As the days get shorter and the chilly weather rolls in , we all want to curl up in a blanket and hibernate until spring rolls around. But making time to get outside in the sun, even when it’s cold out, could have bigger mood benefits than you might realize.
While the link between sunshine and mental health is nothing new, new research from Brigham Young University(BYU) has shown that the association may be even stronger than previously realized. It finds that sunlight exposure is by far the greatest weather-related factor determining mental health outcomes. In other words: more sunshine, more happiness.
For the study, a psychologist, a physicist and a statistician from BYU teamed up to compare daily environmental data from the university’s Physics and Astronomy Weather Station with emotional health data archived by day for 16,452 adult therapy patients who were being treated at the BYU Counseling and Psychological Services Center.
Exposure to sunlight is a significant factor in seasonal affective disorder. Research has shown that the brain produces more of the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin on sunny days than it does on darker days. What’s more, lack of sunlight is linked with lower vitamin D levels, which in turn has been correlated with depression and low energy.
If you’re getting enough sun, your emotions should remain relatively stable, the researchers found. But as the amount of sunlight in the day is reduced, levels of emotional pain can soar. Other weather variables including temperature, pollution and rain were not found to have an impact on mental health.
“We were surprised that many of the weather and pollution variables we included in the study were not significantly correlated with clients’ scores on the distress measure once we had accounted for suntime,” Dr. Mark Beecher, a professor of psychology at the university and the study’s lead author, told The Huffington Post. “People tend to associate rainy days, pollution, and other meteorological phenomena with sadness or depression, but we did not find that.”
1.What does the author suggest we do in Paragraph 1?
A. Realized the benefits of sunshine. B. Avoid hibernating in springtime.
C. Curl up in a blanket in cold weather. D. Enjoy sunshine even in cold weather.
2.The underlined word “soar”in Paragraph 5 most probably means “ ”?
A. Rise sharply. B. Vary unstably.
C. Drop slightly. D. Change greatly.
3.What does the passage say about the research done by BYU?
A. It is done on normal adults of various ages.
B. It is carried out by Dr Mark Beecher alone.
C. It concludes the sunshine means happiness.
D. It finds that temperature affects mental health.
4.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Lower vitamin D levels are helpful in keeping us energetic.
B. The research findings are inconsistent with the popular belief.
C. The more sunshine we get, the less excited we are likely to feel.
D. The link between sunshine and mental health was unknown before.
Coming to the end of my assistantship in Barcelona, I start to think about what the future might hold.
It’s been seven months and a few days since I arrived here and things have changed so much in what some might call a short period of time. When I first arrived in Terrassa I was excited and nervous to start a new adventure in a country I love. The first few days seem so long ago now, trying to find a place to live, organizing my timetable with the schools, meeting new people.
However, a fortnight later, the excitement started to fade and I began to spend more than a few nights thinking about family and friends back home, wondering if I should be there with them. Everything started to change after meeting some new friends and spending good time with them, eating together and seeing new places as a group. I suppose we should never forget how important it is to have good people in your life, because they can make a difference.
Coming back to Terrassa after visiting home for Christmas felt like returning to a second home, to a place that was mine with people I cared about. Things got even busier and more people came into my life; new friends, romance and a whole lot of good food flowed by in what seems to have been weeks, not months.
Now, looking forward, there are some decisions to make. Should I return home to Scotland and move on with life there or try to extend my time here, perhaps make it something permanent? Experiencing other cultures or learning about the world is such an important thing to do if you have the means.
My advice from my experience so far is to travel and try new things whenever you get the opportunity. You may find somewhere you were always supposed to be.
1.Why did the author go to Barcelona?
A. To meet his curiosity. B. To conduct his work.
C. To begin a new adventure. D. Do experience a new culture.
2.When did the author begin to feel homesick?
A. As soon as he set foot on Terrassa.
B. When he was considering his future.
C. After a few weeks’ stay in Terrassa.
D. When he was trying to find a living place.
3.What is the author unsure about?
