Your comfort zone is a behavioral space where your activities and behaviors fit a routine and pattern that minimizes stress and risk．1.You benefit in obvious ways： regular happiness， low anxiety， and reduced stress．
Leaving your comfort zone can have very positive results， though． For one thing， you'll surely be more productive if you're willing to move out of it． With the sense of unease that comes from having deadlines and expectations， you'll have the drive and ambition to do more and learn new things．2.For another， learning to live outside your comfort zone can prepare you for life changes that force you out of it． Fear and uncertainty always exist in our life． By challenging yourself to things you normally wouldn't do， you can experience some of that uncertainty in a controlled and manageable environment．
While outside your comfort zone can be a good place to be，3.． You can start by doing everyday things differently． For example， you can take a different route to work or try a new restaurant． Besides， you should remember to break out in small steps． You get the same benefits whether you go with long strides （大步） or you start slow． If you're socially anxious， don't suppose you have to gather the courage to ask your crush （爱慕之人） on a date right away．
4. Identify your fears， and then face them step by step．
Trying new things is difficult， so it's important to understand how habits form and how we can break them．5.
A．It provides a state of mental security．
B．it's of great necessity to find ways to break out of it
C．it's a pleasant experience to stay in the comfort zone
D．You have to manage that stress and risk in a clever way．
E．Just say hello to them and see where you can go from there．
F．That means you will get more done and find smarter ways to work．
G．And it's as important to press yourself out of your comfort zone by doing specific things．
One of the most popular beliefs in parenting is the so﹣called Mozart effect， which says that listening to music by the Austrian composer Wolfgang Mozart can increase a child's intelligence． Some pregnant women have even gone so far as to play Mozart recordings on headphones pressed against their bellies． And it's not hard to see how Mozart's name became associated with accelerated development． He was history's greatest child genius， performing astonishing music for kings and queens at an age when many of us were content with tuneless singing "I'm a Little Teapot"．
So， if you have kids or you're expecting to have them， how seriously should you take the Mozart effect？ Will the child who doesn't listen to Mozart in the cradle （摇篮） be limited to an ordinary life？ Are you a bad parent if your kids don't know about any works of Mozart？
Relax． There is no scientific evidence that listening to Mozart improves children's cognitive abilities． The whole idea comes from a small study done in 1993， which found that college students who listened to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major （K 448）showed some improvement in a test of spatial （空间的） skills． This finding was later described as something extremely amazing by a musician， Don Campbell， in a book． Campbell's claims about the super powers of Mozart's music were repeated endlessly in the media and fueled a craze for Mozart﹣based enrichment activities． In 1998， for example， the governor of Georgia in the USA requested funds to send classical﹣music CDs to all parents of newborns in the state．
Since then， scientists have examined the claim that Mozart increases intelligence and found no evidence for it． The original experiment with college students was reviewed in 1999， and the increase in the students' spatial skills was found to be negligible． In 2007 the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research asked a team of experts to examine the scientific literature regarding Mozart and child development， and they found no reason to believe that it increased intelligence．
1.People relate Mozart to children's intelligence development because he ．
A.owned extraordinary music talent.
B.could perform music as a child.
C.offered music to pregnant women.
D.was an royal Austrian composer.
2.What can we know about the small study in 1993？
A.It added to the popularity of Mozart's music．
B.It found no evidence for supporting Mozart effect．
C.It helped college students make academic progress．
D.It urged Georgia's governor to spread classical music．
3.What does the underlined word "negligible" probably mean？
A.Sudden．
B.Insignificant．
C.Average．
D.Steady．
4.What can be the best title for the text？
A.New Findings： Mozart Effect to Be Proved.
B.Secrets Uncovered： History of Mozart Effect.
C.Does Listening to Mozart Make Kids Smarter？
D.How Does Mozart Improve Kids' Intelligence？
Your brain isn't necessarily the same age as the rest of you． Now， it may be possible to predict how quickly a person's brain will age throughout life based on tests taken when he or she is three years old．
A person's biological age may be a better indicator of their health than their real age． Brain age can be measured using brain scans and machine﹣learning to determine if a person's brain looks older or younger than the average healthy brain for people of the same age．
To find out if brain age might reveal anything about a person's health in midlife， Max Elliott at Duke University in North Carolina and his colleagues assessed the brains of 869 adults in New Zealand who have undergone regular medical and cognitive （认知的） testing since they were 3 years old．
When the volunteers， all aged between 43 and 46， underwent MRI brain scans， the team found that their brain ages ranged from 23 to 71． Those with older brain ages performed worse on tests of cognition， memory and IQ． The researchers also found that some people have a very advanced brain age but their bodies seem to be ageing slowly， and vice versa （反之亦然）． However， the team found that those who had the highest scores on cognitive tests when they were 3 years old went on to have the youngest﹣looking brains．
This suggests we might be able to tell who is at risk of accelerated brain ageing early in life． Researchers hope that predicting brain ageing earlier in life could allow treatments for conditions like dementia （痴呆） to be started sooner． This means treatments might have a better chance of working．
We don't yet have a way to treat brain ageing， but given the known benefits to the brain of healthy eating and exercise， these aren't a bad place to start．
1.What helps predict the speed of one's brain ageing？
