Miss sending letters? Try Lettrs! This new service brings back the art of letter writing by marrying it to the Internet.
Lettrs, a new site, is attempting to bring back the old-fashioned idea of letter writing by providing a space that feels a little bit like a writing desk.
Of course, there’ll be purists who say that to truly enjoy letter writing you must do it on fancy letter paper and envelope in the mail is part of the fun. And if you’re into that sort of thing, go for it. But I can’t be the only one who is now so much faster at typing that writing by hand is painfully slow. Nor can I be the only one who likes to write on a whim (一时兴起) when I’m going to be on a crowded train or airplane, both of which are situations where writing on the computer is far easier.
The site tries, pretty seriously, to approximate(接近) what it’s like to have your very own writing desk and paper to choose from (which comes in various prints and colors) as well as corresponding（通信）types of prints and cursive writing (草写体) that come out on your screen as you write. There’s also a “desk drawer” for letters you’ve already sent, a “fridge” to post letters publicly, a “kitchen counter” for letters you have just received, and “shoebox” to store your letters in.
And if you need inspiration there are even old-style letters that are great examples of the kind of correspondence people used to send. Lettrs is such a great idea, because you get the best parts of communicating online (typing rather than writing, the speed, no lost mail, and it’s free! ) with the nice parts of a letter－the sense of sitting down to write, quietly, to one person in a meaningful way.
Who would you write to?How does Lettrs work according to the text?
| A．By providing real paper for letter writers. |
| B．By making room for people to write letters. |
| C．By supplying writing desks to letter writers. |
| D．By combining letter writing with the Internet. |
It can be inferred from the text that the author_________.
| A．is one of the purists |
| B．prefers writing to typing |
| C．always hopes to get paper letters |
| D．likes using Lettrs to write letters |
A Lettrs user can find a newly received letter in or on a“_________”.
| A．desk drawer | B．fridge |
| C．kitchen counter | D．shoebox |
What is the main purpose of the author writing the text?
| A．To advise readers to use Lettrs. |
| B．To tell readers how to write letters. |
| C．To persuade readers to write letters. |
| D．To show the advantage of the Internet. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．An old art of letter writing. |
| B．A new service of letter writing. |
| C．The advantages of letter writing. |
| D．The development of letter writing. |
How to Fight Winter Blue
Winter’s short days are more than cold. For many people, winter depression, the most common type of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), is as much a part of the season as hats and scarves.
Winter serious SAD sufferers may need medical treatment. Those feeling a little blue can help themselves by sticking to a healthy lifestyle.
Here are some tips:
Pace yourself. Don’t expect to do everything you normally can. Set a realistic schedule. Don’t listen to negative thinking, like blaming yourself or expecting to fail.
Get involved in activities that make you feel good or feel like you’ve achieved something. For example, play table tennis or badminton.
If you are feeling depressed, you may feel like staying away from friends. Yet this is a time when friends’ support can be helpful. Call them regularly. Remember, the more we put off calling or visiting a friend, the harder it is to rebuild a friendship.
Think clearly about what’s wrong or right. Instead of giving in to vague feelings of sadness, look at your problems objectively. Break down problems into specific issues that you can work on.
Regular exercise helps to prevent and ease depression.
Eat well. Studies show that a healthy diet can help to maintain (keep) a healthy body and mind. The vitamins, minerals and micro—nutrients found in balanced diet may help our bodies to produce feel-good hormones(荷尔蒙). Foods containing chemicals to help produce feel-good hormones include bananas, turkey, nuts and seeds. Eat at least five pieces of fruit and vegetables every day.
P.S. Symptoms(症状) of SAD:
No interest or pleasure in things you used to enjoy.
Increased need for sleep.
A change in eating habits, especially an appetite for sweet or starchy(含淀粉的) foods.
Weight gain
A heavy feeling in the arms or legs
A drop in energy level
Difficulty in concentrating
Overly emotional
Avoidance of friends and social situations
Frequent feelings of guilt
Long-term feelings of hopelessness, and physical problems, such as headachesThe writer of the passage agrees that .
| A．the cold in winter makes us suffer from SAD |
| B．hats and scarves protect us from SAD |
| C．every one of us meets SAD in winter |
| D．we are blue mainly because of short days in winter |
We may infer that , according to the passage.
| A．more darkness will make us sad |
| B．we should wear hats and scarves in winter |
| C．a healthy lifestyle prevents us from serious SAD |
| D．staying away from friends makes us depressed |
．When we pace ourselves, we .
| A．don’t do anything we can | B．make a practical plan |
| C．face depression easily | D．think something of guilt |
The underlined expression “ease depression” in the passage probably means “”
| A．reduce depression | B．be easy with depression |
| C．face depression easily | D．make an easy depression |
The passage includes the following except .
| A．the earlier we meet friends, the easier it is to rebuild a friendship |
| B．if we give in to unclear feelings of sadness, we’ll be caught in the SAD |
| C．playing table tennis helps us achieve whatever we want |
| D．feel--good hormones from a balanced diet can help a healthy body |
Justin’s bedroom was so full of flat bicycle tires, bent tennis rackets, deflated basketballs, and games with missing pieces that you could hardly get in the door. His parents pleaded with him to clean out his room.
