英语报纸时文阅读

时文阅读 1. 低头一秒，家毁人亡！

随着科技遍布全世界，智能手机成为了“通讯神器”。但是对于那些精力不集中的司机、骑行者和行人来说，手机在他们手里就是一把上膛的枪

Alexander Heit, a 22-year-old college student with good grades and a quick wit [w?t]（智力，才智）, was driving in Greeley, in the US state of Colorado, when he decided to reply to a text message on his phone.

"Sounds good my man, see ya soon, I'll tw"

We don't know the rest. The message was interrupted by a crash. Heit died. While the young man was distracted, he drifted into oncoming traffic, according to the International Business Times.

On my cycling trips around Beijing, I often think about the many tragic cases like Heit’s that I’ve read about in my home country over the years.

I am astounded by the number of my fellow cyclists and also scooter riders who I see not only carrying on phone conversations but also only reading text on their phones. Their heads are down, eyes transfixed by a small luminous screen, oblivious to the world they’re rushing course, the faster you’re going, the quicker a distraction can become a trage dy.。

Studies show that staring at a cellphone for 3 seconds while driving at 60 kilometers an hour is as dangerous as driving blind for 50 meters, according to Xie Caifeng, a fellow at the research office of Shunyi Court in Beijing, writing in a column published by China Daily last wrote that official statistics showed that “the use of cellphones while driving was the top reason for traffic accidents leading to death in Zhengzhou, Henan province”.

It is also illegal. According to the national traffic code, it is illegal to use hand-held phones while driving, and an offender can lose points on their license and receive a fine of up to 200 yuan ($, Xie are one deterrent, but education and social pressure also are important.

Two years ago, the Shanghai office of the media company Havas designed a campaign for the Global Road Safety Partnership using 350 smashed cell phones that had been in the hands of people who had died while texting in

China, showing their last were mounted on black slabs（板子） like gravestones(墓碑) as part of an installation for Road Safety Day in 2015, which was made into a film, SMS Last Words.

It showed heart-rending last exchanges like this one:：

Driver: Don't worry, I'll be home quickly.

22岁的亚历山大?海特是名品学兼优、聪慧灵敏的大学生。有一天，他在美国科罗拉多州格里利市驾车行驶时，拿起手机准备回复一条短信。

“听起来不错，一会见啊老兄，我将……”

短信戛然而止，海特车祸而亡。他接下来想要发什么，我们无从得知。

据《国际财经时报》报道，他在分心发短信时，车子偏离方向撞上了迎面而来的车辆。当我骑车环游北京时，我时不时的就会想起，多年来我的国家发生过很多类似于海特的惨痛事故.让我十分震惊的是，我身边的人无论是骑自行车还是摩托车，我看到有很多人不仅会拿着手机打电话，还会盯着手机看短信。他们低着头，目光神游在那块小小的发光屏里，早已无视身边的世界。当然，人在分心时行驶的越快，悲剧就越容易发生

2016年，北京市顺义区人民法院研究室研究员谢彩凤在《中国日报》发表的一篇专栏文章中指出，数据显示，车辆时速60公里的情况下，低头看3秒手机的危险系数相当于盲开50米。谢彩凤写道，官方统计数据显示，“开车时使用手机是河南郑州交通事故致死的主要原因”。文章提到，“这也是违法的。《中华人民共和国道路交通安全法实施条例》明确规定，驾车时使用手持电话是违法行为，违者罚款200元，并扣驾照分。”处罚虽是遏制手段之一，但是教育和社会压力同样很重要。

2015年，哈瓦斯通讯社上海分社用350部碎裂的手机为全球道路安全合作伙伴组织（GRSP）制作了宣传作品。这些手机的机主去世时都在拿着它们发短信，而屏幕上显示了他们的临终遗言。它们被装在如同墓碑般的黑色板子上，作为2015年交通安全日的一个装置艺术展出，并被拍成电影《短信遗言》。

