Most of the guests who come on our trips have never been to Egypt before. We want to make everyone comfortable and at ease, but we do always get the same questions in advance of a trip. So here I will give you some travel tips.What should I wear?If you're lucky enough to visit Egypt between November and February, pack a sweater. You'll need it — the desert gets chilly at night. During the day, the temperature will be agreeable and comfortable. Any other time, pack as if you're going to Phoenix or Vegas in August. For the ladies, bathing suits are normal if there's a pool where you're going, but leave the string bikini at home — it is a Muslim country, after all. Last, if you are planning on visiting any mosques or certain parts of upper Egypt, ladies will need to plan on bringing something that comes at least to the elbow, and no shorts for men or women in those areas.What special things do I need to pack?One of my favorite things in the world to bring to Egypt is an Evian Mister, a sprayer with a fine mist of Evian water. You may be able to find it in your local drug store. Spray a little on your face or head, and your body temperature will feel like it's dropped 10 or 15 degrees. Other items include your camera, sun block and extra batteries.How do I communicate with home?Internet cafes are plentiful everywhere, especially in Cairo, Luxor, and Alexandria. If you have international calling on your phone, you should be able to use it — AT&T and Sprint both work internationally for sure, but make sure you have the international coverage. A satellite phone is best if you are certain to need coverage in the middle of the country, like while sailing up the Nile, but for most people these days a cell phone is fine.What medical preparation do I need?In a word: none! The one thing you may come down with in Egypt is politely called "Pharoah's Revenge." The thing that knocks out Pharoah's Revenge is a regionally produced medicine, and is available at every drugstore for $1 a box. DON'T drink local water, DO drink bottled water, avoid the skins of fresh vegetables, and you'll be fine.What's the use of an Evian Mister?

Most students choose " Homestay " accommodation when they study abroad; others select Homestay even if they are not on a study visit. Statistics show that it's a form of accommodation gaining in popularity all the time.But what is Homestay? And what makes it so popular?Homestay means living with a family, or "host family" as we say. There are three ways of doing it:?choose to learn English in a language school near to your Homestay location;?have your English classes in the house with a member of the family who is a qualified teacher;?select not to have classes at all when you visit—a popular choice if you want to do the tourist thing for example.Even in their busy summer period the organizations that arrange the Homestays will always try to place you with the most suitable host family to match your requirements. Placement（安置）organizations think about location, interests, language level, eating requirements, allergies（过敏）and other requests you may have.Though prices vary according to your needs, good quality Homestay accommodation can be relatively economical—and although you may be charged an extra amount of money if you want your Homestay in or near the city centre. Even if you stay further out, you can expect your journey into the centre not to exceed 30 minutes.Not only does Homestay accommodation represent value for money, it also gives you an excellent opportunity to practise English with your host family. This is a very important extra for students who like to speak as much English as possible. But if you plan to learn English, why not have your English classes in your host family? There's no better way to learn English than this—the perfect combination of learning and accommodation combined with the cultural experience!What can be inferred from the passage?

Like any teenagers, the face of One Teen Story is changing fast. Just a year old, the monthly magazine of short fiction for young people is getting a new editor-in-chief: Patrick Ryan, 47, the associate editor of Granta from 2009 to 2013. He left the London-based literary journal last month.Editing One Teen Story—the younger sibling（姊妹篇）of One Story magazine—will offer Ryan a chance to reach a whole new audience. "It's really the only magazine for young adult short fiction," he says from his office in New York. "It's tremendously exciting that there are younger people out there who have subscriptions and look forward to getting these stories once a month. That form is usually only presented when it's forced upon them in schools."Designed for readers 14 and up, One Teen Story publishes nine issues a year. Like its sibling magazine, it doesn't carry photographs or advertising.It9s just exactly what it says: one story per issue.Ryan says young people are "looking for engaging reads about people whom they can identify with. It's not about having a message or positive spin（说教）.It always starts on a character level, and it has to have an interesting story. If you look at the 'Twilight' characters and the 'Harry Potter' characters, they feel very contemporary."Ryan also sees the magazine as a way to encourage talented authors. "I would love to make One Teen Story the first publication for writers who then go on and keep at this business. I just really love the idea that this magazine would be the starting point for somebody—would be the push to make a talented writer feel that it was worth keeping at this."Who is Patrick Ryan?

