Tips for Cooking on a Tight Schedule

     From my experience，there are three main reasons why people don't cook more often：ability，money and time.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Money is a topic I'll save for another day.So today I want to give you some wisdom about how to make the most of the time you spend in the kitchen.Here are three tips for great cooking on a tight schedule：

     1．Think ahead.The moments when I think cooking is a pain are when I'm already hungry and there is nothing ready to eat.So think ahead of the coming week.When will you have time to cook? Do you have the right materials already？{#blank#}2{#/blank#}      

     2．Make your time worth it.When you do find time to cook a meal，make the most of it and save yourself time later on.Are you making one loaf of bread？{#blank#}3{#/blank#} It takes around the same amount of time to make more of something.So save yourself the effort for a future meal.

     3．{#blank#}4{#/blank#} This may surprise you，but one of the best tools for making cooking worth your time is experimentation.It gives you the chance to hit upon new ideas and recipes that can work well with your appetite and schedule.The more you learn and the more you try，the more ability you have to take control of your food and your schedule.

     Hopefully that gives you a good start.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} And don't let a busy schedule discourage you from making some great changes in the way you eat and live!

A．Try new things.

B．Ability is easily improved.

C．Make three or four instead.

D．Understand your food better.

E．Cooking is a burden for many people.

F．Let cooking and living simply be a joy rather than a burden.

G．A little time planning ahead can save a lot of work later on.

    There are three things that will get you ahead in life: good looks, smarts, and being considered as being smart.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} And unluckily most of us are not good-looking. Let's explore some different ways to become smarter.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}College doesn't necessarily mean you'll be smarter, just educated. It means you'll be exposed to many different ideas and hopefully you'll learn how to think. Being able to think outside the box and for yourself are features smart people possess.

    Read books and educational magazines.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Educational magazines are a wealth of knowledge you can share with others, thus making you sound very smart. If you do watch television, try watching something that you can learn.

    Expand your vocabulary. Try to learn one new word a week. It doesn't seem like much, but adding 52 new words to your vocabulary will really make you appear much smarter. Subscribing (订阅) to vocabulary.com is a good start.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} This way you're actually getting 365 words a year, but that is usually more than most people can absorb.

    Don't repeat everything people tell you until you know that it's true.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}They hear a strange claim and they repeat it to the nearest ear. You can do much harm to your seek for being smart if you are known for giving bad information.

A. Go to college and get an education.

B. The first is God-given.

C. Get educated inside or outside college.

D. You will have a new word sent to your email address daily.

E. The programs actually provide you with information you can use.

F. Uneducated people and people not considered as being smart tend to do this.

G. Reading books works the brain out more than viewing television.

    Four smart ways to help build your children's vocabulary

    “Johnny next door can name his colors, but Gloria can hardly even say her own name. What am I doing wrong?”{#blank#}1{#/blank#}But the good news is that children really are born to absorb the language around them. The following are some ways to help build your child's vocabulary.

Never use baby talk

    Young children understand so much more than they can initially repeat.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Of course you are not going to start speaking to a baby in difficult English, but it's important to speak to them the way that you'd speak to anybody else. Even if your child can't or doesn't use the same vocabulary when he talks, it is helping his language development.

Follow your child's lead

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Trying to turn her attention away from the clown (小丑) so that you can point out the word for “elephant”, is not only frustrating, but also it's probably not doing much good. Instead of driving the conversation, you'll be more successful in making words “stick”, if you look at what your child is paying attention to.

Encourage any kind of reading.

    Even young kids who haven't yet learned to read will memorize books that they've often heard. So go ahead and have your child “fill in” words as you're reading together.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}For older children who are already readers, it's important to let them choose their own reading material.

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    At two years of age, some kids may only use about 30 words while others may be able to use 300 words. But there's very little evidence that those children with 30 words at age two will have worse outcomes by the time they are five or six years of age.

