--Guess what! Tan Weiwei failed in the last round of the Super Girl Contest.

---How _______ it be? She is second to none in singing in my opinion.

As we get older, most of us worry about grey hair, wrinkles and maintaining a youthful body. But people often don’t realize the voice needs looking after. Here, Mr. Rubin, a voice expert, reveals how to keep your voice youthful.
Drink more fluid and avoid spicy food
You need water for the vocal cords(聲帶) to vibrate(振動) well. The body must be kept hydrated enough to make the vocal cords operate well. Drinking 1.5 liters of water a day at intervals of 15 minutes is very important. Mr. Rubin advises avoiding foods with an annoying effect on the stomach, such as onions, chili, fizzy drinks and chocolate.
Rest the throat and talk regularly
The vocal cords can be scared if you use your voice during a bad cough. If you have a case of laryngitis(喉炎) with a cold, you should rest your voice for a day or two, and seek medical advice.
Simply staying sociable and using your voice is very important. “As older people get less mobile, they can become socially isolated and speak less.” says Mr. Rubin. “The elderly need to communicate with people more. By using the vocal cords, they enable the ageing process to slow down. ”
Improve your posture
Good posture is essential to keeping the voice young, so we’d better stand properly. Exercise helps you take deeper breaths as it means there is better airflow through the voice box, producing a stronger tone.
Sing in the shower
This is one of the best ways to preserve your voice, as it keeps the larynx muscles strong while the steam lubricates(使?jié)櫥? the voice box. “Singing is gymnastics for the voice,” says Mr. Rubin. Joining a choir is one of the best ways to preserve a youthful tone.
【小題1】Mr. Rubin gives us advice on ________.

Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with her Lord．She did it her way．

I got the call at work, and 1 headed home quickly．Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven．I hated going there every weekend．There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception．

My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land and loved to work in the garden among her flowers and vegetables．The place was rustic （鄉(xiāng)下的）, with no indoor heat．We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me．

In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen．I sang the melody and Mom larmonized．Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over． Momtold me stones about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk．She loved to tell how my playpen （嬰兒圈欄） sat in the kitchen next to the radio and there was one song I particularly loved called "Ivory Tower"．

As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit them every week or two．The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad．But I still hated the silence of the farm．While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle （喧鬧） of my life at home．But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced．

Now, I sat back in the silence and the silence was deafening so I finally leaned over to turn on an old radio．Music always comforted me,

My heart skipped a beat．"Moon River" was playing on the radio．I sat there, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note．

Then the radio announcer of this old station came on．" Here's one we haven't heard in a while," and an unfamiliar song began．I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves．"Come down; come down from your Ivory Tower…"

1.The writer didn't like staying in the farm for the following reasons EXCEPT that ______．

    A．it was too cold and quiet

    B．she could only sing one song in the small farm

    C．there was nothing more that could make her excited

    D．The place was rustic, with no indoor heat

2.From the First paragraph, we know that the writer's mother ______．

    A．died four years ago                                      B．left the small farm with Lord

    C．left for Lord to live her own way                        D．preferred to be with Lord

3.The underlined word reminisced in Paragraph 5 probably means ______．

    A．recalled         B．comforted        C．shouted          D．sighed

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage _____．

    A．The writer was able to dance before she could speak．

    B．The writer preferred to live a quiet life in the country．

    C．The writer was still quite familiar with the song "Ivory Tower",

    D．The writer forgot all her childhood memories in the small farmhouse．

5.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

    A．Two English songs                    B．My happy childhood

    C．Our small farmhouse              D．Mom's music

Having friends may well keep you healthier and help you deal with stress better. Some studies show that people with close friends have a greater ability to fight disease than people who are alone.

Make friendship a priority (優(yōu)先考慮的事). Find the time to be with friends even if it means letting the dishes unwashed for a while. When you can’t get together, use the phone to keep in touch. 洪都英語權(quán)所有www.hongduen.com！

Open up to close friends. Keeping a deep friendship requires a level of “heartfelt”intimacy(親密). Don’t be afraid to express your inner fears and disappointments. Listen to your friends when they have problems, but offer advice only when it’s wanted. Help raise friends’ self-esteem when they are shaken by a job loss, or other difficulties.洪都英語權(quán)所有www.hongduen.com！

Have different friends for different activities, such as going to the movies, singing in a choir, and joining in a bowling league. 洪都英語權(quán)所有www.hongduen.com！

Don’t’ wait for a friend to ask a favor. When a friend has the flu, offer to go to the store or drive the children to their after-school activities.

Never take a friendship for granted. Like a good marriage, friendship needs care and patience. Become a joiner. Find a group that matches your interests. 洪都英語權(quán)所有www.hongduen.com！

洪都英語權(quán)所有www.hongduen.com！

Talk to strangers. Conversations started in museums, laundry rooms, or bookstores can lead to firm friendships.

Enroll in an adult-education course. A classroom is an ideal place to meet others with similar interests.

1.          People with close friends have a      ability to fight disease than people who are alone.

2.          According to the passage, you’d better offer advice to your friends     .

3.          What we should do to have friends according to the author?

4.          Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?

5.          The underlined word “enroll” in the last paragraph means “   ”.

Although I love my life, it hasn’t been a lot of fun as I’ve been ill for 28 years.
Music has always been a great love of mine and, in my 20s, when my   16  was more manageable , I   17  ten years as a professional singer in restaurants, playing and singing folk songs.   18  that was years ago and times have changed.   19  I live with mother on a country farm.
Two years ago, I decided that I would need to have some kind of extra work to   20   my disability pension (殘疾撫恤金).   21  I needed to sleep in the afternoons,  I was limited in my   22  . I decided that I would consider   23  to singing in restaurants.
My family are all musicians, so I was   24  when I went into our local music store. I explained that I wanted to sing again but using recorded karaoke music. I knew that discs were very expensive and I really didn’t have a lot of   25  to get started. And   26  you find only three to four songs out of ten on a disc that you can   27  use.
When I told the owner of the shop about my   28 ; he gave me a long thoughtful     29 . “This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” he said. “Come with me.”
He led me   30  the crowded shop and to a bench with a large professional karaoke box on it. He placed his large hand   31  on his treasure and said, “I have 800 karaoke songs in here. You can take your   32  and I’ll record them for you. That should get you started.”
I   33 . Thanking him, I made a time with him to listen to all the songs and choose    34  that I could sing. I have come full circle with his help.
His   35  still warms my heart and makes me do just that bit extra, when I have the chance.