Recently, several friends came to me. They hadn’t   (1)   video games before. They had been told that video games were   (2)   . But they saw many people doing that and  (3)   that some had become millionaires because of video games. They felt very   (4)   . So they came to me and asked, “Keith, should I play video games?”

   It’s an interesting question for two   (5)   . Firstly, I write about video games for a   (6)   ; that’s my job. So what did they think I was going to say? “No, they’re a waste of   (7)  ” ? Secondly, a few years ago, people of my age   (8)   playing video games; now there are people feeling guilty that they’re not playing them.

   So should you play video games? Yes! Games have been proved to   (9)    hand-eye coordination(协作), decision making, and even vision. Games help players enjoy a   (10)   social life as some games   (11)   you to play together with others. Some may say that playing video games is a waste of time. If you’re    (12)    to watch TV for three hours a day or surf on the Internet for    (13)   important or talk with friends over the phone for hours, you cannot call video games a waste of time.

    So my   (14)   is: yes, you can play video games. But there is one important thing for you to   (15)  : just play the games that can   (16)    do good to you. So please think   (17)   about whether you should play a game or not before you start playing it.   (18)   you don’t know anything about the game, ask for others’ opinion or   (19)   on the Internet for comments. Also, don’t play too long every day. After all, for students   (20)   come first.

Our modern working lives are ruled by the concept of competence．The idea that lies behind competence is quite simple：that one can state what people should do in behavioral terms，and then measure whether a person has succeeded in meeting that task or not．We rarely have a second thought about whether the idea of measuring and achieving competence is a good one or not．In fact，it is a controversial one．

    Humans do not learn or work in ways that can be measured by the concept of competence．Take the example of a barista(咖啡师)who is being trained to make coffee．The job title of“barista”suggests a degree of skill in making coffee．However，baristas in large coffee chains are usually trained through competence-based qualifications．One part of these qualifications is to produce a cup of coffee to meet a minimum standard．It might have to achieve a certain taste and appearance．This might seem perfectly reasonable，but there are two reasons why such an approach to training baristas does not work．

    First，the production of a cup of coffee to a certain standard is a binary(二次元的)outcome．The baristas can either produce a coffee of a certain standard or they cannot．If they happen to produce the best cup of coffee in the world，it does not matter，as competence-based training does not reward outstanding performance．Likewise，producing the worst cup of coffee would be a fail in the same way as producing a cup just below the standard．In fact，competence is not interested in the process of producing a coffee at all—only the final binary outcome．

    Second，if the barista does produce a coffee to a certain standard，competence is not interested in why the barista can do that．But humans are not machines that simply produce binary outcomes．We have bodies and minds which change through learning．

    Yet we are increasingly forced to achieve competence in our schools and workplaces．We are not empty machines that simply produce binary outcomes．If we want to be true human in our learning and our workplaces，we need to be creative and special．Learning and innovation(创新)involve failure in aiming for something that is unusually good．Such things simply cannot be judged by the standard of competence where the mediocre is the gold standard．

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that in order to achieve contentment, one should "cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously."It turns out Emerson—who explored the meaning of a good life in much of his work—wasn't far off when it comes to What we now know about counting one's blessings. Research is continually finding that expressing thanks can lead to a healthier, happier and less-stressed lifestyle.

How can we, as Emerson advised, be thankful for each thing that contributes to our lives? Below are four habits that could help you cultivate gratitude on a daily basis.

Keep a journal.—Research has shown that writing down what you're thankful for can lead to a range of wellness benefits. Keeping a gratitude journal can reinforce positive thoughts—something particularly helpful as the brain tends to naturally focus on what goes wrong. Putting pen to paper can also help you make more progress as you work toward personal goals. In order to reap the full benefits of keeping a journal, Dr Robert Emmons, gratitude researcher and psychology professor at the University of California, Davis, recommends writing for five to 10 minutes every other day."You really need to commit to doing it, and if you write it down eventually it will become more automatic," Emmons says."It's like exercise—you're not just going to get up one morning and go running, you need to have a plan.

