●   (1)  

 With the invention of the Internet several decades ago, do you feel that since then it has made us human beings feel more connected to the world and one another, or has it isolated（使孤立）us and made us feel more alone than ever before?

 What about you as an individual?

●   (2)  The Internet enables us to know what’s happening in the world. We couldn't imagine talking to people everywhere in the world twenty years ago.

●  (3)  It unites us because we talk to others from all around our country and tha world, but the Internet can be addicting, and keep us away from people for a while, There is an inherent (内在的) human need for direct human contact (e.g. touching, talking face to face, etc.) that the Internet has all taken away.

●  (4)  It has given me freedom beyond my imagination. I’m home-bound with many duties to attend to. My life is a bit too crowded. Duties duties duties. I get lost many times not knowing who I really am！This medium is my best friend. It just lets me BE！I can speak here without fear or favour.

●  (5)  Chatting online is completely different from hanging out with friends outside or hearing their voice over the phone．I find that it’s not just the Internet that has increased this sense of isolation，even iPods，MP3s，such devices kind of separate us，make us lose focus on the everyday happenings of life．

A. I think that the Internet isolates as well as unites us.

B. I believe it unites us more than it isolates us.

C. Do you feel that the Internet unites us or isolates us?

D. What is happening in the world today?

E. The Internet is playing a more and more important role.

F. I think it has isolated us more.

G. I am truly grateful for this new technology.

Help Your Travel Be Effortless

     Does even the thought of travel stress you out? Are you tired of the packing, preparing, and then waiting at the airport? As to traveling for business or pleasure, the last thing you want to do is to spend all your time on the details. Yet, for most people, a trip is a grand production.  (1)  .

Here are 5 Tips to make your travel easy:

1     Use a Packlist

   To make your packing effortless, use a packlist. Using a packlist allows you to pack in a fraction(小部分，零碎) of the time, and gives you the peace of mind that you have everything before you leave the house. (I have used the same packlist for over 15 years.)

2     Always Charge Your Gadgets（小工具，小配件）

   This one seems like a no-brainer（无需用脑的事）.  (2)  . I recently had a co-worker who asked me if they could borrow my laptop on a flight because theirs was dead. ( Um, no….)

3      (3)  

   Always pack your sports equipment. That is step 1 in working out on the road. Too often you probably say, “It’s only a few days” or “I don’t have room in my suitcase.” Don’t let these excuses stop you from exercising while traveling.

4    Have Your Travel Details Handy

   You never know when something is going to go sideways during a trip. You don’t need to be in panic to find your travel information. I use “Trip It” to keep all my travel info in one place on my iPhone.

5     Always Be Early

      Nothing derails（让……出轨）a trip quicker than a missed flight or connection.   (4)  . Leaving even 20 minutes early can mean the difference between pulling your hair out in the security line and enjoying a quick read at the gate.

       Traveling doesn’t have to be stressful. It doesn’t have to be disorganized.   (5)  . Get your routine down, and soon you will be enjoying the trip as much as the destination.

An extra special candlelit Christmas Eve

    I am a doctor working in a community and many of my clientsˈ families live in bad condition.

    This year，an old lady that I cared for，Alice，went through a particularly rough time. She had been in hospital twice and was then sent to a nursing home.  (1)  

    Alice had dementia(痴呆)and thought her daughter was coming to visit on Christmas Day and that they were going to have the whole family together like the old days. When she finally realized that was not going to happen she was so sad and tearful. Knowing that her daughter was coming after Christmas was not enough to cheer her up.  (2)  

    On Christmas Eve, I surprised her by asking if she would like to go to a candlelit service at church that night. Instead of taking her to my church, I took her to her old neighborhood church where all her friends were.  (3)  God and his angels had a hand in the plan and it worked out perfectly. All of her friends seemed to be there and rushed over to greet her and sit with her.

    The candlelit service was a beautiful and tearful affair.  (4)  

    The truth of the story is that I got the best gift.  (5)  

A．I hated the idea of her being alone on the holiday!

