【推荐1】Self-esteem (自尊) is the opinion we have of ourselves. When we have healthy self-esteem, we tend to feel positive about ourselves and life. If we have low self-esteem, we may feel anxious and look down on ourselves.

Low self-esteem often begins in childhood. Our teachers, friends and parents send us positive and negative messages about ourselves.     1    . Besides, stress and difficult life events can have a negative effect on self-esteem. Personality can play a part, too. Some people are just more likely to have negative thinking.

    2    . If you have low self-esteem, you may hide yourself away from social situations, stop trying new things, and avoid things you find challenging. In the long term, this can backfire because it makes your doubts and fears stronger. You may also develop unhelpful habits, such as smoking and drinking too much.

To improve your self-esteem, you need to identify the negative beliefs you have about yourself, and then challenge them.     3    . Note these thoughts. Next, start to write some evidence that challenges these negative beliefs, such as “I’m really good at crosswords” or “My sister calls for a chat every week”. You could also write down other positive things about yourself on the list and add them to the list regularly. Then put your list where you can see it.       4    .

You can also learn to be assertive to improve your self-esteem. One trick is to look at other people who act assertively and copy what they do.     5    . It’s picking up tips from people you admire and letting your true self come out.

A．Low self-esteem affects people negatively

B．It’s not about pretending you’re someone else

C．That way, you can keep reminding yourself that you’re OK

D．Those beliefs come from negative messages you once received

E．People with low self-esteem have their unique way of dealing with the problem

F．For some reason, those meaning that you’re not good enough often stay with you

G．You may think you’re too stupid to get a new job or that nobody cares about you

【推荐2】You might worry that you won’t fit in or make many friends when you come to middle school. It’s totally normal to feel some anxiety about new social situations and friendships. The fact is, you’re not alone.     1    . Here are some tips that help.

Give yourself an introduction tour to meet new friends

While it’s always comfortable to hang out with people you already know, being open and friendly to students you haven’t met before is how you make new friends.     2    . If you seem approachable, other kids will be more open to meeting you.

Lean into kindness

Not everyone is going to be their best self all the time. People will annoy you or even be downright mean once in a while. The trick here is to lean into kindness.     3    . You know who you are, and you know how to be kind even when you might not feel like it.

Hobby up

    4    . You may turn to enjoying more grown-up activities. This is your chance to explore new interests. Middle schools usually offer tons of extracurricular activities based on nearly anything you’re into. Joining a club or other after-school activities or sports can help you make new friends.

    5    

Try to keep a positive attitude , including body language and facial expressions. If someone you don’t know introduces themselves, start up a conversation. Invite someone who is sitting alone to join you for lunch or ask someone with a common interest to join a club you like.

A．Let your happy self shine

B．Keep your old friends close

C．You might have more choices in middle school

D．Middle school is a time your interests probably change

E．This means trying not to talk about people behind their backs

F．So don’t be afraid to smile and introduce yourself to new people

G．Every other kid at middle school is also trying to figure out who they are

【推荐3】Strategies to Break Your Procrastination (拖延症) Habit

Do you often have thoughts like “    1    ” or “That’s so far away; I don’t have to worry about it yet”? If you find yourself procrastinating regularly, you’re probably stuck in a habit of procrastination. Try the following methods to break it.

    2    

Understanding the underlying emotions causing your procrastination is the first step to changing your habit. So take a moment to dive deep into your own thoughts about your work. Are you procrastinating because you hate doing it? Or do you want to do well so badly that you’re afraid to start?

Forgive your past self

The next step is to let go of the anxiety and stress you may have built up from past procrastination. Sometimes, we store a lot of guilt due to missed deadlines or bad test scores.    3    . So, forgive yourself for past procrastination and let go of old mistakes.

Stop your habit in its tracks

If you recognize that you’re procrastinating again, take a deep breath, reevaluate your situation, and put yourself back on the right track. And as soon as you’ve noticed this procrastination, use that moment to work on whatever it is you need to do right away.     4    .

Take baby steps

Taking the first step to work on a project is almost always the most difficult part.     5    . After taking the first step, you’ll probably build up enough energy to take the next, and the next. Continue splitting up (分解) your goal, project, or task into its smallest parts so you only have to think of one thing at a time.