Don't avoid the negative.—Expressing gratitude has been proven to generate more optimism, but thankful people also don't shy away from the negative. Emmons says that while we often associate gratitude with focusing on the good and avoiding the bad, the key to leading a thankful life is embracing setbacks as part of your overall journey. Emmons suggests recalling a hard time you once experienced—chances are, you'll start to feel grateful for your current state and for overcoming former challenges.

Spend time with loved ones.—Thankful people know they didn't get to where they are by themselves—and they make it a habit to spend time with those people who matter most."Gratitude really helps us connect to other people," Emmons says."It actually strengthens relationships and relationships are the strongest predictors of happiness and coping with stress."Expressing appreciation for loved ones can also help create closeness by allowing others to see how you look at them. According to Dr.Michael E.McCullough, a University of Miami researcher, your feelings of gratitude benefit more than just yourself."More than other emotion, gratitude is the emotion of friendship," McCullough told the New York Times in 2011."It is part of a psychological system that causes people to raise their estimates of how much value they hold in the eyes of another person."

Volunteer.—Everyone needs a little help sometimes—and grateful people know there's no other way to acknowledge this than by paying it forward. In his book "Thanks!, "Emmons notes that those who volunteer often feel grateful for the experience to give back."Since service to others helped them to find their own inner spirituality, they were grateful for the opportunity to serve, "he wrote. As recent research published in BMC Public Health points out, volunteering can result in fewer feelings of depression and increased overall well-being. Emmons suggests examining your own talents and use them to help others, noting that people become more grateful as givers rather than receivers.

Snow and ice make winter driving a dangerous game, in which motorists can get stuck in the snow—for who knows how long. Not everyone knows what to do when they get stuck in the snow, though some manage to survive through a combination of wits and good luck.

   So what to do?

   Outdoor survival expert Brian Brawdy joined Good Morning America to explain what to do if you get stuck with your vehicle in freezing, snowy weather.

   One of the key questions is whether to stay in the car or go get help. Brawdy says it is better to stick with the car, unless it is an easy walk to safety.

   "It'll help block the wind and keep you warm and dry," Brawdy said.

   But you should also be aware that staying in the car can be deadly, too. Motorists who are stuck in the snow should step out of the car and quickly check to make sure that their car's tailpipe isn't blocked by a chunk of ice, or a pile of snow. If it is, deadly fumes can get into the vehicle.

   "Carbon monoxide will kill you in a heartbeat," Brawdy said.

   He also suggests wiping snow off the taillights or the headlights so that searchers will be able to see the vehicle from a distance.

   But don't waste time outside the shelter of your car. Stay inside the vehicle, and buckle up.

   "Even though you are parked, you will want to apply your seat belt, just in case you get hit from behind, "Brawdy said.

   You can run the car's heater, but you should do it only about 15 minutes every hour to conserve fuel in the car. When the heater is running, crack the back window—whichever one is out of the wind—ever so slightly just to make sure that those poisonous gasses aren't wandering inside the car.

What will life in the future be like?

   Will it be much better than it is now? And what will we be able to do 10,20 or 30 years later? Letˈs just close our eyes and think !
     Genetic Engineering
    Genetic engineering will help us create the perfect human.  Babies will grow up to do slam dunks like Yao Ming or look like Cecilia Cheung. Also, we will be able to mix(杂交)  plants and animals !  But do you want your dog to be a tree?
     The Dead
          In the future, we will be able to bring the dead back to life.  Then each family can meet and talk with its dead family members. It will be like living with ghosts.
      On television people will see Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Confucius, Elvis Presley, and