手机上显示的最后一段对话，让人心痛。就像这一条

司机：不用担心，我快到家了。

单词

interrupted [?nt?'r?pt?d] 打断中断

distracted [d?'str?kt?d] 注意力不集中的

drift[dr?ft] vi. 漂流；偏离oncoming ['?nk?m??] 迎面而来的

tragic ['tr?d??k] adj. 悲剧的；悲惨的

astounded [?'sta?nd] v. 使惊骇；大吃一惊

scooter ['skut?(r)] n. 踏板车；小型摩托车

transfix[tr?ns'f?ks] vt. 刺穿；使呆住

luminous ['lum?n?s] dj. 发光的；发亮的

oblivious [?'bl?vi?s] adj. 没注意；健忘的statistics [st?'t?st?ks]

n. 统计数字

penalty ['pen?lti] n. 处罚；惩罚deterrent [d?'ter?nt] n. 威慑物smashed [sm??t] adj. 破碎的mount [ma?nt] v. 登上；装上installation [?nst?'le??n] n. 安装；装置

miracle ['m?r?kl] n. 奇迹pedestrian[p?'destri?n] n. 行人issue ['??u]v. 发表；公布

split [spl?t]分散的，不集中

Mother: Ok, waiting for u!

As technology has spread across the world, the mobile phones that are a communications miracle have become the equivalent（n. 相等物）of a loaded gun when in the hands of distracted drivers, cyclists and pedestrians（行人）.

Alexander Heit died back in 2013. By now, he would be 26, possibly starting a new job or business, maybe engaged to the love of his his death, Heit’s parents issued this statement:"In a split second you could ruin your future, injure or kill others, and tear a hole in the heart of everyone who loves you."So, please, put the phone away, or stop when you use it if you must. The risks are just too great.

妈：好的，等着你！

随着科技遍布全世界，智能手机成为了“通讯神器”。但是对于那些精力不集中的司机、骑行者和行人来说，手机在他们手里就是一把上膛的枪。

亚历山大?海特死于2013年。如果没有死，今年他应该26岁了，或许刚开始一份新工作、新事业，也有可能和他的心上人订婚了。

海特死后，他的父母发表了一份声明：

“一秒钟你能毁掉自己的未来，一秒钟你能伤害或是杀死其他人，一秒钟你能在所有爱你的人心上撕一道口子。”

所以，开车时请把手机放在一边，或者如有必要，请停车后再用。低头一眼，代价惨重。

单词

interrupted [?nt?'r?pt?d] 打断中断

distracted [d?'str?kt?d]

注意力不集中的

drift[dr?ft] vi. 漂流；偏离oncoming ['?nk?m??] 迎面而来的

tragic ['tr?d??k] adj. 悲剧的；悲惨的

astounded [?'sta?nd] v. 使惊骇；大吃一惊

scooter ['skut?(r)] n. 踏板车；小型摩托车

transfix[tr?ns'f?ks] vt. 刺穿；使呆住

luminous ['lum?n?s] dj. 发光的；发亮的

oblivious [?'bl?vi?s] adj. 没注意；健忘的

statistics [st?'t?st?ks]

n. 统计数字

penalty ['pen?lti] n. 处罚；惩罚deterrent [d?'ter?nt] n. 威慑物smashed [sm??t] adj. 破碎的mount [ma?nt] v. 登上；装上installation [?nst?'le??n] n. 安装；装置

miracle ['m?r?kl] n. 奇迹pedestrian[p?'destri?n] n. 行人issue ['??u]v. 发表；公布

split [spl?t]分散的，不集中

2.

Turns Out That Taking Photos Really Does Help YouRemember All

Those Great

Experiences

Is our non-stop photo-taking pulling us out of the

moments that matter and causing us

to forget whatwe've seen Maybe not, according to new researchl ooking at the relationshi pbetween snapping picturesand forming mem ories.