A. Where to spend his future life.
B. How to enjoy his life in Terrassa.
C. What to do to extend his time in Terrassa.
D. Whether to celebrate Christmas with locals.
4.What has the author learned from his experience?
A. Having a clear idea of oneself is important.
B. Traveling alone brings a great many benefits.
C. Learning about the world makes life more colorful.
D. Keeping an open mind toward new things is necessary.
Nowadays, top performing sportsmen earn huge amount of money as compared to people in other professions. Some people consider it a rational approach. However, there are a few who think it is unjustifiable.
Some people think sports professionals with outstanding performance should be overpaid as it is a short-lived career which requires rigorous hard work as compared to other professions. This field demands a strict, disciplined life with extensive physical efforts, consistent practice, a fixed diet schedule to bring pride and glory to the country. Due to such tough requirements, people in this field have an average career span of 10-15 years. As sports professionals have limited tenure, they should be rewarded with high monetary gains to acknowledge their excellent performance.
However, there are a few who think that top performing sportsmen and women should not have high salaries as it is a biased approach. They feel that there are other critical professions which are more valuable to the country as compared to the sports field. For example, the professions, like doctors, social worker, works for the betterment of the society. Their efforts not only help to reduce the social issues prevailing in the community, but they also contribute in providing a healthy environment. As a result, they significantly contribute to the growth of the country. Henceforth, their efforts should be equally recognized along with the sports professionals.
In my opinion, although there are some logical reasons for huge earnings of the top performing players, people from other professions should also be equally appreciated in terms of lucrative monetary benefits for their outstanding contribution. As all the professions are critical in their own field and contributes to the overall development of the country.
To conclude, sports people delivering excellent performance should not be overpaid in comparison to other professionals who make a significant contribution to the society.
1.A key reason for overpaying sports professionals with outstanding performance is that .
A. they work harder than others B. they have to keep a strict diet
C. their career is relatively short D. they meet tough requirements
2.What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?
A. Some people look down on sportsmen.
B. Valuing sports can lead to prejudice.
C. Not all professions can get great incomes.
D. Not all professions can get great incomes.
3.What’s the author’s attitude towards overpaying top sportsmen?
A. Opposing. B. Supportive.
C. Ambiguous. D. Unconcerned.
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. People’s various attitudes to top sportsmen.
B. Whether top sportsmen should be overpaid.
C. Top sportsmen bring honor to their homeland.
D. Overpaying top sportsmen harms other professions.
Upcoming Events of New York Chinese Cultural Center
Fan Dance
Sunday, September8, 2:00pm-3:00 pm, $15 per child
New-York Historical Society Museum & Library
Learn Chinese fan dancing with an instructor from NYCCC! This program is a part of an exhibition which examines the history of trade and immigration between China and the United States.
Dragon Boat Festival
Friday, September13,2:00pm -2:30pm
Fresh Meadows Park
Come and celebrate with us in the thousand-year-old tradition of Dragon Boat racing! Be part of the audience and enjoy the excitement of this celebration. FREE ADMISSION! Click here for more information. Dragon Boat Festival will be held in Fresh Meadows Park.
Dance to China
Sunday, September15, 2 pm
Spruce Street School Auditorium, 12 Spruce St, New York, NY 10038
Join us in celebrating 43 years of preserving and continuing Chinese traditional dance. Students from NYCCC School of the Arts will be performing traditional Chinese dance, martial arts, and Beijing opera . Cost is $15 for adults, $12 for teenagers and senior citizens, $10 for children under 12.
NYCCC School of the Arts Open House
Saturday, September21, from 1:00pm -3:00 pm, $12 per child
PS 124, Yung Wing School, 40 Division Street, New York, NY 10002
Join us and see Chinese dance, kung fu, and acrobatic (杂技的)performances performed by our current students. Come and see our students’ beautiful artwork on display and make some artwork yourselves during our hour of arts and crafts and face painting from 1-2 pm. The show will be from 2-3pm.
