Dodder is an unusual and unwanted plant that attacks other plants. Except for its flowers, the plant looks like spaghetti, a kind of noodles in the shape of long thin pieces that look like string when they are cooked. It's almost leafless, thread-like stems (茎) hang down on top of other plants that dodder needs to stay alive. Dodder does not produce its own food. Instead, it steals food from other plants. It feeds by sucking juices from the plant which is wrapped around, often making its host very weak or even killing it.

    Dodder can find other plants by their smell. When a young dodder plant starts growing, it follows the smell of plants it prefers, like tomato plants, potato plants, or other farm crops. Unlike most plants that usually grow in the direction of light or warmth, a dodder plant will grow in the direction of, for example, tomato smell—if a tomato happens to be growing nearby.

    However, a young dodder plant must find a host plant quickly. It no longer needs its root once it is attached to the host and wrapped around it. If it cannot catch a smell of a potential host within a few days, it will dry up and disappear—even if there is plenty of water around. Once it finds a host, the young dodder plant will attach itself to it and start growing faster. At that point the dodder plant will drop its root.

    Dodder is thus a difficult weed to manage and a real headache for farmers. When it does get out of hand, dodder can greatly reduce a farmer's harvest or even destroy crops completely. Before sowing their produce, especially farmers in warm parts of the world often check to make sure no unwanted dodder seeds have mixed with their crop seeds. This is a good way to stop dodder plants from making their way to a crop field secretly.

    The Department of Modern and Classical Languages at the University of North Georgia seeks to hire a part-time instructor of Chinese for the Fall Term 2017. Depending on enrollments（登记人数）, the opportunity could continue in the spring and be ongoing.

    Located in the fastest-growing area of the state, the University of North Georgia is a multi-campus（多校园）university with an enrollment of over 18,000 students, making it one of the largest institutions in the University System of Georgia. Through a variety of educational pathways that provide access and range from certificates and associate degrees to a professional doctoral program, the UNG is responsive to local education and economic development needs.

    Job Duties & Responsibilities:

    Teaching schedules may include evening or online classes.

    Certifications/ Licenses & Minimum Requirements:

    The candidate should have a Master's degree in Chinese or related field.

    Native or near-native fluency in Chinese.

    Expected Hire Date: 08/01/2017

    Special instructions to applicants:

    If you received any graduate degrees from an institution outside the United States, you must provide a foreign course-by-course evaluation by an independent evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Service, Inc.

    Employer Information:

    All employment offers are dependent upon successful completion of a background investigation（调查）, as determined by the University of North Georgia. The University of North Georgia, a unit of the University System of Georgia, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex or national origin, age, disability or religion. We provide equal employment opportunities to minorities, females, and disabled individuals, as well as other protected groups.

    A family is a collection of people who share the same genes（基因）but cannot agree on a place to pull over for lunch. Ed and I, plus his parents and sister Doris and eight-year-old niece Alisha, are on a road trip to Yosemite. Ed wants Subway, I want. In-N-Out Burger, Doris wants Sonic. In the end, we compromise on McDonald's, where Alisha will get an action figure.

    It's a three-hour drive to Yosemite, but we're taking a little longer, as we're working in a tour of Highway 80's public restrooms. As the saying goes, “Not one bladder（膀胱）empties but another fills.” Many of these restrooms belong to gas stations. I prefer them to the high-tech ones on planes.

    We get back on the road. Ed is driving now. When all the tabloids（小报）have been read, the travel has grown tedious and anyone under age 12 asks “Are we there yet?” at ever-shortening internals. Just outside Manteca, California, we stop for coffee. At a Starbucks checkout, Ed buys a CD of Joni Mitchell's favorite musical picks. The hope is that it will have a calming effect.

    As we pull back onto the highway, it starts to pour. Then something amazing happens. As we climb the mountain, the rain turns to snow. The pines are spotted with white. We're struck dumb（说不出话）by the scene outside. For a solid 15 minutes, everyone forgets about their bladder, their blood sugar and the temperature. Alisha has never seen snow, so we pull over to make snowmen and catch snowflakes on our tongues. Then Ed realizes we need tire chains, and we have to turn back and drive 30miles to Oakhurst. “Good,” says Doris. “There was a very nice restroom there.”

    Anki has introduced Cozmo, a little robot powered by an advanced artificial intelligence. Cozmo promises to be for more interactive（互动的）than any toy robot.

Cozmo, which can lie in your hand, has a “brain”—technically its CPU—that can process data amazingly fast. In addition, Cozmo has a playful personality. He's designed to react to emotions and even ask users to play with him.

    Cozmo is not the first interactive toy to reach the market nor is it the first robot toy. What sets Cozmo apart from the other “smart toys” is that it has greater play value than those toys, which can become repetitious all too quickly.

