Literature is a term used to describe written as well as spoken material. Generally speaking, it is often used to describe anything from creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama and fiction.

   Then why read literature, since it is often imaginary and seems unconnected with real life?

   A lot of us read literature for pleasure and relaxation. It’s always pleasant to read some interesting books, such as comedies and novels, in our spare time. In a modern life full of pressure, it is our common desire to read some imaginary works and seek relaxation from the stress in life.

   Reading literature is more than fun; it also enables us to acquire knowledge. As a general rule, literature represents a language or a people, and it often gives us an insight(洞察)into the traditions, customs, beliefs, attitudes and values of the age in which it was written.

   Sometimes literature can even offer us new, creative ways to understand the world better. It helps us make sense of the world around us. It introduces us to new worlds of experiences. We enjoy the comedy and the tragedy of poems, stories and plays; and we may even grow through our literary journey with books. Eventually, we may discover meaning in literature by looking at what the author says and how he/she says it. In a sense, we explore the human condition and analyse how and why people think the way they think and feel the way they feel. Literature enables us to think analytically and open our minds. We see the world through the eyes of different cultures and in turn learn the ways to deal with things that happen around.

   So we can definitely say literature is of great importance to us. Why not get going with one poem, drama or fiction at once?

Are you feeling more of your true self when no one else is around than when someone else is around? Young children seem to get it right better than adults when it comes to being their true authentic self. They sing, laugh, dance and live with an abundance of energy and no worries of whether anyone else is watching them or what anyone else is thinking of them. However, adults are more on guard than children in social situations because conversations with others can lead them to feel mixed emotions with many shades of gray in between.

In social situations, since you have a desire to be accepted by other people, you care too much about what you say and wonder whether it is agreeable. In addition, you study the other person’s body language to assess the authenticity of the person and focus on how the conversation is making you feel at that particular moment.

There are certain types of people with a stronger personality, who tend to make others feel inferior by delivering more of an intense negative vibe. They simply can’t make others feel welcomed. Besides, some people who aren’t pleased with themselves sometimes have a way of characterizing other people in a negative light they themselves are hiding behind. Anyway, if someone that you’re talking to is miserable, then that can be contagious to you, making you miserable as well.

There are some key factors that affect the way other people can make you feel. These factors include whether they are positive or negative about things, whether they’re delivering a sense of fear or love to you, whether their personality is intensive or not, whether they want to make you feel inferior or accepted and whether you can protect your emotions from another person’s negative vibe.

You may not have the total control of how another person’s energy can make you feel at any given moment, but you can shield yourself by protecting your authenticity. If necessary, when you’re around certain people that you know can drain your energy, either physically or emotionally, put up an invisible protective shield around yourself to guard against other people’s negative input or vibe. Moreover, you have a choice of whether or not to accept the belief of what others think of you. Actually, what others think of you are simply their thoughts or feelings, but not facts. So it’s up to you to make the decision to dismiss it and don’t let it have any impact on you. More importantly, you’re perfect just the way you are!

Many people often lose their chance to live life to the fullest because of procrastination, which means that they always delay doing something that must be done at once. Moreover, because they often put off their plans till “tomorrow”, they are less likely to achieve their goals and will give up their dreams and goals finally. As a result, we can say that procrastination is the enemy of a progressive lifestyle.

Now that we know procrastination is something bad, why do some people not take immediate action? Well, there are some things that result in procrastination. Depending on someone else rather than doing by oneself is one of the things. Whenever you wait for something to happen before you act, you make it easier to delay your goals and dreams until “someday”. Another cause of procrastination is that people do not value each moment in their day. Actually, it’s surprising how much you can do if you just decide to do little things with the little time you have. Also those who often procrastinate can always find a good reason for something they refuse to do at once.If you are one of those who often delay, then it’s time for you to make a decision to act now because things happen only when we decide to act. Get down to doing something like losing weight, saving money or spending more time with family. Don’t let these things continue to be a desire for you to do “someday”, but make a decision to do it now.

