Earthquake in Japan. Donald Trump is accused of planting story about actress’s height after she rejected him. Mexico arrests ex-police chief in case of 43 missing students. Do you really need to know all these things?
Three years ago, I began an experiment. I stopped reading all newspapers and magazines. Televisions and radios were rejected. I deleted tile news apps from my iPhone. I didn’t touch a single free newspaper and deliberately looked the other way when someone tried to offer me any such reading material. The first weeks were hard. Very hard! I was constantly afraid of missing something. But after a while, I had a new understanding. The result after three years: clearer thoughts, more valuable ideas, better decisions, and much more time. And the best thing? I haven’t missed anything important.
A dozen reasons exist to give news a wide berth. Here are the top three: First, our brain reacts differently to different types of information. Shocking, people-based, fast-changing details all appeal to us. News producers capitalize on this. The result: Everything complex, abstract, and profound(深刻的) must be systematically singled out, even though such stories are much more relevant to our lives and to our understanding of the world. As a result, we walk around with a misrepresented mental map of the risks and threats we actually face.
Second, news is irrelevant. In the past year, you have probably consumed about ten thousand pieces of news. Be very honest: Name one of them, just one that helped you make a better decision－for your life, your career, or your business-compared with not having this piece of news. No one I have asked has been able to name more than two useful news stories—out of ten thousand. News organizations claim that their information gives you a competitive advantage. Too many fall for this. If news really helped people advance, journalists would be at the top of the income pyramid.
Third, news is a waste of time. An average human being spends half a day each week reading about current affairs. This is a huge loss of productivity. Take the 2008 terror attack in Mumbai. Let’s say a billion people viewed the minute-by-minute updates and listened to the chatter of a few “experts” and “commentators.” Thus our conservative calculation: One billion people multiplied by an hour’s distraction equals one billion hours of work stoppage. News wasted around two thousand lives—ten times more than the attack.
I would predict that turning your back on news will benefit you as much as removing any of the other ninety-eight errors we have covered in the pages of this book. Read long background articles and books. Nothing beats books for understanding the world.
1.What does the underlined phrase in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A.Refuse to read news. B.Select news carefully.
C.Question news. D.Help spread news.
2.In the author’s opinion, news _________.
A.represents a competitive advantage B.offers a mental map of the world
C.leads to a loss of productivity D.brings journalists’ income up
3.What’s the main purpose of writing the passage?
A.To offer tips on choosing news.
B.To advocate(支持) giving up reading news.
C.To share experiences on avoiding news.
D.To criticize media's misleading choice of news.
Chinese Emoji(表情符号) Circles Globe
“Funny”, a made-in-China emoji, seems to have recently moved beyond China. Now, it is more than an emoji, but a cultural expansion.
● Reaching Global Markets
A series of “funny” emoji-based bolsters(抱枕) have attracted the attention of Japanese customers. Even if one bolster is more than three times as expensive as in China, it doesn’t kill their desires to buy it. One Japanese customer Miki said, “They are just so cute and I bought three bolsters at one time for my family. And every time I see them, my mood just brightens suddenly.”
A Japanese netizen Kiro Kara said, “I think the emoji implies very complicated meanings. My dad will send it when he doesn’t agree with someone but he has to say something and behave politely.”
● Addition to Domestic Social Media
Compared with Japanese impressions of the “funny” emoji, Chinese netizens prefer to use the emoji to tease one another on social media.
One commonly seen online comment is, “We strongly suggest stopping the usage of the emoji. Because every time other people send me the emoji, I feel very uncomfortable and consider myself as a fool.”
Regarded as the most popular emoji, the “funny” emoji has received much attention since its release in 2013. In fact, the “funny” emoji is the updated version of its original one; “funny” has a smiley mouth, two eyebrows and a naughty look. All these characteristics present users a sense of satire(讽刺).
● In Everyday UseAbroad
It’s not the first time the Chinese emoji takes the world stage. Earlier this year, one emoji from the Chinese basketball celebrity Yao Ming has been spread through the Middle East region. In a city in southern Egypt, Yao’s smiling emoji has appeared frequently in local traffic signs to remind people the road ahead is one-way. Many locals do not know Yao Ming but are familiar with his emoji and nickname “Chinese Funny Face”.
As a new online language, emojis have become a necessary part of people’s daily life, helping people express their views in a more vivid and precise way. Also, it can help foreigners learn about Chinese culture. But how to properly use “the fifth innovation in China” without hurting others and turn them into commercial advantages still need answers.
1.Why do the bolsters attract Miki’s attention?
A.They are inexpensive.
B.They help reach an agreement.
C.They help brighten the mood.
D.They are helpful to express desire.
2.According to the passage, which of the following is the latest “funny” emoji?
A.
B.
C.
D.
3.Emojis are so popular worldwide mainly because people use them to _______.
