High school can be quite the stressful time for any student. There are numerous stresses to deal with and the pressure can be more intense as you enter your senior year.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}The answer is as follows.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Adjust your approach to your specific situation. For instance, if you're active in your community and your school and have a large family, you may feel depressed by having all these people involved in your life on a daily basis.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}You just may need a moment to be alone and collect your thoughts before moving on to the challenges that face you.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If your stress persists and you can't figure out a way to handle it, you may want to try speaking to your school counselor(顾问). If you don't feel comfortable speaking to your counselor, try getting some other types of counseling.

       Realize your limits, and plan around them. Don't take on more than you can handle. If you take on too many things, you will be spread too thin and won't be able to perform at your best in anything. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You will definitely feel more at ease!

A. Seek professional counseling.

B. Why does the stress come into being?

C. Try thinking of alternative ways to deal withstress.

D. When you feel relieved, you can have a happier life.

E. Taking some time out to be alone may be the best way to handle such stress.

F. But how on earth can you reduce some of the stress?

G. Evaluate what tasks and activities are most important and leave others behind.

    About ten percent of spending on primary and secondary education in the United States comes from the federal government{#blank#}1{#/blank#} States have been required to show progress through yearly testing.

    But states say testing tells only part of the story about efforts by schools and students to improve. So the Obama administration has eased the limits in states in measuring performance.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} This new measurement tool is called the Colorado Growth Model. The ideas is to show academic growth, not just achievement on tests. It combines test scores, family income levels, school size, the ethnicity of the student and many other factors.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The graph shows a school's average score on standardized tests as well as its academic growth.

    On average, students enter sixth grade at WEST Denver Prep performing below grade level{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The new assessment(评价) method shows that, each year, the average West Denver Prep student learns more math than ninety-four percent of all the students in Colorado{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Josh Smith says perhaps the most important thing they should learn is to believe in themselves.

A. The results from schools across the state are shown online on a graph.

B. Reading and writing scores also show growth.

C. For ten years now, federal law has tied this spending to student performance.

D. Therefore, the government feels it a great pressure.

E. But three years later, most are outperforming other students across the state.

F. However, the limits don't work at all.

G. The western state of Colorado, for example, has a new assessment method.

How to Fight Laziness?

    Lazy people will never gain anything in life. However, laziness can be defeated once a few changes have been made in your mind. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Many people lack sleep constantly, since they stay up too late and get up too early to prepare for work. These people have little motivation (动力) once they arrive home. Laziness works hand in hand with a lack of motivation and a tendency (趋势) to put off things. By adjusting your sleep schedule to provide a few more hours of meaningful rest, you can fight laziness throughout the day.

    Another way to fight laziness is to change your mind from passive to active. Some people treat their lives as if they were pushed from task to task. Others take a more positive approach viewing each task as a challenge they must overcome alone. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Some people fight laziness by removing the temptations (诱惑) that surround them. A television in the living room may provide entertainment, but watching too much TV often contributes to laziness. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Complete a few tasks and reward (回报) yourself with what you enjoy, such as a good dinner or a film.

    Laziness can also be a lasting problem at home. Couples and children may all have different energy levels, but laziness can be spread if not dealt with immediately. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Be the first to collect and wash dishes after a meal. Others at home may finally follow your example and perform their own tasks. It is difficult to practice laziness when you are surrounded by motivated people.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Enough exercise and a balanced diet can help you to develop a healthy lifestyle, thus enabling you to have more energy and help lift your spirits.

Why Is Sorting Important When Recycling?