B．We got there early and sat down where her friends could see her as they came in.    

C． Alicegot lots of hugs and love.

D．That’s the smile on Alice’s face and the feeling I made a difference.

E．I frequently invited her friends to her “home” to encourage her.

F． Alicecouldn’t get along well with her daughter.

G．In November, I was finally able to get her back “home” for Christmas.

Stick to your exercise program

I’ve discovered that the key to my happiness is my determination to make and keep my resolutions. I follow dozens of resolutions. And they’ve made a real difference in the happiness of my everyday life.

  (1)   Exercise is a key to good health. For me, it has always been important to make me feel cheerful. In fact, when I’m feeling blue, one of the best ways to shake the mood is to exercise.   (2)  

 I’m interested in the question of why some people are able to stick to resolutions, and some people aren’t.

  (3)   Take me. I know that exercise is an important element of a happy life for me. Yet I have seldom exercised recently. Often, when I have a lot of work, I skip the gym as a way of proving my hard work to myself. “Look, I’m working so hard, I can’t even find time to exercise.” Sometimes, it’s hard to avoid.   (4)  

So, how to do better? I have a friend who is a yoga instructor. I asked him if he recognized any warning signs in people who are likely not to stick to a resolution to keep exercising.   (5)   Read on, and if you recognize yourself in the statements below, you may need to make a special effort to stick to a program.

“This time, I’m really going to stick to it! I mean it!”

“I’m thinking that maybe I might join this class.”

“I have to start tomorrow. No delay!”

All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy and happy, and to live longer.

__  (1)  __ They buy tickets or turn on their TVs to watch the games. Often they get very excited when their player or team wins.

__  (2)  __ Football, for example, has spread around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake, whether in China, Egypt or Italy! __  (3)  __Think how many lovers to skate or ski in Japan, Norway or Canada.

Some sports or games go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinesewushu,for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet.   __  (4)  __Water­skiing is one of the newest in the family of sports.

People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends. __  (5)  __One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace.

Self- Confidence is important to achieve success. Children are sensitive and need encouragement to learn.   (1)   Confidence in children comes from positive support in adults.

  (2)   A positive image means that they are self- confident, that they know their own limits and trust their own abilities. People who have a positive image enjoy their lives and can handle themselves in tough situations. So, it is the same situation for children; in order to build self- confidence, parents need to show confidence in their children. This feeling is not born. It’s created in the child’s environment.   (3)   Confidence from adults gives the child the ability to handle new challenges and activities.

   (4)  Whatever the child does right, we should praise them and encourage them. If a child does something inappropriate, then we have to correct them (without yelling at them). They need to know that without making mistake, there can be no wisdom.

  Children learn a lot more by trying for themselves though it will take longer and probably be more messy. Give children the time and space to try something new and learn from their mistakes. Provide them with help, if they need it. Children with self-confidence are not frightened by new experiences or learning situations.

  Act as a role model. Children learn the most from your behavior. Children always imitate adult behavior, good and bad. They want to be adults themselves. If they see you cussing they will cuss. If they see you helping others, they will try to help.   (5)  Building confidence in children will help them achieve success as adults.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

How teens can stay fit

Any type of regular, physical activity can improve your fitness and your health.   (1)  

Exercise should be a regular part of your day, like brushing your teeth, eating and sleeping. It can be in the gym class, joining a sports team, or working out on your own. Keep the following tips in mind:

  (2)   A good attitude is important. Find an activity that you think is fun. You are more likely to stick with it if you choose something you like. A lot of people find it’s more fun to exercise with someone else, so see if you can find a friend or family member to be active with you.

Take it one step at a time.  (3)   For example, walk or ride your bike to school. Get on or off the bus several blocks away and walk the rest of the way. Use the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

Get your heart pumping.Whatever you choose, make sure it includes aerobic (有氧的) activities that make you breathe harder and increase your heart rate. This is the best type of exercise because it increases your fitness level and makes your heart work better.  (4)   Examples of aerobic activities are basketball, running, or swimming.