During the study,294 volunteers were asked to tour a museum exhibit listening to an

audioguide –those in one group were encouraged to take phot os, while those in another

had to leave their phones and cameras behind. When questioned afterwards, the photo takers

could remember more about what they'd seenand less about what they'd he ard.

The result suggests the act of taking pictures and seeking out worthy frames to capture

helps

fix memories in our minds, according to the researchers."Our r esearch is novel

because it shows that photo-taking itself improves memory for visuala spects of an

experience but can hurt memory for non-visual aspects, like au ditory details," said

the team, from New York University, University of Southern Cal ifornia, University of

Pennsylvaniaand Yale University, in a statement.

The museum test was backed up with a follow-up experiment usi

ng a virtual art gallery

app on

a volunteers could take screenshots and some couldn't, and t he

same pattern wasrepeated –those who grabbed digital memories remembered more of

what they'd seen, butless of what they'd heard from an audio commentary.

The positive effect on visual memory was greater than the n egative effect on auditory memory,the researchers 's more, in both experiments those who could snap

photos were also more likely toremember objects they hadn't sp ecifically taken pictures

of as well as ones they had."These findings suggest that havi ng a camera changes how

people approach an experience in a

fundamental way," says the team.

The research has been published in Psychological Science.

2. 研究发现，拍照片真的能帮你把那些美好的回忆记得更牢

我们那从不停止的拍照恶习真的在让我们无法享受当下、并让我们忘了自己看到了什么吗根据一项最新的关于拍照和记忆形成的研究，事实可能并不是这样。

在这项研究里，294名志愿者被要求戴着有声向导参观一家博物馆——其中一组被鼓励多拍照片，而另一组则必须把他们的手机和相机留下。在后续的问询中，拍照片的一组能记住更多他们看到的东西，但却只能记住更少他们听到的内容。

研究者们说，这个结果表明：拍照这个动作，以及寻找值得拍的角度的过程，都在帮助我们稳固大脑中的记忆。“我们的研究是革新性的，它表明拍照能够强化我们对一段经历的视觉记忆，但却会妨碍非视觉的记忆——比如听到的细节。”研究团队在一次声明中说到。（这个研究团队的成员分别来自纽约大学、南加州大学、宾夕法尼亚大学和耶鲁大学）这次博物馆实验得到了一个后续实验的支持，这个实验用的是智能手机上的虚拟画廊。一些志愿者可以进行截屏，而另一些则不能；实验结果中出现了同样的模式——那些可以截屏的人

记住了更多他们看到的东西，但却记住了更少的他们听到的音频评论。

研究者们还发现：视觉记忆上的增强效果大于听觉记忆上的削弱效果。

此外，在两个试验中，那些能够拍照的人都更容易记住一些他们并没有特地去拍的东西。研究团队说：“这说明，光是拿着一个相机，就能从根本上改变人们对待一次经历的方式。”这项研究是被发表在《心理科学》上的。

Struggling students offered new option

华中科技大学新规：本科不努力，毕业成专科。

It’s a popular myth (误传) that once high school graduates pass gaokao and enter university, they can rest easy. However, the truth is, if they waste their time in university, they could end up getting a three-year college diploma (专科文凭) instead of a bachelor’s degree(学士学位).At least, this is the case for students at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, Hubei.

Since this fall semester, undergraduates (本科生) whose performance doesn’t meet the school’s requirements will be transfer red (转换) to a college course (专科课程), reported Beijing Youth Daily. After the transfer, they’re not allowed to change majors (专业) or get back on the four-year university study track (路径).After its introduction, this new regulation caused heated discussions. Many internet users think it’s unacceptable not to be given a bachelor’s degree, as students often have to go through fierce competition during gaokao to get into HUST, which is one of the top universities in China.

According to a survey by Xinhua News Agency, almost 90 percent of respondents（调查对象）would repeat a year, delay graduation or even drop out rather than transfer to three-year college , a staff member in the university’s teaching affairs office said that the regulation is designed to offer struggling students another option (选项).“Each year, there are some students who should be dismissed (劝退) because of not working hard and failing to meet the university’s requirements for credits (学分),” the staff member told China Daily.

