Writing a long book seemed to be too much for me. So, for a long time, I just wrote short articles. One day, inspiration(灵感) for an article hit me and, as I started writing, paragraphs began flowing out fast. It turned out to be too long to be an article. I thought it would not hurt to try self-publishing a booklet(小册子). The first printing of this 32-page black and white booklet sold out within a week. Here is something that I have learned through my experience.

1.Start small.

Don’t try to have a 400-page work as your first publication. I suggest you publish a booklet under 50 pages to launch your career as an author.

2.Ask for advice.

If you know some people who have published something, ask them for advice and help. You will gain useful information from them and save yourself many problems.

3.           

When you put your heart into something only to hear“We’re not interested”,you may get hurt. But you must remind yourself that this is quite common. Every“yes”you receive comes after at least five“noes”,especially at the beginning. You need to revise your book many times to reduce the chances of being turned down.

4.The more you market, the more you sell.

You can publish an excellent book. But if no people know about it, you cannot expect many buyers. Send out an e-mail to friends, family and business partners, telling them your book’s publication date. Ask them to help sell your book.

Do not be afraid to try novel ideas.

1.What does the underlined word“launch”in Point 1 there mean?

2.What’s the best title for Point 3?

3.According to the passage, if you want to have more copies of your book sold, you should      .

4.About self-publishing a book, the writer would most probably agree that       .

_______ your diet, it is easy to reduce.

There is an English saying:“1._________.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. 2. _________.

Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. 3.__________. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.

Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated(忍耐) the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. 4._________.

5.__________. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing , making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.

A．Laughter can prolong one’s life.

B．As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh.

C．The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemicals in the brain which diminish both stress and pain.

D．It increases blood pressure, the heart beating and breathing; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach and even the feet.

E. Although laughter helps cure the disease, doctors still can not put this theory into clinic practice.

F. Laughter is the best medicine.

G.They have found that laughter really can improve people’s health.

The National Dark-Sky Week (NDSW) is a week during which people all over the United States turn off their lights to enjoy the beauty of the night sky without light pollution. This even was started by Jennifer Barlow of Midlothian, Virginia in 2003, and it is becoming more popular each year. It has been supported by the International Dark-Sky Association, the American Astronomical Society, and the Astronomical League.

This even always occurs in April, during the week of the new moon so that the sky can be as dark as possible for the best viewing conditions.

“It is my wish that people could see the night sky without other light in the sky as our ancestors (祖先) saw it hundreds of years ago,” explains Barlow.

 Since it only lasts a week and not everyone in the country will take part in it, how will the National Dark-Sky Week reduce light pollution? The main goal of NDSW is to increase awareness (意识) of the harmful effects of light pollution. It is not possible for all of the light pollution in this part of the world to disappear. However, it is possible to make a small difference in the quality of the night sky. Another goal of this even is to promote (促进) the use of better lighting systems that direct light toward the ground instead of up into the sky.

Jennifer Barlow states, “The night sky is a gift of such beauty that it should not be polluted by wasted light. In this way, our children will not lose touch with the wonder of our universe.”

1.This passage is mainly about ______________.

   A. better lighting systems               B. the beauty of the night sky

   C. the harm of light pollution           D. the National Dark-Sky Week

2.Which of the following statements about the National Dark-Sky Week is WRONG?

   A. It is becoming more and more popular in America.

   B. The event was started in 2003 by Jennifer Barlow.

   C. The event takes place in the first week of every April.

   D. American people are supposed to turn off their lights during that week.

3.What is Jennifer Barlow’s wish?

   A. That light would be directed up into the sky.

   B. That the sky would always be as dark as possible.

   C. That people could see the night sky without light pollution as our ancestors did.

   D. That people could spend time enjoying the beauty of the sky every night.

4.We can infer from the underlined（划线的）sentence in Paragraph 4 that ________.

 A. many people in America hate this event   

B. it may be hard to reduce light pollution

  C. the event should last a month every year 

D. light will no longer pollute the sky soon

5.What is the main goal of the National Dark-Sky Week?

   A. To promote the use of better lighting systems.

   B. To help people realize the harm of light pollution.

   C. To cause all the light pollution in America to disappear.

   D. To help young children enjoy the wonder of our universe.

Some people say that the best way to reduce the size of your waist is to do stomach exercise. Many people believe that when specific muscles are exercised, the fatty tissues (组织) in the immediate area are burned up. The truth is that exercise burns fat from all over the body and not from one specific area. Of course, if you reduce the fat throughout your body, you will certainly see results around your waist too.

Some people believe that you need to exercise twice a week in order to keep a sufficient level of physical fitness. However, studies directed by American scientists show that unexercised muscles lose their strength very quickly. Within 48 to 72 hours, you must use the muscles again to reestablish (重建) the good physical effects. And what does that mean to you? American scientists concluded that while daily exercise is most helpful, exercising every other day or three days a week will keep a sufficient level of physical fitness.

Is it true that you burn more calories running one mile than walking the same distance? The answer is no. The truth is that you use the same amount of energy whether you walk or run the mile, since in both cases you are moving the same weight the same distance. The speed does not matter. Of course, if you run rather than walk for 30 minutes, you will cover more distance, and therefore burn more calories.

If your breathing doesn’t return to normal within 5 minutes after you finish exercising, you have exercised too much. Five minutes or so after exercising, your breathing should be normal, your heart shouldn’t be beating loudly, and you shouldn’t be tired.

1.If you want to reduce the fat around your waist, you should ____.

2.From the second paragraph, we learn that ____.  

3.It can be inferred from the third paragraph that _________ .  

4.If you have exercised too much, _______. 

5.This passage tells us that _________.