1 . The process of becoming independent is not the same for everyone. Some attain it much younger in life than others. Nevertheless, we are told that becoming independent is very important, but why is it?

Being independent improves your confidence.

    1     Having confidence gives you a positive outlook on life. You are going to be willing to do things on your own, without needing support or approval (批准) from others.     2     This becomes self-fulfilling, for the more experiences you have, the more your confidence will grow, and the greater will be your chances of big rewards for your efforts.

    3    

Being mature enables you to handle your emotions without help from others. There will be many challenging situations throughout our lives. Keeping our emotions from dominating our lives is essential. Knowing that our emotions are under control brings a sense of pleasure and calm. Stress is reduced, and we become happier. There are many techniques that can be used to help us control our emotions.     4    

Independence leads to broader horizons.

Once you become independent from limits placed on you by others, you can broaden your horizons. You will be able to take trips to different destinations, meet people with different social and moral beliefs, and gain more knowledge.     5     It might affect the way you approach decision-making. In this way, independence can prevent you from adopting a narrow mindset. You will welcome adventure and see the rewards of taking risks.

2 . Do you know the reason why we feel tired in the middle of a class? Maybe you would say it is because the teacher’s class is boring.     1     Perhaps this is something you have not paid enough attention to or not yet noticed.

Purpose of sleep

    2     Sleep helps our body heal (修复), grow, and stay healthy. It also gives us energy, so we can be active all day. Doctors and health scientists say: When you close your eyes and need to rest, sleep is just the very best! This is more than advice.

Sleep time

Enough sleep is important to us. How much sleep do we need? New-born babies sleep most of the time. They can sleep 20-22 hours a day. Children need 10-12 hours of sleep a day. Teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep a day because they need lots of energy to grow into their adult (成人的) bodies. Grown-ups usually need 6-8 hours of sleep to keep active.     3     That is why old people sleep less than young people.   

Interesting facts

Almost everyone has their dreams while they sleep, but not all of them can tell their dreams clearly when they wake up.     4     More surprisingly, some may even get up in their dreams and walk around. This is called “sleepwalking”. Are you a sleepwalker? Or, is there a sleepwalker around you?

    5    

It’s not just people that love to snooze (打盹). In fact, many animals have unusual or surprising sleeping habits. Some animals, such as bears and hedgehogs, sleep all through winter. The swift is a very fast bird that can sleep while it flies! Cute koalas sleep around 18 hours a day. Giraffes don’t need much sleep at all. They usually sleep standing up.

3 . Living with Joy

Living with joy can sometimes be a challenge. When things appear to be going against our will, we tend to experience pain, suffering, or a bad day.

    1     And instead of viewing bad things as causes of getting upset, try to view them as lessons of helping you grow. Too many times, we think that the outer world is creating our day, causing us to be sad or unhappy.     2     We create our day, the circumstances for joyous living.     

    3     This internal happiness spreads outward through every cell of our bodies and creates the outer experience of a smile, or laugh. Then we can see and choose our feelings, desires, goals and dreams.     4    

We create the reality where we experience joy, anger, love, and fear. Because we have the free will to choose our reality, we can make that conscious choice happier.     5     The reason is that we have to have the internal feeling of happiness to create that happiness in our daily lives then.

So, start changing your negatives into positives, gain clarity(清晰), and open your heart by looking inside yourself. When we start changing ourselves from inside out, the universe will respond to us.

4 . Every life in Britain

The weather is the most common topic in Britain.    1    Because in Britain the weather changes a lot. Wind, rain, sun, cloud, snow---they can all happen in Britain.

    2    At banks, cinemas, shops, bus stops you can always see people in queues. They stand and wait quietly, often for a long time. Each new person stands at the end of the queue---sometimes in rain,wind or snow. They never complain and they will get quite upset when someone jumps the queue.

Men always shake hands when they meet.     3    They shook hands to show that they didn't have sword(剑). Now shaking hands is a customer most countries. In Britain you don't shake hands with your friends or family members. But you do shake hands when you meet a person for the first time.

    4    And they always send birthday cards or presents. There are also other cards like Christmascards, goodluckcards, congratulations on your new baby cards and get well soon cards. They have everything for every important moment.

British people are very superstitious(迷信). They believe in all sorts of signs they see. For them black cats are luck    5    The more leaves you catch, the more lucky you will be. However, never open an umbrella in the house and never break a mirror because they mean seven years of bad luck.

Mamoudou Gassma did what nobody else would or could do , without     1     second thought. On Saturday night in the north of Pairs, the 22-year-old risked his own life, climbed to the     2    (nine) floor of a building from the outside and saved a small boy dangling from a balcony.

The boy,     3     is believed to have been left at home alone, was rescued when Gassma scaled the outside of the building with his bare     4    (hand). “I just didn’t have time to think, and I ran across the road     5    (save) him,” said Massama. The boy was crying when Gassma took him to safety and he also suffered an injured foot.

It turns out that his act of bravery could lead him     6     a completely new life. Gassama comes from Mali. He     7    (enter) France secretly last year and is living in pairs illegally.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron received Gassama and    8    (high) praised him for his courage,    9    (consider) him an example to all citizens. Besides, Gassama     10    (offer) a medal and the president also invited him to serve as a firefighter in Pairs.

6 . Everyone has failed in something, whether it is a failed relationship, fitness goal, business, or examination. Here are some tips to help you deal with failures in your life.

●Accept your failure

    1    . Even if you work especially hard on something, it's important to accept that it doesn't work. Face the failure, and determine to improve next time.

●Take a break

If you're burned out or need some time to clear your head, take some time off. For some people, this may mean closing a project for some time.    2    . Remember that leaving it for a while is not the same thing as giving up.

●Find out what went wrong

You might feel pain at first, but spend some time thinking why you failed.    3    . When did you start studying and how long did you study? Did you truly learn and memorize the information? Do you need to study or learn in a different way? Answering these questions car help you learn from the experience and do better in your next exam

●    4    

Don't analyze（分析）every little problem that went wrong or everything you "should" have done in the past. Instead, pay attention to what you've learned from these mistakes. With each mistake you make, ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?"

●View failure as part of a process（过程）

Failure doesn't have to be the end. Think of it as the start or middle of a process.    5    . Most successful people have had failures, but they picked up and moved forward.