A．Recognize why you procrastinate

B．Analyze what takes your attention away

C．Oh, it’ll be fine if I save this for tomorrow

D．Take action immediately to stop the habit cycle

E．But once you get going, it’s much easier to keep going

F．You have to start with one small thing — not the whole thing

G．These guilty feelings crowd our heads and make focusing difficult

【推荐1】A Dutch city will become the first in the world to ban meat ads from public spaces in an effort to reduce consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (排放).

Haarlem, which lies to the west of Amsterdam and has a population of about 160,000, will perform the ban from 2024 after meat was added to a list of products contributing to the climate crisis. Ads will not be allowed on Haarlem’s buses, shelters and screens in public spaces, causing complaints that the city is “going too far”.

Recent studies suggest global food production is responsible for one-third of all planet-heating emissions, with the use of animals for meat accounting for twice the pollution of producing plant-based foods.

Forests that absorb carbon dioxide are cut for animals while fertilizers (化肥) used for growing their feed are rich in nitrogen, which can contribute to air and water pollution, climate change. Animals also produce large quantities of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Ziggy Klazes, a councillor from the Groen Links party, who drafted the proposal banning meat advertising, said she had not known the city would be the world’s first to perform such a policy when she put forward it.

She told the Haarlem105 radio channel: “We are not about what people are baking and roasting in their own kitchen; if people wanted to continue eating meat, fine …We can’t tell people there’s a climate crisis and encourage them to buy products that are part of the cause.”

“Of course, there are a lot of people who find the decision unacceptable, but there are also a lot of people who think it’s fine.”

“It is a signal — if it is picked up nationally, that would only be very nice.”

Research suggests that to meet the European Union (EU) target of net zero emissions by 2050, meat consumption must be reduced to 24 kg per person per year, compared with the current average of 82 kg, or 75.8 kg in the Netherlands, which is the EU’s biggest meat exporter.

1. Which can best explain “going too far” underlined in Paragraph2?

A．Over-reacting to the climate crisis.

B．Caring too much about meat production.

C．Suffering from a serious lack of public spaces.

D．Sparing no pains to deal with greenhouse gas emissions.

2. What is Ziggy’s attitude towards the decision?

A．Indifferent.

B．Ambiguous.

C．Worried.

D．Positive.

3. What does the last paragraph want to tell us?

A．Meat is the most popular food in Europe.

B．The current EU target is well worth adjusting.

C．It is a long way to reach the goal set by the EU.

D．The Netherlands should be responsible for meat production.

4. What type of writing is this text?

A．A research report.	B．A news report.
C．An official document.	D．A meeting summary.

【推荐2】If a sixth mass extinction occurs, scientists who have studied the issue believe that up to three quarters of all species on Earth could die out. ...

    1    ? Experts say that it is not yet too late,     2    . This would mean we have to significantly change the way we live. For example, we need to take steps to save endangered species,     3    . We need to change how we work and travel by using cleaner, more natural sources of energy,     4    . We also need to improve our farming methods to reduce water, air and land pollution.     5    .

A．if we take action now

B．such as wind and solar energy

C．What caused the sixth extinction

D．Can a sixth extinction be avoided

E．including setting up special areas where plants and animals can be protected

F．Our world and our lives depend on the balance in nature between animals and plants

G．In short, if we want to survive, we need to stop destroying the planet that we live on and start to protect it.

【推荐3】Find out some key words in Activity 2 of the book and guess what they will be talking about.

Ben Drake, an expert on air pollution, is being interviewed on the radio. He said that smog was a severe problem in the early 20th century in Britain. At that time, Britain was experiencing a boom in industry. Factories and homes used lots of coal, which created smog. He also mentioned the heavy smog in London was particularly bad and caused over 4000 deaths in 1952. Later the UK government restricted burning coal   in homes and forced factories to move away from city centers. As smog is harmful to everyone, the expert advised us to replace coal with cleaner forms of energy, use new energy-efficient vehicles and further develop green technology.

1. The expression “    1    ” originated in Britain and means a     2    of “smoke” and “fog”.
2. Smog became a severe problem in Britain because people at that time burnt lots of    3    .
3. The worst smog in British history happened in London in 1942.
4. The Great Smog of London claimed 5,000 lives.
5. Later, the UK government ordered people not to burn     4    in their homes.
    5