Note-taking is a skill that can help you do well in all your schoolwork. It can make you confident (自信的) when you are studying. It can also help you and your classmates correct some mistakes. If your teacher writes notes on the blackboard, that’s great. You can copy them or write down the most important facts of all in class. Different teachers do things differently. For example, some teachers may focus on lots of dates and facts in class, but they only write the important ones on the blackboard. Other teachers may not write anything down, but they may repeat (重复) them.

Don’t try to write down every word in class, or you might miss some important points. Some students really learn better with the help of these notes. Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher to repeat what you miss. If your teacher speaks too fast and you can’t follow what he is saying, you can ask him after class.

Comparing your notes with your classmates’ can be good for your learning. It can also help you and your classmates correct some mistakes.

Note-taking also needs organization. Keep notes for each subject in one place, so that you can find everything easily when a test comes.

Good note-taking takes time. If you decide to recopy your notes every evening, you’ll surely have less time to watch TV. But you’ll save time in the coming test.

【推荐2】High school can be a terrible time if you get it all wrong．Find out how to survive high school with a few easy tips．

Be Yourself． High school is a fun time to make new friends， meet new people and socialize． Just be yourself． Don’t give in to anyone’s wants．

Keep Good Company．Choose your friends carefully and make sure you won’t get influenced by anyone．You will find friends，but stay away from the ones who don’t want to be your friends．

Be Optimistic． Always wear your smile．Treat others the way you want to be treated．Respect your teachers and classmates and try to be helpful．

________．When you believe in yourself，others believe in you．Talk and walk confidently．Confidence is something you grow with，and people respect you for that．

Love High School．Fall in love with it．Make the most out of it，and you will never get those moments back．Come up with wonderful ideas，top your class，make the best friends，go to parties， but just make as many memories as you can!

With these tips to survive high school，you will surely be proud of graduating as an all-round adult．So when you throw those hats in the air，feel the freedom and remember every moment you spent in“High School”．

We often dine out with others, but do you know some basic etiquette（礼节）? If you behave well at the table, it will make your partners happy. But if you don't know how to behave yourself, you will feel embarrassed. Here are some tips for the table etiquette.

When helping a woman pull her chair to the table, hold it and guide it. Don't shove（碰撞）it against the back of her legs. If you're seated at a table with eight or fewer guests, wait for everyone to be served and for the hostess（女主人）to begin eating before you dig in. At a long banquet table, it's OK to start when several people are seated and served.

If you prefer not to have wine while dining out, don't turn your glass upside down, and don't make a big deal of saying you don't drink. Simply place your fingertips on the rim（边缘）of the glass and say “Not today, thanks.”

When you excuse yourself to go to the restroom, just say “Please excuse me.”

When out with friends or family—even at a fancy restaurant—it's OK to ask for your leftovers（吃剩的饭菜）to be wrapped. But don't do it at a business lunch or dinner.

Information Card

【推荐1】My friend Peter was kind and lovely. But as a student, he was bad at math, English and computer because he didn’t have an aptitude (天赋) for that kind of study. One day we played football and the ball fell in a tree. Peter climbed the tree to get it, and one of the teachers, John Marston who looked out of the window, noticed that he was a talented climber. Mr. Marston was an expert (专家) in climbing. He climbed many mountains. One weekend Mr. Marston invited (邀请) Peter to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Peter really enjoyed the climbing. Mr. Marston told Peter he was a very talented climber for his age. Peter left school three years later with no diploma (毕业文凭), but he kept climbing until he became very good at it . In his early twenties, he became a professional (专业的) climber. He said, “I’ll always remember Mr. Marston because he showed me I had an ability (能力) which no one else, including (包括) me, knew about.”

I have a good boy friend. His name is Mike. He lives in America. He speaks English. He is the same age as I. We are both 14 years old. He often goes to the English Corner. He likes it a lot. He has a small family. His parents are both teachers. They work in the same school. They teach English in their school.

They all want to come to China. They all like Chinese food and Chinese people.

We all have habits that we want to give up. These are habits which are not good for us in some way or another. A habit is an activity that we have got used to. It’s not easy to break a bad habit because we have got used to it and it has become convenient.

We are so used to our bad habits that most of the time we even don’t realize that we have them until someone points them out to us. So the first step that will lead to changing a bad habit is to accept the fact that is not good for you.

Since you know you have developed a bad habit, it’s best to find out why you developed it in the first place. Find out the reason behind it, as that will help you in understanding why you’re so willing to perform that act. There is nothing to feel afraid of. You have to face it and then give it up.

There are habits that people have carried with them for years and it will surely take some time to give them up. However, breaking a bad habit is a better choice than letting it grow into an addiction (瘾). Try giving up a bad habit, and you’ll surely make progress and improve yourself in many ways. And of course, I will certainly congratulate you on it.

