Tired of solving a problem? Sleep on it! A study by a group of German scientists shows that getting enough sleep makes people better problem solvers. They found that people who sleep for at least eight hours each night are better at solving problems and thinking creatively. For their study, the scientists divided (分开) 106 people into groups. The group that got eight hours of sleep was more than twice as likely to find a shortcut for solving a math problem as the group that stayed awake all night.
Being short of sleep has become a bad habit for many American kids. According to a survey by the National Sleep Foundation, 51% of kids aged 10 to 18 go to bed at 10 p.m. or later on school nights. The foundation reported that nearly 60% of 7- to 12-year-olds agreed that they felt tired during the day.
This is important information for parents and kids. Getting enough sleep can improve a kid's performance (表现) at school.
Almost everyone knows Garfield. He is a fun-loving cat in comic strips(连环漫画). Most people like to read about this cute cat.
But who made Garfield? Jim Davis did. When Jim was a young boy, he was sick for a long time. He had to stay in bed. He wanted to do something, so he drew pictures. Jim's pictures made people laugh. When Jim put words with his pictures, people laughed harder. He started making comic strips. Jim read other comic strips. He saw there were a lot of dogs in the comics, but no cats. That's how he got the idea for Garfield.
Jim lived in India with 25 cats. These cats helped him get his ideas for the things Garfield does. But Garfield is a special cat! Garfield isn't afraid of dogs. He likes to kick Odie, the dog in his comic strips. Sometimes Garfield is bad, but it always acts in a funny way.
Jim had fun writing about Garfield's stories. He also spent time drawing Garfield's action. This careful work has made Garfield popular. Now there are comic strips, posters, books, and even TV shows about the funny Garfield.
A. Jim created Garfield. B. Jim drew pictures. C. Jim made comic strips. D. Jim wrote about Garfield's stories. |
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To protect people from COVID-19, many countries are making efforts these days. Here are some special rules in the following countries.
Serbia |
At one point, Serbia's government introduced a "dog-walking hour" from 20:00 to 21:00. But that has now been stopped, because a lot of dog-owners are against it for it is unhealthy for their dogs. |
Panama |
In the Central American country, men and women are able to leave their homes for only two hours at a time, and on different days. No one are allowed to go out on Sundays. "This rule is for nothing more than to save your life," the security minister Juan Pino said. |
Colombia |
In some Colombian towns, people are allowed to go outside based on the last number of their national ID number. For example, people with an ID number ending with 0, 7or 4 are allowed to leave the house on Mondays, while those with an ID number ending with I, 8or5 can go outside on Tuesdays. |
Sweden |
The government of Sweden believes that people will do the right thing. Gatherings of more than 50 people are not allowed on Sundays but schools for children under the age of 16 remain open. Many people are still meeting friends as usual in the restaurants, on which people both at home and abroad have different opinions. |
It was the last day of the final examination in a college. On the steps of building, a group of engineering students were waiting for the last exam. On their faces was confidence.
They knew the exam would be easy. The professor (教授) had said they could bring any books or notes during the test.
Right after they came into the classroom, the professor handed out the papers. There were only five questions on it.
Three hours passed. Then the professor began to collect the papers. The students no longer looked confident. On their faces was nervous expression. The professor watched the worried faces before him, and then asked, "How many of you have completed all five questions?" No hand was raised. "How many of you have answered four?" Still no hands. "Three? Two?" The students moved restlessly in their seats. "One, then? Certainly somebody has finished one." But the class kept silent. The professor said, "That is exactly what I expected. I just want to make you know clearly that even though you have completed four years of engineering, there are still many things about the subject you don't know. These questions you could not answer are common in everyday practice." Then, smiling, he added, "You will all pass this course, but remember, your education has just begun."
The years have obscured the name of this professor, but not the lesson he taught.
Amazing news! There are robot cooks in Hunan Province. They started cooking local(当地的) dishes at a restaurant in Changsha on May 1.
The cooking robots get cooking skills and recipes(食谱) for 40 kinds of Hunan dishes. They are (A)a to cook fried meat in two minutes. (B)We want our customers to enjoy the dishes and the amazing robot cooking." said Li Zhiming, the inventor of the robots and owner of the restaurant.
