假 如 你 是 李 华 ，为 庆 祝 6月 5日 世 界 环 境 日 ，你 们 学 校 组 织 主 题 为 “我 们 的 地 球 我 们 的 家园 ( One Earth One Family)”的 志 愿 者 活 动 ｡请 你 写 一 封 电 子 邮 件 给 外 教 Peter，邀 请 他 来 参 加活 动 ｡主 要 内 容 包 括 :活 动 的 时 间 和 地 点 ，你 们 准 备 做 些 什 么 ，以 及 你 们 做 这 些 事 情 的 原 因 ｡
提 示 词 语 :plant，recycle，speech，clean，beautiful
提 示 问 题 :1. When and where will the activity be held?
2. What will you do for it?
3. Why will you do that?
Dear Peter，
I'm writing to invite you to take part in our celebration of Environment Protection Day.
Looking forward to seeing you there.
Yours，
Li Hua
阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题｡
Mom's Recipe for Life
I have a lot of Mom's recipes in a blue box where all my special ones were put，like the
pumpkin pie she made during my growing up years. Even so，the recipe I treasure most is not on any index card， nor did she send it to me in a letter. Instead，she lived this recipe all of her life.
My mother grew up in a small coal mining town in southwest Iowa. My grandfather once told me that she knew no stranger;she considered everyone in that community her friend. That attitude
continued wherever she lived for the rest of her life.
As a teen，I was embarrassed(尴尬的 )every time my mother talked to strangers and offered a smile to everyone in the store or on the city bus. Almost all of them responded(回 应 )with a bright smile of their own. Some spoke，others nodded their heads at this elderly woman who brought a little light into their day.
What really sold me on Mom's approach to life was her experience on the senior bus. The weeks I could not be there， she used this low cost transportation to the grocery store. After her first trip， I asked her how it went.
“ Ha!”she said，“ I got on that bus and what did I see?Thirteen little old ladies and one old
man，and not one word was spoken.”
I wondered how long it would be until the silence on that bus would change. On my next visit，Mom mentioned the 13 little old ladies on the bus and something one of them had told her.
“ Oh，are you talking with them now?”I asked.
“ Of course，”she said. “ One day I climbed up the steps of the bus and before I looked for a
seat，I gave them a big smile and I said，‘ Isn't it a wonderful day? I noticed a few shy smiles.”
Mom didn't give up. She greeted them all each time she got on the bus and before long，the
whole group was laughing and talking to one another. The bus became more than just transportation.
When we went to the various stores，I watched as she smiled and chatted with perfect strangers. Some of them looked like the poorest person you'd ever met，but once Mom smiled at them and started a conversation， most responded favorably. My mother didn't embarrass me any longer. I found myself admiring her.
She's been gone for ten years but I've carried on her recipe for life. It was me who had done the
smiling first and all those people had responded. My mother didn't lecture but taught me by example. She'd given me a recipe for life.
1.Where did the writer's mom grow up?
2.Did the people talk on the bus on Mom's first trip?
3.What did Mom do to make the bus more than transportation?
4.How did the writer feel about Mom in the end?
5.What is Mom's recipe for life?
A research study has looked into what happens inside your brain while you read and listen to music. You know that thrill(兴 奋 )you get when listening to your favorite music?That exciting feeling when you hear your favorite songs?According to a recent study，it seems the same thing can happen while you are reading，but not with every kind of text. This opens up interesting questions around how music，reading and emotions are connected in the brain.
The study
“ We decided we would do a comparison between four or five different kinds of texts to see how the brain reacted，”explains Adam Zeman，a scientist. “ The participants (参 与 者 )lay in an MRI scanner reading the texts，and then we compared brain activity for those five texts.”The texts ranged (涉 及 )from deadly boring ones to highly exciting ones，including the Highway Code，parts from novels，and poems.
So what happened in the participants brains while they were reading?
