Our English teacher Mrs. Wang let us do an English project—researching the Chinese traditional festivals. Here are two groups’ reports about it.

It’s Friday evening. My daughters sighed (叹息) when I gently took the iPads away from their laps. One by one, our screens were turned off. We lit the candles and sat down to have a big meal.

We call it our “Technology Shabbat” (科技安息日), which lasts from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.

I first understood the importance of “Technology Shabbat” in 2008, when my father had got brain cancer. Some days he would have only one awake hour, and the only thing I wanted to do was to be with him. When I looked after my father, I turned off my mobile phone.

During our “Technology Shabbat”, time slows down. Our Saturdays now feel like mini-vacations. We drive cars or ride bikes. We work in the garden, play board games and cook meals with our kids. I feel like a better mother, wife and person.

Keeping a balance between the good and the bad of technology is important for my family. The technology helps us share knowledge and funny ideas all over the world. But the technology also takes something away from us. When we stay up late at night linking (连接) from website to website or sending messages, we click again and again until we have been overloaded (超负荷的).

Now we’re rushing into the time full of high technology. We should pay attention to what we are doing online and when we should go offline.

I will always remember the most important thing in my family: Technology Shabbat.

It is never too late to develop great study habits. However, starting to make some changes is hard. Even if you want to do well enough in school and improve your grades, maybe you’re having trouble getting started in the first place! There are several ways that can help you.

Plan your time carefully. Make a list of your weekly tasks. Make a plan of your time. Then decide on good, regular (有规律的) time for studying. This weekly plan may not solve all of your problems.

Find a good place to study. Choose one place for your study area. It may be a desk or a chair at home or in the school library, but it should be comfortable and quiet. When you begin to work, you should be able to concentrate (集中注意力).

Skim before you read. This means looking over a passage quickly before you begin to read it more carefully. As you preview the material, you get some idea of the passage and how it is organized.

Make good use of your time in class. Listening to what the teacher says in class means less work later. Taking notes helps you remember what the teacher says.

Develop a good attitude (态度) to tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t worry too much about your grade. Tests provide grades, but they also let you know that you need to spend more time studying.

There are other skills that might help you with your study. Share with your classmates some of the skills you have found to be helpful.