—I don’t know, .
—I to but I forgot about it.
—No,it be him—I'm sure he doesn't wear glasses.
The New York Times published an article recently that shows great regret for the “death of conversation”. It 1that while technology such as cell pho nes, e-mails, and Internet posting makes us feel more2 than ever, they're also driving us away from people around us.
Users get final connectivity at the price of 3face-to-face conversation. Sherry Turkle, author of the article in The New York Times says people are 4 to a different way of being “alone together”.
Actually, 5text messages or writing micro-blogs allows us to6thoughts. But bits and pieces of online cannot7 a “real conversation.” Lan Guo, 19, a freshman English major from Changsha University, said that she would like to hear people's tone of voice and see their faces in a (n)8. “The give and take of ideas in a conversation sharpens our minds.” she said. She also mentions that burying ourselves in mobile technology reduces our chance of starting conversations with strangers and 9 people.
Turkle mentioned the popular 10of “I share, therefore I am” among this generation. Liu Xuan, a young writer from Taiwan and psychology graduate from Harvard University, thinks it's a mindset adopted by most 11 people. They are so busy creating or polishing their online persona (网络人格) that they forget how to live a (n) 12 life.
However, experts remind us that it's 13to blame mobile technology. Chen Chen, a sociology expert at China Youth & Children Research Center, 14 out that it is still owners of gadgets, who’re avoiding personal contact. “Only by strengthening conversation can we understand each other. 15 throwing away the mobile gadgets is not a solution.” she said.
Imagine looking f or your lost dog. You step into a cave. But instead of the dog, you find beautiful cave paintings. You see paintings of horses, deer, and bison drawn in black, brown, red and yellow. Your first question would probably be“Who did this? ”
This is what happened to four French boys in 1940. They found the Lascaux caves. The paintings the boys discovered in those caves are about 17, 000 years old. They were drawn by the ancient people called Cro-Magnon(克鲁马努人).
Cro-Magnons looked much like people of today. They used tools, such as fishing nets. But their art was extremely good. The main cave at Lascaux is called Great Hall of Bulls, which has a picture of bulls and horses in many colours. The largest animal is 18 feet long. There are smaller animals, such as bison, stags and a bear. There is also a strange spotted two-horned(两只角的)animal.
To the left of the main cave are the most famous paintings that are the drawings of animals in many different colours. One painting is called Little Horses. On the ceiling are horses and cows. The most unusual sight may be in the Shaft of the Dead Man where there is a rhinoceros, a carefully drawn dead man, an injured bison and a bird.
Why did Cro-Magnon artists do these beautiful drawings on cave walls? Did the drawings call upon some magic power? Did the Cro-Magnon people hope that the drawings would bring good luck? There is one thing the paintings seem to tell us. The Cro-Magnons were interested in the world. They looked at beauty and they understood it.

The British people love talking about the weather. This hot summer, Europe was caught in the heat wave, and many parts of China were also been struggling with record-breaking temperatures. Therefore, there's plenty for the British people to
get excited about.
But beside from a simple“hot”, what other ways are there to describe the summer heat? Apart from phrases like“boiling hot”, there are many interesting expressions that relate to unbearably hot weather.
Dog days of summer
In books and newspaper articles, the period from early July to mid-August is often referred to as the“dog days of summer”. Some think the expression means the weather is so hot that dogs go wild. But in fact, the expression comes from 16
th century and refers to the days on which Sirius(天狼星)—the Dog Star—rises at the same time as the sun. The Romans associated the hot weather with this star and would sacrifice a dog every year in April to stop the anger of Sirius.
So hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk
This expression needs no explanation and although its origin is unclear, it hasn’t stopped thousands of curious tourists from testing if the saying is true, with the result that sidewalks in Death Valley, California—the hottest place in the US—are now littered with broken eggshells. Early in July, the local government asked tourists to stop their cooking experiments. Even so, it is actually possible to fry an egg on the sidewalk, so long as you use a frying pan with a lid and the temperature is at least 49℃.
提示:①英语已成为一门国际语言。懂得英语,你便可与外国人交流,你还可以周游世界而且不被误解;
②许多书籍、报纸、杂志都是用英语写的。借助英语可以更直接地获取知识;
③如果你在外资企业(foreign company)或国外生活的话,英语不仅仅是你的交流工具,还是你的谋生方式;
④学习英语有时也是一件趣事。
参考词汇:国际的 international 误解 misunderstand 工具 tool
The World Health Organization warns that millions of people are dying every year from indoor air pollution. The WHO finds that poor cooking, heating and lighting technologies are killing millions of people each year.
Indoor air pollution results from the use of dangerous fuels and cookstoves in the home. To help fight the problem, the WHO announced new guidelines aimed at reducing household pollutants.
WHO officials say nearly three billion people are unable to use clean fuels and technologies for cookingheating and lighting. And they say more than seven million people die from exposure to indoor or outdoor air pollution each year. Of that number, the WHO says about 4. 3 million people die from household air pollution given off by simple coal cookstoves. Most of the deaths are in developing countries.
Carlos Dora is Coordinator in the WHO's Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. He says people should not use unprocessed coal and kerosene fuel indoors. He says opening a window or door to let out the harmful air will not improve the situation. It will only pollute the outdoors.
WHO officials say indoor pollution leads to early deaths from stroke, heart and lung disease, childhood pneumonia(肺炎)and lung cancer. Women and girls are the main victims. The United Nations found that more than 95 percent of households in subSaharan Africa depend on solid fuels for cooking. It says huge populations in India, China and Latin American countries, such as Guatemala and Peru, are also at risk.Nigel Bruce is a professor of Public Health at the University of Liverpool. He says researchers are developing good cookstoves and other equipment to burn fuels in a more efficient way.
