1．Our Favourite Tech Gifts of 2021 When it comes to time for the holiday shopping season，we're extra choosy about the countless technology products that we will buy and give to friends and family.Here's what impressed editors，reporters and producers most in 2021.
   Lumos Matrix helmet
   I recently bought a Lumos Matrix helmet （﹩229）with built-in lights to make riding my bike at night a lot safer and less stressful.It's a regular pain point for bikers like me to make sure careless drivers see you，especially when it's dark.This does help.
——Matt Mcfarland，Writer
   Goodreads app
   Although this isn't a gift，the free Goodreads app is a game changer.At the beginning of 2019，I promised myself that I'd read at least one new book every month.I set a goal of 12 books on Goodreads and use it to track my progress，keep a list of books I'm interested in and check out what friends and others on the app were recommending.I read 35 books this year! （That's up from five books last year.） Goodreads feels like one of the rare feel-good social networks.
——Kaya Yurieff，Tech Reporter
   Ember coffee cup
   I drink my coffee slowly，so it has routinely cooled by the time I get halfway through it.For my birthday，my mum bought me a cup，which keeps my coffee warm until I finish it without reheating.I can also set the temperature I want.It makes my mornings so much easier.
——Millie Dent，Intern

（1）What is the main advantage of Lumos Matrix helmet？
A．Helping drivers concentrate.
B．Managing the bad weather.
C．Making night riding safer.
D．Making bikers less painful.
（2）What does the writer mean by referring to the Goodreads app as "a game changer"？
A．It changes some readers' reading rules.
B．It inspires readers to read more through communication.
C．It limits the number of books a reader can read.
D．It provides readers with free Internet games.
（3）Which of the following can best describe Ember coffee cup？
A．Simple.
B．Expensive.
C．Eco-friendly.
D．Convenient.

2．    Keeping a busy social life among lots of friends may keep people thinner than spending hours doing some exercises，according to scientists．They say that socializing and meeting with friends help increase levels of brown fat in the body which burns calories（卡路里）to produce heat．
   Living in an exciting social environment was found to reduce fat in mice's belly by half over four weeks，even if they ate more．US researchers say that social excitement aids weight loss by turning white fat into brown．White fat stores calories and makes us fatter，while brown burns energy to produce heat．Turning white fat into brown is extremely difficult，normally requiring long-term stay in cold conditions or exciting part of the body's nervous system．
   However，scientists from Ohio State University now think that having a busy social life is an even more effective way of changing white fat into brown．The team came up with their theory by studying the effects of various living environments on mice．Those，who lived alongside a greater number of mice，had more space and toys to excite themselves and then lost far more weight over the course of the study than their"couch potato"fellows．
   Study author，Dr Matthew During，whose team's findings appear in the journal Cell Metabolism，said，"I'm still amazed at the degree of fat loss that occurs．"Explaining how new technology had threatened face-to-face socializing，he added，"It's not just a sedentary （久坐的）lifestyle and high calorie foods，but an increasing lack of social activities．"Co-author Dr Lei Cao said，"Loneliness is a potential factor for cancer and death；it's equal to cigarette smoking to a certain extent．Social activities are very vital．，

（1）What information can we get from the first two paragraphs？
A．Brown fat stores calories and makes us fatter．
B．It doesn't take long to turn white fat into brown．
C．Social excitement helps gain more weight．
D．Brown fat can burn energy to produce heat．
（2）Which of the following statement does the text support？
A．Levels of brown fat can be increased by socializing．
B．The mice lacking social life lose more weight．
C．The research findings haven't been published so far．
D．Dr Matthew During wasn't convinced of the result．
（3）We can conclude from the text that ．
A．the fat in mice's belly was reduced because of the relaxing environment
B．a(chǎn) sedentary lifestyle and high calories foods influence people's social life
C．surfing the Internet may influence people's face-to-face communication
D．cancer and death are mainly caused for lack of social life
（4）What's the main idea of the text？
A．Brown fat is beneficial to people's health．
B．Socializing is unnecessarily important in people's daily life．
C．White fat can be changed into brown fat．
D．Socializing contributes to people's losing weight．

3．    （1）（ 有些人覺得閱讀既有趣又有用。） It's also one of the most time-consuming activities.That's why speed-reading courses are so popular.These courses allow you to read more in less time.
Most courses just teach you how to "skim" and "scan".They can be useful.There is，however，a new course called Quantum Speed Reading.It promises much more. （2）（這個課程建議你在 5 分鐘內(nèi)讀完 1 萬個單詞。） All you have to do is to flip the pages of the book.Your brain will take in all the information.（3）（這樣的話，你就能成功快速讀完一本書。） Learning this magic technique costs you 250，000 yuan.My opinion？Hogwash!Don't waste your money!（4）（根據(jù)一些研究，你讀得越快，你探索得就越少。） Therefore，this skill doesn't necessarily make a difference to you.
   Reading，however，is something we also do for pleasure.There is no joy in racing through Cao Xueqin's novel if all you can say about it is， "Um，I think it's about an old Chinese family."（5）（正是閱讀本身給你帶來很多的快樂。）