The Sieferts are the kind of environmentally conscious family who has solar panels atop their home. They use timers on their kids' showers and have planted drought-tolerant landscaping. But they feel kind of guilt. “I haven’t thought about the pool as much as I probably should,” said Annette Siefert.
As California's drought worsens, swimming pools have become a target for those who think the classic backyard greens waste water. Some water districts have banned new pools from being filled and have limited how much water existing pools can use.
But some of those agencies are walking back the rules as they make a surprising discovery: Pools aren't the water wasters some have made them out to be. Analyses by various water districts, along with scientific studies, conclude that pools and their surrounding landscapes use about the same amount of water as a lawn(草坪) of the same size. Over time, pools might even use less water. With pool covers, experts say water evaporation(蒸发)can be cut by almost half, making pools significantly less wasteful than grass and about as efficient as drought-tolerant landscaping.
Facing complaints over a recent ban on filling pools, the Santa Margarita Water District conducted its own water-use analysis. It found that pools require thousands of gallons of water to fill initially, but they use about 8,000 gallons less water than a traditional landscape after that. By the third year, the analysis found, the savings add up, and a pool's cumulative water use falls below that of a lawn.
Water agencies such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have come to similar conclusions. Armed with new information, Santa Margarita Water District officials will reconsider their ban next week.
“We want to respect the people's rights to use their property. There are many families we know that have saved for pools,” said Jonathan Volzke, spokesman for the 155,000-customer district. “But at the same time, the reality around us is that we're in the third year of a serious drought, and we don't know if we're in the third year of a three-year drought or the third year of a 10-year drought.”Annette Siefert feels guilty mainly because of ______.
| A．being a typical water waster |
| B．the water-use of their swimming pool |
| C．her control over her kids' showers at home |
| D．the construction of the drought-tolerant landscaping |
According to analyses and scientific studies, a swimming pool ______.
| A．had belter be filled up in the beginning |
| B．becomes more efficient against drought |
| C．isn't what people think to be wasteful of water |
| D．consumes more water than a lawn of the same size |
What does Jonathan Volzke try to express in the last paragraph?
| A．He expects the serious drought to come to an end. |
| B．He thinks highly of those who have saved for pools. |
| C．He appeals for reasonable use of the swimming pools. |
| D．He tries to maintain the right to use the swimming pools. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Water Crisis In California |
| B．Strict Ban On Filling Pools |
| C．The Sieferts—Real Environmentalists? |
| D．Pools—A Big Factor During Drought? |
According to researchers．money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else．
Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly bring you happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found．
Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably（适度地） happier when they spent money on others--even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier．
"We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how
much money they earn," said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia．
They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity．
"Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not," Dunn said in a statement．
Dunn's team also surveyed 16 employees at a company in Boston before and after they received an annual profit-sharing bonus（奖金） of between $3,000 and $8,000．
"Employees who devoted more of their bonus to pro-social spending experienced greater happiness after receiving the bonus, and the manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the size of the bonus itself," they wrote in their report, published in the journal Science．
They gave their volunteers $5 or $20 and half got clear instructions on how to spend it．Those who spent the money on someone or something else reported feeling happier about it．
"These findings suggest that very minor alterations（改动） in spending allocations（分配） - as little as $5 - may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day," Dunn said．According to the passage,_____________．
| A．the more money you spend on others, the happier you are |
| B．spending money on others can bring you happiness |
| C．Elizabeth Dunn is a psychologist from Harvest Business School |
| D．six hundred volunteers took part in the experiment |
The 16 employees mentioned in the passage _________．
| A．were given clear instructions on how to spend the bonus |
| B．had more happiness than the size of the bonus itself |
| C．experienced greater happiness after receiving their bonus |
| D．felt happier after they contributed much of the bonus of charities |
Dunn’s statement suggested that ______________．
| A．those who spent money on others felt happier no matter how much they earned |
