Is it your dream to fly and to work in space? Do you want to be a NASA astronaut? Like many jobs, the first thing would be to fill out the application. A record-breaking 18,300 people filled out applications recently when NASA announced it was filling its 2017 Astronaut Candidate Programme, but out of those 18,300 applicants, just 8 to 14 will be hired by the US space agency.

    It will take NASA 18 months to decide who will be in the new class of astronauts. NASA will review all of the files, which will later go to its current team of astronauts, to make sure they meet the basic qualifications.

    The first requirement is that the applicants must be the US citizens. They need a college degree in engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science, or mathematics. They also need at least three years of experience in a similar field or at least 1,000 hours as a jet airline pilot.

    There are requirements to pass a physical test. And then there are personality tests as well. What kinds of personality qualities is NASA looking for in an astronaut? NASA's Selection Manager Anne Romer said, "I think leadership, teamwork, the ability to not only work on a team, lead a team, but also follow, be a follower on a team matter. Communication certainly plays a role, so it's some pretty common skills that I think translate into even other professions."

    About 120 applicants will be invited to the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, for a first round of interviews, about half of whom will go back for a second round. Once selected, they must complete two years of training in everything about spaceflight—things like learning about all the systems used by NASA, walking in space and Russian language training. Until the US has a working vehicle to launch into space, NASA still depends on Russia to get astronauts into space.

    When was the last time someone unexpectedly did something nice for you? Not someone you knew, but a total stranger? It's happened to me a few times, but two instances really stand out.

    A few years ago, I was dining in a restaurant with a friend who kept talking about himself, completely not aware of the fact that I was sitting there in misery. It wasn't my friend's talks that made me suffer. I was recovering from a broken heart, and just sitting down to dinner reminded me of my last relationship. I could have burst into tears right there at the table.

    When we picked up the check, the waitress said, "Your meal was already paid for." My friend and I didn't have a clue how it happened.  Then I remembered a man I saw out of the corner of my eye. He was dressed in mostly white, sat down at the bar, had a beer, and stayed for maybe ten minutes. The waitress said, "Yes, the gentleman in white paid for you." It felt like an angel was saying, "I see you, honey. It's going to be okay."

    Just last year, I was running a half-marathon. With just one mile to go, I was out of gas. Runners call it "hitting the wall". I thought I couldn't move another inch. Out of nowhere, a stranger came up to me and said, "What's your name, sweetie? Jennifer? Okay, Jennifer, let's go! Come on! It's just around the corner! You can do it!" And he ran with me until I picked up my pace. I found him at the finish line to thank him for the encouragement only to learn he wasn't even supposed to be in the race that day.

    I still shake my head when I think of these momentary angels that came to me at my point of need. Do you have any experiences like these?

    Social media and the mobile Web have given rise to a strange phenomenon called selfie(自拍). It refers to a picture of yourself, usually shared on any social networking website.

    Some selfies are extreme close-ups(特写镜头), and others show part of an arm held straight outwards. A few of them even feature the subject standing in front of a bathroom mirror.

    Everyone takes selfies, but the younger crowd seems to be especially involved in the trend. Young people are relatively heavier digital users. They are interested in staying connected to their friends.

    There are also kinds of psychological factors driving people to take a selfie and upload it to a social networking site.  A quick and easy way to attract others' attention is to get "likes" and comments from friends. Secondly, it's human nature to show off your own great achievements. When you feel good about yourself or look good, it's far too easy to take out your phone and document it all through one or several selfies.  That's right. Sometimes people are bored at work, bored at school, bored at home and even bored on the toilet. Last but not least, social media is about being social! If that means uploading as many selfies as possible, then so be it. It's fun, and it's a cool way to sort of document your own life.

    Finally, there are things to be mindful of when you're posting. It's easy to think you're sharing a photo with a few people.  So don't post anything online, selfies especially.

A. There are lots of selfie styles.

B. The rise of selfies has become universal.

C. Social media, to some extent, is the driving force of their selfie activity.

D. The desire to take, post and get "likes" on selfies goes back to a biological behaviour.

E. But the whole world of social media is public and every individual can get access to it.

F. There are also people who will take selfies because they have nothing else better to do.

G. The leading factor is that people want to get attention from as many people as possible.

1）邀请他担任比赛评委；

2）问他届时是否有空出席；

3）请他向学生推荐合适的文学作品。

注意：1）词数80左右；

2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

    After many years on the endangered list of animals, Japan's Amami wild black rabbit can finally breathe a sigh of relief—that's because this year, the rare animal is no longer in danger of dying out!

    The effort to save the dark-furred rabbit, often called "a living fossil", began in 1921, when the Japanese government promoted it to the status of "natural monument". This meant that it could not be hunted down for food. However, when that did not work, it got yet another promotion to "special natural monument", which meant that the rabbit could not be trapped or hunted.

    While that helped, it was not enough—by 2004 with only 2,000~5,000 specimen (样本) left in the wild, the Amami rabbit was officially declared endangered! The reason for the serious population decrease was due to loss of habitat caused by forest clearing for home and agriculture use and the introduction of a new species not native to the island—the mongoose. Brought in to get rid of the snake population, the mongoose instead seemed to prefer the black rabbit. In 2005, the government carried out a strict mongoose capture (捕获) order and slowly but surely, the rabbit started to come back.

