2 . When it comes to studying, most of us bank on being able to focus on our subject like a shooter on his mission target. It is when we actually sit down to study that our minds begin to slip away. This is because focus is like a muscle. Unless you build it, you’ll be distracted by everything!    1    .

●Make a to-do list

Sometimes the simple act of writing down everything that’s on your plate makes it more manageable. You get it out of your working memory, so it’s no longer part of the free-floating anxiety cloud around you.    2    . Once it’s out of your head, it won’t distract you.

●Meditate (冥想)

    3    . Just breathe in, breathe out. Try this for five to fifteen minutes each day. As you get into this practice, most find their minds are in fact an incredibly noisy and distracting place. Loads of ideas are always popping up. This is normal, though. The real value is in noticing every time your mind wanders, you bring your attention back.

●Listen

Focused listening is a life skill, one that can be applied in many areas.    4    . When you do this, you’ll discover that deep listening is HARD WORK and requires brain power.

●Read difficult works

Read long-form pieces of work at a slow, deliberate pace. Reading difficult material successfully requires real concentration and determination, and your willpower will grow accordingly.

Focus is a skill you can nurture in yourself.    5    . The more you work on it, the more focused you will stay.

A．You can cross things out, one by one

B．Doing it isn’t supposed to be necessary

C．It takes effort, but the results are well worth it

D．One simple practice is to focus on your breathing

E．Let’s see what you can do to build your focus power

F．You’ll be physically strong if you can power up your focus

G．It’s important to do your listening actively and single-mindedly

5 . If your work involves a lot of work in front of a computer screen, you’ll likely experience digital eyestrain(损伤).     1    , so here are some easy ways you can protect your eyes while using a screen.

Change your workstation slightly

Your overall workstation can cause eye strain in many ways. Make sure you’re always sitting at least an arm’s length away from the screen. And keep your screen four to five inches below eye level. What you’re sitting in is also extremely important for your position.     2    .

Adjust lighting

Your computer screen should be the brightest object in the room, so adjust your settings accordingly. You can look into softer lighting options and use blinds if the lighting in your office is too bright.     3    , as dust particles on it can reflect light and cause another source of bright and unpleasant light.

Follow the 20-20-20 rule

    4    . The 20-20-20 rule is an easy way to be fitted into your daily routine: every 20minutes, direct your eyes towards something at least 20 feet away from you, for 20 seconds. This forces your eyes to move from short-distance perception to long-distance perception. Thus it gives them a much-needed moment of rest.

    5    

Do whatever you can to make your screen easier to read-whether that’s increasing the text size, switching the contrast levels or changing the colour temperature(avoiding blue light tones as much as possible, which are linked to more eye strain problems). Play around with all the settings until you find what works best for you.

A．Adjust your settings

B．Be sure to clean your screen regularly

C．Switch the screen into eye protection mode

D．In fact, looking at a screen is unavoidable for most

E．So be certain the chair offers enough support for your lower back

F．Take steps immediately to help to ease the discomfort of your eyes

G．One simple way to reduce your eye strain is looking away from the screen

6 .

Can you stand on one leg for 10 seconds? Balance could be a matter of life and death. The World Health Organization estimates that 684,000 fatal falls occur each year, making falling the second leading cause of unintentional injury death. Some of these falls are caused by more serious conditions -but many aren’t. According to George Locker, a long-term practitioner of tai chi, a loss of balance is a medical problem that can’t be treated with drugs or surgery, despite its effects. Increasingly,efforts are being made to remedy(补救) the balance problem among the groups already most affected by it. Tai chi,practiced by an estimated 50   million people in China,is an option. Studies have shown that as little as eight weeks of practice can improve older adults’scores on the Tinetti test —a   commonly   used   measure of competence in basic tasks such as rising from a chair and walking—as well as reducing fear of falling. Longer periods of study show further benefits. Whatever activity you choose the lesson is to work on your balance before you need to. not after it becomes an issue. As Locker puts it everyone’s told to save money for their retirement and nobody’s taught to save their balance. But both are difficult to get back once they’re gone.	Just 15 minutes a day of practice can be beneficial, but do more if you have time Starting earlier helps: try the exercises below on a hard, level surface.
	Easy Level: Standing on one leg—with your hands resting on a work surface if you' re feeling unsteady — see how long you can maintain your balance. Do this one while you’re brushing your teeth.
	Medium Level: For this movement, start from standing and take a big step forwards, bending your front leg until your trailing knee just brushes the floor. Then push off your front leg and return to a standing position.
	Hard Level: Try step-ups on to a step or box: put one foot on to a box and push through that heel to step up so both feet end up together. To ensure you aren’t using your trailing leg to help ,keep your toes off the ground on that foot.

1. What does George Locker think of a lack of balance?

A．It is costly to get treated with drugs and surgery.

B．It is a minor issue that doesn’t affect one’s overall health.

C．It is a problem without any medical solution.

D．It is a problem that can be easily fixed by exercising.

2. Which of the following best illustrates the Medium Level practice?

A．

B．

C．

D．

3. What is the lesson conveyed in the passage regarding balance and health?

A．Balance is the top leading cause of sudden death from injuries.

B．It is essential for those affected by balance issues to seek help.

C．Taichi is the most effective way to improve one’s balance.

D．It is wiser to work on balance as early as possible.

7 . The secret to truly enjoying life lies in making small changes to everyday lives. Taking care of yourself and connecting with others are just some of the ways you can live a happy life. We’ve made an extensive list of practical tips.     1    

Put yourself and your happiness first. While making a decision, choose the things that will make you the most pleased.    2     When you focus on your passions and interests, you’ll feel more optimistic and energized. And allow yourself to be involved in the small things that can keep your spirits up, such as going for a short walk each day.

