Many weight loss programs seem attractive to people. But for most people are overweight, the results are so (limit) that they will give up long before achieving any realistic results. It turns out that the programs are practically of no use. You lose weight for a while, only  (gain) back more weight when you stop your weight loss program. This is such programs are not natural. Is there a natural weight loss solution?

    A sure way of achieving natural weight loss is to increase amount of exercise you get every day.   , this doesn't necessarily mean spending hours at the gym  in front of a weight loss video. Increase your weight levels (nature) by walking or biking short distances instead of driving, or by taking the stairs instead of the elevator. There are even exercise that you can do while (sit) at your desk. All of these activities can burn extra calories taking up too much time.

    A chip inserted in a young quadriplegic's (四肢麻痹患者) brain is already improving his quality of life. Soon the benefits may be more widespread.

    A 25-year-old man unable to move from the neck down recently did what many assumed impossible. After a knife attack that had left him paralyzed, all he could move was his head, which he used to push a switch and call for a nurse. And he could turn his wheelchair by blowing into a straw near his face. That was it.

    Then last June, a Foxborough (Mass.) company called Cyber Kinetics opened the man's skull and inserted a special chip no larger than a baby aspirin. That insert has given him a few additional and precious abilities. When connected to a special computer via a cable, the chip translates the young man's thoughts into commands that let him move a cursor across a PC screen and open e-mail. He can draw a circle with a computer painting program. And he can use a robotic hook(钩) to perform simple tasks like picking up a candy and sliding it across a table.

    All he has to do is to think.

    Several new studies have begun or been completed in the past year. In fact, more than half of the scientific papers in this field, called brain-to-computer interaction (BCI), have been published in the past two years, notes Jonathan Wolpaw, a research physician at Wadsworth Center, the New York State Health Dept.'s research laboratory.

    Brain surgeries (手术) are no longer rare: Thousands of Parkinson's disease patients have had special devices inserted in their brains to ease uncontrollable shaking and other symptoms. The inserts themselves have improved, so the body doesn't reject them as furiously(猛烈地). And significant development has been achieved in software used to interpret the brain's signals and change them into commands understood by computers.

    But increased demand for thought technology remains the biggest reason for the field's progress. Today, 4 million Americans live with paralysis according to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.

    Scientists hope that thought technology will reduce the impact of such disabilities. People with spinal-cord injuries, for example, often lose their ability to walk because the communications network between their brain and their legs has been interrupted. The brain still commands the leg muscles to move, but they don't hear its orders.

    Thought technology, scientists hope, will bridge this communications gap. "Our goal is for you to see paralyzed people eating at a restaurant and for you not to know that they are paralyzed," says John Donoghue, founder and chief scientific officer at Cyber Kinetics.

— _________, but sometimes I can't do without it.

    Research confirms that performing acts of kindness and sharing thankful thoughts have many positive effects on mood and health. They are among the top five predictors of happiness.

    When you feel thankful for something, that's gratitude. You never get it out of 1; you are clear who or what is responsible, whether that's a loved one, a stranger, or a higher power. Gratitude is how you 2 to others when you see yourself in connection with things larger than yourself. 3, this understanding of our reliance on others is becoming more 4 today. With commercial and social media, everything makes the younger generation feel that they are the 5 of the universe. If it's all about them, why thank others?

    If true, there would be a disturbing 6 trend. Canadian researchers found that people who wrote thank-you letters or performed good deeds for a six-week period decreased their pain, upped their energy, and improved their mental health. And you can 7these benefits at any age. Old people who choose to be thankful are less likely to worry about their 8 health.

    Gratitude tends to be easily spread, as well. Those who are helped are more likely to pay kindness 9 . One study found that when someone is thanked, it more than doubles his or her chances of being 10 again, likely because he or she enjoys feeling socially 11 .

    If you aren't particularly grateful now, you can learn to be. People who keep a journal of three positive things that happen to them each day 12 health-inducing thankfulness. At first, it may be difficult to 13 the good things that occur. But 14, your brain gets trained into a more appreciative mode. And in the end, the journal becomes a book of joyful  15. Gratitude training certainly comes to your aid during the 16 times because a greater 17 for life is the part you focus on.

   18your gratefulness directly with the person you feel grateful to, the benefits of happiness 19. You don't need a scientific study to know that showing and accepting gratitude can ensure you an 20 life, a much better life than you thought.

— Perhaps he suffered a lot in his childhood.

iPads vs. Textbooks

    What if you could have your whole backpack at the touch of your fingertips? In the first month of the Apple iPads release, 25million were sold! People all over the world use iPads for all sorts of different things, but one of their finest qualities is the ability to be a textbook.

    To begin with, iPad are less expensive. Textbooks become outdated and schools have to buy new books, but with an iPad schools can update them for free. Schools don't have to spend $500 every year for iPads because they last a while and can be updated.