    This rabbit lives in a rather unusual lifestyle. Its ideal habitat is a forest that features both trees and large grasses—the former to find acorns (橡子) to feed on and the latter, to hide its babies. That's because to protect them from being eaten by their enemies, the Amami rabbit buries them deep into the ground among the grasses and covers them up with dirt during the day. Then, in the middle of the night, still keeping a vigilant eye out for their enemies, it digs them out from their hiding place and feeds them. No wonder the animal is sometimes called "midnight rabbit".

    Though many measures have been taken to stop this furry animal from being wiped out from the world, there are many more rabbits that are still in danger. We surely hope that officials in other parts of the world try their best to save the endangered species.

    An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The idea is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.

    In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit(爱好) to be enjoyed by all, the programme allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched (发起)the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book" project in 1998. Her original programme used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.

    In Chicago, the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" programme. As a result, reading clubs and neighbourhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and characters.

    The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity(一致)can be achieved. Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.

    As Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.

    Scientific experiments can sometimes go wrong and when they do, the results may range from the disastrous (灾难性的) to the troubling. One such experiment took place in South America about fifty years ago. Whether its final consequences will cause serious damage or nothing more than a small trouble still remains to be seen.

    The story began in 1956 when an American scientist working in Brazil decided to solve the problem of increasing the productivity of that country's bees. He imported a very active type of African bee from Tanzania and mated (交配) it with the more easy-going native variety to produce a new kind of bees. The new bees worked harder and produced twice as much honey. It seemed that Professor Kerr, which was the scientist's name, had a total success on his hands.

    Then things began to go wrong. For some reason as yet unseen, but perhaps as a result of something in their environment, the new bees began to develop extremely attacking personalities. They became bad-tempered and easy to be angry. They attacked the native bees and drove them from their living places.

    But worse was to follow. Having taken over the countryside, the new bees, with their dangerous stings (刺), began to attack their neighbours—cats, dogs, horses, chickens and finally man himself. A long period of terror began that has so far killed a great number of animals and about 150 human beings.

    This would have been bad enough if the bees had stayed in Brazil. But now they are on the move, heading northwards in countless millions towards Central and North America, and moving at the alarming speed of 200 miles a year. The countries that lie in their path are naturally worried because it looks as if nothing can be done to stop them.

注意：1）词数80左右；

2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯、内容充实。

Dear Headmaster,

Yours sincerely,

Zhang Hua

    My senior year of high school was a very hectic one, to say the least. If I wasn't studying or worrying about my grades, I was working on after-class activities. It seemed as if my life had turned into one crazy cloud of confusion and I hoped to find some sort of direction.

    Finally, I got a part-time job at the local coffee shop. I had thought it would be easy and, for the most part, stress-free. I pictured myself pouring coffee and becoming close friends with my customers.

    What I hadn't expected were the people with so many orders. There were moments when I was very angry simply because I couldn't seem to please anyone. There was always too much sugar, too little ice, or not enough skim milk. However, I kept at it.

    One day, one of my customers came in, depressed. Before he left, I handed him a bag along with his iced coffee. He looked at me questioningly because he hadn't ordered anything but the coffee. He opened the bag and saw his favourite doughnut (甜甜圈) I had given him. He smiled and thanked me before heading out into the rain.

    The next evening, he came. Instead of ordering something, he handed me a single pink rose and a note.

    "Thanks for being so sweet and thoughtful yesterday. It is so nice to meet someone who's warm and unselfish. Please don't change your ways because I truly believe that you will do better. Have a great day!"

    As time went on, I did come across some customers really particular. But anytime I felt depressed, I thought of that man and his kindness. Then I would smile, hold my head up high, clear my throat and ask politely, "How can I help you?"

Changing people's bad impressions on us

    Some of us have made bad first impressions in front of people we wanted to become good friends with. First impressions are important because they form the foundation on which all future thoughts about someone will be based.  However, there are measures you can take to change people's bad impressions of you.

    Apologize immediately. A sincere apology can go a long way because you will prove to everyone that you value their thoughts about you. Tell the people that you didn't intend to offend them and that you wish to correct the situation. Explain the reasons why you acted the way you did in your apology. Otherwise, it will make others feel uncomfortable that you keep bringing up the past.

    Use humour. When you are around the people you made a bad impression in front of, play a small joke on yourself. Once they know you are not afraid to laugh at yourself, it can break up some of the tension. Remember to only direct humour at yourself.

    Do not make assumptions. After you have made a bad impression, it can be easy to assume that everyone thinks the worst of you.  Instead of assuming what someone thinks about you, explain to him that you feel ashamed about how you acted and ask him how your behaviour affected him.

    In order to overcome a bad first impression, your words and actions in the time to come must be consistently good. With enough time and patience, gaining trust and changing wrong beliefs is possible.

A. That way you can avoid any more feelings of discomfort.

B. First impressions are usually long-lasting.

C. Be careful not to overdo it.

D. Be mindful of your surroundings and sensitive to what you say to others.

E. Pay attention to future behaviour.

F. However, things aren't always as bad as they seem.

G. So it's hard to erase a bad first impression from someone's mind.