【推荐1】After choosing a school abroad and getting accepted, the most important thing is to find a desirable place to live. How do you find a suitable location? Here are some tips that may help.

Dormitory

Student dormitories can lead to truly meaning overseas experiences.     1     However, it is possible that you may have a private room with a private bath or a roommate with a shared bathroom as part of a suite (套房). There will generally be common areas such as study spaces or a kitchen, which serve as great gathering spots for you and your classmates. However, dorm rooms sometimes come with a steep price, so its is worthwhile to weigh your options.

Homestay

With a homestay, you can have a home overseas with a family that will provide you with warmth and care.     2     Despite this, you will have to share the bathroom as well as other common spaces with the family. Usually, food is included, so there is no need for you to do some cooking and grocery shopping.

Although homestays are quite affordable, families often tend to live away from the universities.     3    

Private apartment

Renting an apartment will allow you to enjoy freedom, privacy and independence.     4     Some landlords might ask you to pay a security deposit (保证金) before renting, which will be returned to you once you move out, considering any deductions (扣除) because of damage. Apart from the rent, you will also have to manage the bills, Wi-Fi and even stock your own fridge.

    5     If you worry about security problems, you can live in a dormitory for your first year and then live elsewhere.

【推荐2】For some people, the past year may have brought disappointment and regrets, leaving them with a sense of loss about the year to come. With each New Year, though, comes fresh hope, change and the promise of exciting opportunities.       1    

It is the perfect time to begin removing all the things that prevent you from being the best person you can be. Determine to get rid of everything detrimental, from junk food to unhappy relationships. You can’t make huge changes overnight, but as you remove negative influences one by one, you will feel physically and emotionally healthier.     2    

    3       Associate with those who have a sense of wonder about the world and enjoy discovering new things. Select friends who, by their own example, encourage you to be kind to others. Treat people the way we would like to be treated. Following this principle will make you and those around you happier.

Don’t waste time worrying about the things you didn’t accomplish this year. Instead, allow those less-than-perfect experiences to motivate you even further.

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to neglect those you care about. Even during downtime, there is a tendency to waste hours in front of the TV, or on social media, neglecting face-to-face time with loved ones.       5     . And, spend quality time with those who enrich your life.

With just a few positive changes, this year could be your best year ever.

【推荐1】What is American Sign Language?

American Sign Language（ASL）is a complete, complex language that employs signs made by moving the hands combined with facial expressions and postures of the body.    1    It is also one of several communication options used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Is sign language the same in other countries?

No one form of sign language is universal.    2    For example, British Sign Language（BSL）is a different language from ASL, and Americans who know ASL may not understand BSL.

    3    

The exact beginnings of ASL are not clear, but some suggest that it arose more than 200 years ago from the intermixing of local sign languages and French Sign Language（LSF）. Today's ASL includes some parts of LSF plus the original local sign languages , which over the years have combined and changed into a rich,complex, and mature language. Modern ASL and modern LSF are distinct languages.    4    

How does ASL compare with spoken language?

    5    But for people who are deaf（particularly those who are profoundly deaf）, the sounds of speech are often not heard, and only some speech sounds can be seen on the lips. Sign languages are based on the idea that vision is the most useful tool a deaf person has to communicate and receive information.

【推荐3】Grown-ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since. A man who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can still swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away. A mother who has not thought about the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" or remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

One explanation is the law of overlearning, which can be stated as follows: Once we have learned something, extra learning attempts or tries to increase the length of time we will remember it.

In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, and bicycle riding long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks. We not only learn but overlearn.

The multiplication tables(乘法口诀表) are an exception（例外） to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school, because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood.

The law of overlearning explains why cramming(突击学习)for an examination, though it may result in a passing grade, is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to pass the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little overlearning, on the other hand, is really necessary for one's future development.