William Kunz is a computer genius (天才). When he was just 11, Kunz started writing software programs, and by 14 he had worked out his own computer game. As a high school first-year student in Houston, Texas, he won first prize in a science fair for a program he wrote. In his third year, he took top prize in an international science and engineering fair for designing a program to analyze and sort DNA patterns. Kunz went to attend Carnegie Mellon, one of the nation's highest-ranked universities in computer science. After college he got a job with Oracle in Silicon Valley, writing software used by companies around the world. Three years later, Kunz is in his first year at Harvard Business School. He left software engineering partly because he earned much less than his friends who were going into law or business. He also worried about job security (保障), especially as more companies move their programming outside the country to lower costs.

What problem does Tom have?

Why did the man sell his old car?

What kind of jobs seems to be in short supply?

It's a time when school, homework, active social lives and part-time jobs keep teenagers(青少年) busy from early in the morning until late at night. They are likely to try to make up for a lack of sleep by "sleeping in" on the weekends. Unfortunately, this causes irregular sleep and actually makes the problem worse. Most teenagers are not able to fall asleep until late at night. Since many teens aren' t sleepy until around 11 p. m., but need to be at school by 7: 30 or 8: 00 a. m., they cannot get enough sleep. During puberty(青春期), the biological clock in the brain naturally re-sets to a later time, and this causes teens to fall asleep later. Then, when it' s time to get up, a teen' s body clock is likely to still be producing the night-time hormones (荷尔蒙). This makes it hard for them to feel active and energetic in the morning. A growing body of research suggests that starting high school later improves attendance, achievements and grades. A few years ago in an important study, test scores on the SAT college entrance exams in Edina, Minnesota jumped more than 100 points on average, when the morning school bell rang an hour later. Unfortunately, most schools are not set up to start later and fail to satisfy teen' s sleep needs.

Most of you would probably say that what makes you truly happy is your family and the love you share in your relationships, and I couldn't agree more. But money comes into play in those relationships. When I talk about money this way to a group, there is always someone who comes up to me and says, "Suze, you are so wrong. Money isn't the key to life—this is!" At which point their wallet flies open and they show me a photo of their family. That's when things get interesting, because I start asking them questions: Did you take that photo with your own camera? It looks like a beautiful beach, was the photo taken on a family vacation? Do you hope to help those beautiful boys and girls go to college? As their answers are "yes", I ask them how they provide all of that for their family. That's when they understand that I had it right. I totally agree that family and friends are of great importance to our well being; without meaningful relationships, there's no chance of ever being truly happy. That's why, every Saturday night, I end my CNBC show with the following words: "People first. Then money. Then things. " How we deal with the money we have also plays into our happiness. Over the past few decades (十年) , the percentage of Americans who say they're happy hasn't changed much, while at the same time the average income has doubled. So we have more money, but we're not much happier on average. A paradox(悖论)? Far from it. My sense is that while we're making more money, we aren't making more of the money we make. We have to pay for a lot of things, and we have to worry about saving for retirement(退休) in a way that our parents and grandparents never did. And as many of you know, it's really hard to increase your happiness when you've got a lot of money worries. Do you agree, or am I way off base? I'd love to know what do you think about the money/ happiness connection.

After the birth of my second child, I got a job at a restaurant. Having worked with an experienced【C1】______ for a few days, I was【C2】______ to wait tables on my own. All went【C3】______ that first week. When Saturday night came, I was luckily【C4】______ the tables not far from the kitchen.【C5】______ , I still felt it a little hard to carry the heavy trays (托盘). Before I knew it, the【C6】______ was full of people. I moved slowly,【C7】______ every step. I remember how【C8】______ I was when I saw the tray stand near the tables. It looked different from the one I was【C9】______ on. It had nice handles, which made it【C10】______ to move around. I was【C11】______ with everything and began to【C12】______ I was a natural at this job. Then an old man came to me and【C13】______ , "Excuse me, dear, my wife and I loved【C14】______you work. It seems your tray stand has been very【C15】______ to you, but we are getting ready to 【C16】______now, and my wife needs her【C17】______ back. " At first his【C18】______ did not get across. Then, I got it. I had set my trays on his wife' s orthopedic walker (助听器). My face was【C19】______ . I wanted to get into a hole and【C20】______ .