    Students usually have multiple classes, which results in multiple textbooks. Heavy backpacks filled with books can cause back problem. A solution to that is an iPad, which only weighs 1.33 pounds and can hold all of a student's textbooks.

    Third, schools should get rid of their textbooks and get iPads because they have more capabilities. Some might think all of the apps are distracting, but the apps actually make iPads more efficient. Textbooks cannot do those tasks, but iPads can easily do them with just a tap of the fingertip.

    Lastly, iPads are a better choice for schools instead of textbooks because these devices allow students to access their learning anywhere at any time. With iPads, they find it easier to get their homework done.

    In conclusion, schools should get rid of their clumsy textbooks and switch to iPads. iPads have allowed this generation to have their entire backpack in the palm of their hands.

These tablets are perfect for busy students.

B. Second, iPads cost less and are more popular.

C. Therefore, they can use the saved money for other programs.

D. iPads have already replaced textbooks in over 600 American counties.

E. Moreover, in high school, textbooks have an average of 4.8 pounds each.

F. Schools have every reason to do away with their school books and switch to iPads.

G. iPads absorb the need to buy calculators, dictionaries, and other items that are found within the device.

— ________ makes the matter worse is that I don't have a single copy.

注意：1.词数100左右；2. 开头和结尾已写出，可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Tom,

Yours,

Li Hua

    Walk down the drinks section at the supermarket.Look in the drink cooler in your local convenience store.A new drink is taking up more and more space on the shelves，and that drink is water.Bottled water sales in the US rose to 1.7 billion gallons in 2010 for plastic bottles alone，compared to total sales of only 700 million gallons in 1990. Whereas bottled water was once associated only with the rich and the privileged (特权阶层)，it is now regularly drunk by people at all income levels despite the fact that the price of bottled water can be between 240 and 10,000 times higher per gallon than tap water.What accounts for this surprising increase in demand?

    Traditionally，people have drunk bottled water for health reasons.The practice of “taking the waters” originated with the Romans，who believed that a person developed a healthy mind by building a healthy body.Across Europe，drinking or bathing in mineral water has been associated with the power to cure various diseases.Health spas at Evian in France and Pellegrino in Italy began bottling water so that their consumers could continue their treatments at home.The consumers in the 21st century are also concerned about health.However，in America，where the habit of drinking bottled water is relatively new，the concern is often more related to the purity or sterilization (消毒) of the water than to its mineral contents.Americans are often worried about the effects of the chemical pollution and other contaminants on the water supply.Many Americans view bottled water as a safe alternative to tap water.

    Further reasons for drinking bottled water are its usefulness as an aid to digestion，as a complement to a good meal in a restaurant，and for taste.City tap water is often treated with chlorine (氯) to guard against harmful micro­organisms.Chlorine，as well as metals from pipes and tanks used to distribute and store tap water，can leave behind an unpleasant taste.

    Custom tattooed fish (纹身鱼) may be big sellers at markets, but an animal expert say it is a cruel and potentially lethal practice.

    In Laitai Flower and Fish Market near the Lufthansa Center in Beijing, four of over 20 fish stores sell marine ornamental fish that are tattooed using laser (激光) guns with beautiful images in order to make them more attractive to customers. Many people just love these kinds of fish, which gives them a unique visual impression. The price of these fish ranges from 50-100 yuan. Some customers are willing to pay an additional 100 yuan to have Chinese characters tattooed on to the fish. The most popular characters are “zhaocai” (attracting fortune) and “fu” (blessing). The color of tattooed fish won't fade away, and the fish can be cared for as regular fishes:

    But Ye Zhenjiang, a professor from the Ocean University of China, said “the practice would damage a fish's mackerel scale, which is its protective layer. Although I haven't done any research on the impact of the laser on mackerel scale, it is obvious that the mackerel scale may be infected or even destroyed under the exposure of laser,” Ye said. “It's like tattooing a human being's body, and it breaks the physiological balance of the fish and damages: the skin's protective surface, It may even cause death among fishes which have thin mackerel scale.”

    A specialist in aquatic(永生的) animal study surnamed Xu, from the Beijing Fisheries Research Institute, said, “We have no specific regulations to prevent fish from being tattooed. An official surnamed Bai from the Fishery Surveillance and Administration Bureau(FSAB), said there is no study showing that the laser threatened a fish's health. He said a regulation on small animal protection, to be passed in the near future, doesn't include regular aquatic animals. He said the institution is only responsible for aquatic animals that are on the verge of extinction. He said tattooed fish are mainly from south China's Guangdong province because Beijing does not have the laser technology to tattoo a fish.

    “It's too brutal to tattoo pictures or characters on fishes, even if it makes them more beautiful,” many tropical fish buyers told METRO yesterday. “We would never buy fish like that and we prefer them with natural beauty.”