Consumer electronics once again topped the list of the most wanted gifts this holiday season.
“Seventy-six percent of consumers who plan to buy holiday gifts say that they will spend money or buy at least one technology product; definitely a solid vote of confidence for technology.”
Steve Koenig is with the Consumer Electronics Association. He says the group’s latest research also shows that Americans this year are spending more on technology products. “Here in 2012, $252 on average——the technology spend for consumers this year.”
From tablet computers to smart phones, American shoppers have been lining up to get the newest and coolest electronic devices on the market. There are more choices today than ever before. "It's kind of hard to make a decision."
Tablet computers are one of the best-selling products this year. Brian Tong is Senior Editor of CNET.com. The website reports on tech news and examines the latest electronic products. He says the Apple iPad Mini is one of the most popular tablets. Its starting price is $329. One of Apple’s biggest competitors is the Google Nexus 7. It starts at $199.
“Its hardware is more powerful than what’s in the iPad Mini, but also it offers you a lot of things like maps that work better than Apple’s maps.
But Brian Tong says there is one reason why people may like the iPad Mini more than the Nexus 7. “If you just want to read books and surf the Internet, you don’t really need to get an iPad Mini, but if you want the largest robust group of apps (應用軟件) that’s where the iPad and Apple’s ecosystem shines the most.”
Elman Chacon is with the electronics store Best Buy. He says another hot product this season is smart cameras. They connect to the Internet through WiFi. This makes it easy for users to email or upload photographs directly from the camera.
“You can literally take a picture and upload it into your Facebook in a matter of seconds. These things are pretty cool because they do a lot of things.”
Streaming media boxes also connect to the Internet. People are able to watch web content such as movies and YouTube videos on their televisions. Another popular item is wireless speaker systems. The newest ones work with any device that has Bluetooth technology, including smart phones, laptops and tablets.
【小題1】What does the underlined sentence mean in Paragraph 3?

There were 252 votes ________ the bill and 186 against.

A．in need of? B．in favour of

C．in search of? D．in case of

  Just five minutes of exercise a day outdoors can improve mental health, according to a study.
Researchers from the University of Essex, UK have found that as little as five minutes of a “green activity” such as walking, gardening, cycling or farming could help to improve mood and increase self-esteem (自信).
Many studies have shown that outdoor exercise can reduce the risk of mental illness and improve a sense of well-being, but the new study, led by Jules Pretty and Jo Barton, was the first to determine how much time needed to be spent on green exercise for the benefits to show.
Barton and Pretty looked at data from 1,252 people of different ages, genders (性別) and mental health status (情況) taken from 10 studies in Britain.
They analyzed their different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail (路徑).
They found that the mental health changes were seen after just five minutes. With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were more apparent.
Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes were particularly strong in the young and the mentally ill.
Green and blue
A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water – such as a lake or river.
“This is because historically we are drawn to water to survive and it is in our genetic (遺傳的) make-up to be at one with nature,” the researchers wrote in their report.
Pretty said those who were generally inactive, or stressed, or with mental illness would probably benefit the most from “green exercise”.
“Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health.”
He also said exercise programs outdoors could benefit youth offenders.
【小題1】How is the study this article refers to different from other studies?

Below are some classified ads from the Internet

1. A foreigner who receives this letter should ________.

  A. be a close relative of the dead.               B. send hundreds of dollars to Africa

  C. go to African Development Bank for the wealth  D. not take it seriously.

2. Which of the following is true according to the text?

A. Many millionaires died in the plane crash.    B. Any money unclaimed will be given to a poor foreigner.

C. the division of the money seems quite reasonable. D. AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK doesn’t exist at all.

3. A person who believes “__________” will fall into it.

  A. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.      B. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

  C. All rivers run into the sea             D. A short cut is often a wrong cut