Have you ever thought life would be better anywhere other than where you are right now? Maybe some of your thoughts go  36  like  this:

Life will be better  37  I'm out of debt.

If only I lived somewhere warm I could exercise all year round and I would be so fit.

Truth is some of your problems may go away once you have  38  all of your "if only's" and "better when's" but it won't make the  39  life that fairy tales are made of. New problems will  40  and you'll likely find yourself wishing for this "perfect" life to be different still. We can only imagine that the grass will be greener on the other side  41  only when we live it do we actually  42  it for what it really is.

Whatever  43  you have in mind about an alternate(不同的) lifestyle, location,  financial situation etc.,  44  assured that each one will be met with its own  45  set of problems.

So what can you do about this? Choose to be  46  with what you already have.

Look  47  you and be truly grateful for all that you see. Realize that there are people less fortunate than you and right now,  48  , they are wishing for your  49  lifestyle. Think back to two years ago, what were you wishing for then? Where did you want to be?  50  are you were  51  wishing to be right where you are now. Life happens so gradually that you tend to lose all perspective of achievements, growth and progress.

It's great to dream  52 . But those dreams should not  53  the greatness you have in front of you right now. Consider the truth in the grass being the  54  right under your  55 .

36. A. nothing             B. something        C. everything              D. anything

37. A. because           B. though                    C. once                      D. unless

38. A. reached            B. got                          C. lost                         D. met

39. A. wonderful          B. perfect                    C. excellent                 D. superior

40. A. arise                 B. stay                        C. disappear               D. worsen

41. A. once                 B. directly                    C. though                    D. because

42. A. realize        B. feel                         C. see                         D. find

43. A. idea                  B. mind                       C. ideal                       D. feeling

44. A. rest                  B. feel                         C. become                  D. remain

45. A. special              B. unique                   C. separate                 D. independent

46. A. critical        B. annoyed                 C. content                   D. patient

47. A. over                  B. into                         C. at                            D. around

48. A. sooner or later                                     B. rightly or wrongly

C. up and down                                        D. back and forth

49. A. exact                 B. special                    C. good                       D. fashionable

50. A. Facts                B. Chances                 C. Dreams                  D. Problems

51. A. powerfully  B. anxiously                C. doubtfully        D. largely

52. A. big                    B. strong                     C. distant                    D. ambitious

53. A. unfold        B. accompany             C. cloud                      D. envy

54. A. most beautiful   B. best                        C. most pleasant         D. greenest

55. A. shoes               B. hands                     C. feet                         D. eyes

　　Larry King: I'm having this conversation with you on a computer, and I'm wondering if e-mail is going to replace the post office in the future.

　　Bill Gates: E-mail won't replace the post office, but it will replace a lot of paper the post office carry around today.

　　King: Tell me how a computer will be used in the average home thirty years from now.

　　Gates: You'll have lots of thin flat screens covering the walls of your house and you'll carry a hand-held device（装置）around with you. The screens will feed whatever visual information you want--live video from a place in the world you like, an art reproduction（复制品）.

　　King: What happens when the power goes out?

　　Gates: We're very dependent today on electricity and we still will be in years. If there's a power failure, you won't get much work done, although battery technology will improve enough that short power failures won't necessarily shut down all of your computers.

　　King: Are we going to get television and news and entertainment from the Internet rather than from cable TV in the house?

　　Gates: News and entertainment will be delivered from the Internet to cable television and telephone connection in our homes. We'll access（存取）this information using a variety of devices, some of which will be like today's televisions.

　　King: Will a person be able to work in the future without having any computer skills?

　　Gates: There will still be jobs for people without computer skills, but a smaller percentage than exist today. The amount of the workforce that lacks computer skills will decrease as people not having those skills get retrained or retire. Most young people have computer skills or at least an enthusiasm（热心）to get them.

　　King: Describe an office in the future. Tele-phone? Fax machine? Conference room? Will there be an office building?