Emotional reaction
As the researchers observed，participants found some texts more emotional than others. When reading these emotional texts，there was higher activity in brain areas related to pleasure and reward—the same areas related to the thrill we get when we listen to music. As Zeman says，“ it perfectly shows that the emotional reaction to literature(文 学 )and to music has quite a bit in common. So it doesn't seem to matter whether you are listening or reading if you get a thrill. That was one quite strong finding.”
Introspection(内 省 )
There were more interesting findings. Reading poetry is often considered an activity that requires us to use the brain，but did the study find any truth of this?When the participants were reading poems，the team found there was more activity in a particular group of brain areas called the Default Network. “ These areas seem to be related to things we do with our minds when we are resting，like thinking about what's happened to us recently，thinking about what's going to happen in the near future，about other people，and that network seems to be more strongly related to poetry than with other texts，”explains Zeman. This connection between poetry and introspection could be the subject of further research.
Conclusions
The study shows that the different texts activate different areas of our brains when we read. Zeman says，“ the study did support what we thought:reaction to literature was going to be a bit like the one to music in terms of emotion. We felt that we ended up with a great deal of unanswered questions which we hope somebody will continue to ask.”
1.What did the research try to find out?
A. How music helps us read different kinds of texts.
B. What kind of texts most people like while listening to music.
C. Why reading different texts causes different reactions in emotion.
D. Whether reading can cause similar emotional reaction like music does.
2.What did the participants do in the study?
A. They listened to music. B. They read different texts.
C. They answered many questions. D. They compared brain activities.
3.What can we learn from the study?
A. The emotional texts work better for the research.
B. Poetry reading can activate the Default Network.
C. Music helps to bring pleasure and reward.
D. People think about the past when resting.
After the holiday season，our guess is that you are tired from visiting the store and buying gifts. It is easy to get stuck，both spiritually and physically by having too much. This is why minimalism and living simply should be your resolution for 2018.
Economic development results in a lot of consumerism(消 费 ):get a good job,get a nice car, and settle into a beautiful house. But some people say that our lives could use a little lightening these days:We work and work and work to only buy and buy and buy—but does all that material wealth really lead to our happiness?Are we filling our time with unnecessary things，when we should be filling our time with friends，value，and service?
An article from the website，Becoming Minimalist， points out the problem with this cycle(循 环 ) in the best way，“ Nobody really believes happiness is directly tied to the number of things we own. Yet almost all of us live like it. We get stuck in it. We work more hours than ever before， earn more income， but save less.”
Minimalism isn't all about ridding(摆 脱 )consumerism and products from your life. Minimalism is about finding your own sense of self and focusing on the things you love. It is about creating a lifestyle that is focused on only those people and things that enrich you.
These days，minimalistic living can come in many forms. We think the most practical form of minimalistic living for us is to follow our list:How You Can Live Lighter in 2018.
Purge Your Closet:Take a day and clear out all of your drawers and closets. If something doesn't have special meaning or adds no value to your life—give it away. Have only what you need and what you can see.
Test Those Limits:See how long you can go without shopping. Give yourself a limit，whether it be two weeks or six months，whether it be avoiding a certain mall or buying clothes. Then put your selfwill to the test. After your allowed time，chances are you will realize all those extra blouses weren't worth it and you will set yourself up for future spending control.
Cut the Cord:This sometimes means giving up your modern technology:TV,cell phone,computer,etc. Limit yourself to only a few hours of TV per week，or only 30 minutes of social media per day. You'll make more time for the things and people that you love and clear out some unnecessary noise from your life.
Live to Your Goals:Find out what your life goals and values are. Then，see what may help you or stop you from achieving this goal. Cut out that which doesn't lead to your happiness and success and add more of what does.
Remember，a pared down lifestyle doesn't mean less success or less happiness. It represents your freedom to focus on the things in life that really matter.
1.The cycle “ people work and work only to buy and buy” shows .