This summer the city's Department of Transportation starts a new bike-share program. People【K1】______ live and work in New York will be able to travel【K2】______ (quick) and cheaply between many neighborhoods. This is important. It will make New Yorkers rethink their city and rewrite the mental maps we use to【K3】______ (decide) what is convenient, what is possible. Parks, restaurants and friends who once【K4】______ (seem) beyond reasonable travelling distance on public transportation will seem a lot closer. The possibilities aren't limitless, but the change will be pretty【K5】______ (impress). I've used a bike to get around New York【K6】______ decades. There's great excitement you feel from self-propelled transportation—skateboarding, in-line skating and walking as well as biking; New York【K7】______ (have) good public transportation, but you just don't get the kind of rush I' m talking about on a bus or subway train. I enjoy biking because it is【K8】______ pleasure, not because biking is environment-friendly, improves my health or brings【K9】______ (I) to different parts of the city. But it does all these things, too—and sometimes makes us a little self-satisfied for it; still, the reward is emotional(情感的)【K10】______ (satisfy), which beats reason, as it often does.

Which is a reason for children's weight gain in the summer?

What should the students bring with them to the exam?

What does the man want to buy?

We may be very pleased with the rapid progress we have made in every field of study. But the way to test a student's knowledge and ability still remains as poor as it was. We have almost done nothing to improve our examination system. It is well known that the examination system we are now using may be a good way of testing a student's memory, but it can tell you nothing about a student's ability. It does no good to students and teachers. As soon as a child begins school, he enters a world of examinations that will decide his future job. In fact a good examination system should train a student to think for himself. But it now does nothing about that. Students are encouraged to remember what is taught. It does not enable them to gain more new knowledge. The students who come out first in the examination often may not be the best in their studies. Besides, the examinations often force teachers to train students what to do with the coming examination from time to time. There must be some simpler and better way to test a student's ability besides knowledge. And that is what we should do at once.

What would you do if you were a fifth grader facing a huge homework load every night, and you found out that there was a machine that would do all the work for you? That's the situation presented to Sam, Kelsey, Judy and Brenton in Dan Gutman's entertaining new book for young readers, The Homework Machine. The four children, all fifth graders in Miss Rasmussen' s class at Grand Canyon School, are as different as any four 11-year-olds could be, but they have one thing in common—all are somewhat separated from their classmates. Sam is a newcomer and has had his share of school trouble before; Kelsey quietly carries her pain at losing her father; Judy' s sense of justice (正义感) always annoys others; and Brenton... well, he is another story entirely. Brenton is easily the smartest child in school, so smart that even his parents and teachers have trouble keeping up with him. When Brenton and his three classmates are put into the same study group by their teacher, the others discover that Brenton has made a time-saving gadget (装置) to do his homework for him. While the boy genius(天才)is perfectly able to do the homework himself, Sam, Kelsey and Judy could use the help. Having perfect grades is something new for these three, and as they meet every day to " do homework," they find that they' re learning a lot—about each other. Such a good thing can't last though, and when a secret man starts trying to get in touch with them, the children begin to get nervous. Soon there's an even more frightening problem—why can't the Homework Machine be turned off? Told in different voices (as all the children make statements to the Grand Canyon Police), the story develops in an interesting fashion. Gutman is a gifted writer who has written dozens of children's books, each with a funny and impressing tale that should be equally liked by boys and girls.

What is Jack going to do?

Who is the woman?