1.Where can you learn about China-US trade and immigration history?
A. In New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.
B. In PS 124, Yung Wing School.
C. In Spruce Street School Auditorium.
D. In Fresh Meadows Park.
2.How much should a family of 4 (aged 75, 38, 36, 5) pay to participate in Dance to China?
A. $48. B. $ 52.
C. $55. D. $ 57.
3.What does NYCCC aim at?
A. Training dancing instructors. B. Producing beautiful artwork.
C. Promoting Chinese folk arts. D. Examining trade and immigration.
请阅读下面图画和文字,并按照要求用英语写一篇150词左右的文章。
（写作内容）
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2.你认为人们该以什么样的态度来对待这种社会现象?是将它当做一种社会问题加以干涉,还是当做一种正常现象给予理解?请给出理由论证你的观点(至少三点)
（写作要求）
1.写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句
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请认真阅读下列短文,并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意:每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的橫线上。
Do the right Thing
In life, people feel most satisfied when they choose options that side with their most deeply values. Here's how to stay true to yours.
If you hope to have your life shaped according to your ideals, you have to know what those ideals are. Perhaps begin sessions by identifying the concepts that are most important from a list:honesty, structure, family and so on. Those qualities are influenced by your parents. your culture and society as a whole, but you have to take ownership of your own decisions.
Almost all of these qualities are things most of us desire to hold dear. To determine which principles are more than just desires, reflect on situations that resonate(t ng) with yourself.
Identifying your values will guide you in the right direction, but a few strategies can help you follow through. Before you make a big decision, do something that will put you in high spirits:exercise, socialize with friends, volunteer. Researchers theorize that such activities improve our mood, which promotes dopamine levels in certain areas of the brain, improving our cognitive abilities and helping us weigh different options.
Trouble is the toughest decisions often arrive at the most inconvenient times. when you’re under force. ask a family member. a friend or. in certain cases, a professional for advice. They can provide advice that's not slightly influenced by the work deadline, or leaky roof gradually weakening your mental energy.
Of course. people make decisions that contradict their ideals all the time. There are lots of values we hold dear and they frequently come into conflict with one another It's not so much that people don' t know what they want: it's that there are many things we desire, and we don’t always know how.
While a single decision can seem like a tug-of-war between competing desires, broader life choices don' t need to be a definitive either/or question. One who likes traveling worldwide might temporarily put off a grand trip to explore locations closer to home or commit to setting aside time for vacation with their family every summer, no matter what else comes up.
Surround yourself with people who, besides sharing your passion, can also prevent you from hesitating. A group can remind you, Hey, were doing this because we love it. "If you're still struggling. even after seeking out community support, there's no shame in revising your core values. If you're determined to take part in a charity program but spend the evening with friends instead, it may be time to accept that friendship is more important to you than volunteerism.Better yet, find opportunities to continue the charity program with your friends.
You may learn that what you believed was a core priority actually has much more to do with living: up to what your parents, co-workers or others expect. If your values agree with who you really are, no ie will have to ask you to make those choices.
Title: Do the Right Thing | |
Passage outline | Detailed information |
Problem | It's most satisfying to make choices which 1. your values. But how can you stay true to yours? |
Solutions to the problem | ▶ Know your values ● Identify your values. It can help 2. your life according to your ideals. ● Many 3. as a whole influence life concepts, but you have to take ownership of your own decisions. ● Consider situations resonating with yourself when 4. which principles are more than just desires. |
▶ Find the best time ● Do something putting you in a good5. before making big decisions. ●6. other people at the inconvenient times. | |
▶ Balance all options ● Learn to make 7. among desires. ● Avoid limiting choices to a definitive either/or question. | |
▶ Stay the course ● Stay with people who encourage you to stay true without a slight 8. . ● It is not 9. to revise your core values sometimes. but better find opportunities to make some compensation. | |
Conclusion | ● Your values may agree with the 10. of your parents, co-workers or others. ● If your values agree with who you really are, no one will have to ask you to make those choices. |