    “Every interaction with Cozmo is different, so you do not put up with repetitive play patterns and responses typically found with other preprogrammed robots,” explained Anki spokesperson Peter Nguyen. Because it has functionality that is similar to that of video games, Cozmo also can receive regular updates, which could extend its playability. Still, Anki has designed this toy to be just that: a toy. It's not an advanced computerized robot. Its software is app-based.

    Cozmo lacks the “traditional” human-like robot form factor（要素）of legs, arms, and a head. But Cozmo does have an OLED screen/face with blue eyes, which in fact were designed to help it connect with its user.

    “I'm glad my kids are already raised,” said Roger L. Kay, analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates. “Otherwise, they might become more antisocial if their relationship with Cozmo is more satisfying than those with real people,” said Kay. “Cozmo might encourage kids to learn more about technology or even inspire them to try programming and similar studies,” said Charles King, analyst at Pund-IT.

    Yet this technology does promise to be more than a toy. “It's a pretty cool invention and might have further applications, for example in elder care,” suggested Kay.

    Are you suffering from FOMO—that is, Fear Of Missing Out? Research shows that a growing number of young people are with worrying reasons for their sleep and schoolwork.

           You aren't able to do your best unless you sleep well. Most experts agree that the optimum（最适宜）number of hours is eight, and this has been accepted as common sense for as long as I can remember. However, I was young once and know most of you get much less sleep than that.

    I read an interesting article in a teachers' magazine recently.        Worryingly, the results showed that teenagers are facing a new problem. They may go to bed and get up at appropriate times, but a growing number are waking up in the middle of the night, not to use the bathroom or have a snack, but because of FOMO.

    According to the article, the number of students waking up during the night to check social media is growing. Afraid of missing a comment or opportunity to take part in a chat, teenagers are waking at all times of the night, going online and getting involved.       

    Experts are worried about this growing trend and the report reveals some worrying statistics: 23% of 12 to 15-year-olds wake up nearly every night to use social media.        One in third of the students are constantly tired and unable to function to their full capacity.

    So I'd like to ask you to be responsible when it comes to social media. Switch off your devices at night. The world won't end and your social media will be waiting to greet you in the morning!       

A. But things are getting out of hand.

B. I give you my word that you won't have missed anything important.

C. Another 15% wake up at night once a week for the same reason.

D. They did a study of 848 students in Wales.

E. FOMO is the fear that everyone else is having more fun and more excitement than you.

F. All happens when they should be sound asleep.

G. Everybody knows how important it is for students to get a good night's sleep every night.

    It was an evening in September when I landed in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak in Malaysia. I was a 19-year-old Dubai-raised kid away from home for the first time to 1 my undergraduate studies.

    I had never travelled alone before. I pushed my 2 and headed to the airport 3 to find a gray car with the name of my university on it.

    As we left the airport, the driver began talking to me. As I am a driving 4 myself, we started talking about cars and driving.

    “Never make a Sarawakian 5,” he warned. “No road rage（路怒）. Very dangerous!” Not long into our 6 the lights of the car behind flashed at us. This continued more aggressively and my driver started to 7. We pulled over to the roadside. My heart was pounding but I tried to put on a(n)8 face as the man from the car came up and made his way to my side of the car. As he reached my window. I 9 it and tried to 10 a smile.

    I looked down at his hands to see that he was 11 my travel bag. It 12 my passport, return tickets, as well as cash and letters for the university. I had left it 13 on the trolley at the airport and this man had been trying to 14 it to me ever since we had left the airport.

    Breathing a huge sigh of 15, I took my bag and 16 this stranger. The man welcomed me to Kuching, wished me luck with my university studies and drove away.

    This act of kindness 17 cheered me up and thanks to this honest 18, the initial self-doubt I had about my decision to 19 so far away from home was 20 with hope and excitement.

    Keeping a diary in English is one of the       (effect) ways to improve our English writing ability.

          (compare) with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes less time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. If we persist in this practice, gradually we       (learn) how to express ourselves in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many       (difficult). In the first place, it often happens        we have trouble finding and phrases to give expression to our mind. Secondly, there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. And it is       (extreme) hard for us to put them into English properly.

    As far as I'm concerned, my       (recommend) is that we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary        easy reach. Whenever something beats       , we can first put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary. We can also turn to our English teacher for help, if necessary. In        word, I believe that it is of great use to keep a diary in English for the development of our writing skills.

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

    Last week I paid a visit of my friend Li Lei. His mother sincerely asked me to stay for lunch with them, and I agree. There were only three people for lunch all altogether. However, my friend's mother prepared eight dish and we couldn't finish the food at all. As the result, the food that was not finished thrown away in the end. When I went back home I saw some homeless people beg in the street, where reminded me of the wasted food. I felt really sad. What I wish that no food would be wasted from now on! In this way, nobody on the earth will be hunger.

注意：内容包括：1）取消体育课的弊端；说明课外活动和体育活动的必要性和益处，至少三点。

2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

3）词数100左右

Dear headmaster,

Yours sincerely student