Once you have made your decision, write down the plan and take action immediately. Making plans can help you think carefully about how you are going to do what you need to do. After understanding how to do what you want to do, get doing with the plan. It doesn’t matter how small the move you make is as the little things you do accumulate（累积）over time and move you to be closer to your goals. So, don’t wait until tomorrow; instead, start now! Just make use of every moment you have to do something that is helpful in realizing your dreams and goals.

Here is a challenge that will also move you to be closer to your dreams and goals if taken seriously. Make a list of ten things you have been putting off. It could be anything from getting a health examination, calling a friend or family member, to getting the car fixed and cleaning up the garbage, etc. And then try to develop the habit of doing them immediately!

China’s Tianhe-1 has a computing speed of 2,507 trillion（万亿）calculations a second, making it the fastest computer in the world．It is also 40 percent faster than the world’s second fastest supercomputer, Cray XT5 Jaguar, in the US, kept at a national laboratory in Tennessee, according to the New York Times．Jack Dongarra, a University of Tennessee computer scientist, told NYT that the Chinese supercomputer is faster than the existing Number One machine.

Building the fastest supercomputer has become a source of national pride, as these machines are valued for their ability to solve problems in areas like defense, energy and science．These problems are related to national interests．Supercomputing technology is also found in business．Oil and gas companies use supercomputers to find oil and gas．

Obviously, research centers with large supercomputers attract top scientific talents．This adds extra importance to the machines—they’re more than just huge computers．

China’s new supercomputer will be used to speed up greatly scientific calculations, such as hurricane and tsunami modeling, cancer research, car design and even studying stars.

In 2008, two US scientists put together a step-by-step guide on how to build a supercomputer using PlayStation 3 video-game consoles（控制台）．Modern supercomputers are built by combining thousands of small computer servers（服务器）and using software to turn them into one large computer．Really, any organization with enough material and technology can create a fast machine．

The Chinese system follows that model by linking thousands upon thousands of computer servers．But the secret behind the system—and the technological achievement—is China’s own networking technology．“That technology was built by them,” Dongarra said．“They are taking supercomputing very seriously and using a lot of time and money.”

“China is still a developing country,” said Sha Chaoqun, manager at Dawning Company which is the leading supercomputer maker in China．“Maybe one day, China’s total computing power can be greater than that of the US, but there is still a long way to go before we get there.”

Many people believe that classical music is not relevant music is not relevant to young people today . However, this issue (问题) frequently causes heated debate.

Some people say that classical music is associated only with old people .For example, if you look at the audience at a classical concert , the majority is over the age of fifty.

Others say it is more popular than we first imagine . Many young people listen to classical music without realising .It is often used in films and advertisements. For example.a famous piece of classical music was used as the theme music for the 1990 World Cup . Not many people could have given its name , but millions enjoyed it .

Also,some people point out that young people produce new music based on classical ideas: for example, it is said that rap(说唱)music was invented by a classical musician in 1912, but it is now used by young people in pop music.

However, young people point to the fact that classical music has been outstripped(超越) by technology. To play a classical instrument, such as a violin, you need to study hard and practise for hours. Nowadays, you donˈt need to get aching arms from practising. A teenager can write and make music using a computer program in the comfort of their own bedroom.

A final point to in mind is that the term "classical music" is used to refer to a great variety of music, from jazz to pieces  for large orchestras(管弦乐队).This makes it even more difficult to say whether classical music is relevant to young people.

    So, it may be only a minority of young people who play classical instruments , but when it comes to enjoying classical music, it depends on the piece of music. It may be more relevant to young people in the modern world than they realise!

Teenagers today live in a very competitive world. It is more important than ever to succeed at school if you hope to have a chance in the job market afterwards. It’s no wonder that many young people worry about letting down their parents, their classmates and themselves. In trying to please everyone, they take on too many tasks until it becomes harder and harder to balance homework, parties, sports activities and friends. The result is that young people suffer from stress.