　　Gates: The key element of the office of the future is that it will have lots of flat screens, just like your house will. And these screens are going to be everywhere once they get thin enough, cheap enough, and high enough in quality. You'll carry around a lightweight screen the way you carry a wallet or cell phone or newspaper today.

(1) The main topic talked about is ________.

[　　]

A．changes in the office in the future

B．changes to be caused by computers in the future

C．life in the future

D．the importance of electricity in the future

(2) What's the main change in the post office in the future?

[　　]

A．The post office will disappear because of the use of E-mail.

B．All letters will disappear.

C．The post office will deliver much less paper.

D．The post office will use E-mail to send letters.

(3) The most important thing Gates thinks is“________”.

[　　]

(4) The same change at home and in the office in the future is that ________.

[　　]

A．many flat screens will be used

B．many computers will be used

C．people in them must master computer skills

D．News and entertainment will be delivered by cable TV

　　Larry King: I'm having this conversation with you on a computer, and I'm wondering if e-mail is going to replace the post office in the future.

　　Bill Gates: E-mail won't replace the post office, but it will replace a lot of paper the post office carry around today.

　　King: Tell me how a computer will be used in the average home thirty years from now.

　　Gates: You'll have lots of thin flat screens covering the walls of your house and you'll carry a hand-held device（装置）around with you. The screens will feed whatever visual information you want--live video from a place in the world you like, an art reproduction（复制品）.

　　King: What happens when the power goes out?

　　Gates: We're very dependent today on electricity and we still will be in years. If there's a power failure, you won't get much work done, although battery technology will improve enough that short power failures won't necessarily shut down all of your computers.

　　King: Are we going to get television and news and entertainment from the Internet rather than from cable TV in the house?

　　Gates: News and entertainment will be delivered from the Internet to cable television and telephone connection in our homes. We'll access（存取）this information using a variety of devices, some of which will be like today's televisions.

　　King: Will a person be able to work in the future without having any computer skills?

　　Gates: There will still be jobs for people without computer skills, but a smaller percentage than exist today. The amount of the workforce that lacks computer skills will decrease as people not having those skills get retrained or retire. Most young people have computer skills or at least an enthusiasm（热心）to get them.

　　King: Describe an office in the future. Tele-phone? Fax machine? Conference room? Will there be an office building?

　　Gates: The key element of the office of the future is that it will have lots of flat screens, just like your house will. And these screens are going to be everywhere once they get thin enough, cheap enough, and high enough in quality. You'll carry around a lightweight screen the way you carry a wallet or cell phone or newspaper today.

(1) The main topic talked about is ________.

[　　]

A．changes in the office in the future

B．changes to be caused by computers in the future

C．life in the future

D．the importance of electricity in the future

(2) What's the main change in the post office in the future?

[　　]

A．The post office will disappear because of the use of E-mail.

B．All letters will disappear.

C．The post office will deliver much less paper.

D．The post office will use E-mail to send letters.

(3) The most important thing Gates thinks is“________”.

[　　]

(4) The same change at home and in the office in the future is that ________.

[　　]

A．many flat screens will be used

B．many computers will be used

C．people in them must master computer skills

D．News and entertainment will be delivered by cable TV

Question: What are some ways I can calm down quickly when I’m feeling overwhelmed (不知所措的)? Sometimes I don’t realize how much stress is building up. Other times, several stressful events happen at once. I suddenly go from calm to completely overwhelmed quickly. 1
Answer: There are many ways to calm down quickly. The following are four quick and easy ways to deal with whatever situations are at hand:
● Take a walk.
2 Taking a walk provides the chance of getting you out of the stressful situation. You can return in a new state of mind.
● 3
You can feel better right away by practicing breathing exercises. Getting more oxygen into your body and releasing physical stress are two ways that can make you feel better. You can do them anytime or anywhere.
● Give your mind a break.
You can steal away a few minutes of peace. 4 It’s easy to do. It can relax you physically as well as mentally (精神上地).
● 5
If you can look at your situation in a different way, you may be able to have a different opinion. It will cause you less stress. Read more about stress, and learn how you can change the way you look at things. It’ll be useful when you’re stressed.