【推荐1】Check out this handy list of tips and tricks to help you better plan your studies.

    1    

Start by calculating the number of free hours you have each day. Then, divide your available free time into blank study blocks. Don’t forget about free blocks of time in between classes, too.     2     Studies show that studying in short bursts is the most effective way to learn.

Assign specific tasks to each study block.

Use due date and deadlines to prioritize different tasks at certain times.     3     Instead, check your plan to see what’s coming up in the next few weeks, and then assign tasks accordingly. Use key words like “read” “write” “review” “outline” and “memorize” so you know exactly what you need to do.

Break big assignments into smaller chunks.

Spread chunks out over several days so you don’t stress out. If you need to write an essay that will take you about 4 hours to complete, don’t devote a 4-hour block of time to it on a single day. You’ll just end up overwhelming yourself and the rest of your schedule will get thrown off track, too.     4    

Space out subjects on alternate days.

    5     You’ll retain more information and experience less burnout if you space things out. For example, assign blocks of time for studying calculus and science on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Then, schedule blocks for literature and history on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

A．Get work done during free periods.

B．You might want to devote more time to key subjects.

C．You can divide your study time into 30-to 50-minute blocks.

D．Avoid assigning yourself vague tasks like “Study literature”.

E．You don’t need to study the same subject two days in a row.

F．You’ll need to assign longer study blocks to some particular subjects.

G．Instead, break the work into several 30- to 50-minute chunks over the course of a week or so.

【推荐2】With the nine to five being a common way to make a living, our place of work can become like a second home, so the conditions of that environment can have a significant influence on our physical and mental health. Now, new research has studied the effect that a bad work environment can have on our mood, finding that bosses who fail to consider their employees’ mental health put them at a three times risk of depression (抑郁).

The research, published in the BMJ Open, wanted to look into the workplace psychosocial safety climate (PSC) — a term for management practices and systems that set out to conserve workers’ mental health and safety. To do so, they reviewed data on workers in Australia that lasted one year to look for associations between management practices and mental health issues.

The review found that poor workplace mental health can be traced back to low PSC, which exhibited poor management practices, privileges and values. While long hours were linked to severe cases of over-tiredness, they showed a weaker association with depression, and poor management practices were found to cause a greater risk for depression.

“Evidence shows that companies who fail to reward or acknowledge their employees for hard work and put unreasonable demands on workers, are placing their staff at a much greater risk of depression,” said lead author Dr. Amy Zadow of the University of South Australia in a statement. “We also found that depression in a work unit can not only negatively affect the victim, but also the team members who witness that behavior. It is not uncommon for everyone in the same unit to experience depression as a result.”

Depression affects over 264 million people around the world and while treatments are available, the number of documented cases remains strong. It’s possible that insights from research such as this could contribute towards lowering these numbers by informing better management practices to improve workplace PSC.

1. How does the bad work environment affect workers according to the new research?

A．Their living conditions will get worse.

B．They are more likely to get depression.

C．The workplace will become their home.

D．They can’t get along well with colleagues.

2. What probably contributes to the low PSC in the workplace?

A．High job demands.	B．Long hours of work.
C．Poor working conditions.	D．Bad management practices.

3. What can we conclude from Dr. Amy Zadow’s remark?

A．One takes the behavior of his company.

B．Only those taking risks can accomplish more.

C．Teamwork and cooperation can create wonders.

D．Someone will step forward with generous reward.

4. Which edition does the passage probably come from?

A．Science and society.	B．Psychology and health.
C．Environment and climate.	D．Management and technology.

【推荐3】With mounting evidence that nanoplastic particles (纳米塑料微粒) are in our bodies, there is growing concern over their potential health impacts. Now a new study finds a relation between nanoplastics in the brain and a higher risk for Parkinson’s disease.

Nanoplastics appear when the plastic packaging breaks down into small pieces. These particles can enter the blood and cross the blood-brain barrier, with European researchers reporting earlier this year that in animal experiments, it can take two hours or less for certain nanoplastics to reach the brain after being eaten.

In humans, it’s long been thought that environmental factors play a role in Parkinson’s disease but specific causes are still unclear. The new study from the Duke University School of Medicine details how nanoplastics cause chemical changes in the brain that can, in turn, make Parkinson’s and related types of diseases more likely.

That’s because the nanoplastics attract a protein (蛋白质) called alpha-synuclein, known to play a role in Parkinson’s and related disorders. In lab and animal studies, the plastic’s interaction with it leads to increases in the affected neurons in the brain. This interaction appears related to favorable conditions in which Parkinson’s can develop.

The study authors note that Parkinson’s disease existed long before nanoplastics appeared in the environment, but they think that this “nanoplastics pollution in the human brain” may prove a new poison.

Further, the Duke team led by Dr. Andrew West notes that Parkinson’s disease is among the fastest growing nervous diseases in the world, even as the amazing amount of plastic pollution builds across the planet. This is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

“The technology to monitor nanoplastics is still at the earliest possible stages and not ready yet to answer all the questions we have,” West said. “But hopefully efforts in this area will increase rapidly, as we see what these particles can do in our experiments.”

1. Where is the text most probably taken from?

A．A product advertisement.

B．A science journal.

C．An art magazine.

D．A travel brochure.

2. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The conditions leading to Parkinson’s.

B．The cause of alpha-synuclein’s appearance.

C．The principle of nanoplastics’ impact on Parkinson’s.

D．The difference between Parkinson’s and related disorders.

3. What can be inferred from West’s words in the last paragraph?

A．Plastic pollution will by no means be avoided.

B．Nanoplastics are impossible to deal with at present.

C．Fewer people will suffer from Parkinson’s in the future.

D．More efforts in the study of nanoplastics will be put in.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．Nanoplastics can enter the brain through blood

B．Nanoplastics may promote Parkinson’s disease

C．Alpha-synuclein plays a role in Parkinson’s disease

D．Nanoplastics will do serious harm to human health