Shakespeare talking with each other!
     Long-Iiving People
      Over the next 20 t0 50 years, it will become harder to tell the difference between human and machine. All body parts will be replaceable. We will then be able to make fake (假的) people.
       We will make a copy of ourselves, so we will appear to be alive long after we are dead.  A few decades later, people will find ways to transfer (转移)  their spirit (精神)  to the new body.
   Nanobots
      We will be able to build nanobots (纳米机器人) to travel through our body. Also, nanobots will be 
used when we are sick.
      For example, when we have a stomachache, we will swallow a very small robot and it will travel 
through our stomach, taking video of whatˈs happening there.  Then we can show the video to help the doctor diagnose (诊断)  our problem.
   Computers
     Computers help us remember, calculate, and enjoy ourselves. In the future, computers will be able to
show their feelings. They will be able to think better than the human mind.
     After television became popular, many people soon became couch potatoes. It is not surprising that
many people have become overweight; and things will get worse in the future !
      We will be more and more interested in computers and the Internet, spending more and more time in
front of computers and forget what our real needs are.  Many of us will become super couch potatoes 
and weight 250kg!

Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable;  therefore attempts may be made to fill every gap(间隙) with conversation. Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a person's needs.

Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people, just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do. Therefore, when a person from one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops, what maybe implied(暗示) is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing. In these cultures, silence is a call for reflection.

Other cultures may use silence in other ways, particularly when dealing with conflicts among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power. For example, Russian, French, and Spanish persons may use silence to show agreement between parties about the topic udner discussion. However, Mexicans may use silence when instructions are given by a person in authority rather than be rude to that person by arguing with him or her. In still another use, persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect, particularly to an elder or a person in authority.

Nurses and other care-geivers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be expericencing. Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patient’s silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily. A nurse who understands the healing(治愈) value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.

I’m Emily Barr, a British journalist. One day, an idea of travelling around the world came into my mind. I was so scared at first that I thought about canceling the whole plan at least twice a day. But I finally made up my mind and left.

Travelling around the world is the most exciting thing I have ever done. During the first few months I saw the beautiful view of Miami’s South Beach. I crossed the United States by train and walked on a Fijian beach, and I was happy to visit New Zealand. Then I spent about a month in Australia.

When I arrived in China, I carefully copied the Chinese characters for the hotel I wanted to stay in onto a piece of paper, and handed it to a taxi driver. He frowned(皱眉), and then laughed at my ugly writing. In Chengdu, I rode out of town to see pandas at their reserve(保护区)．One evening when I spent my time in a bar, I met James, another tourist, who is my husband now by the way. We flew to Tibet together the next day.

James and I walked around in Lhasa, travelled on Indian trains, wandered around the Taj Mahal and slept on the floor at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Then a year after I began my trip, I went back home.

Now James and I live in France with our two young sons and often make plans to travel with the boys. Once you have done it, anything seems possible.

  a. Travelling to China.    b. Crossing the United States.

   c. Visiting New Zealand.        d. Going to India.         e. Going on a trip to Australia.

Like all big cities, Paris has a traffic problem: lots of cars, lots of traffic jams and lots of pollution from exhaust fumes (废气). So the city began a scheme (计划) to improve the situation.

Under the Velib scheme (‘Velib’ comes from vélo liberté, or ‘bicycle freedom’) people can take a bicycle, use it for as long as they want, and then leave it at the same or another bicycle station. The first half-hour on the bike is free, but if you don’t return it after 30 minutes, you have to pay. But it’s only −1 a day or −29 a year! The bicycles are heavy (25 kg), and they are all grey and have baskets. There are about 20,000 of them in the city, and around 1,450 bicycle stations. So there are a lot more Velib stations than the 298 subway stations!

Paris is not the first city to have a scheme like this. But not everybody thinks it’s a great idea. One Parisian said, “These bicycles are only for short journeys. If people want to travel across the city, they won’t use a bicycle — they’ll still use their cars.”

A city spokesman said, “The bicycle scheme won’t solve all our traffic problems, of course. But it might help reduce air pollution. Traffic, together with factory fumes, is a big problem. There aren’t any simple answers to traffic problems and pollution in cities. But unless we do something now, there will be more traffic jams and temperatures will continue to rise, so the problems in our environment will get worse. The bikes might help people to lead a healthier life, too.”