Under the new policy, struggling students can still earn a college diploma, he added, which is much better than being dismissed. HUST isn’t the only university in China to introduce such a policy. In 2015, Tsinghua University also launch ed（提出，开展，落实） something similar.

According to Xiong Bingqi, a famous education expert, the policy is an experiment designed to improve how universities deal with their

worst-performing students. “HUST is providing these students with another way out,” Xiong told news site Sixth Tone. “Of course, if they don’t want to do the vocational (职业培训的) program, they can always consider taking the gaokao again.”

More than one chance

Universities around the world have different ways of dealing with poorly performing the US, struggling students have to delay graduation until they meet the required academic the UK, university students have one chance to resit（重修）an exam. If they fail again, they have to retake（夺回；重考）the course the following year. If they fail a third time, they could be removed from the course completely.

China’s new hero

It’s rare that the protagonist(主角) in a Chinese movie wins the audience’s hearts with an emotionally uplifting令人振奋的message, rather than by showing off his or her good looks. But Wolf Warrior II (《战狼2》) is putting China in the global spotlight公众注意中心. It’s also the first film to taste success both in terms of box office earnings（票房收入）and promot ing Chinese values.

Kung fu artist Wu Jing both starred in and directed the action movie. Since its release （释放发，发行）on July 27, it’s earned an unimaginable billion yuan, setting a record for domestic(国内的)movies at the box office （票房）.

The film focuses on a rescue operation in Africa, led by former special

forces soldier Leng Feng – played by Wu. Leng helps Chinese workers and local Africans flee（逃跑）a war-torn （饱受战争摧残的）and plague-ravaged (饱受瘟疫折磨的) country.

Wolf Warrior II links art to reality,and reminds people of the massive （大规模的） evacuation (撤离) of Chinese people from Libya when civil war broke out there in 2011, and from Yemen in 2015, as well as the challenges the Ebola virus（埃博拉病毒）created in West Africa from 2013 to 2016.

The film describes how the Chinese government aims to protect overseas Chinese citizens. Just as the message at the end of the film reads: “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China. When you encounter (遇到) danger in a foreign land, do not give up! Please remember, at your back stands a strong motherland.”

Thanks to China’s increasing participation in global affairs, now could be considered the right moment to introduce a modern Chinese hero.

“Hold ing up a banner (旗帜) of peace, friendship and responsibility, Wolf Warrior II should be seen as a brave effort to promote Chinese values around the world,” columnist (专栏作家) Zhu Ping wrote in China Daily.

“It’s time Chinese filmmakers produced films that tell good stories and carry the right spirit. Let us assume（假定）Wolf Warrior II has started that trend (趋势).”

Box office hit 票房冠军box office appeal: 票房号召力box office earnings: 票房收入Broadway: 百老汇celebrity [s?'lebr?ti] n. 名人comedy n. 喜剧

conductor n. (乐队、合唱团的)指挥cross talk: 相声

debut ['de?bju?] n. （电影）首次公映，

（唱片）首次发行，个人首次表演director n. 导演

release v. distribution [d?str?'bju?n]

n. (电影，唱片)发行

dress rehearsa [r?'h?sl] : 彩排dub [d?b] v. (电影)配音

leading actor: 主角leading actress: 女主角female/male lead 女/男主角lyric ['l?r?k] n. 歌词subtitle['s?bta?tl] 字幕music chart [t?ɑt] : 音乐排行榜

music studio ['stjudi??]: 录音棚nominate ['n?m?ne?t] v. 提名script [skr?pt] n. 剧本scriptwriter /playwright n.编剧sequel ['sikw?l] n. 续集shoot a film: 拍电影show business: 演艺业

