Everywhere inside Valerie Tolman's home in Missouri City are signs that she has a big heart. There are family photos, including those of two biological and two adopted children who are all now grown; her two rescue dogs, Ivy and Ellie, are close by and, in an upstairs bedroom, are four kittens she's looking after. Her love of animals and passion for helping strays (走失的宠物) find homes earned her the Missouri City Volunteer of the Year award in 2017.

    Tolman, a former newspaper reporter and software-industry analyst, started the volunteer program at the Missouri City Animal Shelter in 2014 after she retired. She later formed the Friends of the Missouri City Animal Shelter, a nonprofit to expand the group's efforts to keep animals healthy, alive and adoptable. "I like living things, and it breaks my heart to think something is suffering — animals or humans," Tolman said.

    She even challenged city officials about the lack of funding (资金提供) for the shelter, and encouraged the public to complain (投诉) in letters and emails to the City Council. Eventually, the council budgeted $250,000 for the shelter. "I fought city hall and won," she said. "The animals are in such better shape. I'm proud of that."

    But she's most proud of her efforts to send high school students from low-income families to college. She and her husband Davis Tolman, a retired petroleum geologist, started a scholarship for first-generation college students in 2001. Tolman said 5l students have received full tuition (学费), including books, through the program. Although the graduation rate for the scholarship receivers is 54 percent, Tolman said all of the students tended to become successful in life simply because they attended college. Most of the students are the first in their families to go to college.

    "It has a ripple effect, and even though some may not finish, there is a feeling that anything is possible," she said. "We now have nurses, teachers and engineers because of this program."

    For years, experts have been encouraging people to exercise, using steps as simple as taking the stairs instead of a lift and walking to work, where possible. A recent study bolsters this advice, which shows that frequent active exercise throughout the day can have great health benefits.

    The study, published in the magazine Prevent Medicine, found that just 2 minutes of stair climbing several times a day can lower total cholesterol (胆固醇), raise HDL ("good") cholesterol and improve the heartbeat in young women who do not have much activity during the day. "Such improvements may have important effects on the health of women; since, like cigarette smoking, poor fitness has been shown to be a strong, graded, and independent risk factor for heart disease, which causes death in women," said Dr. Colin Boreham with the University of Ulster in Belfast, Ireland, and the fellow researchers of his study group. Furthermore, improvements in total cholesterol levels achieved in the study could cut the rate of heart disease in women by a third, they noted.

    The team of researchers from Britain studied 12 women between 18 -22 years old, before and after the exercise program. The women used a public staircase for about 2 minutes a day for 5 days a week. Compared with a group of 10 women who did not take part in the stair-climbing program, the women who climbed stairs showed marked improvements in health and fitness levels after 7 weeks. However, they did not show any signs of weight loss. "A short term stair-climbing program can give great health benefits to young women. Stair-climbing may be a particularly suitable way of combining exercise with an individual's daily lifestyle." they pointed out.

    Experts advise visiting your doctor before beginning a new exercise program.

    When you start working on something but don't finish it, thoughts of the unfinished work continue to jump into your mind even when you've moved on to other things. Psychologists refer the phenomenon as the Zeigamik effect. The effect was first observed by a Russian psychologist named Bluma Zeigamik. While sitting in a busy restaurant in Vienna, she noted the waiters had better memories of unpaid orders. Once the bill was paid, however, the waiters had difficulty remembering the exact details of the orders.

    In one of her studies, participants were asked to complete simple tasks such as putting together puzzles, or solving math problems. Half of the participants were interrupted halfway through these tasks. After an hour-long delay, Zeigamik asked the participants to give an account of what they'd been working on. She discovered that those who had their work interrupted were twice as likely to remember what they had been doing as those who had actually completed the tasks.

    We can use this effect to our advantage. For example, if you're struggling to memorize something important, momentary interruptions might actually work to your advantage. Rather than simply remember the information over and over again, review it several times and then take a break. While you're focusing on other things, you'll find yourself mentally returning to the information you were studying.

    We often put off tasks until the last moment, only completing them in a rush at the last possible moment. Unfortunately, this tendency can lead to heavy stress and even poor performance. One way to overcome this is to put the Zeigamik effect to work. Start by taking the first step, no matter how small. Once you⁵ve begun—but not finished—your work, you'll find yourself thinking of the task until, at last, you finish it. Ybu might not finish it all at once, but each small step you take puts you closer to your final goal.

    If you are already making the time to exercise, it is good indeed! With such busy lives, it can be hard to try and find the time to work out.  Working out in the morning provides additional benefits beyond being physically fit.

    Your productivity is improved. Exercising makes you more awake and ready to handle whatever is ahead of you for the day.

    Your metabolism (新陈代谢) gets a head start.  If you work out in the mornings, then you will be getting the calorie(卡路里)burning benefits for the whole day, not in your sleep.

     Studies found that people who woke up early for exercise slept better than those who exercised in the evening. Exercise energizes you, so it is more difficult to relax and have a peaceful sleep when you are very excited.