WHO experts note some new, safe and lowcost technologies that could help are already available. In India, you can buy an induction(电或磁) stove for about $ 8.00. And in Africa you can buy a solar lamp for less than $ 1. 00.
Working women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, and 51 percent of professional workers, like doctors, lawyers, nurses and accountants, are female. While climbing the career ladder can be rewarding, it often comes with one big downside: weight gain!
New research published this week in the International Journal of Obesity shows that working women are more likely to be overweight, and the more you work, the more pounds you're likely to pile on. Like many women, I work... a lot! As a selfemployed nutrition communications specialist, I sit at my desk, in front of a computer, for hours on end. Sitting alone is one of the worst things you can do for your health, and it's directly linked to being overweight and increased fatness, so the fact that women in the workforce gain weight isn't that surprising. If you work, you have less time to move around. Obesity(肥胖症)researchers are revealing many other ways that employment is harmful to your diet and waistline.
In the International Journal of Obesity study, some 9,276 Australian women aged 4550 had their body weight and employment status monitored for two years. Results? Those who worked more than 35 hours were likely to gain weight compared to those who worked fewer hours or were out of the workforce. What's more, the more hours a woman worked in a week, the more weight she gained.
The authors of the Australian study attribute weight gain among working women to inactivity, lack of time for food preparation, more use of prepared foods, high levels of stress, lack of sleep and consuming more alcohol. I'll also add in travel, meals eaten out and working at night as other factors that I can find to make balancing work with a healthy diet a challenge.
Your friends' lives may look more exciting than yours on Facebook,but new research shows that is because they are faking(伪造)it.
A recent survey has found around twothirds of people on social media post images(图像) to their personal information to make their lives seem more adventurous.And more than three quarters of those asked said they judged their peers(同龄人)based on what they saw on their Instagram,Snapehat or Facebook pages.
The British survey,by smartphone maker HTC,found that,in order to make our own pages and lives appear more exciting,six percent also said they had borrowed items to include in the images in order to pass them off as their own.More than half of those surveyed said they posted images of items and places purely to show off,causing jealousy among friends and family.
Behavioural psychologist Hemmings said the trend was unsurprising due to the rise of social media.“We're living in a world of instant communication.”she said.“Fashion and style used to live and die in magazines;now people are in search of authentic,peertopeer recommendations as well,making social media an equal power house to magazines and newspapers.”
“With images being shared in an instant we desire to know what our friends are wearing,or what super stars are buying, as soon as they have got them.” Such is the influence of social media sites like Instagram,76 percent of those asked also said seeing items on social media influences them to buy them,with men more likely to take style advice and buy what they see.
Sunglassesare an essential item for everyday use but also for specialized sports andactivities.Sunglasses protect the eyes from harmful UV rays(紫外线),which occur even whenit is cloudy,which is why wearingsunglasses at all times outside and while driving is an important concept toremember..There are a fewways to go about choosing the best type of sunglasses.
Proper Fit
Firstof all,you want to pick apair of sunglasses which fit your face and head region properly.After all,sunglasses that are ill fitting will not adequately protectyour eyes from the sun and will be an annoyance to wear.. Make sure that they cover the eyescompletely and fit on the facial area.
UV Ray Protection
Whenyou're driving or in sunlight bright enough to make you squint(眯眼),you should wearglasses.They will help you block at least 60 percent of UV rays.You should beaware of the UV ray protection listed on the pair of sunglasses..
Style of Sunglasses
Itis also important to consider the style of sunglasses.You want to pick a stylewhich is fashionable and suits your individual tastes the best.You will haveyour choice of brand name fashion sunglasses,sportsunglasses or those of the general,everydaywear variety..
Reasonable Cost
Mostindividuals want to purchase sunglasses within a set budget.If you find a pairof sunglasses,you shouldn't end theshopping trip right then and there.
.Inthis way,even if you areshopping with cost in mind,youwill be sure to find a pair of sunglasses which not only strike your fancy butsuit your wallet as well.
A.The best way to achieve proper fitting sunglasses is to trythem on.
B.Make sure the sunglasses cover your eyes and nobody willrecognize you.
C.Keeping in mind where you want to wear your sunglasses willhelp you to pick the right pair.
D.Keeping the level in mind will help you to choose the rightpair with eye protection.
E.It is true that sunglasses allow every woman to pretend sheis a movie star.
F.When buying sunglasses,youmay wonder which suit you best and which are best for your eyes.
G.Shop around to look for sunglasses which are on sale or aresimply reasonably priced as they are.
Louisinvited his friends to lunch one day. He was cooking some delicious food in thekitchen. Suddenly, he(find)that he had run out of salt. So Louis called to his son, “Go to the village andbuy some salt, but pay a fair price for it: neither too much too little.”
Hisson looked surprised. “I can understand why I shouldn't pay too much, Father,but if I can pay less, not save a bit of money?”
“Thatwould be a very (reason)thing to do in a big city, but it could destroy a small village like ours,” Louis said.
Louis'sguests, had heard their conversation, asked why theyshould not buy sale more cheaply if they could. Louis replied, “The only reasonwhy a man would sell sale alower price would be that he was desperate for money. And anyone who tookadvantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect for the sweatand struggle of the man who worked very hard to produce .”
“Butsuch a small thing couldn't (possible)destroy a village.”
“Inthe beginning, there was only verysmall amount of unfairness in the world, but everyone added a little, always (think) that it was only small andnot very important, and look where we have ended up today.”