【推荐1】Successful students are highly motivated (激励) by an inner drive to study well. They have a specific career goal in mind.     1     So they form their own good study habits, plan ahead and stick to their study timetable on their own initiative (主动权).

If you want to motivate yourself, here are some great ways to improve your motivation.

◆ You should write down your educational goals, which makes them become clear.

◆ Imagine your success. Experience the feeling of reaching your particular goal.

◆ Give yourself rewards.     2    

◆ Seek advice and study opportunities from the good students in your class.

Successful students tend to study hard. They pay much attention to class as well as taking notes.     3     Outside class they find a quiet study place to study, because they know that academic(学术的) life comes before their social life.

    4       After setting goals it is important to write them down for many reasons.

◆ Goals that aren't written are only wishes.

◆ It helps you make a commitment (承诺) to yourself.

◆ It gives you a way to see your progress.

◆ No one wants to regret not doing something they could have done.

Successful students manage their time well by setting up weekly timetable. They make the best use of their study time and find a quiet place and study there every day.     5    

If you want to be a successful student, please do as the above.

A．They know that they are responsible for their success or failure.

B．They make study time productive and not necessarily long.

C．Successful students should set goals.

D．You will be proud of yourself when you achieve success.

E．Each time you complete a lesson, do something special for yourself.

F．When you set your goals, make sure that your goals are specific and realistic.

G．They arrive at the classroom early and sit in the front.

【推荐3】The sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have for getting rid of any source of stress in your life.     1     We can't over-estimate the importance of the sense of humor too much. In fact, making work fun helps employees perform best and provide quality work.

    2     Telling jokes and stories and using team-building games in companies make people have more fun at work. Some companies even have talent shows or hold dance or sports competitions. It just gives employees a break in the day and a chance to laugh at themselves.

    3     Humor should be about laughing with rather than laughing at others. We all have probably heard jokes that seemed to bother or hurt others. For example, jokes making fun of employees for their weight, race, religion, etc. are not only harmful to the person, but also can create an unfriendly working environment.

Even if the jokes were intended to be humorous, they may not be received that way. I have even heard speakers make slight dirty jokes on the audience, thinking they would be seen as cool. In fact the audience thought the speakers had no taste.     4     In another case, I heard about a manager who was out partying with co-workers and kidding about how the boss liked certain people more than others. Such jokes actually had damaging effects on people in the company.

Humor, if proper, can brighten up the workplace and reduce some of the stress we are all experiencing.     5    

A．And they lost people's respect as a result.

B．Of course, it is important to use proper humor at work.

C．Everyone agreed that their work needed to be more fun.

D．There are plenty of ways to bring humor into the workplace.

E．So take a moment to laugh and help us all to feel happier at work.

F．In addition, laughter can brighten up the feelings of everyone around.

G．The most obvious way to make your job fun is to learn to find some humor.

【推荐1】“OK，'I said to my daughter as she bent over her afternoon bowl of rice. "What's going on with you and your friend J. ？”J. is the leader of a group of third-graders at her camp-a position Lucy herself occupied the previous summer? Now. she's the one on the outs and every day at snack time，she tells me all about it，while I offer the unhelpful advice all summer long.

“She's fond of giving orders," Lucy complained. "She's turning everyone against me. She's mean. And she's fat. "“Excuse me，”I said，struggling for calm. "What did you just say？” “She's fat. ”Lucy mumbled（含糊地说）. ”We're going upstairs，” I said，my voice cold. "We're going to discuss this. "And up we went. I'd spent the nine years since her birth getting ready for this day，the day we'd have the conversation about this horrible word. I knew exactly what to say to the girl on the receiving end of the teasing（取笑），but in all of my imaginings（想象的情况），it never once occurred to me that my daughter would be the one who used the F word-Fat.

My daughter sat on her bed，and I sat beside her. "How would you feel if someone made fun of you for something that wasn't your fault？” I began. "She could stop eating so much，" Lucy mumbled，mouthing the simple advice a thousand doctors have given overweight women for years.

“it's not always that easy，”I said. "Everyone's different in terms of how they treat food.” Lucy looked at me，waiting for me to go on. I opened my mouth，and then closed it. Should I tell her that，in teasing a woman's weight，she's joined the long tradition of critics？Should I tell her I didn't cry when someone posted my picture and commented，"I'm sorry，but aren't authors who write books marketed to young women supposed to be pretty？”

Does she need to know，now，that life isn't fair？I feel her eyes on me，waiting for an answer I don't have. Words are my tools. Stories are my job. It's possible she'll remember what I say forever，and I have no idea what to say.

So I tell her the only thing I can come up with that is absolutely true. I say to my daughter, “I love you，and there is nothing you could ever do to make me not love you. But I'm disappointed in you right now. There are plenty of reasons for not liking someone. What she looks like isn't one of them. ”

Lucy nods，tears on her cheeks. "I won't say that again，"she tells me，and I pull her close，pressing my nose against her hair. As we sit there together，I pray for her to be smart and strong. I pray for her to find friends，work she loves，a partner who loves her. And still，always，I pray that she will never struggle as I've struggled，that weight will never be her cross to bear. She may not be able to use the word in our home，but I can use in my head. I pray that she will never get fat.

1. The underlined sentence in Paragraph I indicates that Lucy___________

A．often makes fun of her friend J.

B．has turned against her friend J.

C．gets along well with her friend J.

D．has begun to compete with her friend J.

2. Why does the author want to discuss with Lucy？

A．Because she wants to offer some other helpful advice.

B．Because she has prepared the conversation for nine years.

C．Because she is really shocked at Lucy's rudeness.

D．Because she decides to tell Lucy a similar story of her own.

3. What does the author want her daughter to know？

A．It is not easy to take the doctors' advice to eat less.

B．People shouldn't complain because life is unfair.

C．She herself was once laughed at for her appearance.

D．People shouldn't be blamed for their appearance.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that ________

A．the author earns a living by writing stories

B．the author is a fat but good-looking woman

C．the author predicted what would happen to her daughter

D．the author's daughter agreed with her from the beginning

5. The author's attitude towards her daughter can be best described as _________

A．satisfied and friendly

B．indifferent but patient

C．loving but strict.

D．unsatisfied and angry

【推荐3】Why do We Find It Hard to Say "No"？

As we all know，saying "no" to others is not easy at all．But sometimes we have to learn to say "no"．    1    Below are common reasons why people find it hard to say "no"．

    2    You are a kind soul at heart．You don't want to refuse the person and you want to help when possible even if it may eat into your time

Afraid of being rude．I was growing under the idea that saying "no"，especially to people who are older，is rude．This thinking is common in Asian culture，where face saving is important．    3    

Wanting to be agreeable．You don't want to alienate（疏远）yourself from the group because you're not in agreement．So you agree to others' requests．

Fear of conflict（冲突）．    4    This might lead to an ugly conflict．Even if there isn't there might be disagreement which might lead to bad effects in the future．

    5    Perhaps you are worried saying "no" means closing doors．For example，my friend was asked to work in another department in her company．Since she liked her team，she didn't want to go．However，she didn't want to say "no" as she felt it would affect her promotion （晋升） chances in the future．

A．Fear of losing chances．

B．Wanting to help others．

C．Wanting to keep a good relationship．

D．I slowly realized I needed to learn to say "no"．

E．It means not making others look bad or lose face．

F．You are afraid the person might be angry if you refuse him/her．

G．To learn to say no， we have to first understand what's stopping us from it．