    We all agree that we should recycle more at home, in the office or when out and about. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Consequently, they can be collected and taken to the right place for recycling. This is what the process of sorting allows us to do.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}And the effective sorting needs to happen first, in our own home and second, in sorting plants to which waste is collected. When you put a plastic bottle in the right recycling bag or bin, you are helping sort recyclables so that the right material can be fed into the right recycling process. If sorting does not happen, a lot of recyclable materials can end up in landfills. It will lead to valuable resources lost from our economy.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}For instance, in Brussels consumers put plastic packaging, cans and beverage cartons in blue bags designed for recyclable packaging; paper in yellow bags for recycling; and glass needs to be taken to specific collection bins. Somewhat differently, in Vienna (Austria), citizens can expect their paper, metal, glass and plastic to be separately collected in different weeks of the year.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Once recyclable materials are collected from your home, they are further sorted in specialized facilities which ensure the quality of the recycling process. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Traditionally, sorting has been done either manually with workers sorting what can be recycled and picking out the materials to be discarded or mechanically. Today, however, new sorting technologies are being developed in order to speed up the process of sorting but to also cause better results. Exciting technologies using magnets or optical systems are being used to effectively sort materials so more of it can be recycled.

A. For effective recycling we need effective sorting.

B. Packaging at work is the first step towards recycling.

C. This is where different sorting techniques come into play.

D. So citizens need to be aware of their local collection system

E. Collection systems can be very different from country to country.

F. The rest was landfilled or burned even though they could have been recycled or reused.

G. But for materials to be recycled, they first need to find their way to the right waste stream.

    What is a big dream? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Or, is a big dream something that provides only entertainment? Children dream big dreams, but there are three barriers to realizing dreams. They often kill dreams before children ever have a chance to grow.

    The self

    Immediately following the birth of a big dream, a negative self-talk takes over and gives all the reasons why it can't happen. This inside voice is the ego (自我). It is there for protecting and should be listened to. Sometimes it is right, but more often it is wrong. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} That's why only a handful of people make their dreams come true.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    Family and friends are a lot like the ego. They want to protect those they love, so they will often list all the reasons why the big dreams won't come true. Sometimes, family and friends destroy dreams of those they love most, out of their own fear of being left behind.

    The world

    If one gets past the first two barriers, one has to face the world. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} In the past, big dreamers were locked up and sometimes even killed when they were shown to the world. Fortunately, in most of the world today, big dreamers just get laughed at.

    The way to realize a big dream is with confidence and action. When children have confidence and then take action, they will be ready to accept any failure. The truth is that every great dreamer whose dreams have never seen the light of success knows failure well. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} 

A. How big dreams die

B. Family and friends

C. They simply fail until they succeed.

D. Does a big dream show one's future?

E. Most people are influenced by the inside voice.

F. It is the last and the most terrible barrier.

G. And their big dream is to be a rock star or a famous artist.

    Improving your lifestyle can seem like an unachievable goal. Changing everything about your life all at once is probably not realistic, but there are lots of small changes you can make to enjoy your life more. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Before you know it, you'll have the lifestyle you've always wanted!

    Eat healthy. You may be flooded by all of the appealing diets, but eating healthy is really not all that complicated Try a variety of fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. Avoid salty foods, added sugar, and fatty foods as much as possible. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Fruits and vegetables are thought to increase feelings of positivity, while fats and sugars are linked to feelings of depression.

    Exercise. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Try to include at least 150 minutes of walking or 75 minutes of running or dancing into your weekly schedule. In addition to improving your physical health, regular exercise can also decrease symptoms of depression. Staying active is much easier if you find an activity that you enjoy. Try several new sports or exercise classes until you find something you really want to do. Having an exercise friend can also help keep you on track.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If you are overweight, there are a few really easy things you can do to lose a few pounds, which can add up to major health benefits. Try keeping healthy snacks like fruits and vegetables in your house for those times when you get the urge to eat between meals. You should also try to be aware of your motivations for eating. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} like going for a walk.

A. Take simple steps to lose weight

B. Stick to a healthy diet for losing weight

C. Start small by making one or two changes at a time

D. Your diet can also have an effect on your mental health

E. Regular exercise is an important component of a healthy lifestyle

F. If you eat because you're sad, try finding other ways of handling the feeling

G. Although eating out with your friends costs you much, it is completely for exercise