【推荐2】The new leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC, 中国共产党) was elected (选举) on Oct 25, 2017. On that day, Xi Jinping, general secretary (总书记) of the CPC Central Committee (中央委员会), introduced the Party’s new central leadership to the press at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

“I was reelected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. I see this as not just approval (肯定) of my work, but also encouragement that will spur (鞭策) me on,” Xi told journalists.

Xi led the other members of the Standing Committee (常务委员会) of the 19th CPC Central Committee Political Bureau (中央政治局) to meet the media.

The other members are Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng.“Here, on behalf of (代表) the newly elected central leadership, I wish to express our heartfelt thanks to all other members of the Party for the trust they have placed in us,” he said. “We will work diligently (勤勉地) to meet our duty, fulfill our mission (不辱使命) and be worthy of their trust.”

Xi said the Party must keep following a people—centered philosophy (思想) of development and make steady (不断的) progress toward realizing common prosperity (共同富裕) for everyone.

“This is a society to be enjoyed by each and every one of us. On the march toward common prosperity, no one must be left behind,” he said.

At the same time, Xi said China will work with other nations to build a global community with a shared future, and make new and greater contributions to peace and development for all humanity.

It’s early in the morning and the alarm clock has already rung several time. You have to pull yourself out of bed and rush to school because you’re afraid of being late for school.

As a school student, this is probably a common experience for you. But thanks to new rules, students in Zhejiang and Heilongjiang provinces can now stay in bed longer than before.

On Feb 23, the Zhejiang Department of Education announced (宣布) a new rule that asks primary schools to start school later. According to the rule, start times could be different among different grades, with students in Grade 1 and 2 starting no earlier than 8:30 am.

A similar guideline (指导方针) was announced by the education department in Heilongjiang Province on Feb 24. Students from all primary and junior high schools in the province have been required (要求) to arrive at school no earlier than 8 am.

According to a 2016 study by the Zhejiang Department of Education, half students in Grade 4 slept nine hours or more a night, while the enough sleep time for primary students in 10 hours.

“I welcome the new rule so much. It is such a wonderful rule that gives my son enough time for breakfast, which is necessary for his health and growth”, a mother named Xu Li said. She is from Hangzhou and his son is in Grade 1. These changes have received much praise as they make students get enough sleep and enough time for breakfast.

Pushing back school times isn’t unique (唯一的) to China. In the United States, schools in at least 21 states began to start school later in 2017, as studies have shown that later school start times could be good for students’ development.

Something bad happened to Sam this morning. He fell over and broke his nose in the school hallway. When Sam looked up, he saw his friends. “Are you OK?” They asked him. But he didn’t say anything to them. He stood up and ran to the classroom quickly. Sam put his schoolbag on his desk and went out to the school hospital. On his way back to the classroom, he saw his friends again. They were laughing. Sam thought they were laughing at him, so he didn’t talk to them for the rest of the morning.

At lunchtime, Sam’s friends came up to him and asked, “How is your nose?” “Fine!” Sam shouted. “I saw you laughing at me this morning.” “We didn’t. We laughed just because Jenny told us a joke.” his friends said. “Well (原谅) me?” “Yes, of course. But next time you should ask us before you assume (假定) something.” They looked at each other and laughed happily. They were still friends.

True friends are not easy to find, so we should do our best to find a real friendship and keep it.

When we are with our friends, we should try to make them closer to us. Smiling is one of the easiest ways. People like to see happy faces greeting them.

When we talk to someone, ask questions to help him or her keep talking. Don’t ask personal questions, or they may be unhappy and want to walk away.

Listening is an important part when you are with friends. You should listen carefully to what people are saying, and answer in the right way. Body language can show that you’re listening.

Some people have the same interests and hobbies as you. It’s easier to make friends with them.

You may spend hours talking about the same interests you have.

Friendship may last for all our life. We should try to keep it long.

As a saying goes, “If you have a good friend, your joys are doubled and your sadness is halved.” Friends are a helping hand, a comforting shoulder, a patient ear to listen to you. Man is a social animal by nature. We all need friends. So it is necessary for you to know how to make friends.

The first step is to open yourself up. If you want to make good friends, you should be able to share your thoughts and feelings with other people first. When you are in a conversation, you’d better express your own thoughts and feelings. If a conversation is one-sided, the person doing all the talking may think the other person is not interested in what he is saying.

One of the most important keys to building a strong friendship with other people is to listen to them—really listen.

When your friends tell you something that happened to them or complain about a situation, they are usually not looking for agreement but just want to be heard. So don’t try to change their mind or work out their problems, just let them know that you are listening to them.

Respecting your friends is also important to keep your relationships healthy and strong. Looking at your friends while they are talking to you is one way to show your respect, as they will feel that what they are saying is important to you.

Unconditional support and encouragement is one of the things which friends have. True friendship means offering a shoulder when they need it, crying with them when they are sad, and laughing with them when they are happy. Only in this way, the tree of friendship can last for a long time.