single n. 单曲

album 专辑

supporting actor: 配角

tragedy ['tr?d??di] n. 悲剧crane [kre?n] operator

摄影升降机操作员

electrician 灯光师

lines 台词

location search 勘景

producer 制作人

prop [pr?p] people 道具师

props 道具

scenes 场景

script clerk 场记

set designer 布景设计师

cast 演员表

song-and-dance 歌舞片

sound people 音效人员

special-effects 特效

special effects person 特殊效果人员TV series: 电视连续剧

Impressive insect

There’s nothing more annoying than settling down to sleep and hearing the sound of a mosquito（蚊子） buzzing (嗡嗡叫) around only thought most of us ever give to this noise is “I need to get rid of this insect, immediately”, but it turns out that the mosquito is actually quite an impressive creature.

A team of scientists from Oxford University in the UK, in partnership with the Royal Veterinary College in London and Chiba University in Japan,

recently published a study that found some interesting facts about the world’s most unloved insect.

However, it wasn’t always straightforward（简单的，易懂的）. By placing eight cameras inside a tiny film studio, the scientists were able to stud y several mosquitoes up close. The high-tech cameras filme d the insects at 1,000 frames（镜头，画面） per second, meaning the scientists were able to study the insects’ movements in never-before-seen（从未见过） detail (细节).

“Recording mosquitoes during free-flight represent ed a huge technical challenge due to their small size, extreme wingbeat frequency (振翅频率), and the presence of large antennae (触角) and legs that can mask（掩盖，掩饰）the view of their wings,” Simon Walker of Oxford University, co-author of the study, wrote.

Published in the journal Nature, the study found that mosquitoes flap （拍打）their wings around 800 times a second. As a comparison, houseflies flap their wings about 200 times a second, and hummingbirds (蜂鸟) 50 times a second. Richard Bomphrey of the Royal Veterinary C ollege, the study’s leader, believes that mosquitoes have a unique flying method that set s them apart from other flying insects.

“We predicted that they must make use of clever tricks, as the wings reverse (反转) their direction at the end of each half-stroke (半程动作),” he wrote in the study.

It’s hoped that the discovery of the mosquito’s special abilities will be of benefit to engineers in the future. The findings could lead to better aircraft, or even improvements to tools like lenses（镜头） or the scientists hope their study can one day be put to a more human-focused use.

“The more we know about mosquitoes, the better our chance of understanding their flight behavior, how they carry disease and eventually how to stop them from doing so,” Walker wrote.

Find Own Way to Learn

Han Siyu is a girl who likes to break the rules. While most students were burning the midnight oil, struggling to study for their college entrance examination, the 18-year-old student from Nanning No 2 High School in Guangxi spent her time relaxing. Playing the guzheng (古筝) after school and reading comics during breaks, she took it easy.

Despite this, she breezed through (轻松通过) her exams. With 681 points out of 750, Han score d the highest mark in the college entrance examination among liberal arts (文科) students in Guangxi this year.

“I’m a willfu l girl who spends a lot of time on many things, except study,” Han told TEENS. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t study. In fact, the leisure time helps me refresh my mind and improve my efficiency (效率).”Working hard doesn’t just mean gluing your face to books, according to Han. “How much you learn is more important than how long you study,” she said.

The high-scoring student sets a good example of how to make good use of time. For example, she brushed up on (复习) her subject knowledge while jogging (慢跑) on the playground at night. She’d recall what the teachers taught her, from the first class in the morning up until the last question before the end of the day.

But being organized isn’t the only w ay to learn fast – helping hands matter as well. Instead of studying alone, Han enjoyed the benefits of school

study groups.“Each study group worked together once a week, featuring text recitation(背诵) , passage writing, or discussing tips on answering certain kinds of questions,” Han explained. “Once I got fresh ideas, filled in the gaps in my notes, and figured out new study methods, I felt excited.”

