阅读下面短文，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。
A recent UN report shows that many of us are working longer and harder than ever. In the past, employees worked eight or nine hours a day. Today, however, many companies expect their employees to work longer. In addition, the boundary between work and personal life has become less clear. If we are not working in the office, we might be working at home. We are required to be on call whenever our company needs us. In short, we are all working and having less time with family and friends.
This over-emphasis (过分强调) on work can lead to serious problems in our personal lives. The more time we spend at work, the less time there is available for maintaining relationships with our friends and family. Many of us spend so much time on the job that we hardly ever get to see our partners or children. When we do get home, we are often tired and lack the energy to spend time doing what we really enjoy.
There are, however, a number of ways in which we can regain control of our lives and correct the work-life balance. First of all, workers, especially those employed in offices, have to realize that work is rarely finished. In other words, taking work home does not usually decrease the amount of work. As one task finishes, another one appears. This means that, unless there is a strict deadline, work should stay at work.
Another way to regain a work-life balance is to plan your free time. Most of us spend a lot of time planning our working week. Few of us put the same effort into organizing our leisure time. However, if we don’t have a plan, there is a danger that we will miss out on the things that we really enjoy doing. So, if you like going to the cinema, make sure that you go regularly. Write it in your diary. If you enjoy having friends visit, plan a time and write that in your diary too. It’s all too easy to let your precious time slip away.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Swedish businessman Nile Bergqvist is delighted with his new hotel, the world’s first igloo (冰屋) hotel.
1. ( build) in a small town, it has been attracting lots of visitors, but soon the fun will be over. In two weeks’ time Bergqvist’s ice creation 2. (be) nothing more than a pool of water. “We don’t see it as a big problem,” he says.“We just look forward to replacing 3..
Bergqvist built his first igloo in 1991 for an art exhibition. It was 4. successful that he designed the present one, 5. measures roughly 200 square meters. Six workmen spent more than eight weeks 6. (pile) 1, 000 tons of snow onto a wooden base. When the snow froze, the base 7. (remove).
After their stay, all visitors receive a survival certificate recording their success. Without8. (window) and places to hang clothes, it may seem more like a survival test than a relaxing hotel break with temperatures below 0℃. “It's great fun,” Bergqvist explains. “As well as a good start in survival training.”
The 9. (popular) of the igloo is beyond doubt. It is now attracting tourists 10. all over the world. At least 800 people have stayed at the igloo this season even though there are only ten rooms.
Jadav Payeng, an Indian, has been planting a tree every day since he was just 16 years old. Now, almost 40 years later, he has created a ______ of 1,360 acres on what was once a _____ land.
Growing up on Majuli, the world’s largest river island, he once ______ hundreds of animals dying from drought among the ______ greenery on the island, so he was ______ to plant one tree every day.
After almost four ______ of growth, his forest is now home to hundreds of elephants, tigers, deer and birds. Payeng says he has lost ______ of how many trees he has planted—but he ____ there are now thousands of trees providing ______ to the wildlife.
“It’s not as if I did it ______,” Payeng said. “You plant one or two trees, and they have to seed. And once they seed, the wind knows how to plant them, the birds here know how to ____ them, cows know, elephants ______, and even the river knows. The entire ______ knows.”
Island locals used to call Payeng “crazy” for his ______, but since he was accidentally ___ by a wandering wildlife journalist in 2007, the “Forest Man of India” has been ______ as a role model for protecting the environment.
Payeng doesn’t plan on ______ any time soon—he wants to continue planting trees “until his last ______”. He hopes to one day ______ the entire island with 5,000 acres of trees. “Nature is everything. It ______ me. It gives me power…As long as it survives, I survive.”
1.A.lake B.forest C.park D.hole
2.A.big B.fertile C.poor D.flat
3.A.witnessed B.imagined C.reported D.rescued
4.A.remote B.amazing C.fresh D.decreasing
5.A.delighted B.moved C.determined D.convinced
6.A.decades B.years C.months D.weeks
7.A.interest B.count C.control D.sight
8.A.argues B.dreams C.hopes D.believes
9.A.food B.care C.water D.shelter
10.A.by accident B.by myself C.by mistake D.by all means
11.A.eat B.pass C.repair D.sow
12.A.know B.work C.rest D.run
13.A.village B.ecosystem C.planet D.desert
14.A.confidence B.position C.ambition D.experiment
15.A.discovered B.connected C.decided D.regarded
16.A.ordered B.observed C.praised D.studied
17.A.stopping B.returning C.hiding D.waiting
18.A.purpose B.view C.breath D.picture
19.A.tighten B.restart C.arrange D.save
20.A.improves B.inspires C.changes D.forbids
So, You Want to Be a Writer?
What are some tips on becoming a writer?
1. Read everything you can. Most writers are good readers. They read because they love to lose themselves in books. They like the sounds of language and the way that reading a good description can feel as satisfying as winning a race or eating really good food. 1.. Do you like stories that are fast-paced and full of unexpected twists? Do you prefer to read books with characters who seem like someone you might know? Do you like to feel scared or do you like a story that makes you laugh until you cry? Think about the types of writing you like best, and try to identify the qualities that attract you.
