The "best years of your life"? Maybe not. 1.
1. Learn to appreciate small things. Whether it's having a computer, having friends, having a family that loves you, having a decent education or simply being born in this world. 2. Be happy, and life will reward you. Remember that these are the last few years you will be able to enjoy yourself without having to worry about the responsibility of an adult, but make sure you prepare yourself for when you do become one.
2. 3. Participating in clubs, activities, and sports increases your chances of meeting new friends. While you only need 4 or 5 close friends, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to meet new people. Participating gives you something to do instead of sitting bored at home and wallowing in self-pity.
3. You can pursue interests you enjoy. Video games, for example, are good if you're the type who can get into that kind of thing. You should also find a hobby that is meaningful or practical. Use your "hobby time" to either A. Volunteer (to gain practical skills for college apps, job resumes, and scholarships) B. Learn an instrument, or get into something else in the creative field like painting or dance. 4.
4. Play a sport or work out. Having a healthy body leads to a healthy and happy mind. Being confident in your appearance makes you more confident in other areas.
5. Do well in school. 5. It will pay off in the end. Plus, doing well means no angry parents. (257)
A. This is the time to start developing and uncovering passions that might otherwise lie inactive.
B. Even though you want to enjoy your teen life as best as possible, don't be lazy in school.
C. But you can learn to make the most of your high school days.
D. Choose your friends wisely.
E. Be sociable.
F. Remember that the point of life is for you to enjoy it.
G. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your hard work pay off in the form of A's and B's.
On the day the tornado hit, there was no indication severe weather was on its way—the sky was blue and the sun had been out. The first alert my husband, Jimmy, 67, and I, 65, got came around 9 p.m., from some scrolling text on the TV Jimmy was watching. He ran upstairs to find me in our third-floor bedroom, and we changed the channel from the presidential primary debate I had been watching to our local Pensacola, Florida, station.
No sooner had we found coverage of the tornado than it was on top of us. Suddenly, the bones of the house shook, the power went out, and the wind began to roar through blown-out windows. We had three flights of steps to navigate to the relative safety of the first floor, where a closet fixed underneath a brick staircase might be the firmest place to wait things out. Everything around rattling, we struggled forward, uncertain whether we would make it.
As we reached the last flight of steps, our front door blew out. Shards of glass flew everywhere. A three-foot-long tree branch whipped, missing us by inches.
By the time I reached the closet, the tornado had been over us for about a minute. Jimmy pushed me down to the closet floor, but the wind kept him outside. I grasped his arm as the tornado constantly sucked the door open and tried to bring him with it. My knees and scalp were full of glass, but I felt no pain. If I had let go, Jimmy would have flown right out the back of the house and into the bay. Then everything stopped. In those first quiet moments, I couldn’t believe it was over.
The storm lasted four minutes. Four of the twelve town houses in our unit were completely destroyed. Of the houses left standing, ours suffered the most damage. Amazingly, none of us were severely injured.
1.The author and her husband were caught unprepared by the tornado mainly because ________.
A. they were watching the presidential debate on the TV
B. they missed the first alert from the TV
C. no signs indicated the disaster
D. the government didn’t warn them of the severe weather
2.The author didn’t feel the pain in her keens and scalp because____________________.
A. she lost her consciousness B. she was concerned about her husband’s safety
C. she got to the closet safe and sound D. she was glad that the tornado was over
3.How did we feel after the tornado?
A. blessed B. depressed
C. annoyed D. shocked
4.Which word best describe the experience?
A. interesting B. adventurous
C. unpredictable D. educational
Microsoft has developed a new smartphone app that interprets eye signals and translates them into letters, allowing people with motor neurone disease to communicate with others from a phone.
The GazeSpeak app combines a smartphone’s camera with artificial intelligence to recognize eye movements in real time and convert them into letters, words and sentences. For people suffering from ALS（渐冻症）, also known as motor neurone disease, eye movement can be the only way they are able to communicate.
“Current eye-tracking input systems for people with ALS or other motor impairments are expensive, not robust under sunlight, and require frequent re-calibration and substantial, relatively immobile setups,” said Xiaoyi Zhang, a researcher at Microsoft who developed the technology.
“To mitigate the drawbacks…we created GazeSpeak, an eye-gesture communication system that runs on a smartphone, and is designed to be low-cost, robust, portable and easy to learn.”
