Institute, told CNN. “How would cars drive and turn under the bus? If there were an accident, how would you move passengers and vehicles out from underneath?”

What is it that makes people happy? Youth, health, a good job, good looks, a flash car? None of these things, Spanish experts say.

     The concept of happiness is thought to be determined by genetics, while the rest depends on childhood environment and the process of growing up. Perhaps the most surprising thing about happiness is coming under increasingly close examination in Spain.

As the nation rises to the club of the world's wealthiest countries, people are discovering that material things do not bring happiness.

     "Most people use money as a measure of human value," says Jesus Ynfante, author of a book on Spain's 300 biggest fortunes. "Expensive products are regarded as the best. The rich are admired simply for being rich," Ynfante said.

     Yet psychologists warn that happiness as a moment of ecstatic pleasure(狂喜)--something that, by definition ,cannot last--while others speak of it as peace and acceptance of oneself. Polls(问卷调查) in different countries indicate that between 65 and 85 percent of the world's population regard themselves as reasonably happy.

     Around 40 percent of a person's happiness is that it has little to do with age, health, wealth, or other values thought to be important in Western society. For most Spaniards, happiness is linked with feeling close to other people. Happy people accept their limitations and set themselves reachable goals, experts say.

     There are life-style choices that favour happiness, such as exercise, eating carbohydrates and exposing oneself to sunlight. But the main secret of happiness is to take pleasure in small things.

     “If you are given a choice between eternal（永久的)happiness and a cheese sandwich, take the sandwich,” advises musician Julian Hernandez.