A. people get stuck physically and spiritually
B. people don't believe wealth leads to happiness
C. people don't want to save more
D. people fall in love with buying
2.To practise minimalistic living，you should .
A. give away your drawers and closets
B. go to the shopping mall every six months
C. have 30 minutes of social media per day
D. discover your life goals and values
3.The words “ pared down”in the last paragraph probably mean “ ” .
A. free B. light C. popular D. convenient
4.Which of the following best explains the writer's opinion?
A. It might take you a long time to wait for the “ right”thing.
B. Clear out the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
C. Change yourself with the development of society.
D. Freedom is more important than success.
Parisian architect(建 筑 师 )Paul Andreu has designed so many landmark buildings in China.
Among his best known are the National Grand Theatre in Beijing，the Jinan Grand Theatre and Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Andreu is nearly 80 and he continues to develop projects in China. The worldfamous architect，writer and painter held his first art show last summer in Beijing where he sat down for this interview.
How was it that you went from architecture to writing—and more recently to painting?
I have a desire to create，for continuous renewal. While I can't say that I know everything about architecture，I no longer have much to prove or discover. For me,painting is just as important,creatively,but it's something you do alone in your workshop，with a piece of paper and a pot of ink—it's totally refreshing.
Why did you wait so many years to start painting?
It was a kind of need. I was tired off in my field and wanted to try something new and I tried to improve this situation by writing. But writing is a very long process—it takes at least a year to write a book. Painting is faster. Being alone with yourself during the day，in the light，and then putting yourself in a situation where you produce something of which you know nothing and for which no one has asked—it's a kind of freedom you seldom have in life.
What is your project in China right now?
There's a project in the ZhuhaiMacao area. The Chinese engineering and building company Zhuhai Da Heng Qin asked French architect Thomas Coldefy to think about the project, suggesting that he work with an architect who's already known in China. He asked me if I'd be willing to do some of the work. We'll present the project some time before December;the planned completion date is in 2019.
1.Paul Andreu has gone from architecture to painting because .
A. he likes paper and ink B. he thinks painting is faster
C. he has a desire to create D. he has to prove that he is great
2.Where is Paul Andreu's project in China now?
A. In Beijing. B. In Jinan.
C. In Shanghai Pudong. D. In the ZhuhaiMacao area.
3.What do you know about Paul Andreu from the passage?
A. His achievements. B. His challenges. C. His worries. D. His habits.
Thinking outside the Box
If you think young people can't have an influence on the world，think again. Over the years，teens have invented excellent things that solve problems and have changed the ways people do things.
Take fourteen-year-old Eliott Sarrey for example. He invented Bot2Karot，a gardening robot that can take care of a small vegetable garden. The robot is controlled by an app on a smartphone. It helps people grow and take care of vegetables. It also saves water and energy，and makes gardening easy for people who are very busy or have difficulty getting around. Brooke Martin is an animal lover who missed her dog when she was away. So she invented iCPooch when she was just twelve years old. The iCPooch lets pet owners check on their pets from anywhere in the world using a smartphone. It also allows owners to use their smartphone cameras to video chat with their pets.
Fourteen-year-old inventor Robert Saunt was tired of buying or borrowing different video-game controllers for each game console(操 控 器 ) . So he invented a controller called Game Blox. It can be used with four of the most popular game consoles. His invention will save players a lot of money and space，and it will save 330 million kg of materials every year.
Kids all over the world find ways to solve problems every day. Who knows?Maybe the next time you have a problem，you'll come up with the next amazing idea!
1.If you have no time to take care of your vegetable garden，_______ can help you.
A. Bot2Karot B. iCPooch C. Game Blox D. Smartphone Cameras
2.Brooke Martin invented iCPooch when she was _______.
A. 4 B. 10 C. 12 D. 14
3.According to the passage，Robert Saunt ________.
A. is an animal lover B. was tired of playing games
C. invented a controller D. helps with gardening