A.express their views more vividly
B.present their sense of satire directly
C.imply very complicated meanings properly
D.tease one another on social media purposely
Mars on Earth
Devon Island has always been a cold and uninhabited(无人居住的) place in the Canadian Arctic. Day after day there are high winds and the temperature is below freezing. But for the first time, despite the terrible weather conditions, Devon Island is the new home for a group of explorers from NASA. They are living here for a few months in order to train and learn how to live and work on Mars. The group’s members come from various backgrounds and nationalities, but they all have the same purpose: to find out how people can live on Mars in the future.
They have chosen Devon Island because the environment and landscape is similar in many ways to Mars. The surface is freezing cold and the ground is rough. However, there are some differences on Mars, where the atmosphere is poisonous to breathe. Devon Island is easier to travel to and it has its own dangers that you won’t find on Mars. For example, you might meet a hungry polar bear on Devon Island!
One thing the team wants to develop is suitable clothing for Mars. This includes a space suit. The suit they are testing at the moment is strong enough but it’s too difficult to put on and take off. It’s very big and bulky, which means that just walking around is very difficult and tiring. In addition, people will need to do experiments on Mars while wearing the suit so they have to be able to move around easily. One team member, Andy Overbeeke, specializes in space suit engineering. He explains, “You have to think about what they’re really going to operate in.”
Another part of daily life on Mars will be meals and food. Creating a new home on Mars requires a lot of food. So the big question is: can you grow plants in order to survive? Scientists believe that growing plants on Mars might be possible. Mars and Earth have many similarities. They both have about the same amount of dry land and a 24-hour day. However, the atmosphere on Mars is totally different, so Canadian scientist Alain Berinstain is attempting to grow plants in a special greenhouse that you could also build on Mars. The greenhouse needs to run 365 days a year, so it uses a combination of solar energy and wind power.
People living on Mars will also want their own transportation. For this, the team on Devon Island have built the “Martian Rover”. It’s a huge heavy vehicle that can travel over rocks and rough terrain. This kind of testing takes many days but so far the work has been valuable and effective. As a result, the whole team now believes their work is crucial and that it’s possible for humans to land on the planet Mars and create a home there. Addy Overbeeke adds: “We know that it’s man’s destiny to go out and do space exploration. It’s always time to think about what you want to do in the future.”
1.The explorers are living on Devon Island to ________.
A.receive a training in astronomy
B.set up an advanced research lab
C.learn how to live and work on Mars
D.make a living in an uninhabited land
2.To keep food supply on Mars, people should ________.
A.create a new home
B.improve the atmosphere
C.build special greenhouses
D.reduce the area of dry land
3.According to the passage, we know that ________.
A.man may live on Mars in the future
B.Martian Rover has failed to stand the test
C.Mars and Devon Island have the same soil condition
D.scientists have mastered the method to grow plants on Mars
My daughter Kelly is a cautious person. She needs to warm up to situations’ and is hesitant to try new things. When with close friends, she becomes a leader who laughs loudly and chants, “Girls rule, boys drool.” But when that comfort zone is not around her, she is shy and nervous.
This has been challenging for me at times. “Shy”’ is not a word that I think has ever been used to describe me. But this has been a year of firsts for my girl that has filled her with a new sense of confidence. This year she moved to lap lane in swimming where she was preparing for a swim team. This year she learned to ride a bike without training wheels. And this year she completed her first kids’ triathlon (三项全能).
On Saturday, with a thunderstorm coming soon and my son’s birthday party later in the day, we all went out in the dark of the morning for Kelly to participate in her first triathlon. We practiced transitions from swim to bike to run with her, we got all the equipment she’d need, and we kept talking about the race. But as we waited the two hours for the older kids to finish before her turn, she held my leg a little harder and told me she loved me a few too many times. She was nervous but trying to keep it together.
And then it was her turn. From the second she jumped into the water, my heart soared. My daughter transformed into the most confident human being I had ever seen. She dominated that swim, crushed that bike ride and ran to the finish with the biggest smile on her face.
I can honestly say that I never felt so proud of someone in my entire life. It wasn’t because she did a sport or anything like that. It was because she was afraid of something and conquered that fear with confidence and a fire I hadn’t seen before.
All day I would find myself just looking over at her and smiling. She might be wearing the finalist medal but I felt like I won that day. I won the chance to see my girl shine.
Shine on, sweet baby.
1.Kelly is nervous when ________.
A. boys are around her B. she changes into a leader
C. she is away from her mom D. situations are new to her
2.We can know from Paragraph 3 ________.
A. the race began in the early morning B. the whole family gave Kelly support
C. Kelly was eager for her turn in the race D. Kelly prepared for her brother’s birthday party
3.In the ending paragraphs the author “felt like I won that day” because Kelly ________.
