Text One

What are the beauties of Hawaii? Let's start with four.

The beach, famous for its water temperature, air temperature and waves, is the first beauty. There are hundreds of miles of beaches on the twenty islands of Hawaii. They are thought to be among the finest beaches in the world.

Then, what do you think would be the second beautiful thing? It is volcanoes (火山) ,of course. These volcanoes are not just a part of the islands; they made the islands in the first place. Because of them the islands are still growing.

What would be the third thing of beauty that the first visitor to Hawaii would notice ? It probably wouldn't be just one thing, but many things: all the wonderful fruits an flowers of the islands. Sugar cane, bananas and pineapples are Hawaii's biggest exports. Sugar cane has been growing in Hawaii for a thousand years. AS for pineapples, the islands produce more than any other places in the world, which has made Dole Company the biggest fruit-packing company in the world.

The fourth and most beautiful thing about Hawaii is the people who live there. The Hawaiians never rush, and perhaps this is because they care more for human life than they care for the machine. There is an old Hawaiian law that a man can go to sleep in the middle of the road if he wants to. What makes the people of Hawaii so beautiful is their feeling about people. There are 64 different combinations of races on the islands, and they all live in peace. They believe "Above all nations is humanity." That is the most beautiful thing of all.

Text Two

People who multitask all the time may be the worst at doing two things at once, a new research suggests. The findings, based on performances and self-evaluation by about 275 college students, indicate that many people multitask not out of a desire to increase productivity, but because they are easily distracted(分心的) and can't focus on one activity. And “those people turn out to be the worst at handling different things , ”said David Sanbonmatsu, a psychologist at the University of Utah.

Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues gave the students a set of tests and asked them to report how often they multitasked, how good they thought they were at it, and how sensation-seeking(寻求刺激的) or impulsive(冲动的) they were. They then evaluated the participants’ multitasking ability with a tricky mental task that required the students to do simple mathematical calculations while remembering a set of letters.

Not surprisingly, the scientists said, most people thought they were better than average at multitasking, and those who thought they were better at it were more likely to report using a cellphone while driving or viewing multiple kinds of media at once. But those who frequently deal with many things at the same time were found to perform the worst at the actual multitasking test. They also were more likely to admit sensation-seeking and impulsive behavior, which connects with how easily people get bored and distracted.

"People multitask not because it' s going to lead to greater productivity, but because they are distractible, and they get sucked into things that are not as important." Sanbonmatsu said.

Adam Gazzaley, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not a member of the research group, said one limitation of the study was that it couldn't find out whether people who start out less focused tend toward multitasking or whether people's recognizing and understanding abilities change as a result of multitasking.

The findings do suggest, however, why the sensation-seeker who multitask the most may enjoy risky distracted driving. “People who are multitasking are generally less sensitive to risky situations.” said Paul Atchley, another researcher not in the group.“This may partly explain why people go in for these situations even though they're dangerous."

Text Three

Television has changed the lifestyle of people in every industrialized country in the world. In the United States, where sociologists have studied the effects, some interesting observations have been made.

Television, although not essential, has become an important part of most people's lives. I alters people's ways of seeing the world; in many ways, it supports and sustains(维持) modern life.

Television has become a baby-sitter, an introducer of conversations, the major transmitter of culture and a keeper of tradition. Yet when what can be seen on TV in one day is critically analyzed, it becomes evident that television is not a teacher but a sustainer; the poor quality of programming docs not elevate(提高)people into greater understanding, but rather maintains and encourages the life as it exists.

The primary reason for the lack of quality in American television is related to both the history of TV programming development and the economics of TV. Television in American began with the radio. Radio companies and their sponsors first experimented with television. Therefore, the close relationship which the advertisers had with radio programs became the system for American TV. Sponsors not only paid money for time within programs,but many actually produced the programs. " Thus, in American society, television is primarily concerned with reflecting and attracting society rather than experimenting with new ideas. Advertisers want to attract the largest viewing audience possible. To do so requires that the programs be entertaining rather than educational, attractive rather than challenging.

Television in America today remains, to a large extent, with the same organization and standards as it had thirty years ago. The hope for further development and true achievement toward improving society will require a change in the entire system.