1 . Do you want to celebrate your birthday in space? It would be very different from what you might do on earth. For example, your birthday cake would be flying. The candles could not be lit because astronauts cannot start a fire in the spaceship.     1     Voices are almost the only things that are not changed by being weightless, which means that everything has almost no weight in space.

Some astronauts feel sick for the first few days in space. Some feel as if they have a cold all the time. That’s because without gravity (引力), the fluids (液体) in their bodies move towards their heads. Their faces look a little fatter.     2    .

And because gravity is not pressing on the spine (脊椎). The spine relaxes and stretches (舒展).     3     But when they come back on earth, they shrink (收缩) to their regular height.

Since nothing has weight, astronauts can lift heavy objects easily.     4     However, it is harder to stay still in space than to move around, so the astronauts always hold onto something or tie themselves to something.     5    

2 . Realizing your dreams is not a matter of possibility. It’s a matter of motivating (激发) yourself to focus on the right things.     1     However, sometimes you just don’t feel like doing anything. This discouraging situation can last a long time if you don’t take action. Here are some daily motivation tricks (诀窍) that might work for you.

Sit down and get a move on! Reading more about motivation won’t help. Reviewing your to-do lists won’t help.     2     So stop thinking about how hard the task is going to be or how long it’s going to take you. Tell yourself, “As soon as I get going, I’ll feel more motivated.”

    3     You have the choice to replace negative self-talk with a more encouraging and friendly voice. A voice that does not look at the possibility of success before taking action, but rather uses self-belief as its driving force. A voice that all things are possible to those who commit (全心全意投入) to their dreams.

Think about the progress you have made and how far you have come. Open your eyes and give yourself credit (认可) for all that you have done.     4     You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised when you review your results.

Regard failure as a positive learning experience and judge unsuccessful work and mistakes as part of the growth process. When times get tough, take a deep breath, and know that most great things come when you least expect it.     5     Giving up is what makes it permanent (永久的). And most people that gave up didn’t realize how close they were to success.

3 . You are enjoying a nice dream until your alarm suddenly rings.     1    . Is your clock out of control? No, it’s just winter, making the sun rise later, so it will be twice as hard to crawl out of bed into the cold darkness.

As the days get shorter, our mornings lose that crucial light to wake us up, so waking up gets harder. That means you’ll need to put in extra effort to get to work on time.     2     .

    3    . Summer or winter, you should aim to go to bed at about the same time every evening and wake up at about the same time every morning. Try to give yourself time for eight hours per night.

Avoid strong light near bedtime. So if you like reading before you close your eyes, try an actual book or an E-ink screen like a Kindle, which doesn’t emit the harsh light that phones and tablets do.

Buy a wake-up light. If you still have trouble with dark mornings, it might be time to introduce more light into your room.     4    .

Give yourself something to look forward to.     5    . Sure, you might have to get up for work, but you’ll want to be awake if you are expecting a delicious breakfast, or a workout that is actually fun.

4 . How to deal with your homework

Write it down.     1     Always be sure to write down all the homework so you won’t forget anything.

Create a homework station. Find somewhere comfortable and quiet to do your homework.     2     It will take twice as long to get the homework done. Shut off your cell phone, log off (退出) your computer (unless you need it for your homework) and close the door.

Do homework as early as possible. Don’t leave homework to the last minute.     3     The earlier you start your homework, the sooner you will finish! Do all your homework as early as you can, so you don’t have a pile of ( 一 堆 ) homework the next day.

    4     Think about how long it will take you to complete homework for each subject. For example: English-ten minutes, science-ten minutes, math-forty minutes, history-twenty minutes.

Treat yourself. You can easily get tired by sitting through an hour or two of homework without stopping. Once you finish homework for a subject, take a small break (no more than 15 minutes). Either taking a walk or finding something to eat will do. But do not turn on the TV, or you’ll never go back to your study.     5    

5 . In the long history of about 5,000 years, numerous Chinese traditional festivals were celebrated in honour of gods or some significant days, some of which are passed down from generation to generation and people always practice special traditional activities in each festival.

The Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival is on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox (春分), around April 4 or April 5 every year.     1    . They remove the weeds growing on their ancestors’ tombs to make them clean, so this festival is also called Tomb-Sweeping Day. In some areas, people are forbidden to use the fire to cook food, so they only eat the cool food. Thus, it is also named the Hanshi Festival.

The Double Ninth Festival

    2    . The Chinese character of September is the same as 9, so we get this special name. Chinese people, especially in the northern region, climb up the mountains to enjoy the wonderful view, and admire the beauty of chrysanthemums (菊花).

The Winter Solstice (冬至)

The winter solstice is on around December 22 or 23 of the solar calendar each year. From that day on, the daytime will be longer and longer.     3    . Chinese people in the northern region eat dumplings and wontons (馄饨), while in the southern region rice balls.

    4    

In China, this festival is in late January or early February, the last day of the lunar year. People celebrate it by having a family reunion dinner, setting off fireworks and staying up late. Breaking the dishes and bowls is a thing all the people are afraid of, but if you did it, you should say “Sui sui ping an!”     5    .

6 . People spend about a third of their lives sleeping. That might sound like time is wasted but it’s not. Even in a deep sleep period, the brain is busy. It’s hard at work sorting memories getting rid of harmful wastes and more. This time of rest also helps the body build stronger bones. Well-rested people tend to be happier during the day.     1    

Experts recommend that teens get about nine hours of sleep each night. But surveys show that teens are getting less and less sleep. Only about one-third of 18-year-olds now report getting at least seven hours of sleep per night.     2     Lack of sleep has been linked to unhealthy eating and feeling more anxious. Sleep-deprived (缺乏的) people also have higher risk of feeling depressed, using alcohol or drugs, or getting in car accidents.

    3     One factor may be the school start time. As people go through the teenage period, they become natural night owls. This shift makes their sleep come most easily between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. But most public middle and high schools in the United States start before 8:30 a.m. Another reason for teens’ widespread sleep shortage maybe screens. Survey data from 370,000 U. S. teens has shown an increase in trading sleep for screen time.     4     The light given off by phones or computers makes the brain resist sleepiness. That’s because the light contains blue wavelengths also found in sunlight. This tricks the brain into thinking it’s daytime.

Research suggests that people who use screens in bed have a harder time falling asleep. Surely new screen technology could lessen that effect.     5     Your body and brain will thank you.

8 . How similar are language and music?

Language is part of our daily lives, no matter where we live in the world.     1     Both language and music play a huge role in our culture and here are some of their similarities.

Both language and music have a writing system.

In English we record language using the alphabet, which is a collection of letters. Similarly, we use notes (音符) to keep a record of music. Musicians read notes and create meaning in the form of music.     2     By writing pieces of text or music, we are able to share experiences through time. We can read the ideas or hear the composition (作品) of someone who lived hundreds of years ago.

    3    

You can make a good guess at where someone is from by listening to the language he uses. In the same way, we know that styles of music are different around the world, giving us the opportunity to explore many different cultures through their music and providing us with music for every situation.

Both share emotion.

    4     Of course you may be able to see it in my face, but you will know for sure through my words. Similarly, music can sound angry, sad or happy. Music can show you exactly how the composer was or is feeling, and allows us to share that emotion. When you feel happy, you might want to sing and dance to a happy song to celebrate your happiness.     5     I think we have all used music to express or process our emotions, often combining it with language in the form of song lyrics (歌词).