1 . Puberty（青春期）is the stage of life when young people leave childhood and head into adulthood. It is a difficult process（过程）for teenagers because it has an effect on both their minds and bodies. They need to understand what is going on with their bodies, how to deal with those changes and how to start taking responsibility（责任）for themselves.

A young person may begin puberty at 8,（A）while another may start puberty after 14 or 15. In general, girls start puberty two years before boys do. For both girls and boys, it is usually complete by the age of 18.

During these years, the body develops in many ways.（B）感受也会迅速地改变。

Teenage boys at this stage often begin to take unnecessary risks. Their focus is（C）_______ having fun and being accepted by others. They need to think before they act and make good decisions for themselves.

A girl’s personality often does not develop in the same way（D）_______ a boy’s. Teenage girls sometimes lose confidence in themselves. They are no longer（E）certain about their own feelings. Yet they are usually afraid to tell their parents or teachers about their problems. For this reason, teenage girls should be encouraged to（F）talk about things with trusted adults.

Parents, schools and communities can do a lot to care for and help young people. It is everyone’s responsibility to make sure that young people grow into healthy adults.

2 . Happiness is a feeling that lights up your eyes, makes your steps light and makes you want to sing for no reason. Everyone wants to be happy. But sometimes, a guest comes in without invitation. It’s unhappiness. Don’t let it get you down. Send it away!

When you are happy, the world feels like a better place. As the saying goes: When you smile, the world smiles with you; when you cry, you cry alone. Wearing a smile will make you more charming and help you to win lots of friends. A good mood always gives you hope, which makes trouble and problems easier to handle.

No matter how happy you are, it’s normal to feel angry, sad or gloomy once in a while. Life is full of ups and downs. We can’t change the way life is, but we can do our best to change a bad situation into a good one. To help us do this, it’s good to know some of the factors (因素) that influence happiness.

One of the biggest factors is social relationships. People who are close to family and friends are happier than people who don’t have those relationships. Talking and sharing is a good way to relax and build confidence. Knowing someone is there for you will make you braver and more outgoing.

Another factor is work or school. If you enjoy school, even if you have lots of homework or extra classes, you will still feel that your school life is meaningful and happy. But if you hate school, your negative attitude may cause you to feel bored and upset that you have to do so much work.

A third factor is your attitude towards life. How do you feel if you fail in an exam? Maybe you think it’s unfair because you always study hard and should get a good mark. You can’t stop blaming yourself. Or, maybe you accept it. You go through the paper carefully, find out why you made stupid mistakes, and tell yourself, “Take it easy! I’ll do better next time!” Your attitude makes a big difference.

3 . Flu（流感）season often arrives during the coldest month of the year and is never easy to kill. A few simple tips may help you keep the flu away.

Wash your hands.

Most people know that washing their hands regularly is an important part of staying healthy. During the cold and flu season, this is even more important because flu viruses can live long enough on surfaces for you to pick them up on your hands. Wash your hands using warm water and soap（肥皂）and make sure to scrub（擦洗）gently. When water and soap are not available（有效的）, you can always use sanitizers containing 60%-90% ethyl alcohol（包含60-90%酒精的消毒液）.

Get enough sleep and manage your stress.

Not having enough sleep and high levels of stress can reduce immune functions（免疫功能）, so the body’s ability to keep off colds and flu will also become lower.

Exercise 3-4 days a week.

Exercise helps strengthen the immune system and increases the body’s natural ability to fight infection（感染）.

Keep a healthy diet.

Remember to eat some fruit and vegetables daily to make sure to take in enough vitamin（维他命）.

Avoid contact with sick people.

Colds and the flu spread between people in different ways. Try to stay far enough from people who are already sick so they don’t cough or sneeze（打喷嚏）on you.

6 . When you have a problem with your homework, what do you do? Many people used to put a picture of the homework online to find answers. Not any more.

On Dec 13, the Ministry of Education said that homework help apps, which allow students to get answers by taking photos and uploading them online, will be removed or deleted online. “These apps may make students lazy, get in the way of their independent (独立的)thinking and go against the law of education and teaching.” the ministry said.

That’s bad news for some online tutoring (辅导)apps, because they already have many users. For example, the Zuoyebang app had more than 100 million users in 2020. And at the end of 2019, about 8.6 billion search records had been made in the Xiaoyuan Souti app. It solved at least 23.47 million questions each day, reported Global Times.

Many teachers believe these homework help apps are not helping students but hurting their learning ability and habits. “They finish their homework quickly and correctly, but score poorly in exams,” An English teacher Yan Yuening told Global Times.

________ Some parents also use them to help children with their homework. “It’s already a challenge for me to solve my son’s math questions,” a parent told online newspaper Sixth Tone. “Now he’s in the eighth grade. Checking his homework is the biggest problem for me now. What should I do without these apps?”

8 . ”Bing Dwen Dwen” and “Shuey Rhon Rhon” are the mascots for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games and the Paralympics. Here are their self-introductions.

	Hi! I’m Bing Dwen Dwen. I have a cartoon image of a panda wearing a spacesuit, which looks like a winter sports athlete from the future. “Bing” means “ice” in Chinese, which is a symbol of winter sports. “Dwen Dwen” suggests health and shows the spirit of the Olympics, including a strong mind and a healthy body.
	Hello! My name is Shuey Rhon Rhon. I look like a red lantern, just like the lanterns hanging on homes and streets to celebrate Chinese New Year. On my head are paper cuts of pigeons. “Shuey” means “snow” in Chinese. “Rhon Rhon” are two different Chinese characters with the same pronunciation. Shuey Rhon Rhon symbolizes communication among different cultures.

The idea behind these two mascots is to connect traditional Chinese culture with the Games. The panda is designed with its modern appearance to show our great expectations for the Games and our welcome to the whole world. The vivid red image of “Rhon Rhon” reminds people of the celebration of China’s Spring Festival.

Some of us have little difficulty in falling asleep anywhere. But there are also quite a few of us who find it’s really hard to fall asleep when we need rest. It often makes us crazy.

So, how to get a better night’s sleep? Here are the 3 things that I’ve found to be the most useful for helping me fall asleep faster and finally get a better night’s sleep:

Put down your phone

The first decision that I’ve found to be really helpful in getting me to sleep faster at night is not to end my night by being on my phone. Every day I try to put my phone away at least one hour before bed. Of course, it’s of great help.

Meditate (冥想)

I’ve heard that some people say when they try meditation, they can’t seem to focus (集中注意力) and as a result they fall asleep. But, don’t we want to have a good sleep? I often choose to guide myself through my bedtime meditation and it helps me sleep.

Write it out

The last tool I’d like to suggest is keeping your diary. I personally love to just let my mind say everything it wants to, so that it feels heard. After writing out what happened in the day, you simply end your day with ease (缓解).

Not only is sleep quite comfortable, it’s also a very important activity that can help us to recharge and reset (恢复体力和调整).