Today, there's scarcely an aspect of our life that isn't being upended by the torrent of information available on the hundreds of millions of sites crowding the Internet, not to mention its ability to keep us in constant touch with each other via electronic mail.“If the automobile and aerospace technology had exploded at the same pace as computer and information technology," says Microsoft, “a new car would cost about $2 and go 600 miles on a thimbleful of gas. And you could buy a Boeing 747 for the cost of a pizza."

Probably the biggest payoff, however, is the billions of dollars the Internet is saving companies in producing goods and serving for the needs of their customers. Nothing like it has been seen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when power-driven machines began producing more in a day than men could turn out in nearly a year.“We view the growth of the Internet and e-commerce as a global megatrend,” says Merrill Lynch, “along the lines of printing press, the telephone, the computer, and electricity."

You would be hard pressed to name something that isn't available on the Internet. Consider. books, health care, movie tickets, construction materials, baby clothes，stocks, cattle feed, music, electronics, antiques, tools, real estate, toys, autographs of famous people, wine and airline tickets. And even after you've moved on to your final resting place, there's no reason those you love can't keep it touch. A company called FinalThoughts.com offers a place for you to store “afterlife e-mails" you can send to Heaven with the help of a "guardian angel".

Kids today are so computer savvy that it virtually ensures the United States will remain the unchallenged leader in cyberspace for the foreseeable future. Nearly all children in families with incomes of more than $75,000 a year have home computers, according to a study by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Youngsters from ages 2 to 17 at all income levels have computers, with 52% of those connected to the Internet.

26. overthrown (Para. 1)

27. turbulent, swift-flowing stream (Para. 1)

28. by means of (Para. 1)

29. benefit or advantage (Para. 2)

30. worldwide (Para. 2)

31. mention (Para. 3)

32. put away for future use (Para. 3)

33. well informed and perceptive (Para. 4)

34. practically or nearly (Para. 4)

35. capable of being anticipated (Para. 4)

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Safar's work began to change our perceptions of death —blurring the point that is meant to mark the end of our lives.“We've all been brought up to think death is an absolute moment — when you die you can't come back. It used to be correct, but now we've come to understand that even after you've become a cadaver, you're still retrievable."

The boundary between life and death is less and less c_____.

(46.Camps are either temporary. that is changed from day to day, or they are permanent and may be visited year after year. or they may be used for a few weeks at a time.) Temporary camps are the ones we are considering, and these can be elaborate or very, very simple. I prefer the latter, and I am sure the boys will agree with me.

(47. During the autumn and when the weather is dry and the nights not too cool, the best way to camp is in the open. sleeping on beds of boughs, about a roaring fire. and with one blanket under and another over.)

Small dog tents, like the ones our soldiers carried in the Civil War, are cheap and very convenient. Each man carried a section, and two made a tent, into which two men crawled when it rained, but in dry weather they preferred to sleep in the open, even when it was freezing.

(48.Shelters of boughs. arranged in an A-framed fashion from a ridge pole make good temporary shelters and are first rate as windbreaks at night.)

A shack built of crossed logs requires some time to build and some skill to make, but it is not beyond the reach of any boy who has seen - and who has not - an old-fashioned log shanty.But all boys, even trained foresters, are apt to get lost in strange woods. Every one, however, should know what to do in such a circumstance. As a rule the denser growth of moss on trees is on the north side. This knowledge may help find the direction, but it is better to carry a small pocket compass.

(49.When the sky is clear. the sun and the stars help to guide the course and if they are followed one is saved from traveling in a circle, as the lost are pretty sure to do in a dense forest .)

(50. If twigs are broken from bushes they will serve to show the course to nose out searching, A good plan is to follow down the course of a stream which always flows into a larger body of water and will lead to some abode.) If a hill is accessible, the lay of the land may be had from its summit. 

In any event, should you be lost, do not get ratted. You will be missed in camp and a search will be made by your friends. If you have to stay in the woods all night, make the best of it. Others have made the best of it by sleeping near the foot of a tree or beside a log. It will be more cheery if you can make a fire without anger to the woods.

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If you remember learning about the senses in elementary school, you know humans possess five: sense of sight, sense of smell, sense of bearing, sense of touch, and sense of taste. Most scientists agree, however, that you have more like ten to twenty senses, including pain, hunger, thirst, temperature, and more.

More senses than commonly k_____.

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Regular poor sleep can raise the risk of serious medical conditions like obesity, heart attack and diabetes - and can even shorten life expectancy. Adequate exposure to natural daylight is known to be crucial for governing the body's circadian rhythm — the built-in clock which dictates our sleeping and waking patterns.

A key factor to improve one's sleep and h_____.

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In a new study, a team of neuroscientists and psychologists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) discovered that the harder adults tried to learn an artificial language, the worse they were at deciphering the language's morphology - the structure and deployment of linguistic units such as root words, suffixes, and prefixes.

A scientific discovery on language l_______.

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It may seem odd to chow down on a garden salad topped with lentils or salmon at 8 am, but who says breakfast meals have to look different than lunch or supper? Give it a try - you may just find that warmed up stir fry, veggie“pasta”, or a crisp entree salad is your new favorite way to start the day.

Suggestion on the f______ meal of the day.

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Malta is a beautiful southern European country in the Mediterranean Sea, which has a rich history and culture. There are amazing sky-high cliffs to climb, fabulous temples to explore, and lots of wonderful places to go scuba diving. The historic part of Malta has incredible architecture, great walled cities, and many underground tunnels to explore.

An attractive seaside r_____ for tourists.

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Brushing already acidic teeth can further the erosion of one's enamel. People need to give their teeth time to remineralize after being bathed in an acidic beverage. It's advisable to wait an hour after drinking before lifting a toothbrush.

T______ your time brushing your teeth after drinking.

Paragraph Three

Shorter workdays have made headlines lately in Sweden. On I July, the city began a year-long experiment with six-hour days, enlisting a segment of government employees to work less than their eight-hour-a-day counterparts, for the same pay. The hope is that staffers working shorter days will accomplish just as much, only with more efficiency and less calling in sick.

An experiment on shorter workdays but h_____ productivity.

Paragraph two

The State Council of China issued a guideline to further accelerate household registration reform. A“points system” - mainly based on legal permanent employment and accommodation, seniority in social security and continuous residence - is to be established in cities with over 5m residents. Those who have accumulated certain points are qualified to apply for the cities' permanent household residence for themselves, their spouses, minor children and parents.

A p_____ of household registration reform is underway.