However, there are also plenty of things that astronauts can’t do because of their weightless environment, and that’s very sad. What’s worse, they can’t even let their sadness show – because it’s impossible to cry in zero gravity.

Of course, astronauts can still produce tears. But crying is much more difficult in space, reported The Atlantic in January. Without gravity, tears don’t flow downward out of the eyes like they do here on Earth. This means that when you cry in space, your tears have nowhere to go – they just stick to your eyes.

In May 2011, astronaut Andrew Feustel experienced this during one of his spacewalks. “Tears,” he said, “don’t fall off of your eye... They just kind of stay there.”

Besides making your vision unclear, this can also cause physical pain. Back on Earth, tears are supposed to bring comfort to the eyes. But that’s not the case in space. The space environment dries out astronauts’ eyes, and when tears suddenly wet the eyes, it can cause pain rather than comfort. “My right eye is painful like crazy.” Feustel told his teammate during the walk.

Since gravity doesn’t work in space, astronauts need some extra help to get rid of the tears. Feustel chose to rub his eyes against his helmet to wipe the tears away. Another choice is to just wait – “When the tears get big enough they simply break free of the eye and float around,” astronaut Ron Parise told The Atlantic.

There are lots of small things – things like crying – that we are so used to on Earth. We usually take them for granted, until they become a problem in a totally different environment, like space. There, astronauts can’t talk to each other directly. They also can’t eat or drink in normal ways. They can’t even burp (打嗝), because there is no gravity to hold the food down in their stomach. If they do burp, they just end up throwing up (呕吐) everything in their stomach, according to the UK National Space Center.

Thus, perhaps it’s only space explorers who can honestly say: “Gravity, you’re the best.”

1. What can we conclude from paragraphs 2 and 3?

A. Astronauts are unable to feel sad in space. B. Astronauts produce fewer tears in space.

C. Tears produced in space flow down more slowly.

D. Tears produced in space don’t flow downward.

2. What effect do tears have on astronauts?

A. They cause physical pain. B. They bring comfort to them.

C. They make their vision clearer. D. They float around and cause trouble.

3. What can the astronaut do to get rid of the tears?

A. Rub his eyes against his helmet to let the tears float forward.

B. Rub his eyes by hand to let the tears float around.

C. Get the tears big enough to fall off of his eyes.

D. Get the tears big enough to break away from his eyes.

4. What’s the second-to-last paragraph mainly about?

A. Suggestions on how astronauts can stay comfortable in space.

B. Other basic things that are difficult to do in space.

C. Why burping is impossible in space.

D. Things that humans can’t do without gravity.

B

If you want to find a part-time job or learn something different during your spare time, you can have a look at the following jobs offered by the DC Public Library.

Teens of Distinction Program

The DC Public Library offers part-time jobs for teens through the Teens of Distinction Program. Teens work 10-12 hours per week all year long, helping the library with important tasks and projects. The Teens of Distinction Program is now hiring! To apply, you have to：

● be a DC resident

● have and maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average

● be 16 to 18 years old

● be able to work 10-12 hours per week

● be able to work for DCPL for at least 9 months

Oh, and of course you have to impress us with your wonderful personality!

Teen Volunteer Opportunities

If you want to earn community service hours for school, Youth202 is a good choice.

Youth202 is a radio program created by youth and for youth. You can learn radio production skills, interview people around you, and help keep other teens to learn news, events, and anything else you think is important.

Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)

Every summer, teens can work here to help library customers organize books and learn lots of new skills, such as program planning, writing and media production.

On Friday, January 25 at 12：15 p．m., the application for the 2014 SYEP will be open to teens between the ages of 14 and 21.

Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Space is limited this year, so teens are encouraged to apply early, and remember not to miss the deadline, Saturday, February 16.

5．If a teenager wants to interview people around him, he should apply for a job at ________．

A. Teens of Distinction Program B. Youth202

C. Teens Library D. Summer Youth Employment Program

6．What can’t teenagers get in Summer Youth Employment Program?

A. Community service hours. B. Program planning skills.

C. Writing skills. D. Book management skills.

7．Who has the biggest chance to work for the 2014 SYEP?

A. A teenager who is smart. B. A teenager who is popular.

C. A teenager who applies early. D. A teenager who gets high grades in exams.

8．The aim of text is to ________．

A. introduce the DC Public Library B. describe the job of library workers

C. teach how to apply for part-time jobs

D. offer teenager part-time jobs in the DC Public Library

C

In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.

I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.

However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve can we discover a new meaning in competition.

9. The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means ________.

A. those who try their best to win B. those who value competition most highly

C. those who are against competition most strongly

D. those who rely on others most for success

10. What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”？

A. One's worth lies in his performance compared with others'.

B. One's success in competition needs great efforts.

C. One's achievement is determined by his particular skills.

D. One's success is based on how hard he has tried.

11. Which point of view may the author agree to?

A. Every effort should be paid back. B. Competition should be encouraged.

C. Winning should be a life-and-death matter.

D. Fear of failure should be removed in competition.

D

Conventional wisdom says that hardship can make us old before our time. In fact, a new study suggests that violence not only leaves long-term scars on children’s bodies, but also changes their DNA, causing changes that are equal to seven to ten years of premature（早熟） aging.

Scientists measured this by studying the ends of children’s chromosomes(染色体), called telomeres（端粒）, says Idan Shalev, lead author of a study published in Molecular Psychiatry.

Telomeres are special DNA sequences which prevent the DNA in chromosomes from separating. They get shorter each time a cell divides, until a cell cannot divide any more and dies.

Several factors have been found to shorten telomeres, including smoking, radiation（放射） and psychological stresses such as being treated badly when young and taking care of a chronically ill person.

In this study, researchers examined whether exposure（暴露） to violence could make children’s telomeres shorten faster than normal. They interviewed the mothers of 236 children at ages 5, 7 and 10, asking whether the youngsters had been exposed to domestic violence between the mother and her partner; physical maltreatment by an adult; or bullying(恶霸). Researchers measured the children’s telomeres—in cells obtained by swabbing the insides of their cheeks—at ages 5 and 10.

Telomeres shortened faster in kids exposed to two or more types of violence, says Shalev. Unless that pattern changes, the study suggests, these kids could be expected to develop diseases of aging, such as heart attacks or memory loss, seven to 10 years earlier than their peers.

Shalev says there is hope for these kids. His study found that, in rare cases, telomeres can lengthen. Better nutrition, exercise and stress reduction are three things that may be able to lengthen telomeres, he says.

The study confirms a small-but-growing number of studies suggesting that early childhood adversity imprints itself in our chromosomes, says Charles Nelson, a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School.

12. The new study found that ________.

A. hardship has a long-term effect on a child’s mind

B. violence leaves scars on a child’s mind

C. vi