There are different ways of dealing with stress. Everyone knows that caffeine, whether it is in the form of coffee or soft drinks, keeps you awake and active. But caffeine is a drug which can become addictive (上瘾). In the end, like other drugs, caffeine only leads to more stress. A better way to deal with stress is to exercise. Research has proved that physical exercise is a good release for stress, because it increases certain chemicals in the brain which calm you down. Making sure you get enough sleep is also an important way of avoiding stress and of staying healthy and full of energy. Another way to avoid stress is to manage your time effectively. It is better to do a few tasks really well than lots of tasks badly. Know your limits and try not to take on too much. Finally, if it all gets beyond your control, don’t panic or get hysterical (歇斯底里). Find the time to sit down quietly and breathe deeply for ten to twenty minutes. Do this regularly, and it will help you calm down.

Title: Stressful teenagers

More and more scientific experiments prove that physical exercise can reduce the dangers of some illnesses in middle-aged persons．Exercise strengthens the heart muscle，reduces blood pressure and help to prevent muscles from changing into fat．Physical exercise is just as important for children．

   Exercise and food affect growing speed in young lab animals．Baby mice start running as soon as they are big enough to use an exercise wheel in their cage．If  they get extra food and run a lot，they will grow as much as 1.5 times bigger than normal．

    The same differences in growing speed might be found between active and inactive children．Physical exercise helps active children grow faster than inactive children．One experiment shows that the brains of the mice that had enough exercise weighed about 3％more than those of the mice that did not exercise The mice that exercised are much quicker to learn doing new exercise than the mice that did not exercise．

    The results of the experiments suppose the theory that exercise can help babies learn to talk and walk sooner than expected．

    The good effects of physical exercise are not limited to children and middle-aged people．Exercise continues to be an important part of our lives after we grow old．For example，people over 50 years old begin to lose calcium(钙) from their bones，which get weaker and can break easily．Physical exercise，however，helps to strengthen the bones and to prevent them from losing calcium．Of course，old people can take medicines to prevent themselves from suffering from losing calcium．But the medicines they take increase the chance of developing some kind of cancer(癌)．So physical exercise is a much safer treatment(治疗)．

根据短文内容完成下列表格，一空一词。

A library is a place where a large collection of books are lined. However, quite different from traditional ones, a new library which opened last month in San Antonio, Texas, US is very special in the thing —there is not a single book in it.

In fact, the world’s first “bookless” library, known as BiblioTech, looks more like an Internet café—instead of bookshelves. It has iPads, laptops and desktop computers to use on site and 500 e-readers for members to borrow. Most importantly, there is no printed material, reported Time.

“Our digital library is stored in the cloud, so you don’t have to come in to get a book,” Laura Cole, BiblioTech’s special projects coordinator, told CNN. The library at the moment has a collection of 10,000 e-books and is trying to add more.

The idea of a bookless library no longer seems new since e-books have been around for quite some time. At the end of 2012, 23 percent of Americans aged 16 and older read e-books, up from 16 percent the year before. At the same time, the proportion(比例) of Americans who read a printed book fell from 72 percent to 67 percent.

“Not all libraries are going to be like us,” Nelson Wolff, a local official told CNN. “But we surely do hope it’s going to drive them to do so. The world is changing, and libraries can’t stay the same —if they want to stay connected with the changing world.”

Also, located in a low-income (低收入的) neighborhood where 40 percent of families don’t have a computer and half are not available(可获得的) to broadband Internet service, BiblioTech provides digital convenience to people who lack it.

All in all, the newly-born library, though young, may be promising in the future soon to come.

Homework is an important part of education. However, what is it about homework? What makes it important?

First, homework helps students learn. Homework produces higher learning ability by asking the student to read the same text many times.

Most of the time, homework will ask students to read other books. So children have to read and understand it by themselves. Sometimes, parents must help children with this type of learning. Children hope to use what they have read to solve questions and problems in the homework.

Good use of homework makes children know that learning can happen with or without the teacher.As homework is finished, students learn to work out their own problems. Most students need a little help now and then, but doing homework is a way that children can learn to take care of themselves. If the student can do his or her own work, it is likely the ability he gets will be good for their future life.

Most homework gives room for additional(额外的) learning. Short answers, long answers and papers provide a way for students to learn things that interest them. Science can give the student a chance to go deeper into a field and have a better understanding. These things are almost impossible within the classroom education. If the project is done by a group, the students will also learn cooperation(合作).

Good study skills students get from homework and test preparation can be used easily in most work places.

Title: Importance of.   (1)