Like any teenagers, the face of One Teen Story is changing fast. Just a year old, the monthly magazine of short fiction for young people is getting a new editor-in-chief: Patrick Ryan, 47, the associate editor of Granta from 2009 to 2013. He left the London-based literary journal last month.Editing One Teen Story—the younger sibling（姊妹篇）of One Story magazine—will offer Ryan a chance to reach a whole new audience. "It's really the only magazine for young adult short fiction," he says from his office in New York. "It's tremendously exciting that there are younger people out there who have subscriptions and look forward to getting these stories once a month. That form is usually only presented when it's forced upon them in schools."Designed for readers 14 and up, One Teen Story publishes nine issues a year. Like its sibling magazine, it doesn't carry photographs or advertising.It9s just exactly what it says: one story per issue.Ryan says young people are "looking for engaging reads about people whom they can identify with. It's not about having a message or positive spin（说教）.It always starts on a character level, and it has to have an interesting story. If you look at the 'Twilight' characters and the 'Harry Potter' characters, they feel very contemporary."Ryan also sees the magazine as a way to encourage talented authors. "I would love to make One Teen Story the first publication for writers who then go on and keep at this business. I just really love the idea that this magazine would be the starting point for somebody—would be the push to make a talented writer feel that it was worth keeping at this."According to Ryan, what attracts young readers most?

Passage FiveAn interesting project called Blue Zones is recording the lifestyle secrets of the communities with the highest concentrations of centenarians in the world.The people in the five regions in Europe, Latin America. Asia and the US that live to be 100 have a lot going for them. Genes probably play a small role, but these folks also have strong social ties, tightly-knit families and lots of opportunities to exercise.As we were examining the dietary secrets of the Blue Zones, as described in author Dan Buettner's latest book, The Blue Zones Solution, we were struck by how essential tea drinking is in these regions. In fact, Buettner's Blue Zones Beverage Rule--a kind of guideline summarized from his 15 or so years of studying these places--is: "Drink coffee for breakfast, tea in the afternoon, wine at 5 p.m."Science has plenty to say about the healthful virtues of green tea. Researchers are most enthusiastic about the components in green tea, as well as foods like cocoa. Why might they help so many Okinawans in Japan break 100? Some components in green tea can lower the risk of stroke, heart disease and several cancers. One review study also found that drinking green tea can slightly improve metabolism（新陈代谢）.If you find yourself on the island of Ikaria, the Greek Blue Zone in the middle of the Aegean, you won't be offered any tea made with tea leaves. Instead, Ikarians typically make their daily cup of tea with just one fresh herb that they have picked themselves that day--either rosemary, wild sage, oregano, marjoram, mint or dandelion, all plants that may have anti-inflammatory（消炎的） properties, which may help lower blood pressure. This could explain Ikaria's very low dementia （痴呆） rate, since high blood pressure is a risk factor for the disease.According to Paragraph 3, what is the recommended time for tea drinking?

Passage OneDebate is a valuable way to practise communicating. It can also bring long-lasting rewards, especially for people working with Western businesses. The main activity of debate is presenting one's opinion and supporting it with evidence, such as statistics or facts. It is a way of persuasive communication.Charles Lebeau helped create the "Discover Debate" method. He says debate is important to understanding how people communicate in Western business Successful debaters learn how to give their opinion reasons and support. "What we are trying to do is to develop a kind of thinking or approach to discussion and how to interact（交流） with someone else's opinion , rather than brush their opinion aside.Debate skills are also important in selling a product, he says .In that situation, the judges are the customers. "So on Monday, for example, one company may come in and present their case to the customer and they'll make as strong a case as they can. On Tuesday, the next day, another company will come in and present their case to the customer. Usually the party that can present the strongest case wins."Debate also strengthens critical thinking. In other words, it helps students learn to ask questions and try to understand someone s reasons and evidence.Mr. Lebeau points out that successful debaters learn to listen carefully to what other people are saying. Then, they look for the weak points in someone else's opinion or argument. He says debate teaches a systematic way of questioning.Successful debaters also learn to think from someone else's point of view. Mr. Lebeau says debate help broaden the mind. "There's an expression in English: don't criticize another person before you have walked in their shoes. I think the wonderful thing about debate is, it puts us in another person's shoes."According to Paragraph 1, what is the purpose of debate?

Passage ThreeEating an apple a day doesn't keep the doctor away, but it does reduce the amount of trips you make to the drug to the drug store per year. That's according to a new study that investigates whether there's any truth in the old saying.A team of researchers led by Dr. Matthew Davis, of the University of Michigan School of Nursing, asked 8,399 participants to answer survey questions about diet and health. A total of 753 were apple eaters, consuming at least 149g of raw apple per day. The remaining 7,646 were classed as non-apple eaters. When both groups answered questions on trips to the doctor and trips to the drug store per year，the apple eaters were found to be 27% less likely to visit the druggist for drugs.Trips to the doctor were not significantly affected by apple consumption，though. "Evidence does not support that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. However, the small number of US adults who eat an apple a day does appear to use fewer prescription medications," the study concludes.Apple eaters were also found to be less likely to smoke and be more likely to have a higher educational attainment than non-apple eaters. While apples do not compete with oranges ,they do contain some immune （免疫的） system-increasing vitamin C, which may be why apple -eaters visit the druggist less. With over 8mg of vitamin C per medium-sized fruit, an apple can provide roughly 14% your daily recommended intake.Previous studies have also linked apple consumption to a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes （二型糖尿病），improved lung function and a lower risk of colon （结肠） cancer.How many non-apple eaters answered survey questions in the research?