The app is used by the listener by pointing their smartphone at the speaker. A chart that can be stuck to the back of the smartphone is then used by the speaker to determine which eye movements to make in order to communicate.
The sticker shows four grids of letters, which each correspond to a different eye movement. By looking up, down, left or right, the speaker selects which grids the letters they want belong to. The artificial intelligence algorithm is then able to predict the word or sentence they are trying to say.
Zhang’s research, Smartphone-Based Gaze Gesture Communication for People with Motor Disabilities, is set to be presented at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in May.
1.What should people with motor neurone disease do when they communicate with other people?
A. They need speak to the smartphone loudly.
B. They have to predict the sentence they are trying to say.
C. They need choose a grid on the back of the smartphone with eye movements.
D. They should work out the artificial intelligence algorithm in the smartphone.
2.How does the Gaza Speak app work?
A. The GazaSpeak app can hear what the speakers say.
B. The GazaSpeak app can convey speakers movements to the listeners’ smartphone.
C. The camera in the phone can record speakers’ gestures and predict what they want to say.
D. The artificial intelligent camera in the phone can recognize eye signals and translate them into words and sentences.
3.Which of the following statement is true ?
A. DazaSpeak is designed for blind people.
B. GazaSpeak is low-cost, robust, portable and easy to learn.
C. Current eye-tracking input systems don’t need any re-calibration and setups.
D. Smartphones with GazaSpeak app have been popular among people with Motor Diseases
Crossing your legs is an extremely common habit. While you may find it comfortable to sit with one knee crossed over the other, it might be causing health problems that you are not aware of.
A study published in Blood Pressure Monitoring stated that sitting with your legs crossed can increase your blood pressure. The reason this happens is because the blood in your legs has to work against gravity to be pumped back to your heart, crossing one leg over the other increases resistance, making it even harder for the blood to circulate. You won’t feel any immediate effects, but sitting for long periods of time will hurt you forever.
Crossing your legs can also lead to neck and back pain. Ideally, it’s best for our bodies to sit with our feet planted flat, hip width apart, on the floor, but it’s not easy to maintain perfect posture all day at the office. When you sit with your legs crossed your hips are in a twisted position, which can cause one of your pelvic bones(骨盆) to rotate. Since your pelvic bone supports your neck and spine（脊椎）, this can cause pressure on your lower and middle back and neck.
You also might notice that when you sit with your legs crossed for long periods of time your feet and legs get painful or have the feeling of being asleep. This is because when one leg sits on top of the other it causes pressure on the veins（静脉） and nerves in your legs and feet. It can cause numbness and/or temporary paralysis in the legs, ankles, or feet. While the feeling of discomfort may only last a minute or two, repeatedly crossing your legs until they feel numb can cause permanent nerve damage.
So next time you sit down, try to get yourself in the habit of sitting with both of your feet on the floor. Not only will it help your posture and stability, but it will also save your health in the long run.
1.Which of the following is not the consequence of crossing legs?
A. Neck and back get hurt.
B. Feet and legs become numb.
C. Blood pressure goes up.
D. Pelvic bones keep perfect postures.
2.What does the underlined word “rotate” in Para3 mean?
A. break seriously
B. hurt greatly
C. move casually
D. straighten suddenly
3.What does the text mainly talk about?
A. How to choose a proper sitting posture
B. It is advisable not to sit with legs crossed
C. How to develop beneficial habits
D. Blood pressure harms our bodies.
你们班计划在下周一下午4:00到5:00在本班教室举行一次题为“I Have a Dream”的英语演讲比赛。假定你是班长李华，请给你们的外籍教师Lucy写封书面邀请函，请她担任评委，对演讲作简要点评，并为获奖者颁发证书。
注意：1. 词数100左右
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（
删除：把多余的词用斜线（
）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Dear Tom,
I’m glad to hear that you are considering make up with Peter. If I were you, I consider a bike for a birthday present for him.
As far as I know, Peter is always in a poor health, so he can take more exercises by riding a bike to build up his body. Meanwhile, you can often go out by bike together, that is helpful to rebuild your friendship. Besides, riding a bike is an environmental-friendly means of transport. It’s convenience for him to get around as well.
Apart from giving her a gift, you can also adopt other means, such as traveling, seeing a movie, having dinner and going shopping. No matter how you do, being sincerely is the most important. I really hope that you can be good friends forever.
Yours,
Li Hua