Reward yourself for making progress and continuing to grow. Make sure to celebrate even the smallest signs of progress and growth rather than only praising yourself for the successes. Give yourself an encouraging gesture or word occasionally.    3     Or, be sure to reward yourself with small breaks throughout the workday.

    4     Rather than bottling up all of your thoughts and keeping them to yourself, let others know when you need something. Doing so can help you become more confident and feel like you have control over your life. When you speak your mind and live life on your own terms, you’ll be more content.

Turn off the news every now and then. Consuming too much negative news can lead to stress. While it’s great to keep up with current events, the news can have a bad effect on your happiness levels if lots of negative things have happened recently.    5     If you still want to read, avoid potentially stressful topics.

A．Be honest about your wants and needs.

B．Don’t be afraid to seek out new experiences.

C．They’ll help you enjoy your life to the fullest.

D．Also, make taking care of yourself a top priority.

E．Invest your time and resources in improving yourself.

F．Even just skipping it for a day or two might help ease your worry.

G．Buy yourself a treat whenever you cross something off your to-do list.

8 . Peloton star Ben Alldis shares his “forever exercise” tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

● Start small. Something as simple as going for a walk in nature is incredibly beneficial for our mental and physical health.     1     Be honest about where you’d like to get to, and put small steps in place to make improvements.

● Mix up your training. There’s real benefit in just moving your body through things like walking to work and gardening. I think the concept of exercise being “over here”, and then everything else being “over there”, is too limiting. It needs to be more inclusive.     2    

● Be smart with your diary. I like to talk about “energy givers” versus “energy takers”. Energy takers are things like spending too much time on social media and binge drinking; while exercise and good food are energy givers. I was an athlete growing up, then I went into finance in my 20s and lost myself totally.     3     But when I changed my lifestyle, my productivity levels increased.

● Give priority to sleep. I read Matthew Walker’s book Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams.     4     I saw a dramatic influence on my productivity levels and ability to just function. So I’ll look at what I did last night before I went to bed, and then look at the impact it had on my sleep.

Understand your body clock. Everyone has a different rhythm — some people work better later in the day, others prefer to get up early. So the most important thing is finding the right time for you.     5     If you prioritise your health as much as you prioritise other things, and schedule it in your diary like a meeting, it’s far more likely to happen.

A．I’ve learnt to schedule workouts.

B．If cycling’s your usual thing, with tennis or yoga.

C．If you run out of motivation, change your workout routine.

D．It inspired me to dig deeply into sleep and prioritize it.

E．I’d recommend taking an assessment of where you are today.

F．I didn’t have a gym membership, or have time to work out.

G．Slowly you make improvements, and the quality of your sleep gets better.

9 . If you want to be confident at interview and get the job, body language will be important.

Here are some useful tips for your body language during a job interview.

Make a great entrance. A job interview actually starts before you get to the interview room. You don't know who could be looking at you from a window or standing next to you in the elevator. Your body language should tell others that you're confident and calm.     1     .

Don’t go for direct eye contact.     2    . A more effective way to make sure you look interested is to look at different parts of an interviewer's face every two seconds such as their nose, eyes and lips.

Use hand gestures while you're speaking. If you’re not sure what to do with your hands, go ahead and gesture while you're speaking. When you're really nervous, you may want to hide your hand because they express your anxiety.     3    

Stay positive. Your body language follows your mind. If your mind is negative, your body will consciously create negative energy. However, stay positive and you feel confident in your body language.     4     . And your smiles will be more likely to leave a good impression on the interviewers.

Work on your walk. Interviewers often make a hiring judgment within the first 10 seconds of meeting you.     5    . When walking directly toward the interviewer, you had better make your body point in his direction and maintain eye contact with him occasionally.

A．Instead, make “direct face contact”.

B．How you walk into the room is a part of that judgment.

C．At this time, it's a good choice for you to hide your hands.

D．Instead, using your hands gesture can make you feel relaxed.

E．If your have a positive mind, you will wear a smile on your face.

F．It's very important to review your information you have prepared.

G．It's improper to crazily search your file for your resume at this time.

10 . How to Sleep Better

What you do (or don’t do) before bedtime has significant impact on the quality of your sleep.     1     Here are a few suggestions:

Go from light to dark. Darkness stimulates production of the sleep hormone.     2     And think about investing into warm light that you can use in the bed-room before bedtime.

    3     Keep the bedroom a technology-free zone as the light from electronic devices can disturb your sleep. If you need to work, wear blue light blocking glasses(also known as computer glasses)throughout or before you sleep to prevent sleep disruption.

Find an activity that helps you to wind down. This could be anything that calms you down, and reduces thinking. For example, listening to soothing (柔和的) music, taking a hot bath, reading or meditating.

Keep any electronics you have on the other side of the room or outside the room. One of the most harmful things that can disrupt your sleep is the notifications you get from your smartphones.     4    

Create a bedtime routine. A night routine is a couple of things you do prior to going to bed. By doing these things every night, you’ll have a more restful and high-quality sleep.

Adjust your sleep temperature. The ideal temperature for sleep is 60~67 Farenheit (华氏度). This may be cooler than what most people are used to.     5     Rule of thumb: sleeping in cooler temperature is better for sleep quality than warmer temperature.

A．Avoid screens.

B．Sleep better from now on.

C．Turn off unused light around the house.

D．The higher the temperature is, the better you sleep.

E．The simplest way to avoid this is to keep it away from you.

F．Many times, it can be the difference between staying up until 4 am and sleeping like a baby.

G．But keep in mind that our body temperature changes once we fall asleep