2. 2. It’s easy to forget a good idea if you do not record it immediately. If you get in the habit of carrying a notebook or journal with you everywhere you go, you can write down anything you want to remember. When you are talking to friends in the cafeteria or waiting for the bus, something might give you an idea for a character or a scene in a story. You might have a dream you don’t want to forget, or you might just write down the lyrics of a song you love. 3.
3. Do your homework. If you decide that you would like to submit your work for publication, make sure you do your research. If you are sending your writing to a magazine, look through old issues. 4. If you are submitting to a book publisher, explore their website to make sure your material is similar to (but not exactly the same as) other books they publish.
4. Stay positive. A writer’s life can be frustrating. Sometimes it’s hard to sit down and write. 5. This is why perseverance is an important quality for a writer to have.
A. Talk to friends.
B. Keep a notebook.
C. As you read, pay attention to what speaks to you.
D. You may get many refusals before you receive a single acceptance.
E. Does it seem like your writing fits in with other stories or articles?
F. These everyday thoughts and observations can be material for your writing one day.
G. Writing is a good way to clear your mind and make room for more of the “good stuff”.
For the soldiers, the true technological hero may be the body armor (盔甲).
Capable of stopping most bullets, the body armor worn by all of the troops is being trusted for saving many lives. Soldiers shot at close range are walking away with no more than broken ribs (肋骨).
While the newest smart bombs get more attention, improvements in soldiers’ armor are improving safety on the battlefield. The new body armor in particular, may help reduce deaths in the firefights.
In addition to the lighter and more protective body armor, soldiers now wear more comfortable, stronger helmets.
“Everything they have is much better,” says Robert Kinney, director of individual protection at the Army’s Soldier Center in Natick, Mass. “It means an increase in their quality of life.”
The new equipment is a result of years of research and development at the lab.
The new body armor, named “the interceptor”, is similar to but stronger than ones worn by the police. It can also protect the neck. Two other plates are put into it and cover vital organs. As a result, far fewer deaths arrive at military hospitals with abdomen (腹部) or, chest wounds, says Air Force Maj. Mark Ervin, a surgeon at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. “That’s remarkable,” Maj. Ervin says.
Altogether it weighs 16 pounds, one-third lighter than the previous armor that protects only against shrapnel (弹片) but couldn’t stop bullets. The lighter weight is a welcome improvement for soldiers already carrying 100 to 120 pounds of gear.
Soldiers’ helmets have also been improved since the first Gulf War. They also offer more protection. They are capable of stopping handgun or small machine gun rounds, but not high-powered shots.
1.Why is the body armor regarded as a hero?
A.It’s able to stop all the bullets. B.It saves a hero soldier’s life.
C.It prevents rib injuries effectively. D.It reduces deaths among soldiers.
2.Which of the following best describes the new body armor?
A.Stronger. B.Heavier.
C.More expensive. D.More attractive.
3.What is the main idea of the text?
A.The new body armor is able to stop most bullets.
B.The new body armor has saved many lives on the battlefield.
C.Soldiers are equipped with improved body armors and helmets.
D.Helmets are as important as the body armor to soldiers.
The foldable smartphone was shown for the first time on Wednesday during a Samsung developer’s conference in San Francisco, California. The company first announced plans to build a fully foldable phone five years ago.
The phone is designed to fold open to make the device the size of a small tablet. It can also perform some operations of a tablet. When folded closed, the device looks and works like a normal smartphone. The device will permit users to keep up to three apps open at one time. With normal size smartphones, users have to keep changing between apps.
Justin Dension is Samsung’s senior vice president. He introduced the device to people at the conference. He said it marked a major breakthrough in future smartphone technology. Denison said the design of the foldable device was very complex. One of the biggest difficulties was finding a material that was not only flexible but also strong enough to support repeated folding and unfolding of the device. Denison said Samsung would be ready to start mass production in the coming months.
Technology experts see the new foldable design as a way to get users to buy a new device seen as revolutionary. More people are deciding to hold onto smartphones longer because newly launched models do not offer major improvements and can be very costly. This behavior is one reason for a steady decrease in worldwide smartphone sales over the past year.
It remains to be seen whether foldable phones will become popular quickly. The device is expected to cost more than $1,000. The company has not yet announced when its FlexPai device will be available in America. But it is planning to launch the product in China starting next month, at a price of about $1,300.
1.What did Samsung company do on Wednesday in San Francisco?
A.It announced plans to build a foldable phone.
B.It introduced its foldable phone to the public.
C.It started to sell its foldable phone in America.
D.It held a conference to deal with new challenges.
2.What can we learn about the foldable smartphone?
A.It can run only one app at a time.
B.The material for it was hard to find.
C.It is popular worldwide now.
D.It will take the place of the tablet.
3.What does the underlined part “This behavior” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A.Recycling their old smartphones.
B.Repairing their old smartphones.
C.Keeping their old smartphones.
D.Replacing their old smartphones.
4.Where does the passage probably come from?
A.A brochure. B.A newspaper.
C.A research paper. D.A shopping guidebook.
