Harvard student Julie Zauzmer turned 20 on January 22, and her birthday couldn't have been better: She got to working the overnight shift at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter. That might seem an extraordinary act of selflessness for someone turning 20. But there's increasing evidence that commitment to community service is becoming much more ordinary to today's young adults. "Young adults are doing more volunteer service than in any point in history,'' said Scott Seider, an assistant professor of education at Boston University who studies the civic development of young adults. At Harvard, the Winthrop Street Homeless Shelter is one of 86 social service programs associated with the Phillips Brooks House Association, which is a student-run nonprofit organization. Students can work with deaf children, bring pets to nursing homes, and prepare Chinese students to become US citizens, and so on. Volunteerism develops well outside of colleges, too. Applications to AmeriCorps have risen to a very high level, jumping from 91,399 in 2008 to 258,829 in 2010. City Year, which puts young people in high-poverty schools as tutors and mentors for at-risk students, has had a 140 percent increase in applications since its 2007-2008 service year. Citizen Schools, which uses volunteers to work with students in middle schools, has had a 28 percent jump in applicants between 2008 and 2009. "Most of my friends know it's their duty to give back before they settle down,'' said Samantha Wolf, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate serving with City Year in a Mattapan school. City Year corps member Antonio Gutierrez, 22, graduated last year from Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., and is applying for admission to law schools, but this year he is tutoring and mentoring students at the Blackstone Elementary School in the South End. "I grew up in similar circumstances,'' said Gutierrez, who said he was a weak student until enrichment programs changed his academic trajectory . Raised by a single mother in low-income housing across the... We learn from what Scott Seider says in Paragraph 3 that young people today _ . A) study harder than before B) do more volunteering than ever before C) don't care much about others D) like to find jobs in their communities
B
Everyone wants to achieve true happiness in life. But the biggest factor holding most of us back is actually our ownselves. The Huffington Post released a list of seven mistakes we need to let go of in order to become happier people. Let's take a look. 1.Placing too much emphasis on fulfillment Those who put a lot of pressure on themselves to be happy feel more lonely on a daily basis than those who do not, according to research conducted at the University of Denver, US. 2. Keeping it all in Keeping it all together during tough times can hurt you. Crying is the body's emotional response to outside triggers .By _ it, you may be damaging your mental and physical health. 3. Looking at your smart phone all the time Connecting with others may be the key to happiness, but a recent University of Michigan study found that the more time participants spent on social networking sites, the less happy they felt. 4. Not moving It's no secret that a healthy lifestyle is a big part of happiness. Something as simple as a walk can help you increase your creativity and expose you to essential vitamins. 5. Not reflecting on the past In a 2013 study on nostalgia and emotion, participants reported a higher sense of physiological comfort when they looked back on the past. Affection for heartwarming memories helps people relate their past experiences to the present in order to create a greater sense of meaning. 6. Resisting change A study on the psychology of choices shows that the human brain naturally tries to avoid loss--but that resistance can cause stress. Whether it's fear of the unknown or fear of losing what you currently have, the pressure to hold on to the present can harm your future life satisfaction. 7. Not being mindful Setting aside time for meditation allows your body to relax, cultivates an attitude of gratitude and lowers your stress level, according to researchers at University of California, Los Angeles, US. What is the main purpose of the article? A) To inform readers of the benefits of being happy. B) To explain why our happiness depends on our own actions. C) To point out the things we do that prevent us from being happy. D) To discuss some typical characteristics of happy people.
C
Q: Dieters' who eat meals high in protein might lose a bit more weight than those who get less protein and more carbohydrates all other things being equal, a new analysis of past studies suggests. Researchers found that over an average of 12 weeks, people having a highprotein diet lost about 1.8 extra pounds, and more body fat, than those having a standard-protein diet. Wycherley from the University of South" Australia in Adelaide, the lead author on the study says it's possible that the body may spend more energy and bum more calories while dealing with protein, compared to carbohydrates. Another explanation for the link his team observed is that eating protein helps preserve muscle mass and muscle mass bums more calories, even when the body is resting, than other types of mass. He says people in the studies tend to get protein from a variety of animal and vegetable sources. Vegetable sources of protein include beans. It is not obvious why a higher protein-to-carbohydrate ratio might help people lose more pounds----and one obesity researcher not involved in the new analysis questioned whether the trials were strong enough to make that conclusion. "The studies are generally far too short to tell effect," Dr. James Levine from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, told Reuters Health in an e-mail. But given the limitations of the present evidence, Levine said, "It makes no real difference which of the weight-loss ways one chooses." According to Wycherley's analysis, dieters should take in more _ . A) fat B) carbohydrates C) protein D) calories
A: C
(Q).
A man was on the side of the road hitchhiking on a very dark night in the middle of a terrible rainstorm, with no cars on the road.The storm was so strong that the man could hardly see a few feet ahead of him.Suddenly, he saw a car come towards him and stop.The man, without thinking about it, got in the car and closed the door and only then did he realize that there was nobody behind the steering wheel ! The car started to move very slowly. The man looked at the road and saw a curve coming his way. Terrified, he started to pray, begging for his life. He had not come out of shock when, just before the car hit the curve, a hand suddenly appeared through the window and moved the wheel. The man, paralyzed with fear, watched how the hand appeared every time the car was drawing near a curve.Finally, although terrified, the man managed to open the door and jump out of the spooky car. Without looking back, the man ran through the storm all the way to the nearest town. In a state of complete horror, the man walked into a nearby bar and asked for two glasses of Scotch whisky. Then, still shaking with fright, he started telling everybody in the bar about the horrible experience he just went through in the spooky car. Everyone in the bar listened in silence and became frightened, with hair standing on end, when they realized the man was telling the truth because he was crying and he was certainly not drunk! About half an hour later, two other young men walked into the same bar and one said to the other, "Hey, there's a stupid man who jumped into the car while we were pushing it!" After he entered the car, the man found _ . A) it didn't move at all. B) it moved very quickly. C) there was no driver in it. D) someone was pushing it.
(A).
C