2 . Have you heard of depression (抑郁)? It’s a mental illness. People who have it may feel sad all the time or do something to hurt themselves. Now, doctors can put a “happy switch” in their heads to help them.

Doctors at Shanghai Ruijing hospital helped a patient Wu Xiaotian. Wu, 31, has had depression since he was 15 years old. The doctor did an operation on Wu. They put two long lines of electrodes (电极) inside his brain. The 16 electrodes are used to let out electricity on different parts of the brain, which can change the patient’s feelings. Wu can control the “happy switch” through an app on his phone. When feeling down, Wu turns on the switch and the electrodes start working. He is soon cheered up. “It feels like there is power rising from the inside of my body,” Wu said.

The hospital has tested the switch on 26 patients since 2020. Up to now, it has helped cut down a patient’s sad feelings by 60%, said the hospital.

But is the switch safe enough? Although patients like Wu feel great using it, the operation is actually a dangerous one. And doctors are still working to improve it. Also, doctors have to make sure that patients don’t rely on it. Healthy people shouldn’t use it, or it may be like a kind of drug for them.

Sleeping is of great importance to us. However, many people have experienced strange sleeping patterns, bad dreams,     1     a feeling of discomfort during their nights' sleep. So what can help you sleep well?

There are a lot of wrong beliefs related to sleep, some of     2     can be quite damaging for our health. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher     3     (famous) claimed that she only slept for five hours a night. But this is very bad     4     health. Likewise, sleeping in front of the TV is another thing     5     (avoid). The bright lights can stop you from entering deep sleep.

From a young age we     6     (tell) to count sheep to help us fall asleep. However, some     7     (expert) advise getting up and doing something mindless, like folding socks, to help us get in the mood to sleep.

Psychologist Seth Gillihan recommends walking to help out. He talks about a sleep study     8     (publish) in Sleep Health which suggests that those who walk more will experience     9     (good) quality and duration of sleep. Watching     10     you eat or drink can also improve your sleep.

After lunch we went out in the playground and ran around. All the boys had a competition to see who could spin around (快速旋转) in circles the longest. Michael Robinson won. Then we all sat down on the grass. That's when Ryan came up with a wonderful idea: we should buy the school. He said we could turn it into a video-game arcade (游乐场) and teach kids how to play video games.

I got all excited, because I like it so much. I started emptying out my pockets. The other boys emptied their pockets too. Then we added up all our money. We had one dollar and thirty-two cents.

“I don’t think it’s enough to buy a school,” said Ryan. We all got very worried.

“Well, how much do we need to buy a school?” I asked.

“I don't know,” said Ryan. “We’d better ask the headmaster, Mr. Klutz.”

We all rushed hopefully inside and asked Mr. Klutz how much it would cost to buy the school. Mr. Klutz asked why. I told him we wanted to turn it into a video-game arcade. “I can’t sell you the school, but if you kids read a million pages in books, you can turn the school into a video-game arcade for one night,” Mr. Klutz said. “Would it be okay if some of the other classes helped us out?” I asked. “Certainly,” Mr. Klutz said. “The more, the better.” We all jumped and shouted and couldn’t wait to start.

6 . How to keep your house clean

Before you start deep cleaning, do some basic tidying up. Remember the saying, “    1    .” When everything is where it should be, it saves a lot of time.

You just need an all-purpose cleaner, a disinfectant (消毒剂) and a window cleaner.     2    . The disinfectant will attack germs (细菌) in places like inside the toilet or the kitchen. And the window cleaner can make sure there are no marks left on the windows.

    3    . For example, in your bedroom, clean the lights before removing the sheets on the bed. If not, all the dust may fall onto the mattress (床垫) directly. Besides, make sure to dry clean before you wet clean. If you start straight with your wet cleaner, you'll end up getting all that sticky dirt on your rags (抹布) and having to change rags more often.     4    .

Try to set a timetable for daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning. Daily cleaning might include picking things up, cleaning kitchen and doing those dishes. Weekly cleaning might include cleaning the bathroom, washing sheets and towels. Monthly cleaning might include cleaning both the inside and outside of all your glass windows.