| B．those who spent more money on themselves felt happier |
| C．people thought spending money could make themselves happier |
| D．the money spent was as important as the money earned |
The best title of this passage is ___________．
| A．Experiment on Money Spending |
| B．Spending Money on Others Makes One Happier |
| C．Devoting Your Money to Charities |
| D．Bonus and Pro-social Spending |
Young Chinese travelers are also looking to experience something different．Rather than join package tours to tourist attractions, they are getting to know the locals by combining travel with work and study．Let's explore some unconventional ways of travelling．
Homestay
Visitors pay their host family for the accommodation in return for an unforgettable cultural experience．You should respect the house rules．You will participate fully in the family's daily life and improve your language．Students arrange homestays through their university or reputable agencies．
Check homestayfinder．com or homestaybooking．com．
Laboring on a farm
This is a way to learn about sustainable living and meet local farmers．In return for volunteer work on organic farms, your hosts offer free food and accommodation．You usually work for at least four hours a day and tasks range from composting （堆制肥料） to building with mud bricks．Willing Workers On Organic Farms （www．finternational．o
rg） is the main organization which facilitates these experiences．For more projects, visit: pickyourown．org/jobsonfarms．htm
Volunteering
Volunteering gives you a sense of satisfaction as you improve the lives of those less fortunate．You can work in a hospital, help build schools, or volunteer at an orphanage in Africa．Do not expect to live in luxury and be prepared to get your hands dirty．Volunteers pay for their own airfares．
For more info, visit: worldwidehelper．org, and isvonline．com
Intern （实习） overseas
Organizations such as ALESEC （aiesec．org） arrange paid internships with different companies．They partner with companies to offer work．The length of an internship ranges from six weeks to 18 months．Check: nextstepconnections．comWhich way of travelling should you experience if you want to know about a different culture and improve your foreign language?
| A．Homestay | B．Laboring on a farm | C．Volunteering | D．Intern |
overseasWho may help you to work on a farm?
| A．Reputable agency | B．University |
| C．Willing Workers On Organic Farms | D．ALESEC |
What should you do if you want to help the less fortunate?
| A．Live in a host family | B．Volunteer at an orphanage |
| C．Work in a company | D．Work on organic farms |
Where can you get information on internship in different companies?
| A．Homestayfinder．com |
| B．Pickyourown．org/jobsonfarms．htm |
| C．Worldwidehelper．org,and isvonline．com |
| D．Nextstepconnections．com |
Scientists made a great break through this year in England when the first "test tube" baby was born．The birth was the result of many years of research by doctors．The doctors did the research in groups to help the women who cannot conceive a baby in the normal way．
What happened when the baby was born "from a test tube"? Well, the baby did not literally grow in a test tube．The first stage of the process was that the egg from the woman and the sperm from the man were put together in the test tube．After all, the embryo was put into the womb of a woman．This process was difficult．But it was successful, so the baby was eventually born, like any other, from a woman, only the woman wasn't the baby's real mother, but a sort of "carrier" of a baby produced by another couple．
Obviously, this method is t
o help to couples who can't have children because of physical problems in the woman．But very difficult moral problems arise in the kind of situation．Take it for instance, a case that happened this year．A couple who wanted a baby advertised for a woman to have a child by the father of the couple．They offered the woman a lot of money．The woman was made pregnant by artificial insemination; in this case, the woman "employed" to bear the child was its real mother．When the baby was born, the woman refused to give it back to the couple．But, in the eyes of the law, the woman had a right to keep the children because she was its biological mother．
You could argue that we should change the law to deal with this kind of situation．In earlier times, there were always healthy babies needing adoption, because family planning methods were not so effective as they are now．These days, however, most of the children who can be adopted are over six years old, often handicapped in some way．So a couple who want a young healthy baby cannot always adopt one, this is why the "test tube" baby is in demand．But is it normally righ
t to use this method? Should we temper with nature in this way? Even if we change the law, would this be the right step to take ?The birth of the first "test-tube" baby is a great advance _____．
| A．on medical science |
| B．in birth control |
| C．on the research for babies |
| D．in the lives of married women |
When we say a baby was born "from a test-tube", we mean_____ ．
| A．the baby didn't develop in the womb of a woman |
| B．the baby has no biological parents |
| C．the embryo was formed in the test tube |
| D．the baby grew in the test-tube before it was born |
According to the law, who has right to keep the baby produced by the artificial method?