Li hopes that Hunan robot cooking restaurants can open worldwide in the future, like KFC and Mc Donald's." In Changsha, the restaurants, which are similar to ours in size, need 8 to 10 cooks and kitchen helpers. (C) we only need two kitchen helpers to help three robot cooks in our restaurant," said Li.
Kitchen helpers at Li's restaurant put materials(材料) into special boxes, and press the button "ON", The robot cooks then begin to cook. It is not an easy job to invent these robot cooks. Li and his group spent round four years and nearly ten million yuan inventing such a robot cook. At present, Li's restaurant can sell more than 800 bowls of rice with Hunan local dishes on top per day. Li plans to open up brunches
(分店) in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and even abroad.
When a fire alarm goes off, you know it! The sound makes you realize the1. What if you were deaf? How would you know if an alarm2, or if someone knocked on your door? If you took a walk3a busy street, you wouldn't hear the sound of a car coming at you. A signal dog could help you with all of these things!
Signal dogs are also called hearing ear dogs. They help people who are deaf by acting4their owners' "ears". They know5to do when they hear certain sounds. These dogs can learn up to eight sounds,6sounds from sirens, doorbells, and crying babies.
Babies cry at night for many reasons. They might be hungry,7, or wet. When they cry, the sound is pitiful! Even very sleepy parents will wake up quickly to help. But what if a mom and dad can't hear? That's when a signal dog can help. The dog can8wake his owner up. He might9him with his nose, or pull at his night clothes. When his10wakes up, the dog runs to the baby. The dog may sit down near the baby's bed. If his owner doesn't11, the dog does it again. The dog will run back and forth12his owner takes action. A signal dog does different things for each sound it knows.
People can train many13and kinds of hearing ear dogs. They look different and may not all move with beauty and grace, but all signal dogs are smart! Large dogs are14in public places because they won't get stepped on. Small dogs, however, can jump on your lap. Why is that important? Because signal dogs are more than just "ears". They are also15.
Last summer, Tina had to stay with Aunt Betsy in California because her(parent) needed to work in another city for a month.
Tina never saw Aunt Betsyso she was a little nervous. Aunt Betsy told her the in California was sunny, so Tina(take) some shorts and T-shirts. She put some books and magazines in her bag because she liked(read). Her favorite book were about horses.
On theto Aunt Betsy's house, Tina saw many horses on the farm. Tina liked it very much and she wished she could have a horse some day.
When they(arrive) at Aunt Betsy's house, Tina saw a tall brown horse!
"Have you(see)the brown horse? Her name is Lucky. Usually, I visit hera week, every Saturday afternoon for an hour. We can go riding together this weekend, "said Aunt Betsy.
Tina felt happy her aunt and she had thehobby. It was going to be a wonderful vacation.
I work in a cleaning company(公司). Usually people call us, and we (提供) house cleaning service.
One day, I got a call from a man named David. "I want to help an old man. He just had surgery(手术) and is still ill. Can I pay for it without letting him know?" he asked. David was a very kind man. He called us because he was worried about his neighbor, Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith just came back from the hospital. His house was in a (杂乱), but he couldn't do any housework. Even (扫) the floor was difficult for him. He didn't tell his (孩子) because he didn't want them to spend their time taking of(照顾) him. David wanted to help Mr. Smith without bringing him any (心理负担). And then we asked David what would happen if Mr. Smith (拒绝) to let us come into his house. "I have to at least try, and (而且), I really want to help him," he said.
Luckily, Mr. Smith let us in and our workers did a good job. (既然) we promised David not to tell his name, we didn't tell too much to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith was touched by the gift from someone he didn't know.
Sometimes we don't expect to (依靠)on others, because we are afraid of letting them get into trouble. However, there is always someone who cares about you and tries his best to help you.
Opinions |
Reasons |
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some students |
Yes |
* a good way to relax * know traditional culture |
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other students |
No |
* a waste of time * have no improvement |
注意:1)短文必须包括表中所有内容,可适当增加细节
2)你的理由至少两条;
3)词数:60-80;
4)短文首句仅供选择使用,不计入总词数。 参考词汇:fairy tales 童话故事
短文首句:Recently, our class has had a discussion about whether teenagers can watch cartoons about fairy tales at their age.