Don’t forget to warm up.Do some easy exercises or stretch before you do any physical activity.   (5)   It is also important to stretch out after you exercise to cool down your muscles.

A. It also burns off body fat.

B. Stay positive and have fun.

C. Make physical activities a habit.

D. Small changes can add up to better fitness.

E. The most important thing is that you keep moving!

F. This warms your muscles up and may help protect against injury.

G. Do the activity as often as possible, but don’t exercise to the point of pain.

Why is setting goals important?   (1)   Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen.

Successful people imagine how their life should be and set lots of goals.   (2)   Itˈs like having a map to show you where you want to go. Think of it this way. There are two drivers. One has a destination in mind which can be found on a map. She can drive straight there surely without any wasted time of wrong turns. The other driver has no goal, or destination or map. She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver, but she drives aimlessly around, never getting anywhere, just using up gas. Which driver do you want to be?

   (3)   They decide what they want in life and then get there by making plans and setting goals. Unsuccessful people usually just let life happen by accident. Goals arenˈt difficult to set and they arenˈt difficult to reach.   (4)  You are the one who must decide what to achieve and in what direction to aim your life.

  (5)    Written goals can be reviewed regularly, and have more power. Like a contract with yourself, they are harder to neglect or forget. Also when you write your goals in a particular way, you are able to make yourself continuously aware of situations that will bring you nearer to your goal.

The iPod Generation

Today it is common to see people who walk about with colored wires hanging from their ears wherever they go. They move about in their personal bubbles, sometimes unaware of what’s happening around them. ____  (1)  ____ Outside life is shut out. So are you one of them?

For me, walking around in my own personal bubble is perfect. ____  (2)  ____ .What’s even better, wearing earphones seems to give a signal to people which says: “Iˈm not available for chatting at the moment!”

Suppose, youˈre at work and about to make an incredible breakthrough, but a colleague suddenly turns up. At this precise moment, the slightest disturbance would break your concentration. ____  (3)  ____ .Once again, those wires hanging from your ears would be sure to give that “Go away!” signal.

____  (4)  ____ Itˈs probably part of the growing up stage when they just want to ignore their whole family. While their mothers give them lectures about why they should do their “Yes. Mum.” Problem solved.

Pretty soon, not only will we have pretty colored wires hanging from our ears, but also our brains will be directly plugged into some new high-tech instruments. Weˈll be in a virtual （虚拟的） world, communicating with everyone else, or choosing not to, as we like. In this world, we will all be permanently plugged in._____  (5)  _____ And they are changing our social habits along the way.

In the end, there is a thin line between using technology as a tool for making life better and being a slave to it! Itˈs so strange---suddenly, I donˈt feel like wearing my earphones anymore.

Question: I found a new job in the nearby town last week.   (1)   But my six-year-old son doesn’t want to leave, because he has established a good friendship with our neighbor’s children. I am really puzzled about how to explain our moving plan to him. And there is only three weeks left. Will you please tell me some good advice?

Answer: Congratulations on your new position!   (2)   It frequently causes them

to feel unsafe. But don’t worry. There are many things you can do to make the moving experience less frightening for your children.

● Involve them from the very beginning.

Tell your children as soon as you know you’re moving.   (3)   Explain why you’re moving in terms they can understand. This will remove a lot of the fear and confusion they may be feeling. Be sure to answer their questions as fully as you can.

●   (4)  

If you approach the coming move as an exciting adventure for the entire family, it will help to calm your children’s fears. If possible, show them the new house and let them spend some time exploring it. Help them imagine where their furniture and toys will go. Show them the yard and help them imagine all the fun they will have there. Talk about all the fun things the family will do there.

● Let them help.

If you give your children an active role in the move, they are much more likely to accept it and even grow excited about it. Let them pack some of their own things.   (5)   If there are old toys you don’t plan to take, let the kids help decide which of them should be taken or given away.