A. So don't talk down to them.

B. Correct pronunciation gently.

C. Don't panic if your child is slow to talk.

D. It will help with their vocabulary development.

E. That sort of comparison can lead to a lot of parental anxiety.

F. Let's say you're taking a trip to the circus with your young daughter.

G. The best thing that parents can do is really just talk to their children all the time.

    We often carry a lot of things when we're traveling.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}On long ones we carry things like passports, visas, etc. Though traveling can be fun, we're likely to misplace these things and even lose them because of the excitement of the journey or being too busy or tired. So how can we carry valuable things safely while traveling?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Place most of it in a wallet and put the wallet in your main suitcase or bag with a lock-and-key system. Don't open it until you reach your destination (目的地). Guess how much money you'll need on the journey, and place this money in a different wallet and carry this in your pocket.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Next, instead of wearing your jewelry, you can carry your jewelry at the bottom of your suitcase or bag.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Many people think that since the purse is always going to be in their hands, it'll remain safe. But other things like tickets, phone numbers, keys, etc., are all going to go in there. So you're often going to open your purse for something or the other. What if you just drop it?

    Then remember to hook (钩住) the keys. You get those really nice key chains these days that come with a big dog-hook.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Use one of these to carry your keys. This way, you won't leave the keys in a restaurant or any other place.

    Hope all the above tips for traveling will help you.

A. So you'll know what to bring.

B. It's a kind of vacation, but without your parents.

C. Spend money from this wallet till you get to your destination.

D. Firstly, distribute (分开) your money if you're traveling alone.

E. You can hook the key chain to your jeans or your handbag.

F. On short trips we take things like money, jewelry (首饰), house keys, etc.

G. Don't carry it in your purse, just in case somebody is quick in stealing your purse.

How to write an email?

    While many people are accessible by email, sometimes it is difficult to determine how exactly to write an email to them. Here are some tips for you to follow.

Write an appropriate subject line. The subject line should tell the recipient (接收者) immediately what the email is about. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Remember that your wording also has to be brief.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is best to be more formal rather than informal, so when writing to someone you have never met or written to before, a “Dear Jane Smith” is appropriate. When addressing someone whom you are a little familiar with, a “Dr. Smith” is okay until they tell you to address them by their first name, in which case a simple “Jane” will be okay.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Within the first two sentences of your email, your recipient should know exactly why you are writing to him. Sometimes an introduction may have to precede (先于) the sentence that states why you are writing, and sometimes it has to follow.

    Use appropriate language. You may be used to using informal language in certain social settings. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Even when dealing with colleagues or friends you are familiar with, do not immediately fall back on informal language.

    Keep it simple. People may get dozens and even hundreds of emails a day.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}In that way, they can save much of their time when reading emails.

A. Use proper greetings.

B. Express your ideas clearly.

C. State your purpose at the beginning.

D. Be as specific as possible when writing the subject.

E. However, an email may not be the best place to use such language.

F. It is important to check the language to avoid spelling and grammar mistakes.

G. It is always easier for them if you keep your email as short and brief as possible.

Five Ways to Go Green and Save Green

    Climate change is in the news. It seems like everyone's "going green." We're glad you want to take action too. Luckily many of the steps we can take to stop climate change can make our lives better. Let's start now.

    Save energy to save money.

    Set your thermostat（恒温器）degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heat the water.

    Unplug (拔掉……的电源插头) electrical equipment when you're not using it.

    Save water to save money.

    Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.

    Plant drought-tolerant (耐旱的) native plants in your garden. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Find out about these plants in your area.

    Fix a low-flow showerhead. They don't cost much and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your money.

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    Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your health and reducing your risk of being fat.

    Eat smart.

    If you eat meat, add one meatless meal a week. Meat costs a lot at the store and it's even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Purchasing from local farmers keeps money in the local economy.

    Avoid bottled water.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Use a water filter (过滤器) to make drinking water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive but it causes large amounts of container waste.

A. When speaking of something to eat, try local products whenever you can.

B. Our grandchildren and their children will thank us for living green.

C. Bring a reusable water bottle with you when traveling or at work.

D. Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible.

E. Less gas = more money and better health!

F. Move a little nearer to your work.

G. Many plants need little watering.