【推荐1】How to Study for Exams

Taking exams is stressful, but you can make it easier by improving the way you study. Studying for your exams will keep you from feeling unprepared, and it will set you up for success!

    1    

This is easier said than done, but learning how to take good notes will help you once it comes time to study. Write down everything your teacher writes on the board or puts up in slides. Try to record as much of what the teacher says as possible.

Turn on the light

    2     Add lights at night, or in the daytime, open the window coverings (open the window a little, too). People tend to study and focus better in a brighter room with little noise.

    3    

Think of your teacher: What is my teacher most likely to ask on the exam? What materials did the teacher emphasize (强调) before exams? This may help you review the most important information for the exams.

Take breaks

You need some time to take breaks and it is better to study when you are feeling relaxed than to exhaust (筋疲力尽) yourself studying all day!     4    . Usually, a 20-30 minutes of study and then a 5-minute break is the most effective.

    5    

If you don’t know the answer to the question, do the next one and come back to it at the end. Struggling and concentrating on a question you don’t know the answer to can be time consuming (消耗), which makes you lose marks.

【推荐2】Students are constantly (不断地) learning how to make a difference in the world. There are several ways that can help you protect the earth.

Use reusable bags. Whether you’re shopping for food, clothes or books, use a reusable bag. This cuts down on litter and prevents animals from being hurt. There are even some stores that offer discounts (折扣).

Save electricity. Use energy﹣efficient light bulbs (节能灯泡) instead of common ones. They last longer, which will also save you some money. Turn off lights appliances when you’re not using them.

Recycle. Recycling is such a simple thing to do, but many people don’t do it. A good way to recycle is to look for recycling bins. Instead of throwing recyclables (可回收利用物) in the rubbish bins with your non﹣recyclables

Save water. Turn off the tap as you’re brushing your teeth. Don’t turn your shower on until you’re ready to get in and wash your hair. Changing old habits will be good for both the environment and your wallet!

Avoid taking cars when possible. Taking public transportation, walking or riding a bike to class are better choices that can help protect the environment. You can also get some exercise!

【推荐3】Think of a simple object—a piece of chalk, for example. Are you remembering its name, its shape, its color or its size? Are you remembering what it is used for, or the sound it makes when the teacher writes on the blackboard? Scientists say that memory includes different parts of the brain, such as language and the ability of sense. They believe that you begin to create a memory when you notice something with your senses. Then, messages are sent to different brain cells, which join together to form connections. A new connection goes into your short-term memory. It is stored there for about 30 seconds, and then it is either lost or stored in your long-term memory.

Having a good memory means making lots of connections and storing them in your long-term memory. To do this, you need to keep your brain in good shape. Eat plenty of brain food such as fish oil, fruit and vegetables. Laughter also makes your brain more active. Also, don’t forget to exercise. So do some sports or just move around a lot in the house. Finally, get plenty of sleep. This will make your memories grow stronger.

When you want to remember new information, you must pay special attention. Use your senses-sight, smell, hearing and touch-and keep repeating the information. To do well in your exams this year, turn off the TV, silence your mobile, and review your work regularly. To remember something special, use your imagination to create visual (视觉的) connections. For example, you need to take a pencil, an eraser, your ID card and chips to your next exam. Imagine the ID card as the body of an animal, the pencil its long neck, and the eraser its head. Your animal is hungry, so now imagine it eating a bag of chips. It may sound crazy, but it’s fun and it works. Another way is to do something different to your room. Turn a picture upside-down, or tie a sock around the door handle to remind (提醒) yourself of something to remember!

Your mom does a lot of housework, and you’d really like to help her out.     1     Caring for your own space. Try to keep your room clean. If you make a mess, clean it up as soon as possible.     2    . Find out what tasks you could do. It depends on your age. Children can begin to take care of their own washing from around the age of 8.     3    You may not cook a big dinner, but you can try to make a simple lunch.

Organizing a “Mom’s Day Off”. Choose a day to do all chores with your dad and your sister or brother.     4    

Being active. Ask your mom what you can help with. She probably has advice for things you can do for her. If she asks for your help, don’t refuse. She wouldn’t ask if she didn’t need your help.     5     Always help your mom, and she will be very happy.

