A. Come in with something to say.

B. Prepare general comments.

C. Bring materials with you.

D. Don't make them wait.

E. Have no fear.

F. Go it alone.

One of the best things you can do any time in the semester is go see the professor. So hoof on over to an office hour and have some one-on-one face time with someone who'll help you master the material and improve your grade, to boot. But how should you have this conversation with the professor? Here are five insider tips about how to make that office hour really count:

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} No need to get all bent out of shape about going to see the professor. The professor would actually like to see you and answer your questions. Believe it or not, he or she is on your side and is eager to see you do well. And besides, he or she has seen many students stupider than you, so nothing you're gong to ask will set the record for stupidity.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Even though you might feel more comfortable going with a friend or partner, the office hour will go better if it's just you and the professor. You'll get in more questions, the discussion will be tailored to what you need most help on, and two-party communication is almost always more productive than committee work. You friend can wait outside for the discussion.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you can't make the official office hours, most professors are willing to make individual, appoin tments to help you out. If you're lucky enough to land such an accommodation, though, be sure you're 100 percent on time. There's nothing that ticks off a professor more than making him-or herself available for a custom office hour only to find that you don't care enough to come on time. And besides, the professor might leave after ten minutes, which would make your trip a total loss.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you're meeting with the professor to go over a paper or test, or to ask questions about a particular lecture or reading, make sure you bring that paper or test, or your lecture notes or a copy of the article. The professor doesn't remember the comments he or she wrote on your individual piece of work—though he or she will be able to recall them after just a brief glance at your work. And if you have your lecture notes or the article in hand, you and the professor will be able to examine specific points that are confusing to you, rather than just talking in a general way about the contents.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Office hours almost always go better if you bring a few specific questions to the meeting. It's almost never good to start a meeting with general comments such as: “I didn't understand what you said about [main topic of the course]”or “I couldn't understand any of your lectures last week.” Much better is to come in with two or three conversation-starters, about a specific concept, point, or problem you didn't understand. Keep in mind that in a fifteen-minute office hour (which is how long these things usually last), two or three questions are usually the most you'll have time to discuss.

Finding Your Hidden Talents

 ●{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    What sorts of things do you like to read about, watch or do? What are your favorite shows on television? Which column of the newspaper and magazines do you like to read? To know what you are interested in is the first step towards finding your hidden talents.

 ● Try out different things.

    If y ou want to find out your dexterity (灵巧) in each of the things that interest you, then try them out.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Locate a safe environment, where you can try out different things without anybody's interference (干扰).

 ●Find your passion（激情）

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. However, there will be only a thing or two, which you are passionate about. What is the one thing that you love to do the most, with most enthusiasm (热情)? Get the answer to the question and you will come to know what exactly you are passionate about.

 ●Improve yourself

    After you come to know about the areas of your interest, it is the time to improve yourself. Read lots of books and learn from people. One of the best ways to learn something is to teach.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. This will help increase your depth of knowledge. In this process, you will be able to discover all your hidden talents.

 ●Know your limits

    In the process of finding your strengths or talents, you should not ignore your weaknesses as well. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Know what makes you struggle. You will then come to know about your talents as well as the areas that you need to work on.

A. Find your interests.

B. Know your strengths.

C. Therefore, teach what you have learnt.

D. You may be a person of various interests.

E. Carry out experiments and explore things.

F. It needs observation and analysis （分析）of one's own self.

G. Find out the things which you are not good at.

    How to Prepare for an Exam

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} There's no need to be tense (紧张的) or cram (死记硬背). By doing a couple simple things ahead you can ensure that you are confident and ready for anything that comes up on the test.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} After you have taken notes from studying all of your material including the book and your notes, use that information to make flash cards. Turn statements into questions

    Quiz yourself. Once everything is written down on flashcards, quiz yourself with the cards. Keep reviewing the questions that you get wrong until you get them right. You can carry flashcards around with you and quiz yourself when you're on the subway or riding in the car.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Definitely continue to quiz yourself until you get them all right.

