【推荐1】On the first day of my new high school, I almost had a nervous breakdown. Everything about the school seemed so difficult. When I got home, my parents said, “You're nervous and that’s okay. Everyone is afraid of high school.” I denied(否认)it. I wanted to be strong, so I refused to let anyone know about my fear, even my closest friends.

On the first day I was late for every class and was constantly lost. The school seemed like a puzzle that I couldn’t figure out. Was this how the whole year was going to be? I didn’t think I could rise to this challenge, especially carrying a huge backpack that I could hardly lift. It was so big that I could knock someone out with it! The schoolmates seemed to regard me as a fool, and they were probably right.

Despite my fears, after the first week I finally had my schedule figured out. With the exception of falling up and down the stairs a couple of times and getting laughed at, high school was turning out to be not so bad. It was actually much better than middle school and much more challenging.

Since then, I’ve been elected vice monitor of my class, which wasn’t much of a victory since only three people ran for the four positions.

It is normal to be scared about a new school. Take a deep breath and relax. High school is something that any student can overcome. Make sure you take part in some out-of-class activities because you’ll find it easier to make friends. Try to do your best, even if it isn’t straight A’s.

Most important of all, be who you are, whether you’re a “fool”, an athlete, or a lower grader. Don’t try to pretend(假装)to be someone you’re not. Now you know the true secrets of high school.

【推荐2】Chizuru Kurono:

We had a dress code in my high school. We had to wear uniforms and white socks. We didn’t like our dress code. The teachers warned us, “If you don’t follow the school dress code, you will be considered bad students.”

I didn’t agree with their ideas because they didn’t think about the students’ rights. We wanted them to understand our ideas. In my junior high school, boys were skinheads (光头青年) because of the school dress code. We wanted to change it, so we discussed it with the teachers and with our parents. At last, we got the right to change the school dress code.

Ayumi Ono:

When we wear uniforms, we don’t need extra money for clothes. For example, if we have a school uniform, we wear it every day, so we don’t need to buy dresses to wear to school. I think second-hand clothes are also a good idea. These are much cheaper than new ones.

Kayo Shigenobu:

I don’t think we need dress codes because wearing clothes is a way to express individuality, I want to wear clothes that I like, so I don’t think school uniforms are necessary. However, a school uniform is a symbol of the school.

Mami Kanemaru:

I think a dress code is a bad thing because we cannot show our individuality. We humans each have individuality, so we had better show it to other people. If we have a dress code, we all look alike, but we are different.

Keita Ogura:

To wear the same clothes is an effective way to unite people into one way of thinking. For example, military clothes do this. In some societies, they want to increase their unity and power by making people wear the same clothes.

Yuki Masui:

When I was a high school student, we had some school rules; mainly it was a dress code. We had to wear sailor-style uniforms. Then, as in the winter season we felt cold, we wore T-shirts under our uniforms to protect ourselves from the cold. However, our teachers decided to require students not to wear undershirts. We had to follow these rules. If we didn’t, we were punished.

【推荐3】A Guide to Freshman

Food Service

The URS Cafeteria opens from 7: 00 a. m. to 8: 00 p. m. It serves all kinds of snacks, drinks, ice cream and meals. You can pay with your cash or ID cards. You can put your cash into your ID cards at the Front Desk. Even if you do not buy your food in the Cafeteria, you can still use the tables to enjoy meals, to have your meetings with your friends and even to study.

Transportation

The URS Express is a shuttle service. The shuttle transports students between campus and the shopping centre, leaving from the Mattson Centre. Operation hours are between 9: 00 a. m. and 3: 00 p. m., Saturdays only. Round trip fare is $ 2.

Academic Support

All students have access to the Writing Centre on the upper floor of Douglas Hall. Qualified volunteers will work with you on written work, grammar, vocabulary, and other academic skills. You can sign up for an appointment on the sign-up sheet outside the door, two 30-minute appointments per week maximum. The service is free of charge.

Relaxation and Health

The Globe, located in the bottom level of McMillan Hall, is available for relaxing, studying, cooking and eating. Monthly activities are held here for all international students. Hours are 10: 00 a. m. to 10: 00 p. m., closed on Sundays.

The Fitness Centre is on the top floor of Douglas Hall. It is committed to physical, emotional and social health. A doctor and nurse is available if you have health questions or need immediate medical help or personal advice. The cost is included in your medical insurance. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9: 00 a.m. to 4: 30 p.m.

【推荐1】Welcome To Activities For This Summer

Black Creativity Family Day

Art meets science during the Museum of Science and Industry's annual "Black Creativity" programming. celebrating its 50th anniversary. The art exhibition, billed as the longest running showcase of African﹣American art in the nation, displays more than 100 works, some of them by student artists. Meanwhile, Innovation Studio workshops encourage visitors of all ages to design solutions to everyday challenges. Free general admission to Illinois students July 20﹣23.