Everywhere in the world, plants and animals live together. Some animals eat plants they live with. Some plants stay alive because many plant-eating animals have natural enemies that eat them. Rich soil for the roots of plants is produced by worms and other very small animals that live underground. Green plants feed animals and people. It takes all the plants and animals living together to keep the earth a good place to live in. Plants and animals trade with each other. They trade for things they both need to stay alive. Animals breathe and the air gets changed inside their bodies. When they breathe the air out again there' s something called carbon(碳) in it. Animals can't use this air again. But plants need carbon. The plants trade fresh air for the carbon they need. Plants make food from carbon and water. They use sunlight for this work, just as a machine uses gas or electricity to keep running. The plants store the food they make inside themselves. But what do the plants get in return? Many things. Plants make food from the carbon and other things that come from animals' bodies. Insects like bees carry pollen(花粉) from one flower to another and the pollen forms seeds. Birds and other animals eat the fruit in which seeds grow and often drop the seeds where they can grow up into new plants. So animals help the growth of new plants.

What does Harris probably want to do with Olivia?

Where would you most like to go on vacation? Paris? London? The Amazon Rainforest? Each of these destinations is attractive.【B1】______ As a new word, staycation refers to people staying at home during their vacation time, and going sightseeing around their hometown. Staycations have become really popular recently, as a way of having an enjoyable vacation, without spending too much money. There are shortcomings to every positive thing, however. 【B2】______ You also might prevent yourself from enjoying things to the fullest, as the atmosphere might be the same as any other time. 【B3】______ It means you won' t be available for work or other activities. What can you do to make your staycation fun? 1. Go to a nearby town, or to a fancy hotel in your hometown and stay overnight. Treat yourself to room service and any other fun things the hotel has to offer. 2.【B4】______ You would have done it on a vacation, right? Treat yourself to this, at least for one day! 3. Throw a small party. Think about the money you are saving by not going away. You will still save money, but have more fun, and you will help other people to have fun too ! 4. Go shopping! Window shopping, or the super fun type, where you buy things! You would have bought souvenirs (纪念品) if you had gone on a vacation, so treat yourself during your staycation! The most important thing to remember is to do things that make you and your family excited!【B5】______[A] Eat out for every meal![B] Go on a day trip to a nearby town, or to a beach.[C] But why not remain at home and enjoy a staycation?[D] If you are on a staycation, you might get calls from work.[E] Most of the time it involves dining out more frequently than usual.[F] Make sure you all have fun, and when it is over, you feel refreshed.[G] The trick is to make sure your friends and co-workers know you are on a staycation.

Eyesight plays a very important role in our daily life. Every waking moment, the eyes are working to see the world around us. Over forty percent of Americans worry about losing eyesight, but it' s easy to include steps into our daily life to ensure healthy eyes. Here are five suggestions for a lifetime of healthy eyesight: Schedule yearly exams.【B1】______ Experts advise parents to bring babies 6 to 12 months of age to the doctor for a careful check. The good news is that millions of children now can have yearly eye exams and following treatment, including eyeglasses. Protect against UV rays (紫外线). Long-term stay in the sun creates risk to your eyes. No matter what the season is, it's extremely important to wear sunglasses.【B2】______ Give your eyes a break. Two-thirds of Americans spend up to seven hours a day using computers or other digital products.【B3】______ Experts recommend that people practice the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away. 【B4】______ As part of a healthy diet, eat more fruits and vegetables each day. Vitamins ( 维生素) C and E help protect eyesight and promote eye health. Practice safe wear and care of contact lenses (隐形眼镜). Many Americans use contact lenses to improve their eyesight. While some follow the medical guidance for wearing contact lenses, many are breaking the rules and putting their eyesight at risk.【B5】______ Otherwise, you may have problems such as red eyes, pain in the eyes, or a more serious condition.[A] Eat your greens.[B] Eye care should begin early in life.[C] They can properly protect your eyes.[D] Stay in good shape by taking more vitamins.[E] Parents usually don' t care about their own eyesight.[F] Always follow the doctor' s advice for appropriate wear.[G] This frequent eye activity increases the risk for eye tiredness.

Where does the conversation probably take place?