Your 2018 Reading List, Provided by Bill Gates
Most of us can't live like billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, but we can read like him. Gates recommended four books in 2018—though some were published earlier.
Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson (2017)
The bestselling biographer of Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein researched deeply into da Vinci's contributions beyond art, highlighting the breadth of his scientific, technological, and creative output. “Leonardo nearly understood almost all of what was known on the planet at the time. That's mostly because of his curiosity about every area of natural science and the human experience,” said Gates.
The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir, by Thi Bui (2017)
Gates calls this graphic novel “really impressive”. Bui is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees who came to America after the fall of Saigon, and becoming a parent inspired her to look into her own parents' miserable history. “I was struck by how the experiences Bui illustrates manage to be both universal and specific to their circumstances,” said Gates.
Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders (2018)
Saunders, a long-time short story writer, won high praise for this novel. The book imagines the ghosts that haunt (萦绕) the basement of Willie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son, who died at 11 in real life. “Willie's death after the Civil War made the president have a new understanding of the grief he's creating in other families by sending their sons off to die in battle,” said Gates.
Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian (2018)
This new book is by the creator of Big History, a free, online social studies course. It traces history in wide, sweeping movements, starting with the Big Bang, and it provides, in effect, a short course in modern science. This is a brief history of the universe. “David gets a little stuck on the current economic and political problems in the West, and I wish he talked more about the role innovation will play in preventing the worst effects of climate change,” said Gates.
Researchers say current exercise guidelines are unrealistic and argue that doctors should sometimes advise small increases in activity instead. They warn the 150-minute weekly target is beyond the reach of some people — particularly older individuals. And striving to reach these goals could mean the benefits of lighter exercise are overlooked. But public health officials say current recommendations have proven benefits in lowering the risk of heart disease.
There is increasing evidence that inactivity is linked to heart disease, Type 2 diabetes(糖尿病) and some types of cancer. UK guidelines for adults recommend at least two-and-a-half hours of moderate activity a week, in short periods of 10 minutes or more.
But in two separate articles in the BMJ, experts argue the message needs to change, with greater emphasis on making inactive people move more. Prof Philipe de Souto Barreto at the University Hospital of Toulouse, advises people who are sedentary(久坐的) to make small incremental increases in their activity levels — rather than pushing to achieve current goals. He points to previous studies which show even short periods of walking or just 20 minutes of vigorous activity a few times a month can reduce the risk of death, compared to people who do no exercise.
In the second article, Prof Phillip Sparking of the Georgia Institute of Technology, says doctors should tailor their advice — particularly for older patients. He suggests using GP visits for people over 60 to discuss "realistic options" to increase activity — such as getting people to stand up and move during TV commercial breaks.
Prof Kevin Fenton at Public Health England, says: "Everyone needs to be active every day — short periods of 10 or more minutes of physical activity have proven health benefits, but getting 150 minutes or more of moderate activity every week is the amount we need to positively impact on a wide range of health conditions. "This includes reducing the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes."
Americans like to visit the national parks. In 1996, over 250,000,000 people visited areas which are managed by the National Park Service. Experts say that by 2012, 500,000,000 people per year will visit the parks. As a result, people are trying to think of ways to protect the parks from the crowds.
The crowding of the parks has caused several problems. One is that there is not enough space for all of the people who want to use the parks. To deal with this problem, you may have to book your tickets a few months ahead of time. The Park Service may also raise entrance fees (费) .
Another problem caused by increased park use is pollution. Some garbage and waste can be cleaned up, and the cleanup can be paid for by increased entrance fees. To cut down on noise pollution and air pollution, the number of cars allowed in parks may be limited. If this happens, people may use buses to travel around the parks. Officials may also limit the use of jet-skis, snow- mobiles, motor-boats, and sightseeing helicopters and planes.
The parks may also be in danger because of development that is going on around them. For example, around Yellow Stone Park, many hotels, golf courses, resorts, and other tourist attractions have been built. Some of these developments have effect on areas that are used by animals. People will have to learn to agree about ways to protect the parks. If they do not, there will soon be no reason to visit these national treasures.
When a leafy plant is under attack, it doesn't sit quietly. Back in 1983,two scientists,Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin, reported that young maple trees (枫树) getting bitten by insects send out a particular smell that neighboring plants can get. These chemicals come from the injured parts of the plant and seem to be an alarm. What the plants send through the air is a mixture of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds,VOCs for short.
Scientists have found that all kinds of plants give out VOCs when being attacked. It's a plant's way of crying out. But is anyone listening? Obviously. Because we can watch the neighbors react.
Some plants give out smelly chemicals to keep insects away. But others do double duty. They give out smells designed to attract different insects who are natural enemies to the attackers. Once they arrive, the tables are turned. The attacker who was launching now becomes lunch.
In study after study, it appears that these chemical conversations help the neighbors. The damage is usually more serious on the first plant, but the neighbors, relatively speaking,stay safer because they heard the alarm and knew what to do.
Does this mean that plants talk-to-each-other? Scientists don't know. Maybe the first plant just made a cry of pain or was sending a message to its own branches, and so in effect,was talking to itself. Perhaps the neighbors just happened to "overhear" the cry. So information was exchanged,but it wasn't a true, intentional back and forth.
Charles Darwin, over 150 years ago,imagined a world far busier, noisier and more intimate (亲密的) than the world we can see and hear. Our senses are weak. There's a whole lot going on.
