Why is Denmark the “kingdom of fairy tales”? Because it was the home of famous writer Hans Christian Andersen. But there might be other reasons, says a new study.
Denmark is the happiest country in the world, according to the 2013 World Happiness Report by the United Nations (UN). The report ranks（排列）156 countries and regions (地区). All the top five happiest countries are from Europe, and three of them are from Scandinavia.
What makes people there happy? The UN considered several reasons.
Money is one. We are happy if we have money to cover our necessities. But extra (额外的) money cannot bring us more happiness. People in Northern Europe know this. From cars to mobile phones, from clothes to buildings, their designs are quite simple. Luxury (奢华) is not there.
Another reason is health. Nordic (北欧的) people have a healthy diet. They love fresh food. “There is not a big fast-food culture and no ready meals. We sit down with our families to eat our meals,” said Trina Hahnemann, a Danish cook.
A harmonious (和谐的) social life also makes us happy, according to the UN report. How about Nordic people? They live in harmony not only with people around, but also with nature. Night life is not popular in Scandinavia. People go home after work for some quality（高品质的） time with family members. Many families have a backyard. Father and child spend hours there each week, planting flowers and building swings.
Do you want to be happy? Think about the Nordic lifestyle, and happiness is in your own hands.
1.Where does Hans Christian Andersen come from?
2.How many countries of the top five happiest countries are from Scandinavia?
3.Do Nordic people love fresh food or ready meals?
4.What can make people happy according to the passage?
5.What does the writer want to tell us?
Kevin Pearce, snowboard athlete (运动员), has come a long way since his accident on December 31, 2009. 1. ,when he fell and hurt his head. Luckily, he was wearing a helmet (头盔). 2. . He stayed in hospital for four months. He still can’t remember several weeks of his life after the accident.
Today, Pearce is still working hard to get his health back to 100%. 3. . A year ago, he couldn’t walk straight. Now, he can not only walk, but he can also drive again.
Pearce says he must thank his fans, his friends and especially his family. His parents and elder brothers have been by his side since the accident. 4. . He said he couldn’t have got well so quickly without them.
These days, Pearce is back on the snowboarding circuit (巡回比赛). 5. . He is on the road again and it is a new beginning for him.
A. So far, he has made a lot of progress B. His brother, Adam, left his job to care for him full-time C. But his head was badly hurt and he couldn’t see or move D. On that day, Pearce was training for the 2010 Winter Olympics E. Instead of competing for medals, he’s giving opinions on athletes |
“The world has never been a better place to live in” says science writer Matt Ridley, “and it will keep on getting better.” Read on to see how Ridley makes his case. Right or wrong? You decide.
Compared with 50 years ago, when I was just four years old, people now make nearly three times as much money, eat one third more food and expect to live one third longer. In fact, it’s hard to find any areas of the world that’s worse off now than it was then, even though the world population has more than doubled over that period.
One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs—food, clothing, fuel and shelter—have grown much cheaper. Take one example: In 1800, a candle providing one hour’s light cost six hours’ work. In the 1880s, the same light from a lamp took 15 minutes’ work to pay for. In 1950, it was eight seconds. Today, it’s half a second. In these terms, we are 43,200 times better off than in1800.
In the United States, rivers, lakes, seas and air are getting cleaner all the time. A car today produces less pollution traveling at full speed than a parked car did from leaks (泄漏) in 1970.
Although the world population is growing, the rate (率) of increase has been falling for 50 years. Across the world, national birth rates are lower now than in 1960, and in the less developed world, the birth rate has almost halved. According to a research report from the United Nations, population will start falling once it reaches 9.2 billion in 2075. After all, there are already seven billion people on earth, and they are eating better and better.
In 1970s, there were 550 billion barrels (桶) of oil reserves (储存) in the world, and in the 20 years that followed the world used up 600 billion. So by 1990, reserves should have been overused by 50 billion barrels. Instead, it is reported there are 900 billion today. They will last for many years and people will find something in place of oil long before they run out.
The more we develop, the more we can develop. The more we invent, the more inventions become possible. For 200 years, pessimists (people who believe that terrible things will happen in future) have had all the headlines—even though optimists have far more often been right. There are some reasons for pessimists. No charity (慈善机构) ever raised money by saying things are getting better. No journalist ever got the front page writing a story about how terrible things won’t happen. Don’t be a pessimist—dare to be an optimist!
1.Today, providing one hour’s light costs ______.
A. 6 hours’ work B. 15 minutes’ work
C. 8 seconds’ work D. 0.5 second’s work
2.Which of the following is true, according to the passage?