【推荐2】Many parents make their children do chores around the house. But as for some families, getting children to do some housework can be a very big problem. Here is a survey(调查) about this problem, we asked 4 ,000 teenagers in China several questions. Half of them come from big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The others are from small villages. Let’s have a look at the result of our survey.

We find that teenagers from small villages do more chores than those from big cities. We think that parents should give their children some chores to do. Chores are good for children, even very young ones. Doing chores can teach children many important sills like working together. Chores also teach children what is fair. The skills and value(价值观) from doing chores will be good for children all their life. All family members must work together to make their house clean, and each person must do his or her share of the work.

【推荐3】It’s Sunday morning. My parents, my uncle, my sisters and I are all at home. My father is sitting near the window. What’s he doing? He’s reading a newspaper. He likes reading newspapers very much. My mother is watering the flowers in the small garden. There are some beautiful flowers in the garden. Some are red, others are yellow. They look nice. My uncle is my mother’s brother. He is a worker. What’s he doing now? He’s watching TV. He’s a basketball fan. And he is good at playing basketball. Now he is watching NBA on TV. Where are my twin sisters? Oh, look! Lily is over there. She is listening to the radio. She likes pop music very much. Lucy is in her room. She has a computer in her bedroom. She is surfing the Internet (上网). What am I doing? I am doing my homework.

【推荐1】If music makes you smarter and exercise helps you to think, surely exercising to music can turn you into an intelligent person.

A team of scientists from Ohio State University did tests on 33 volunteers who were getting better from heart disease following operations (手术). They found that people who exercised while listening to Italian musician Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons did much better on language ability tests than without music.

“Facts suggest that exercise improves the learning ability of people with heart disease,” said the scientist Charles Emery, who led the study. “And listening to music is thought to enhance understanding. We just wanted to put the two results together,” he added.

The volunteers said they felt better emotionally (情绪上) and physically after exercising with or without the music. But their improvement on the test doubled after listening to music during exercise. Scientists have shown it is true that music can be good for health, education and well-being. It helps cut down stress, sadness and nervousness, makes relaxation or sleep more likely to happen, wakes up the body and improves memory and thoughts.

In medical fields, music is widely used for patients who have had head hurts before and after operations. The Four Seasons was used because of its soft tempo (节奏) and positive (积极的) results in earlier research. “Exercise seems to cause positive changes in the nervous system and these changes may have a direct result on learning ability,” Emery said.

Scientists have been studying the result of music on understanding since the early 1950s. By 1990, scientists were using Mozart’s music, especially his violin pieces, to help children with speech disorders. Mozart was chosen because his music is not overexciting and has clear structures (结构). A study showed students who listened to Mozart’s music went on to score higher marks in an intelligence test. With important exams drawing near, your parents will not probably allow you to listen to music. But perhaps now you have good reasons to argue with them.

【推荐2】Who do you admire? Different people may have different ideas.

If you’re a sports fan, perhaps the person you admire most is a great volleyball player, and Zhu Ting is probably the one in your mind. If you study music or play an instrument, perhaps the person you admire most is a gifted musician like Mozart, who began to write beautiful music at a very young age. Or maybe you admire great scientists, for example, Yuan Longping.

We have many reasons to admire famous people and we often give much of our respect to them. However, we shouldn’t neglect those who are common, such as nurses, train drivers, firemen, cleaners and so on. They may be working in a corner of the world without being noticed, but all these people spend their working days serving the public. They show great dedication. However, what they do is often unnoticed by us. Have you ever thought of what our life will be like if they stop working?

So next time when you appreciate famous people, don’t forget those who are common around you.

【推荐3】These days, many people in China are talking about the three-child policy on the Internet. They have different ideas. Let’s have a look at them.

I am a nurse working in Guangzhou and I am a young mother. My first child was born when I was 20 years old. Three years later, I had my second child. I love kids, so I feel happy to hear the news. I would like to have my third child if it is possible. I will take good care of them.

—Ann

I am a hotel manager in Beijing. I am busy with my work every day. I don’t have any time to look after my son and daughter, so I don’t want to have one more child. But my wife doesn’t agree with me. She is a housewife. She takes care of the children at home every day. She likes babies.

—Mike

I am a teacher from Shanghai. I have a daughter. She is cute but naughty. I work hard at school, and then I play with my daughter after work. I feel tired every day. I don’t want to have a second baby, not even a third one. I just want to live happily with my daughter.

—Cindy