1 . Being a teenager can be challenging, but it can also be exciting. You’re becoming more independent and making decision s for yourself. You are also learning to take risks and solve problems better. And changes are happening throughout your body, even in your brain.

The changes in your brain are influencing how you develop into an adult. Imagine the structure of your brain is like a big road map. Lots of roads lead to different destinations. When you were a child, as you learnt new things, your brain created more and more roads to different destinations. By the time you become a teenager, many different roads lead to the most important places on the map. Now your brain’s job is to make that map more efficient.

As a result, your experiences as a teenager actually influence the way that your brain develops. If you spend hours playing video games, what skills do you use? You learn to see something with your eyes and respond to it with your hands. As you develop those skills, your brain is making sure that the roads leading to them are especially fast and efficient. So, your video-game playing could be preparing you for a career such as a pilot.

This is a great time for you to practice new skills and discover what you’re good at and try what you love doing. Go out and try different activities, and stick to them if you think they are useful. Remember that with everything you do, you’re shaping your brain for the future.

2 . There are purple clothes, purple handbags, purple bicycles, purple furniture, even purple computers! So purple is one of the most ______ colors today. But in the past, purple was a very expensive and unusual color. Let’s take a look at the rich ______ of the color purple.

Some scientists believe that the first plants to appear on Earth over 500 million years ago _____ looked purple, not green. Plants today are green because ______ use green chlorophyll (叶绿素) to produce energy. ______ these early plants probably used something called retinal, which is a dark purple color.

During the time of the Roman Empire (37 BC-476 AD), it was very ______ to make purple dye (染料). The dye came from sea snails (海螺). But 10,000 dead sea snails ______ you just one gram of purple dye... as well as a very bad smell! This ______ purple dye was called Tyrian purple, and it was the preferred ______ of emperors.

In 16th century England, purple was ______ for the kings family members. Queen Elizabeth I’s clothes were purple, but ordinary people were not allowed to ______ the color.

In 1856, William Perkin, an 18-year-old ______ student, noticed something strange while doing an experiment. The chemicals he used to clean his instruments ______ with the chemicals he used in his experiment and produced a bright purple color. This ______ led Perkin to start a company using this chemical mixture to make purple dye. The dye was much ______ than sea snail dye. Thanks to Perkin, now anyone can afford to wear purple clothes.

3 . When a friend or family member sets sick, it’s difficult to see them lie in bed coughing uncontrollably and running a fever. What can you do to make them feel better? Luckily, we have some ideas.     1    

Oftentimes when a friend or family member is ill, we try so hard to make them feel better that we push solutions onto them that they might not be comfortable with. For example, maybe we think it’s best that they sit up, when really they just want to sleep. The first thing you can do to cheer someone up who isn’t feeling well is to actually listen to what their needs are before trying to meet them.     2     Ask questions and be a comforting ear to cheer them up, before trying to respond and “fix” their problems.

Being sick can be incredibly stressful because our schedules are so full. Keeping up with kids, work and housework while you’re sick is incredibly tiring. If this is the case, listen to what your loved one is stressed about, then ask if there is anything you can take off their to-do list.     4     Or, perhaps you could stop by the office to drop off paper work for her coworkers. Simple things like this will help enormously in taking the stress off of the ill person.

Finally, one of the greatest things you can do for a sick friend or family member is just to give them space. They probably don’t want to get you sick, and having a conversation may be pretty difficult at this point. So, make sure all of their needs are met, then simply leave them alone.     5    

6 . Recently, a research on how a new virtual reality (VR 虚拟的现实) experience educated children about the fire disasters was done. It was developed by the University of South Australia, aiming to educate children to learn how to be safe in a fire. It presents a situation for children aged 10-12. In the situation, They are tasked to look after a friend’s dog just before a fire event begins. They participate in a series of problem-solving activities to help save and protect themselves and the dog.

The findings showed that more than 80% of children reported that they felt more confident to tell the advantages and disadvantages of different choices. They also learnt to make wise decisions to protect themselves from a fire. Children thought it is especially important and meaningful, because 91% of them didn’t have any knowledge of fires at the beginning, and that 67% had said that they were too young to make safety decisions in a fire.

The researchers believed such VR experiences made it possible to attract and educate the young. “As children born in digital times, they are interested in such technology and they can experience events realistically yet within the safe environment.” said Delene Weber, one of the researchers. “Well-designed VR can provide a chance for children with surprisingly valuable learning tools.” Meanwhile, because children have fewer life experiences, aren’t as physically strong, and are less likely to have learned much about fire safety, they’re often most at risk. However, the ability for children to contribute to fire safety at their homes should not be underestimated (低估). “Children do not need to be always waiting for help in disasters and with those virtual reality experiences, we can help children understand the risks and realize they can help,” said Weber.

10 . High school is a magical time when students can learn and grow.     1     Many students are feeling more anxious than ever before when it comes to performing well at school. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to make sure your high school experience is enjoyable and successful.

● Explore and find your interests

As a high school student, one of the most important ways to prepare yourself for a successful future is to find your interests by doing explorations. Thus you can discover the areas of study that you’re interested in.     2    

● Learn for growth, not just for scores

    3     High school should also be a time when you enjoy the process (过程) of learning. The more fun you have in high school, the more fun you will learn to have throughout your life. If you can enjoy school now, imagine how much more satisfying your college experience will be later.

    4    

Discovering how to use your time wisely will certainly help you enjoy high school more. Learning how to manage your time in high school will make your college life much easier. Best of all, the better you become at time management, the more time you will hopefully create to have some fun with friends, as well as enjoying extracurricular activities.

● Volunteer in your community (社区)

Engaging with your surrounding community creates happier students. Moreover, by doing that, you will have more opportunities to explore your interests, thus providing you with a better idea of which area(s) you might take up in the future.     5     That’s because you find you can apply what you learn in classes to the world around you.