7 . At an early age, I suffered from a serious digestive (消化的) illness. I _________ several doctors. Then, I _________ some blood test and it showed that I had a medical condition in which the body cannot digest food that contains gluten (谷蛋白). I was advised to stop eating milk products from my _________ for six months. After making these dietary changes, my digestive health _________. After seeing how food affected my body and life, I developed a deep interest in nutrition (营养学).

_________, I went to study nutrition at the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM). I was _________ by the practical learning methods suggested by the experienced teachers and the interesting _________ given by them in class. In addition, I was amazed by how _________ my classmates were in sharing their knowledge and experience with each other. My time at CNM prepared me for _________ my own business and it was a great __________ for making friends and discovering opportunities.

I now __________ at the Nordic Clinic in Stockholm three days a week. I see a variety of __________ with a wide range of common illnesses, __________ them to get well through nutrition. I love my work, because it feels meaningful and I'm making a __________ to other people’s lives. I can’t imagine retiring from work because I know learning never stops and I love __________ applying my knowledge and helping people in need.

8 . Have you ever seen people swimming dressed like a mermaid (美人鱼)? You may consider it as a show, a game or just for fun. But mermaid diving is a physical activity in which people compete with each other. Now, it is getting more popular. From September 19 to 20, mermaid divers from around the world got together in Sanya to compete in the 2023 China Mermaid Open Championship Atlantis Station and International Mermaid Contest.

Among them, Xiang Lei is a 29-year-old diver and performer in Sanya. Like everyone else, he found it hard to swim in a beautiful way when he first tried on the mermaid tail. “Mermaid diving needs good-looking moves,” he said. It was quite difficult for him to make the moves with his legs tied together. “Although it is not comfortable, you have to keep your face relaxed at the same time,” he said.

Mermaid diving is usually done without glasses and air canisters (气瓶). Divers need strong endurance (耐力), which is the most important. In this way, they can stay in water long enough. However, people can train themselves through running and swimming. Anyone in good health can learn to be a mermaid.

Xiang believes that mermaid diving shows unlimited beauty. “Many people think it’s a girls’ activity. But what truly moved me the first time I watched a mermaid diving contest was that there were mermen!” he said. “The beauty of mermaid diving means a lot. It can also be happy and fit for men.”

9 . I published my newest novel, Haven Lake, in May, and I have another book ready for publication in October. I have experienced more success as a writer than I ever imagined. So why is writing every new book harder than the one before? And how do I keep going despite my fears?

When I published my first book, I had become used to failure. I wrote many unpublished novels for over 20 years before selling the first. Now I'm here. My books have all sold out their advance (预订). The reviews have been largely positive. At the same time, I am still troubled by doubt.

I'm not alone in that. At a lecture I attended recently by Wally Lamb, he talked about how difficult it was to write the next novel after his novel, She's Come Undone, was brought into spotlight. Elizabeth Gilbert received over nine million views for her TED talk, where she admitted that she was afraid to write after the success of her book, Eat, Pray, Love. I don't have as many readers to disappoint as Lamb and Gilbert have, of course, but I worry about disappointing them all the same.

So I am afraid every day I write. I fear writing a book that isn’t interesting to readers. The only thing that keeps me going is this: I write because writing is the thing I love to do. My passion to tell stories makes me create characters. That‘s when I know the writing is true and good, whether readers find the book and love it or not.

10 . In our daily lives, we often have to interact with people who have different personalities, opinions, and backgrounds. This is especially true at school, where we spend most of our time with our classmates.     1     Here are three tips that can help improve these relationships.

Practice active listening.     2     When classmates feel heard, they are more likely to go on with open, honest conversations and seek positive approaches to problems.

Show empathy (共情).    3     By placing yourself in your classmates’ shoes, you can better understand their opinions, which results in more effective communication and a more supportive learning environment.

    4     Offering help and support to classmates when needed can make others feel valued. Whether it’s studying together, working together on projects, or providing emotional support, sharing a common goal can strengthen your relationships.

In short, developing positive relationships with your classmates is a continuous process that requires active listening, empathy, and cooperation     5