A.One's health condition．
B.A test result at the age of 3．
C.The actual age of one's brain．
D.A machine for medical check．
2.What is the purpose of Elliott's research？
A.To find out why people look older or younger．
B.To measure people's brain age at different stages．
C.To discover whether brain age can be measured by machines．
D.To explore the relationship between brain age and future health．
3.What is Paragraph 4 mainly about？
A.The influence of cognitive tests．
B.The procedure of Elliott's study．
C.The information about volunteers．
D.The findings of the brain research．
4.What do the findings of the research imply？
A.We should test our brain age earliest possible．
B.People suffering dementia can go on working．
C.Brain ageing could be predicted at an early age．
D.Healthy eating and exercise can cure brain ageing．
Howard Weistling wanted to be a comic strip （连环漫画） artist． But when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor， he joined the Army．
After flight engineer training， Howard was shipped off to Europe． On his maiden flight， his plane was shot down over Austria． The entire crew of eight men landed safely． But a farmer found Howard hiding in his barn and turned him over to a prison of war camp in Barth， Germany． It was freezing and the men almost starved to death eating the guards' garbage．
Hungry and homesick Howard coped the only way he knew how． He drew a comic strip． The book， made of cigarette wrappers bound together with scrap metal， was sent around the camp． Every couple of days he would add a new panel． One panel at a time would be passed around the whole camp． And they'd have something to look forward to．
After an entire year of this， they woke one morning to find their guards gone． They fled and Howard finally got to go home． Just lucky to get out alive， he left the book behind．
Back home in California， Howard soon had a wife and kids to feed so he had to set aside his dream of becoming an artist． He took a job as a gardener instead．
Morgan shared his father's artistic gifts． At 15 his parents sent him to art school． And Howard got to see his son become a well﹣known painter before he died in 2002． That's how， seven decades after the war， when a stranger in New York googled the name "Weistling，" he found Morgan online．
"I get an email from a gentleman and he says， ‘I think I may have some drawings your father did when he was a POW （prisoner of war） in World War II，'" Morgan recalls． "‘Would you like them？' And I just stared at that email and started crying．"
Luckily Howard had engraved his name on the comic book， which is how the man from New York City had connected with Morgan． A couple of days later when it arrived in California， Morgan couldn't believe it． "It was like getting my father back，" Morgan says． "It was like him being able to tell me the story over again ﹣ only this time it was real in my hands．"
1.The passage details Howard's life as a POW to show that ．
A.war cannot stop his pursuit of success.
B.passion for art helped ease his sufferings.
C.loss of freedom encouraged his creativity.
D.misery drives him to fight against his fate.
2.What can we infer about Howard's comic strip in prison？
A.It satisfied prisoners' curiosity．
B.It aroused the guards' sympathy．
C.It was popular among the prisoners．
D.It raised prisoners' confidence in freedom．
3.What contributes to the stranger's success in finding Morgan？
A.The email from a gentleman．
B.Howard's experience in the war．
C.Morgan's recalling of his father．
D.Morgan's status in the field of art．
4.What can we infer about Morgan from the last paragraph？
A.He didn't believe the stranger's story．
B.He was excited to get the comic strip．
C.He couldn't wait to tell others his good news．
D.He hadn't heard about his father's war stories．
The Worlds' Best Bookshops
There's nothing like being surrounded by books， wherever you are． Here are the finest oases of literature that travellers can bring you．
Daikanyama T﹣site | Tokyo
It is well worth visiting even if just to admire the building's beautiful， crisscrossed architecture． Once you've had your fill of roaming three floors' worth of bookshelves， there's the bar， the coffee shop， or even the video rental space to give you more reason to stay just that little bit longer． Grab a book， order a beer and dive into its pages． I could have stayed hours here．
City Lights | San Francisco
The three﹣storey establishment publishes and sells titles in poetry， fiction， translation， politics， history and the arts． It hosts events and readings， and runs a non﹣profit of the same name that aims to promote diversity of voices and ideas in literature． It's opposite Vesuvio， a bar frequented by Kerouac and other Beat﹣generation writers and artists．
Shakespeare and Company | Paris
I made a special trip to the Left Bank for this one when I was in Paris． It has two floors packed with English﹣language texts， and I was particularly struck by any spare wall space devoted to notes from visitors ﹣ heartfelt messages to a loved one， dedications to the shop itself， or a quote from a favourite author or philosopher．
Hutatma Chowk | Mumbai
A few years ago I visited India， investigating Rudyard Kipling's connections with the country． I spotted a cheap copy of The Jungle Book on one of the tarp﹣covered book stalls at Hutatma Chowk （Martyrs' Square）． The booksellers here are like amateur librarians， able to lay their hands on almost any title you ask for． To me， those well﹣thumbed （翻旧了的） books spoke volumes about the changes of Mumbai's readers in the 150 years since the city gave us Kipling．
1.In which bookshop can you buy a drink while visiting？
A.Daikanyama T﹣site.
B.City Lights.
C.Shakespeare and Company.
D.Hutatma Chowk.
2.What can be learned about the book stalls at Hutatma Chowk？
A.People can meet Rudyard Kipling there．
B.They sell the cheapest books in the world．
C.The book owners are amateur librarians．
D.The sellers are familiar with the books．
3.What do the four bookstores have in common？
A.They are beautifully designed．
B.They are three﹣storey buildings．
C.They offer book lovers good experience．
D.They are frequently visited by great writers．
假如你是李华， 在你校学习汉语的美国交换生 Peter 发邮件说他想参加你校即将举办的中华经典文学朗诵比赛（Chinese Classics Recital Contest），但不知如何准备，请根据以下要点用英语给他回复。
1. 推荐朗诵内容
2. 介绍朗诵技巧
3. 告知注意事项
4. 预祝比赛成功
注意：1. 词数 100 左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已经为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Peter,
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Yours,
Li Hua