| A．The couple who want a baby． |
B．T he biological mother of the child． |
| C．The person who pays the money to the real mother． |
| D．The father who advertises for a biological mother． |
According to the passage, people need "test-tube baby" because_____ ．
| A．family planning methods are not effective． |
| B．they can't always adopt a young healthy baby |
| C．they are unwilling to adopt a child． |
| D．there are so many babies needing adoption． |
We have all heard the old phrase “attitude is everything”, and that phrase is certainly true．Your attitude can have a great impact on your personal motivation, so it is important to keep a positive attitude no matter what challenges you face．
As a matter of fact, keeping your attitude positive in the face of difficulties is the motivation tip that most successful business owners will tell you．The most successful business owners, from Sam Walton to Bill Gates, have all been able to triumph in the face of unpleasant situations．It is those successful business owners who tell you that attitude is everything．But how you deal with that knowledge will determine your level of success．
One of the most important ways to carry out “attitude is everything” is to observe who you associate with and who you surround yourself with．That is because when you surround yourself with negative people, their negative attitudes will infect you．So keeping your associates, colleagues, co-workers and friends as positive as possible is a great way to put the phrase “attitude is everything” into practice．
Whatever you decide to do in life, your attitude will have a great effe
ct on the success you achieve．Success , whether in the world of business or in your personal life, is directly related to your attitude, and the attitude you bring to your work．A 
positive attitude will help you achieve greater success in your job, no
matter what your current level of employment．According to the text, Sam Walton __________．
| A．is more successful than Bill Gates |
| B．has given readers some tips about success |
| C．has never dealt with unpleasant situations |
| D．is one of the most successful businessmen |
One useful way of carrying out “attitude is everything” is__________．
| A．not letting others affect your decisions |
| B．not making friends with people who are unsuccessful |
| C．keeping the people who surround you positive |
| D．getting some advice from successful business owners |
What’s the best title for the text ?
| A．Attitude Determines Your Success |
| B．Motivation Tips From Successful People |
| C．Ways To Deal With Unpleasant Situations |
| D．Making Friends With Positive People |
Sports is not only physically challenging, but it can also mentally challenging. Criticism（批评）from coaches(trainers), parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create too much anxiety or stress for young athletes. Stress can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and research has showed that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.
The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn how to cooperate with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware(realize), at all times, that their feedback（反馈）to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parents’ and coaches’ criticisms to heart and find a flaw（缺陷） in themselves.
Coaches and parents should also be cautious(careful) that youth sport participation does not become work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today’s youth sport setting, young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game, many parents and coaches focus on(pay more attention to) the outcome and find fault with youngsters’ performances. Positive reinforcement should be provided in spite of the outcome. Research shows that positive reinforcement motivates and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again, criticism can create high levels of stress(pressure), which can lead to burnout.According to the passage sport is positive for young people in that
| A．it can help them learn more about society |
| B．it teaches them how to set realistic goals for themselves |
| C．it enables them to find flaws in themselves |
| D．it can provide them with valuable experiences |
According to the passage parents and coaches should
| A．help children to win every game |
| B．pay more attention to letting children enjoy sports |
| C．enable children to understand the positive aspect of sports |
| D．train children to deal with stress |
The author’s purpose in writing the passage is
| A．to persuade young children not to worry about criticism |
| B．to emphasize the importance of positive reinforcement to children |
| C．to discuss the skill of combing criticism with encouragement |
| D．to teach young athletes how to avoid burnout |