“What use is a fish tank with a hole in the bottom?” his father asked. But Justin simply smiled and repeated his motto, “Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy.”
When Justin was away from home, he always carried his blue backpack — a smaller bag of his bedroom — a place to store the many objects that he collected. It was so worn and stretched that it hardly resembled a backpack anymore.
Justin had earned a reputation for figuring things out and getting people out of otherwise hopeless situations. Many of his classmates and neighbors sought him out when they needed help with a problem. On the first day of school, his friend Kenny, came looking for Justin.
“Do you think you have something in your backpack that could help me remember my locker combination (箱子密码)?” he asked. “I lost the piece of paper it was written on. I have a science class in two minutes and if I’m late on the first day it’ll make me look bad for the rest of the year.” Kenny looked really worried.
“Relax,” Justin said, taking his backpack off and opened it. “Remember how you borrowed my notebook in my home to write the combination down? Well, I know how I can recover what you wrote.”
He took the notebook and a soft lead pencil out of his backpack. The page that Kenny had written on had left faint marks on another page in the notebook. Justin held the pencil on its side and rubbed it lightly over the marks. Slowly but surely the numbers of the locker combination appeared in white.
“That’ s amazing!” Kenny said, “I owe you one.” And he dashed off to open his locker.
It was just another day in the life of the boy whose motto was “Never throw anything out; you never know when it might come in handy.”Why is Justin’s room in such a mess?
| A．He always forgets to clean it. |
| B．He never throws anything out. |
| C．He has no time to clean it. |
| D．He shares the room with his brother. |
In what way is Justin’s blue backpack used?
| A．He uses it as a place to store collected objects. |
| B．He uses it to carry his books and sports equipment. |
| C．His parents tell him to clean it all the time. |
| D．He carries it to remind others of his ability. |
The underlined phrase “pleaded with” means .
| A．ignored | B．asked | C．pushed | D．admired |
How does Kenny feel toward Justin?
| A．Annoyed | B．Disinterested | C．Grateful | D．Angry |
Something in chocolate could be used to stop coughs and lead to more effective medicines, say UK researchers.
Their study found that theobromine（可可碱）, found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in stopping coughs than codeine, which was considered the best cough medicine at present.
The Imperial College London researchers who published their results online said the discovery could lead to more effective cough treatment. “While coughing is not necessarily harmful it can have a major effect on the quality of life, and this discovery could be a huge step forward in treating this problem,” said Professor Peter Barnes.
Ten healthy volunteers were given theobromine, codeine or placebo, a pill that contains no medicine, during the experiment. Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew who received which pill. The researchers then measured levels of capsaicin, which is used in research to cause coughing and as a sign of how well the medicines are stopping coughs.
The team found that, when the volunteers were given theobromine, the capsaicin needed to produce a cough was around a third higher than in the placebo group. When they were given codeine they needed only slightly higher levers of capsaicin to cause a cough compared with the placebo.
The researchers said that theobromine worked by keeping down a nerve activity(神经活动), which cause coughing. They also found that unlike some standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no side effects such as sleepiness.According to Professor Barnes, theobromine ______.
| A．cannot be as effective as codeine |
| B．can be harmful to people’s health |
| C．cannot be separated from chocolate |
| D．can be a more effective cure for coughs |
What was used in the experiment to cause coughing?
| A．Theobromine. | B．Codeine. | C．Capsaicin. | D．Placebo. |
We learn from the text that volunteers in the experiment _____.
| A．were patients with bad coughs |
| B．were divided into the three groups |
| C．received standard treatments |
| D．suffered little side effects |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Codeine: A New Medicine |
| B．Chocolate May Cure Coughs |
| C．Cough Treatment: A Hard Case |
| D．Theobromine Can Cause Coughs |
How to Be a Winner
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes(糖尿病). Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it ---the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success----you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological tool”What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
| A．Difficulties influenced his career. |
| B．Specialists offered him medical advice. |
| C．Training helped him defeat his disease. |
| D．He overcame the shadow of illness to win. |
What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
| A．Her training schedule. | B．Her daily happenings. |
| C．Her achievements. | D．Her sports career. |
What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to？
| A．Ways that help one to focus. |
| B．Words that help one to feel less tense. |
| C．Activities that turn one's attention away. |
| D．Habits that make it hard for one to relax. |
According to the passage ,what do the three people have in common?
| A．Self-confidence. | B．Devotion. | C．Hard work. | D．Courage. |
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 effect 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 |