     If you work out bright and early in the morning, you will be more likely to stick to healthy food choices throughout the day. Who would want to ruin their good workout by eating junk food? You will want to continue to focus on positive choices.

    There are a lot of benefits to working out, especially in the mornings. Set your alarm clock an hour early and push yourself to work out! You will feel energized all day long.

A. You will stick to your diet.

B. Your quality of sleep improves.

C. You prefer healthy food to fast food.

D. There is no reason you should exercise in the morning.

E. You can keep your head clear for 4-10 hours after exercise.

F. After you exercise, you continue to burn calories throughout the day.

G. If you are planning to do exercise regularly, or you're doing it now, then listen up!

    I was going to see my grandma Ruthy.

    Approaching her apartment, I was suddenly seized with the1 that I was going to die one day. I walked in to see my grandmother sitting on the sofa, 2 and pale. Once she would have 3 me in her huge bear hug, but now it seemed like the sofa was going to have her4 alive.

    I knew I was supposed to hug her but I wanted to 5. I didn't want to even make eye contact with this woman that I had loved so 6, because if I did, maybe death would   7 from over her shoulder and touch me too.

My grandmother, dying of cancer, 8 pulled herself to the edge of the sofa and 9 herself up and said, "So where are we going for dinner?" I turned to my mom 10 I didn't know what food went with dying.

    The next minute, we ended up 11 her off the sofa, down the steps, into the car, and driving to the closest 12. She hadn't managed solid food in weeks, and could 13 do a sip of water due to the pain. But she ordered a large cup of beer. We ate and she drank.14, there was no death. There was no cancer. There was a moment like that in every 15.

    Then we said 16. I was waiting for the icy cold hand of 17 on my heart. But I didn't feel it, because she had 18 a shield (防护物) around me — the meal.

    The last 19 my grandma Ruthy taught me is that one day, I'm supposed to look over my shoulder and say, "Hello, Death. Before we go, I'm going to have one more 20."

    The Palace Museum, long  (associate) with images of century-old buildings and relics, is now taking a (surprise) step into fashion: not high-end fashion, but the everyday kind. On Dec 9, the online store of the Palace Museum Cultural and Creative Store released a new product – a lipstick collection in six colors,  attracted millions of page views a day. "I find myself browsing this online store twice a day and I definite）have a good time doing so, as it's quite relaxing." a college girl said.

    The colors showcase classic Chinese beauty: Lang Yao glaze red, Bean paste red, Tourmaline purple, Rose-purple, Mermaid pink and Maple red. They (draw)from items in different shades of red worn by  emperors' concubines (妾) during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The  (inspire) for the lipstick packaging comes from the patterns of traditional Chinese porcelains and embroideries. It features red-crowned cranes, lingzhi mushrooms and butterflies, all (do) in an elegant style, reported People's Daily.

    "Richtraditional Chinese cultural meanings, these lipsticks have attracted much attention ever since they hit store (shelf)." a WeChat user surnamed Liu told Global Times. “I think the lipsticks have a high collection value as well.”

⒈表达同情与宽慰；

⒉预防建议：

⑴不要聚会，尽量不外出；

⑵外出时务必戴口罩并勤洗手；

⑶适量室内运动，增强体质；

注意：词数80左右；可适当增加细节使行文连贯

Plant-Based Diet

    What is a plant-based diet? Is it just a fashionable new term for a "vegan (严格素食主义者)"? While there is no set definition, a plant-based way of eating focuses on consuming plant-sourced wholefoods (全天然食物) that are least processed in their original form, for example whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. These are full of vitamins, minerals, and provide an abundance of nutrients for your body. Following a plant-based lifestyle doesn't necessarily mean fully avoiding animal products like a vegan. For plant-based eaters, animal proteins can happily fit in with the lifestyle, yet they play more of a supporting role. Overall, "plant-based" is more of a broad and flexible way of thinking about nutrition rather than a rigid diet. With a plant-based diet, the focus is on simple, nutritious wholefoods.

    Why people start following a plant-based diet? One of the main reasons is the health benefits. Now, more so than ever, research is showing how eating more plants and less meat can positively affect health. Particularly, a plant-based lifestyle has been linked to heart health. In a study of more than 10, 000 adults published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, it was shown that those who followed a more plant-based diet had a 16 percent lower risk of having cardiovascular (心血管的) disease and a 32 percent lower risk of dying of cardiovascular disease.

    A plant-based lifestyle can also help to promote weight loss and help to maintain your goal weight. Weight loss commonly occurs because the diet consists of foods that are full of fiber and have a high-water content, which easily make you feel full up.

    Another major reason to jump at the plant-based eating train is the external (外界的，外部的) benefits. Plant-based foods are loaded with vitamins, which help brighten your skin. One of the plant-based all-star vitamins is vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant. A large number of fruits and vegetables contain vitamin C. They assist in smoothing lines, and reducing wrinkles.