Some Most Common Senior Year Mistakes

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}You'd better find out how to avoid these common mistakes. Finding a balance between having fun and studying for your courses is a great way to start preparing for college, since you will be called upon to do this during your college years.

    Here we've listed some top mistakes students make so that you can make sure you don't make them.

    Skipping Classes

    Skipping classes could mean missing valuable information for the coming tests.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} As is known to all, information you'll need for your major in your college program may be covered during a high school lecture you miss.

    Forgetting to Study

    When you feel less motivated to study, remind yourself that every good grade gets you closer to finding a college that offers a great program in the major you want. Keep your eyes on the prize!

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} To stay on top of your assignments, calculate how long you think something will take you, and then double it. That way you'll have ample time to get your work done.

    Daydreaming about Your Future Too Much

    Your mind now might be wandering, thinking around about degrees, majors, possible careers, study abroad and many other things. These are all exciting future possibilities, but don't forget the here and now.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Failing to Use Available Resources

    Teachers know about fall the challenges you're facing.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}This help can be in the form of extra office hours, a review of topics covered, study guides, sample exams, or other tools to help you improve your grade. Take advantage of them.

A. Start preparing for college

B. Mismanaging Your Time

C. Your senior year of high school is a busy time

D. And don't forget to think ahead to university classes

E. Almost every high school senior makes some mistakes.

F. Spending too much time daydreaming could seriously limit those future plans You

G. And many of them are nice enough to offer extra help.

    The ability to move around from one place to the other is the biggest virtue one can ever have. We humans, possess an extraordinary virtue of seeing, experiencing and learning from it, and this is precisely what makes our journeys more satisfying and enriching.

    People travel for various reasons.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Though every person may have his/her own reason to go on a journey, it is essential to note that traveling, in itself, has some inherent advantages. For one, for some days getting away from everyday routine is a pleasant change.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}It makes a person forget his worries, problems, frustrations, and fears, although for some time. It gives him a chance to think wisely and constructively. Traveling also helps to heal; it can mend a broken heart.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Whether a person travels alone or with family and friends, the experience definitely gives him/her nice and exciting stories, which he/she can share with people back home. In fact, traveling away from home and spending time with near and dear one(s) can give the relationship an entirely new perspective and possibly, people may start understanding each other in a better way.

    With people, their culture, thoughts and ideas also travel. When they go from one place to the other, they are bound to meet people and share their thoughts and experiences with them. This is where exchange of ideas takes place, and it definitely broadens a person's outlook{#blank#}4{#/blank#}It is very interesting to discover new and unknown ways and values; they really add spice to life.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}It makes us more sensitive and more tolerant towards others. It makes it easier for us to meet and mix with different kinds of people, and also teaches us to live life to the fullest.

A. Traveling also creates lifelong memories

B. Some find traveling an extremely boring activity

C. Humans have been traveling for a variety of reasons

D. It not only refreshes one's body, but also mind and soul

E. It makes him/her think in a different way from a different perspective

F. Above all, traveling enables us to spend some time with our own selves

G. Some travel for work, others for fun, and some for finding mental peace.

    We all have to make decisions all the time, and we have an abundance of choices, ranging from tiny issues to vital ones. Unfortunately, people often find it hard to make decisions. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you would like to improve your skill of decision making, here are four suggestions for you.

    Don't expect to have it all.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can't order every delicious dish on the menu. And there will be paths not taken, careers not chosen, to name a few. You can imagine some "what if" situations if you must, but do not let them take up too much space in your brain.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}    

    It's often good to think through your decisions. But don't overdo it. Research can reach a point where returns begin to reduce, which makes it confusing more than clarifying. Many good decisions can be made based as much on intuition (直觉) as on careful assessment of endless data.

    Don't delay making decisions.

    Yes, there is a time to put off making a decision. Perhaps you need more information. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

    Or it's likely that you wait for a less stressful time. Just don't wait so long that the decision is made by your own indecisiveness.

    Don't be hard on yourself.

    You decide to go on a voyage. You choose an expensive liner. Everything should work out just right. Only you didn't expect a bug that ran around on the ship, making you and your family sick for five days. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But please remember it is unavoidable sometimes.