The teenager’s hard work certainly paid off, but when talking about her impressive score, she remained calm and peaceful.“My father tells me that a high score is only the by-product (副产品) of my love for learning,” Han said. “I don’t pay much attention to ranking, instead I look forward to having a full understanding of the knowledge I’ve learned. After all, I’ve never recognized studying as a burden (负担). I truly love it from the bottom of my heart.”

Tesla Launches推出New Way to Power Home Solar panels (太阳能面板) are an environmentally-friendly way to power a home, but many people ar e put off by the way they look. Thankfully, US tech firm Tesla says it has a solution to company has release d a “solar roof” – glass tiles (瓦片) containing solar cells. Energy from the sun is collected by the tiles and they can even store it inside a special battery (电池), for days when the sun isn’t very strong.“When you have this install ed (安装) on your house, you will have the best-looking roof in the neighborhood,” Tesl a CEO Elon Musk told USA Today.

The tiles are three times stronger than regular ones, and weigh half as much, according to Tesla. They share the appearance of regular tiles, and come in different styles to match each home. Tesla also offers a lifetime guarantee (质量保证), which is longer than the 20-year lifespan of a traditional roof, according to the company.

Unusual Words Come From Humor

Learning any language is hard, but learning English can be especially

challenging. Why Because native speakers use the language in ways that textbooks could never describe. In particular, words that British people use cause many language students to scratch (抓) their heads.

Here’s an example: You overhear (碰巧听到) a Briton calling someone a “wazzock”. But what exactly is a wazzock This word, in fact, means a foolish person, although there’s nothing about it that would help you guess that. There are many strange terms like this in British English – the Oxford English Dictionary would be much smaller without these peculiar (古怪的) usages filling its pages.

How can these odd古怪的words be explained Part of the answer is the British sense of humor. Britons don’t like to take things too seriously, and this is evident明显的through many British words and phrases. For example, to “spend a penny” means to use the bathroom. It refers to the days when people had to pay a penny to use a public toilet.

In an interview for the BBC’s website, British linguist (语言学家) David Crystal suggested there may be historical reasons for the sheer (庞大的) number of odd words and phrases in British English. He thinks that they began in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This was a great age for the theater, when Shakespeare and other writers worked hard to keep up with the demand for new plays. The theater’s popularity also created an incentive (刺激) to invent new words.

With this in mind, perhaps Shakespeare and his peers平辈are to blame for unusual British words such as “codswallop” and “balderdash” – which both, ironically(讽刺地), mean “nonsense”.While these strange words may be confusing to non-native speakers, they certainly make studying English a lot more interesting.

Small Colleges May Offer Big Opportunities

When you choose your dream college, size matter s. The size of a school really can change your of students are unsure about a variety of factors (因素) when they consider which college might represent代表，表现a good fit for them,

but they believe they know exactly what they want when it comes to college size.

It’s great to see students make a 180-degree turn after they’ve had the chance to visit some small colleges. Here are a few of the less-obvious reasons a smaller school might be a good fit:

1. The professors actually do the teaching. Most small colleges only teach undergraduate degrees. That means there aren’t graduate students on campus, and more importantly, graduate students –many of whom have no interest in teaching –won’t b e teaching any of your classes.

2. More focused and direct feedback (反馈). You’ve heard the expression “You’re just a number.” Think about the homework and tests that need to be graded in a class with 450 students. Teachers there don’t h ave much time to offer advice on every student’s piece of work. But at small schools, class sizes are smaller, and professors will have more time to read a student’s work.

3. Research chances. Students at small schools are able to develop relationships with professors more easily, since there is a smaller amount of students. Most professors know their students’ names and count on依靠them to take part in their research.

4. Development of stronger writing skills. Since classes tend to be more student-centered at small schools, the homework are often more writing-based.

5. Less red tape繁文缛节. It’s just easier to get things done at a small school. Professors and administrators have more flexibility (灵活性), and there are fewer regulations. One of the biggest frustrations (令人沮丧的事物) at large schools is that important classes become full quickly, forcing students to either take them over the summer or stay an extra semester.