Passage OneDebate is a valuable way to practise communicating. It can also bring long-lasting rewards, especially for people working with Western businesses. The main activity of debate is presenting one's opinion and supporting it with evidence, such as statistics or facts. It is a way of persuasive communication.Charles Lebeau helped create the "Discover Debate" method. He says debate is important to understanding how people communicate in Western business Successful debaters learn how to give their opinion reasons and support. "What we are trying to do is to develop a kind of thinking or approach to discussion and how to interact（交流） with someone else's opinion , rather than brush their opinion aside.Debate skills are also important in selling a product, he says .In that situation, the judges are the customers. "So on Monday, for example, one company may come in and present their case to the customer and they'll make as strong a case as they can. On Tuesday, the next day, another company will come in and present their case to the customer. Usually the party that can present the strongest case wins."Debate also strengthens critical thinking. In other words, it helps students learn to ask questions and try to understand someone s reasons and evidence.Mr. Lebeau points out that successful debaters learn to listen carefully to what other people are saying. Then, they look for the weak points in someone else's opinion or argument. He says debate teaches a systematic way of questioning.Successful debaters also learn to think from someone else's point of view. Mr. Lebeau says debate help broaden the mind. "There's an expression in English: don't criticize another person before you have walked in their shoes. I think the wonderful thing about debate is, it puts us in another person's shoes."What can debaters benefit from "walking in another person's shoes"?

Passage FourSometimes I scratch my head when I read about the government's efforts to improve schools: new standards and tests to be applied, strict teacher evaluations, and threats of school closures and job losses. They frighten the school employees, not to mention the students. Instead of making people unable to solve problems or try new ideas-which is what fear does to us-research on school reform strongly suggests that policy-makers should encourage school leaders to take a more humane approach.In their study on the reform efforts of twelve Chicago public schools, Bryk and Schneider found that enabling positive social relationships between the adults was the key to successful school improvement and that trust was at the heart of those relationships.Trust in schools comes down to one thing: psychological safety or safety to speak one's mind, to discuss with openness and honesty what is and isn't working, to make collective decisions.Yet this kind of safety doesn't come easily to schools. According to Bryk and Schneider, the adults in school rely on each other to do their jobs correctly and with integrity （正直）. The challenge is that our expectations are very diverse based on our unique backgrounds.At one school where I taught, each teacher had different expectations about how much extra effort teachers should put into their work a big difference between the teachers who left after the last bell and those who worked into the evening. And when expectations are unconscious or unspoken, it becomes impossible for others to live up to them.We also make assumptions about the intentions behind a person's behavior. As we all know, assumptions are often wrong. For example, parents and teachers may think the principal made a particular decision based on his career advancement rather than what's best for the students. If we don't feel psychologically safe to question our assumptions and expectations, trust flies out the window and our relationships suffer.According to Bryk and Schneider, what was most important for successful school improvement?

Passage FourSometimes I scratch my head when I read about the government's efforts to improve schools: new standards and tests to be applied, strict teacher evaluations, and threats of school closures and job losses. They frighten the school employees, not to mention the students. Instead of making people unable to solve problems or try new ideas-which is what fear does to us-research on school reform strongly suggests that policy-makers should encourage school leaders to take a more humane approach. In their study on the reform efforts of twelve Chicago public schools, Bryk and Schneider found that enabling positive social relationships between the adults was the key to successful school improvement and that trust was at the heart of those relationships.Thus in schools comes down to one thing: psychological safety or safety to speak one's mind, to discuss with openness and honesty what is and isn't working, to make collective decisions.Yet this kind of safety doesn't come easily to schools. According to Bryk and Schneider, the adults in school rely on each other to do their jobs correctly and with integrity （正直）. The challenge is that our expectations are very diverse based on our unique backgrounds.At one school where I taught, each teacher had different expectations about how much extra effort teachers should put into their work-a big difference between the teachers who left after the last bell and those who worked into the evening. And when expectations are unconscious or unspoken, it becomes impossible for others to live up to them.We also make assumptions about the intentions behind a person's behavior. As we all know, assumptions are often wrong. For example, parents and teachers may think the principal made a particular decision based on his career advancement rather than what's best for the students. If we don't feel psychologically safe to question our assumptions and expectations, trust flies out the window and our relationships suffer.According to Paragraph 1, why does the author scratch his head?