How People Make Things

Think of it as one great factory tour, with a big DIY station to put what you've learned to work： That's the idea behind the new kid﹣oriented exhibit, "How People Make Things. " Find out how humans and machines work together to make everyday objects, from boxes to shoes to toys. Then kids can use tools to cut, shape and put together what they like. This activity comes to Naperville for a long visit, opening Jan. 20 and running through Sept. 6 at DuPage Children's Museum. ＄13.

Traditional Chinese Concert

Traditional Chinese music and theater take the spotlight at Symphony Center. Featured performers are the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra and the Zhejiang Shaoju Opera Theatre, taking the stage at 3 pm （Arrive early for preconcert activities, l：30﹣2：30. ） At Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. ＄20﹣＄80, or ＄99 for a family of four.

Meet Cartoonist Art Baltazar

Winner of dozens of Eisner Awards （the Pultizers of comic books）, cartoonist and Chicago native Art Baltazar has a brand﹣new graphic novel to delight your middle schoolers. The clever "Drew & Jot： Dueling Doodles" tells the adventure of two fifth﹣grade boys who work together on a hero ﹣ and ﹣ criminal tale—but a younger sister's doodles might prove the most dangerous enemy of all! Meet Baltazar at 7 pm al Anderson's Bookshop. Free to attend July 22﹣24.

【推荐1】New research linked outdoor air pollution to an increased risk of diabetes (糖尿病) globally, according to a study from Washington University in St. Louis and the Veterans Affairs (VA) St. Louis Health Care System. The findings raised the possibility that reducing pollution might lead to a drop in diabetes cases.

“Our research shows a significant link between air pollution and diabetes globally,” said Ziyad Al-Aly, a professor at Washington University. “We found an increased risk, even at low levels of air pollution currently considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This is important because many industry groups argue that current levels are too strict. Evidence shows that current levels are still not sufficiently safe and need tightening.” The findings were published on June 29 in The Lancet Planetary Health.

To evaluate outdoor air pollution, the researchers looked at small pieces of dust, smoke and liquid droplets. In diabetes, pollution was thought to reduce insulin (胰岛素) production and prevent the body from changing blood glucose (葡萄糖) into energy that the body needed to maintain health.

The researchers also found that poverty-stricken countries faced a higher diabetes-pollution risk including Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and Guyana, while richer countries such as France, Finland and Iceland experienced a lower risk. The US experienced a middle risk of pollution-related diabetes.

In the US, the EPA’s pollution limit was 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air, the highest level of air pollution considered safe for the public, as was set by the Clean Air Act of 1990 and was updated in 2012. However, using mathematical models, Al-Aly’s team set an increased diabetes risk at 2.4 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Based on VA data, among a sample of citizens exposed to pollution at a level of between 5 to 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air, about 21 percent developed diabetes.

“The team in St. Louis is doing important research to firm up links between pollution and health conditions such as diabetes,” said commission member Philip J. Landrigan, MD, a pediatrician and epidemiologist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. “I believe their research will have a significant global effect.”

【推荐2】City trees grow faster and die younger than trees in rural forests, a new study finds.

Studies had shown forests take in greenhouse gas. But there hadn’t been much data on whether city trees grow, die and take in CO₂ at the same rate as forest trees do. So Lucy Hytyra and her workmates at Boston University in Massachusetts decided to find out.

To figure out how quickly trees were growing, the researchers tracked their diameters (直径) between 2005 and 2014. The team focused on red oaks and red maples growing on Boston streets. These trees grew four times faster than the same species did in a nearby forests. Faster-growing trees take in more CO₂. Over the nine years, the researchers tracked these trees, and they found city ones took in four times as much CO₂ from the air as the forest trees did. The city trees also, however, were twice as likely to die. So over the lifetime of each type of tree, forest trees actually take in more CO₂.

“City trees grow faster mainly because they have less competition for light from their neighbors,” Hutyra says. In a forests, trees tend to grow close together, shading their neighbors. Street trees also benefit from higher levels of nitrogen (氮) in rainwater. Nitrogen is an element that helps plants grow. Still, she says that her team’s findings may not apply to arid cities. “In locations short of water like Phoenix or Los Angeles, city trees might respond differently because it’s very hot in the city and they have so little water.” At such sites, she says, “Trees might grow slower.”

So why were Boston’s streets trees twice as likely as their country cousins to die young? City roads can leave big-tree roots less room to grow. Plus, people often decide to cut down trees that are sick, or in the way of some desired building or view.