A. Things we used to need were much cheaper than they are today.
B. The pollution today is much more serious than it was long ago.
C. Population problem has nearly made the world stop developing.
D. It’s not necessary to be worried about oil reserves in the world.
3.What does the word “optimists” in the last paragraph mean?
A. People who are brave enough to face anything terrible.
B. People who can always tell good things from bad ones.
C. People who have hopeful and happy feelings about life.
D. People who don’t easily believe what they’re told about.
4. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. Never Give Up B. Cheer Up
C. Don’t Be Sad D. Think Out
Where did that number come from?
Eleven and Twelve
The reason behind the change in number naming is that eleven comes from the German term ainlif, which translates to “one left”. Twelve follows the same rule. It comes from twalif—“two left”. Why teen is used instead of lif for 13 through 19? There is something sadly lost in history.
911 for US Emergency (急救) Calls
Early phones didn’t use phone numbers—the operator had to connect your call by hand—and this led to the need for an emergency code (信号). But later phone numbers became popular, that changed. In 1967, 911 was chosen as the nationwide emergency call because it was easy to remember and could be quickly dialed (拨) on the phone.
26.2 Miles in a Marathon (马拉松)
The story began with an ancient Greek soldier carrying message from a battlefield (战场) in Marathon to Athens. The modern marathon was born as a flagship event in the first Olympic Games, in 1896, with a distance (距离) of about 25 miles (40 km), as long as the distance from Marathon to Athens. But race organizers for the 1908 Olympic Games in London wanted to add something special. The race began at Windsor Castle and ended at White City Stadium, with runners finishing only after passing the royal (皇室的) box. The distance was 26.2 miles (42.1 km). And since 1924 this distance has been kept in marathon.
28 Days in February
Before using the Gregorian calendar that we use today, one of the first Roman calendars had only 304 days and ten months (March through December), with six months of 30 days and four of 31 days. The second king of Rome improved the old calendar. He added 50 days for January and February. To make the new months longer, he took one day from each of the 30-day months, making 56 days to divide between January and February (or 28 days each). Later January was given one more day to add up to 355 days a year, but February still had 28 days. That’s how it became the shortest month and it stayed that way ever since.
1.Which language do eleven and twelve come from?
A. English. B. German. C. French. D. Russian.
2.When was the number 911 chosen for US emergency calls?
A. In 1896. B. In 1908. C. In 1924. D. In 1967.
3. The marathon distance was made longer at London Olympic Games because ______.
A. the British was a little weak in maths
B. the British didn’t like the Greek story
C. the British loved the royal family very much
D. the British wanted to make the race different
4. How many days were there in each month after the king improved the old calendar?
A. 28, 29 or 31. B. 28, 30 or 31.
C. 28, 29 or 30. D. 29, 30 or 31.
Spam (垃圾邮件) mail is a fact of Internet life. Some of it carries bad things, but the main problem with spam is that it is unpleasant because it fills your mail box with pointless messages.
Most email programs have built-in filters (过滤器) that will discover unwanted messages and put them into a junk folder (垃圾文件夹). You can make the filter learn what you consider to be spam or block certain senders.
Avoid letting your email address appear on websites—spammers search the Internet for email addresses. Be careful who you give your email address to, and if you need to send out several copies of an email, use blind copy instead to cover the other people’s addresses.
Delete (删除) spam emails without opening them. Signs of possible spam are bad spelling in email headers, strange sender addresses, or emails sent at unusual hours. If you do open a spam mail, never reply to it or click on any pictures it may have.
If you receive an unexpected email pretending (伪装) to come from your bank, credit card company or other suppliers, be very careful. If the email asks you to reply, don’t do it! Instead, call up these places or visit their websites.
Consider setting up a second email address and keep one address for your personal use and another for your online communication.
1.What is the main problem with spam?
A. It’s everywhere. B. It carries bad things.
C. It’s unpleasant. D. It fills one’s mail box.
2.How many suggestions are there in the passage?
A. Three. B. Four. C. Five. D. Six.
3.What should you do if you receive a spam email?
A. Reply to it quickly. B. Delete it at once.
C. Click its pictures. D. Visit its website.
4.Which of the following is the writer’s idea about spam emails?
A. Be careful with them. B. Don’t be afraid of them.
C. Find interest in them. D. Try to fight against them.
A
1.What does the first advertisement ask us to do?
A. To send in some jokes. B. To share our pets.
C. To talk about kindness. D. To tell a true story.
2.Which of the four advertisements offers the most money?
A. Jokes. B. Smart Animals.
C. Kindness of Strangers. D. My Story.
3.How can we send our writing in?
A. By phone. B. By post.
C. By email. D. By going there.
