Wrong Reasons for Going to College

    A college education can be priceless{#blank#}1{#/blank#}If any of these following factors had a big influence on your decision, you're probably right to second-guess yourself.

    Because all your friends are going.

    In only a few weeks' time, the whole friend group will be scattered to a half dozen different colleges in a half dozen different places. Not to go will set yourself apart{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Because someone else expects it from you.

    Perhaps you come from a family where everyone goes to college. Or maybe, you're the kid that everyone is proud to believe will be the first to get there{#blank#}3{#/blank#} It's become so much a part of the air you breathe that you've never stopped to consider whether you want to go or whether you're ready to go.

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    It's been tough to find even a summer job. You don't have an alternative plan. Everyone else is doing it(see above). You think you might as well go to school. That is the lamest(无说服力的) of reasons to spend $20,000 or more in the next year.

    Because you are afraid you'll regret it if you don't go.

    Your uncle tells you that his one regret in life is that he didn't go to college. Others tell you that they could have gone so much farther in their career if only they had a college education{#blank#}5{#/blank#}So this is not a persuasive reason for you to go to college.

A. Because you don't know what else to do.

B. It seems that for years everyone has just assumed that of course you'll go.

C. Because you don't want to work.

D. But maybe in your heart you know that you are going for the wrong reasons.

E. Friends will wonder what's wrong with you

F. Everyone seems more excited than you are.

G. Whatever the story is, there are always people who regret decisions they've made.

    These days when someone says a computer has a bug (小虫子) in it, usually they mean that there's a problem with one of its programs. Maybe your computer crashed when you were in the middle of a game.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    But back in the early days of computers, a woman named Grace Hopper was part of a team that discovered the very first computer bug.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} She had been invited to help program a new computer, the job of which was to quickly deal with the math problems ships used to find their way.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Then it translated the patterns of holes into the math problems it was supposed to solve.

    One afternoon in 1947 Hopper and her team were running a program. But the computer wasn't giving them the right results.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} They finally ended up taking the computer apart, looking for problems. What did they find? It was a moth (飞蛾)! The moth was blocking some of the holes in the paper—{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Some people think Hopper was the first person to use the word “debug” to mean “get rid of the problems in a computer”.

    Once a child reaches their teenage years, many parents may think it is too late to help them change a negative attitude. This is not the case, and while it may take longer, it is possible to help your child develop a positive attitude. Having a positive attitude is important to a teenager's happiness and success.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Judge your own attitude. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Teens watch their parents and how they react to certain experiences and events. Children learn a good part of their belief system from their parents. Therefore, a parent's attitude and a loving home environment are important to help develop positive attitudes in teens

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. This is the little voice in our heads which we use to communicate with ourselves. Positive self-talk will have a direct influence on how positive a person's attitude and actions are. Tell your teen instead of using negative statements, replace them with positive ones. For example, “I can do this right. I just need to concentrate” is much better than “I failed again. I never do anything right.” If you promote positive self-talk you should notice a clear change in the teenager's attitude.

    Teach your teen to aim high, while showing her how to acknowledge her limitations.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If your teen wants to achieve the impossible, this will only make her feel negative when she fails to do it. Unrealistic expectations are one of the biggest causes of negative attitudes in children, says the Kids Health website.

    Try to praise your teenager when he deserves it. Show him you value him and recognize when he makes positive choices. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Be sure to give credit when credit is due. Your teen's attitude will be much more positive if you also show him respect as well as command it from him.

A. Teach them how to self-talk.

B. A child's attitude is a learned behavior.

C. Avoid unkind blames to affect your teen's attitude.

D. A negative attitude can result in them feeling upset.

E. There is no problem having reasonable dreams.

.F. Most teenagers will appreciate their parent's praise.

G. Encourage him to take up new hobbies or interests.

    Are you planning to go to university? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Perhaps you will be choosing the classes you want to take, finding accommodation and enrolling in other activities. However, if you go to university in Chile there is something extra you must do before you can begin.

    An essential part of starting university in Chile is the “mechoneo”{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Students beginning their first year at university are “welcomed” by the older university students. They are taken from their classrooms on an unknown day and blindfolded. The older students tear their clothes, cut their hair, and cover them in raw eggs and other disgusting things.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This will be based on how well the students do the activities, and many students try very hard as they want to be the king or queen of the year. The older students then take away everything of the younger students and tell them they must go out onto the street and ask people for money. They will need to bring back a certain amount of money in order to be given their things back.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    During March it is common to see new university students all around town wearing ripped, dirty clothes and covered in paint and mess. But the “mechoneo” is increasingly a source of dispute and debate. Some students see it as an important tradition and a unique experience that help new arrivals get to know everyone.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} There have been campaigns to ban or soften it in favour of more “positive welcomes'', and student organizations in some universities have voted to end the “mechoneo” completely.

A. It is an ancient university tradition here.

B. The younger students are forced to do games in dirty places.

C. The “queen mechona” and “king mechon” are chosen that day.

D. They have to do games and take up challenges for a whole day.

E. But others find it abusive, like a form of bullying.

F. What do you think you need to do in the first few weeks?

G. The money is then used to have a massive welcome party at night-time.

    The running of the bulls is a nine-day traditional Spanish festival in honor of Saint Fermin in Pamplona. Every year, at midday on July 6th, the Mayor of Pamplona shoots a rocket. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The participants are usually dressed in white and wear red neckchiefs and belts. They open champagne mostly used for sprinkling（撒）other people.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} It starts every day at eight in the morning and the runners run, sometimes wildly, sometimes less. As a sign that the run has begun they shoot the first rocket. Then they shoot the second one when the bulls are out in the streets. Six bulls which are trying to attack the participants from behind run down the 900-meter-long street to the bullring(斗牛场) with a lot of spectators. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} All of the six bulls are going to be killed at the bullfight in the stadium. The bullfight in the stadium begins at half past six in the afternoon. First, there comes the first bull. There is also a person called "picador". {#blank#}4{#/blank#} That makes the bull very wild and it starts to run all over the stadium. Later when the bull is tired, there comes another person—-a "matador" who kills it with an arrow. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} At the end of the celebration, another rocket is shot as a sign that the bullfight is finished.

A. It makes the bull very nervous.

B. It is one of the greatest events in the city.

C. This is a sign that the celebration has started.

D. The same thing happens with the other five bulls.

E. The main event is the running of the bulls.

F. The participants can get hurt or even killed.

G. He waves a red cloth in front of the bull.

    Why is setting goals important? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen.

    Successful people imagine how their life should be and set lots of goals. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It's like having a map to show you where you want to go. Think of it this way. There are two drivers. One has a destination in mind which can be found on a map. She can drive straight there surely without any wasted time of wrong turns. The other driver has no goal, or destination or map. She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver, but she drives aimlessly around, never getting anywhere, just using up gas. Which driver do you want to be?

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} They decide what they want in life and then get there by making plans and setting goals. Unsuccessful people usually just let life happen by accident. Goals aren't difficult to set and they aren't difficult to reach. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You are the one who must decide what to achieve and in what direction to aim your life.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Written goals can be reviewed regularly, and have more power. Like a contract with yourself, they are harder to neglect or forget. Also when you write your goals in a particular way, you are able to make yourself continuously aware of situations that will bring you nearer to your goal.

A. Winners in life set goals and follow them through.  

B. Research tells us that when we write a goal down we are more likely to achieve it.

C. It's up to you to find out what your goals really are.

D. It's difficult for a driver to reach his destination without a map.

E. By setting goals you are taking control of your life.

F. Because goals can help you do, be, and experience everything you want in life.

G. Because everybody should have a goal in his mind.