2 . Most of us assume those hyper-achievers who are always able to squeeze in their workout, eat healthy foods and pick their kids up on time must have superhuman self-control. But science points to a different answer:    1     The only catch is that building good habits takes effort and insight. Thankfully, here are a few research-backed steps that can set you on the path to where you want to be.

The way you define the goal you hope to turn into a habit does matter. Goals like “meditate regularly” are too abstract, research has shown.     2    Don’t say “I’ll meditate regularly. “ Say, “I’ll meditate for 15 minutes each day. “This is actually key to habit formation, making the task easy to carry out, but it’s often overlooked.

    3    Scientists have proven that you’ll make more progress toward your goal if you decide not just what you’ll do, but when and where you’ll be cued to do it. Making this kind of plan reduces the chances you’ll forget to follow through because the when and where in your plan will serve as cues to action.

A plan like “I’ll study Spanish for 30 minutes every weekday” is OK. But a detailed, cue-based plan like “Every workday after my last meeting, I’ll spend 30 minutes studying Spanish in my office” is more likely to stick as a habit.

We’re strongly influenced by the behaviors of the people around us, evidence shows. Want to start running regularly? You’re probably better off joining an established running club than asking a few friends who aren’t yet in the habit of jogging to get in shape with you.

However, it’s important not to get too crazy - if you try to train with marathoners when you’re just hoping to work up to a 5K, it can be discouraging.

Research has shown you’ll persist longer and ultimately achieve more if you focus on finding ways to make goal pursuit fun. One excellent way is to try “temptation bundling”. Research shows that temptation bundling improves follow-through; it transforms goal pursuit into a source of pleasure, not pain.     5    

3 . Whether in work or study, great people always do things as effectively as possible. Productive (高效的) people have one thing in common: A solid routine made up of small habits that helps them to keep a healthy mindset and lifestyle. Research shows a habit takes about 2l days to become normal behavior.     1    

●Make daily to-do lists.     2     Some people prefer to make their to-do lists first thing in the morning, while others like to do them each night to prepare for the day ahead. As a matter of fact, either way helps you to manage your time and workload efficiently.

●    3     Writing down your thoughts in your diary can help you achieve goals. You should even write down your progress, no matter how small it is, to help motivate you to keep going. This process will help you reflect and improve your memory and brain function.

●Have a rest. Whatever you are working on, you do not have to use up every ounce of energy you have.     4     When coming back, you’ll become clear-headed and happy, leading to greater productivity than just rushing through it.

●Clean up and organize for tomorrow.     5     It may be a little tiring. However, tidying up your home and preparing for tomorrow can prevent stress. This daily maintaining can ensure that you do not have to spend an entire afternoon cleaning during the weekend.

6 . It’s a joyful and stressful time of year in the United States for students and their families as they make decisions about where to attend college. Families often turn to rankings systems to help make a decision.     1    

When I talk to families as a scholar of higher education, they’re often surprised that teaching excellence is not counted in rankings.     2    

Emerging research suggests that courses in lower-ranked universities, on average, scored higher on teaching than courses in higher-ranked universities.     3     The absence of teaching excellence from the rankings is surprising given the link between high-quality teaching and student success. Quality teaching is one of the most important predictors of a wide range of college outcomes.

Rankings, however, are only one reason why a low value is placed on teaching in higher education. Administrators often don’t view teaching excellence as a way to increase enrolment (注册) or funding.     4     Research shows that the more time instructors spend on teaching, the lower their salary. What is the result? Many instructors continue to teach using traditional lectures, which lead to lower success rates.

    5     Nevertheless, not much will change until schools with high-quality teaching are rewarded with more resources, higher rankings and increased enrolments. In the long term, universities, organisations that rank schools, and others should work to make teaching a valued, core part of the mission.

What should students and their families do? They should give strong consideration to universities where high-quality teaching is valued, even though the schools may be ranked lower.

7 . Education is a self-enlightening process. It is an important part of life.

    1     The first thing that strikes me about education is knowledge gain. Education gives us knowledge of the world around us. It develops in us a perspective of looking at life. It helps us build opinions and have points of view on things in life. Education makes us capable of explaining things rightly. It is not just about lessons in textbooks.     2    

Education is important also because it equips us with all that is needed to make our dreams come true. It opens doors to brilliant career opportunities.     3     We are weighed in the market on the basis of our educational skills and how well we can apply them.

    4     It wipes out all the wrong beliefs in our minds. It helps create a clear picture of everything around us and we no longer remain in confusion about the things we learn. It can lead us to enlightenment. It is education that builds in every individual the confidence to make decisions, to face life and to accept success and failure.

For the progress of a nation, for the enrichment of society in general, education is necessary and important. A country’s literate population is its asset(有利条件). The number of institutes offering vocational courses and colleges offering online education is increasing by the day.

Well, schools, colleges and other such educational institutes define the basic framework of education. But education does not end here.     5     Self-learning begins at a point where institutional education ends. The process of self-learning continues.

8 . Many people in the UK have poor mathematical skills. Dr.Richard Pike, a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said that mathematics questions in entrance tests to British universities were much too simple.

About two thirds of British universities now offer special courses in mathematics to new students. The courses are necessary because new students do not know enough mathematics when they leave high school. A university teacher said that there was a serious risk that there would not be enough scientists and engineers coming out of British universities in the future.

New university students are bad at mathematics. So are a lot of other people in Britain. A survey found that 7 million people in England were bad at mathematics. It is necessary to help people improve their math skills, which are important in lots of ways.

One problem is that many students do not want to study math because they think it is a difficult subject. They want to have high grades in their A levels. High A level grades are necessary in order to go to university. This is one reason why students do not choose to study mathematics at A level. Sometimes schools also prefer students to study easier subjects instead of mathematics. A school will have a better reputation if more students pass A level exams.

Another problem is that some educated people think mathematics is not important. They think it is not a creative subject. This way of thinking is very dangerous. When people do not understand mathematics, they are not able to make proper judgments about important questions. Nowadays, a lot of people use the Internet to find the answers to scientific questions. But they don’t understand science. They cannot judge the value of the information which they find. People will become very ignorant if they don’t study mathematics and science.