Society tells us that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. But it doesn't have to be that way. A new study published in Human Development points out that using a childlike way of learning can help people of any age take on and deal with new difficult tasks. .
Venture (冒险) outside your comfort zone. As adults, we tend to use similar skills day in and day out: We take jobs in fields we're already good at, drive on the same roads to the same places, and fall into routines we're comfortable with. Changing to something more difficult may have more cognitive benefits.
A fear of making mistakes is another reason why adults are so slow to learn new things; if we try and fail, we can face criticism, lose money, or get fired. That's why it's important to build up a support network of people — at work and at home — who allow you to make mistakes and learn from them.
Make a serious commitment and don't give up. If you can afford it, spending money on a new goal — for example, booking a trip to Rome to practice your Italian — might also make it harder to just give up.
Learn more than one thing at once. We tend to pay attention to one hobby or one skill. But dividing that time and energy into three or four areas will stretch your brain in all different directions. For example, maybe you started learning a new language last year, and this year you add singing lessons, and next year you try something else. You can add things gradually to what you can handle.
A．Turn to your friends and family.
B．The following ways will do the trick.
C．Surround yourself with encouraging people and no fear for mistakes.
D．Telling friends about your new goal can help keep you motivated.
E．But all this similar routine limits the parts of the brain that we're using regularly.
F．That doesn't mean you should start all the new hobbies all at once, though.
G．So feeling comfortable can reduce stress and make you happier and more productive.
Some people think they need to change how they look or act to feel good about themselves. 1 , all you need to do is to change the way you see your body and how you think about yourself.
The first thing to do is to 2 that your body is your own, no matter what shape, size, or colour it comes in. If you are very 3 about your weight or size, check with your doctor to make sure that things are OK. But it is nobody else's 4 but your own what your body is like—in the end, you have to be 5 with yourself.
Next, identify which aspects of your 6 you can realistically change and which you can't. Everyone, even the most perfect-seeming celebrity (名人), has things about themselves that they can't change and need to 7 like their height or their shoe size.
If there are things about yourself that you want to change and can, do this by making 8 for yourself. For example, if you want to get 9 , make a plan to exercise every day and eat nutritious foods. Then keep track of your progress until you reach your goal.
Meeting a(n) 10 you set for yourself is a great way to boost self-esteem (自尊) !
When you hear 11 remarks coming from within yourself, tell yourself to stop. Try 12 your self-esteem by giving yourself three compliments (称赞) every day. Every evening, list three things in your day that really gave you 13 . It can be anything from the way the sun felt on your face, the sound of your 14 band, to the way someone laughed at your jokes. By 15 the good things you do and the positive aspects of your life, you can change how you feel about yourself.
Chinese Medicine Food
Medicine food is a unique cooking style in Chinese cuisine. It is perfect combination of Chinese cooking and traditional Chinese medicine to get the effects of health keeping. It is also a skillful (apply) of the yin and yang (阴阳) theory (strengthen) the function of food and herbs.
The Chinese sort each type of vegetable and meat in terms of yin and yang, and combine vegetables with meat, will make each cooked dish balanced.
During the 5th century BC, cooks created cuisines with medical values and developed Chinese art of cooking, (use) the nature of food to balance the diet. There were rules on how to arrange daily diet and lists of certain herbs and vegetables that were (benefit) to the body.
In the Song Dynasty, was recorded that many diseases could be cured through proper diets. Different foods were sorted according to their original nature. Cold foods (believe) to remove fever while warm foods reduce running noses.
Knowing the nature of individual foods (enable) the Chinese to eat right food to protect varieties of inside organs and balance the yin and yang of the body. For example, sour food eases some disorders. (slight) sweet food relieves illness related to the veins and bitter food helps to cure an overheated body.
注意：1.写作词数应为 80 左右；2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯； 3.请按如下格式在答题卡相应位置作答。
My Best Friend
It was 1939, and the Great Depression had made all our lives much harder. But we didn't know how poor we were until our father sat my brother and me down on the couch in our living room to have a talk.
I will always remember the sad look in Father's eyes as he stared down at his hands, rubbing them back and forth, while he searched for the words to tell us that our family wasn't going to be celebrating Christmas this year.
A month later, on Christmas Eve, I lay awake in bed late into the night, trying to talk myself out of sneaking into our living room to see if Santa had come. I gathered my courage, then tiptoed down the hallway, hoping I would see the bright sparkling lights of our Christmas tree standing proudly in the corner of our living room, like it did every year.
Instead, I was greeted by my seventeen-year-old brother, Frank, who slept on our living room couch. "Hey, little one, what are you doing up?" he whispered.
I started to cry. "There's no Christmas tree."
There would be no presents, no singing, no Christmas dinner. It felt like we were the saddest family in the world. My disappointment overwhelmed me. I looked forward to Christmas each year. It wasn't only the presents. It was that special feeling I got from seeing my family happy. We hadn't been happy in such a long time.
On Christmas morning, the sun shone into our chilly bedroom, waking me up. "Maybe Santa came! Maybe he came!" I suddenly insisted. My eyes searched the living room, but there was no Christmas tree. I broke into uncontrollable tears.
I ran to Father in tears and threw my arms around him. " We aren't going to have Christmas this year."
"Now, now, now, calm down. Go on in and see your mother. She will comfort you." Dad slowly pushed the bedroom door open, leading me into the room.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something different in the bedroom.
……
With my question answered, everything dawned on me.