A. Don't spend too much time thinking.

B. It is an important source of information.

C. You may regret making such a stupid decision.

D. Don't count on emotion to make decisions.

E. Maybe you wish to consult with your advisor.

F. Decisions force us to close the door on other possibilities.

G. That means the skill of good decision-making counts a lot.

    What happens when you want to go from one place to another, but there's water in the way？That's the problem people faced for hundreds of years in the area that is now New York City. In the city, there is a natural canal called the Narrows, separating Brooklyn on one side from Staten Island on the other.

    But the Narrows isn't really so narrow. The water is almost a mile wide, and it's more than 100 feet deep. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}When they wanted to talk to each other, they climbed into their boats and sailed across.

    By the late 1800s, circumstances had changed dramatically. Population growth meant there were now many people needing to travel between Staten Island and Brooklyn for work. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Between 1888 and 1920 there were two major efforts to build a train tunnel to connect the areas. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Proposals to build a connecting bridge made during the 1910s also ended in failure due to opposition from the US Navy.

    Finally, after World War II, there were so many people living in New York City that leaders decided Brooklyn and Staten Island needed a direct connection. Since tunnels were too expensive, they decided to build a bridge. The design selected had two separate roadways stacked on top of each other. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Construction, which took five years, was completed in 1964 and cost $320 million. Today about 190,000 cars and trucks cross the bridge every day.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But in the case of the Narrows, figuring out a good solution took hundreds of years.

A. Sometimes getting from one place to another is easy.

B. Both were quickly abandoned however due to the high costs involved.

C. Neither road was large enough to satisfy the existing transport demands.

D. It was anticipated that the new train system would help the areas grow even faster.

E. Taking a boat every time was very slow, expensive and, in bad weather, unreliable.

F. Both would hang in the air from thick steel cables, supported by two giant steel towers.

G. For a long time that wasn't a problem, because only a few people lived in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Little Habits Make a Big Difference

    Everything around us is changing at amazing speed, it seems ̶ but some things will always remain the same. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Some of our daily habits have the power to always give us happiness and lead us toward success. Here are some little habits that can make a big difference:

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Many studies have linked early rising with success. An early morning wake-up carries benefits including better planning and anticipation (预料) of problems, and more time to do the things that make you happy.

    Happiness comes to those who are curious.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} As long as you live, there will always be something to learn, and as long as you follow your heart and your passions, you won't miss out on learning.

    Believe in yourself and all that you are.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Confidence is the key to success—the thing that lets you look at the past without regret, stay grounded in the present, and prepare for the future without fear.

    A day well spent gets you a good night sleep.

    Enough sleep makes you feel healthier and happier, and it's more than lifting up your mood or removing exhaustion. Adequate sleep is a key part of your health and inner happiness. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    It doesn't take a huge effort to make a significant change in your life—using one or two tiny habits may be all you need. Get started today and you'll soon be experiencing the rewards.

    It should come as no surprise that the more stressed parents are at work, the greater the burden on their family is. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} After all, the more time parents spend working, the less time and energy they have to plan and prepare healthful meals. Previously, most studies have focused on the role of working mothers while fathers were ignored. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It adds a new wrinkle to the relationship between work stress and family nutrition. Mom's work related stress is still a central factor in how well families eat because they typically do most of the food shopping and cooking {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    The study finds that when mom or dad experience high levels of work related stress, their families are eating one­and­a­half fewer family meals per week, and the parents themselves report eating fewer fruits and vegetables, more fast food, and are less likely to eat breakfast regularly.

    It's worth noting that the study looks mainly at low income families who belong to ethnic or minority groups. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} But the implications are wide­ranging.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Teaching kids, especially teenagers, to help with grocery shopping and to cook actual meals, instead of just putting a frozen pizza in the microwave, could be an important piece of the puzzle in helping families improve their eating habits.

A. But dad's work related stress has a large impact, too.

B. As to family nutrition, the entire family plays a role, even kids.

C. Yet, the kid's stress may affect the families' nutrition, too.

D. So the findings don't necessarily apply directly to other types of families.

E. It's also probably not a surprise that this can negatively affect a family's nutrition.

F. Now, a study looks at the family as a whole and at the role of fathers in particular.

G. It is parents who give their kids a good model to develop a good eating habit.