A. overcame the fear B. expressed love to her
C. won the gold medal D. took part in the sport
Things Your Pilot Won't Tell You
You may not be getting the airline you paid for．
You may go to an airline website and buy a ticket, and get onto an airplane that has a similar name painted on it, but half the time, you're really on a regional （地方的） airline．The regionals aren't held to the same safety standards as the majors: their pilots aren't required to have as much training and experience, and the public doesn't know that．
—Captain at a major airline
If you're a nervous flier, book a morning flight．
The heating of the ground later causes bumpier （颠簸的） air, and it's much more likely to thunderstorm in the afternoon．
—Jerry Johnson , pilot, Los Angeles
The smoothest place to sit is often over or near the wing．
The bumpiest place to sit is in the back．If you're in the middle, you don't move as much．
—Patrick Smith, pilot, and author of Cockpit Confidential
Sit in the front if you want fresher air．
The general flow of air in any airplane is from front to back．So if you're really concerned about breathing the freshest possible air or not getting too hot, sit as close to the front as you can．Planes are generally warmest in the back．
—Tech pilot at a regional airline, Texas
You never know where the safest seat is．
There is no safest place to sit．In one accident, the people in the back are dead; in the next, it's the people up front．
—John Nance, aviation safety analyst and retired airline captain, Seattle
I've been struck by lightning twice．
Most pilots have．Airplanes are built to take it．You hear a big boom and see a big flash and that's it．You're not going to fall out of the sky．
—Charlotte, pilot for a regional earner,．North Carolina
People don't understand why they can't use their cell phones．
Well, what can happen is 12 people will decide to call someone just before landing, and I can get a false reading on my instruments saying that we are higher than we ideally are．
—Jim Tilmon, retired American Airlines pilot, Phoenix
1.Jerry Johnson advises nervous fliers to ______．
A.sit in the back
B.fly in the morning
C.fly with major airlines
D.avoid flying in bad weather
2.The best seats for those who need fresh air are ______．
A.in the front B.in the middle
C.in the back D.near the wing
3.Passengers' use of cellphones before landing is likely to ______．
A.increase the risk of being struck by lightning
B.make it difficult for pilots to control the plane
C.cause the instruments of the plane to break down
D.affect pilots' judgment about the height of the plane
It was 4 o’clock in the morning, when I received the phone call.
“This is the emergency room calling and your son was just_________in with severe burn on his face, neck and arms. We have called for a(n) _________and are going to fly him to the burn unit in Seattle.” Seattle was 350 miles from his college, so we knew immediately this was _______.
The doctor described the _________, which caused the burns. At 6 a.m., our son and his friends decided to barbecue hamburgers in the courtyard of their apartment. When they_______the charcoal(木炭), it burst into flames because they had sprayed too much petrol. The flames_________my son’s shirt tail and shot from his waist to well over his head.
_______, one of the boys was quick-minded, gasped my son, and _________him on the grass. While it saved his life, it was in not enough _______to save him from severe burns and the terrible scars.
After he ____________from the treatments, the doctors told him they would not do plastic surgery(整容) for 6 months ____________it takes that long for the skin to stop shrinking and wrinkling. So, he had to return to college with scars typical of severe burns.
When I was a child, my mother told my sister who had a 10-inch very ____________scar on her arm, “Nancy, if you ignore the scar, other people will ignore it. It does not mean they will not__________it, but it means it will not matter to them if it doesn’t matter to you.”
I__________this wisdom on to my son. He took my advice to____________and returned to school with his head held high－glad he was alive. By the end of the six-month waiting period, he decided that the scars did not____________, so he made the____________to give up any plastic surgery.
We all have “scars” that we believe__________people to keep away from us. And we spend a lot of time thinking that if only we looked differently, or dressed differently, people would like us better. But you see, people will only judge you by your looks, or your clothes, if you are judging yourself by these same__________standards. Put your imperfections out of your mind and concentrate on what you value__________yourself, and your beauty will shine through.
1.A.brought B.given C.turned D.showed
2.A.doctor B.hospital C.aircraft D.ambulance
3.A.serious B.terrible C.dangerous D.important
4.A.event B.process C.reason D.accident
5.A.got B.lit C.burned D.moved
6.A.took B.held C.caught D.attracted
7.A.Fortunately B.Surprisingly C.Happily D.Slowly
8.A.pushed B.threw C.dropped D.rolled
9.A.shape B.place C.fact D.time
10.A.benefited B.recovered C.suffered D.relaxed
11.A.if B.while C.because D.although
12.A.normal B.violent C.obvious D.popular
13.A.mention B.notice C.laugh D.hide
14.A.sent B.kept C.handed D.passed
15.A.heart B.life C.practice D.considerate
16.A.grow B.matter C.exist D.appear
17.A.mistake B.effort C.decision D.request
18.A.invite B.cause C.allow D.remind
19.A.false B.strict C.moral D.general
20.A.by B.over C.beyond D.within
