1 . Chloe Smith is a girl aged 6 from Atlanta, Georgia. One day, while taking a walk with her father near their home, she________something shiny under a pile of rubbish. She picked up the ________ to take home, as she often did on her treasure-hunting walks. Chloe was later ________ to discover she had found a stolen Olympic gold medal.

The medal belongs to former canoeist (划艇运动员) Joe Jacobi, who won gold while ________ for Team USA in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games. The medal, along with other personal belongings, was ________ in May of 2016 when someone broke into Jacobi’s can. Though police managed to ________ some of his stolen items, they hadn’t been able to find his ________ Olympic medal. It may have been lost forever, if not for a 6-year-old girl’s treasure-hunting ________ .

Chloe’s dad had seen Jacobi’s story on the news, and ________ realized it was his stolen property. He found Jacobi’s email and sent him pictures of the treasure. After________ the medal, Jacobi was astonished, just speechless.

Chloe was ________ to give it back after speaking with Jacobi on the phone. ________, Jacobi promised to speak to her class when school begins again this fall. The ________ of this little girl reuniting an Olympian with his beloved possession is ________ . When we talk about character and doing the ________ thing, Chloe represents the Olympic values in every sense of the word.

2 . Although I love watching Olympic diving, I’ve never understood why athletes hurry off to the showers and then proceed to relax in a hot tub (热水浴池) after each dive. They’re already wet. They’re only in the pool for a handful of seconds, so it’s not like they need to get cleaned up. And doesn’t taking a shower serve the same purpose as sitting in a hot tub?

Actually, that’s what Olympic divers usually do between dives as they know very well about the importance of warm-ups and cool-downs. So, what’s the actual reason?

As it turns out, showers and hot tubs are used pretty interchangeably by the swimming pool. However, there is a need for both. First, let’s start with why divers need to take a shower between dives. It has to do with body temperature and keeping their muscles relaxed. As you can imagine, practicing dives in the pool, then having to keep your body warm in a shower, and then jumping off a 10-meter platform and into cold water couldn’t be comfortable for anyone. Going back and forth between these warm and cool temperatures can cause a diver’s muscles to tense or cramp up (痉挛), which can lead to injuries to the muscles. Showers allow an Olympic diver to recover and prevent that.

In that way, showers and hot tubs serve the same purpose. A hot tub is generally used if you have a bit more time between dives and have already stretched. The shower walls on the pool deck can typically provide enough space for more divers at the same time, and they’re especially helpful for athletes who need to stretch or who only have a few minutes between dives. Just like Olympic swimmers depend on thick clothes to keep their muscles warm, Olympic divers rely on these methods to stay loose. If you ask me, it’s not a bad way to pass the time!

3 . 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    

4 . Online jobs have opened the door for many people to earn a living (谋生) or make some extra money from the comfort of their homes. This includes teens as well. If you’re looking for such a job, here are some choices you can consider.

Customer Service

If you are 16 years old and over, you have a chance to work with Uhaul as a customer service person. You just need to have a good pair of head-phones and high-speed Internet in order to do this job. Basic pay starts at $7.50an hour.

Sell Items Online

Selling items online is one of the easiest ways to make quick cash. Teens can turn it into a good business by selling things on Bonanza. You need to start sorting through (分类) items at your home that are no longer being used and list them for sale.

Take Surveys

Another easy task teens can do to earn money is to take surveys online. You don’t need any work experience to do this and can be as young as 13 years old to get started. Survey sites like VIP Voices, Swagbucks, Harris Poll, E-Poll, and Paid Viewpoint allow teens to start taking surveys for cash and gift cards. And your opinions should be expressed clearly in English.

Etsy

Do you love to make new things? You can open up an Etsy shop to share your works. Etsy is great for DIYers who can create new products. If you are under 18, you just need a parent who is willing to help manage your shop.

5 . Are you sleeping restlessly, forgetting little things, and feeling depressed and lonely? Don’t worry. We’ve all been there. You’re probably just stressed out.

Stress isn’t always a bad thing. It can be handy for a burst of extra energy and focus, like when you’re playing a competitive sport, or have to speak in public.

But when it’s continuous, the kind of situation most of us face daily, it actually begins to change your brain. Chronic (长期的) stress, like being overworked or having arguments at home frequently, can affect brain size, its structure, and how it functions, right down to the level of your genes.

As levels of cortisol (皮质醇) rise, electric signals in your hippocampus (海马体), the part of the brain associated with learning, memories, and stress control, decline. When the hippocampus weakens, so does your ability to control your stress.

That’s not all, though. Cortisol can literally cause your brain to get smaller in size. Too much of it results in the shrinking of the part of your brain that regulates behaviors like concentration, decision-making, judgement, and social interaction.

It also leads to fewer new brain cells being made in the hippocampus. This means chronic stress might make it harder for you to learn and remember things, and also set the stage for more serious mental problems, like depression and eventually Alzheimer’s disease.

It’s not all bad news, though. There are many ways to change what cortisol does to your stressed brain. The most powerful weapons are exercise and getting into deep thoughts, which involves breathing deeply and being aware and focused on your surroundings. Both of these activities decrease your stress and increase the size of the hippocampus, and therefore your memory improves.

So don’t feel defeated by the pressures of daily life. Get control of your stress before it takes control of you.

6 . Poetry has healing powers. To get more joy and peace, we don’t have to be a professional poet but we can develop a poetic mindset (心态).     1    

Be in awe (敬畏) of everything.

The poetic mindset starts with the idea that nothing is an accident. Everything is interrelated and plays a part in a greater whole.     2     Close your eyes. Now open them. What is the first thing you see? Look closer. Ask yourself: What does it look like? What does it remind you of? Does it bring happy thoughts or sad ones? Why? I bet your randomly selected object is full of meaning.

    3    

A poem is a place where you can pour out your hard feelings. Don’t be afraid. You can always throw the page into the fireplace once you’ve filled it.     4     Poetry can be a storeroom for everything difficult in your life. But there’s more, I find when I write about something I’m struggling with, my negative feeling begins to become weaker.

Seek what inspires you.

Life isn’t perfect, but you can live with love and trust anyway.     5     There is always goodness to be found once you train yourself to look for it. Poetry to me is a form of praise. I build poems from things I see, people I meet and thoughts and feelings found deep inside. As I present those treasures in poetic language, I am appreciating what is good in them.

Yours,

Li Hua

9 . It takes time to really get to know someone, but first impressions often determine whether someone is willing to spend more time learning about you. In fact, people’s first impressions are made within seven seconds of meeting someone new.     1    

Show respect. People want to feel respected before they show you the same respect.     2     Be sure to treat everyone around you well, because it shows a lot about who you are.

Be enthusiastic.     3     Don’t be afraid to show that you are interested in someone. In fact, people often see passion (激情) as a charming sign of strength and inspiration. Showing your enthusiasm by smiling or using friendly humor will make you seem easygoing.

    4     Body language is as important as your words to first impressions. Make sure your posture is good, make strong eye can tact (眼神接触) and try to express your interest in others.

Try to avoid the bad days. If something unfortunate happens, you don’t have to follow a scheduled meeting on the day.     5     Let them know you don’t want unfavorable things to affect them. It’ll show your ability to communicate effectively.