    Do practice questions.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Practice doing the questions in the book that you were assigned for homework. Do extra questions in the back of the book. Re-do questions that you got wrong, and try to figure out why you got them wrong. Do practice questions until you feel more comfortable with subject matter.

    On the day of the exam, set your alarm at least two hours before the test. Scientists believe that a good night's rest is the key to better test scores. An hour and a half before the exam, start running through all the themes and sub-topics in your head. Like always, check your notes if you get stuck. Use your flashcards to help you commit all the tiny details to memory if they're not already memorized.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you're given yourself enough time to study, you should feel well prepared and relaxed.

A. Goon a balanced diet.

B. Take exercise and keep it up.

C. Make flash cards.

D. This is especially helpful for subjects such as math.

E. You might quiz yourself for a half hour or so, then take a break

F. Stop studying at least 15 minutes before the exam, but an hour is preferable.

G. Preparing for an exam can be stressful and time-consuming, but it doesn't have to be.

    Celebrate!

    Piñatas(彩罐)

    In Mexico, children often get piñatas on their birthday. Their parents put chocolates and other sweets inside the piñata and hang it on a tree. Then the children hit the piñata with a stick. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Noodles

    In China, people often celebrate birthdays by eating with family or friends, and the last dish of the meal is always noodles. The noodles are long and thin. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can't cut them. In Chinese culture, long noodles mean you will have a long life.

Business birthdays

    A business birthday shows that a company is successful. Many businesses in the USA celebrate important birthdays, like 10, 50 or 150 years. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}sometimes they make TV advertisements. It is a good chance to advertise the business.

Name days

    As well as a birthday, many people in Southern Europe also celebrate their name day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} people have big parties and open their houses to anybody who wants to come. People bring small gifts, often flowers or a box of sweets.

Islamic New Year

    In Muslim countries across the world, people celebrate Eid(开斋节). Eid means festival or celebration. During Eid, people visit family and friends, as well as people who are sick or in hospital. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Children receive toys, too. Children often wear special traditional clothes during the Eid celebrations.

A. You have to eat them in one piece.

B. They go out for a meal to celebrate.

C. Companies hold parties and send cards.

D. They give presents, such as sweets and food.

E. It breaks and the sweets fall out on to the ground.

F. This is one of the two important festivals in this country.

G. In Greece, name days are more important than birthdays.

    Friends play an important part in our lives, and although we may take the fact of friendship for granted, we often don't clearly understand how we make friends. While we get on well with a number of people, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Moreover, a great many relationships come under the general term "friendship". In all cases, two people like one another and enjoy being together, but beyond that, the degree of closeness between them and the reasons for their interest in each other change greatly.

    At the beginning, much depends on how people meet, and on good first impressions. As we get to know people, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Although these factors are not of the greatest importance, it is more difficult to have a good relationship with people when there is a big difference in age and background.

    Then, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Friends will stand closer together and will spend more time looking at each other than ordinary friends. Smiles and soft voices also express friendliness, and it is because they may give the wrong signals that shy people often have difficulty making friends. A friendly look with a wrong facial expression can turn into an unfriendly stare, and nervousness may be wrongly understood as unfriendliness.

    Some relationships are a result of argument and discussion, but it is usual for close friends to have the same ideas and beliefs, the same opinions and interests. The more closely involved people become, the more they depend on each other. And {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  Equally, friends have to learn to make allowances for each other, to put up with annoying habits, and to accept differences in opinions.

    In contrast with marriage, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But the support and understanding that results from shared experiences and affections does seem to create a close and lasting relationship.

A. we are usually friends with only a few.

B. many factors can affect friendship and relationship.

C. people want to do friends favors and hate to let them down.

D. argument and discussion can improve personal relationships.

E. we consider things like age, race, looks, economic and social status, etc.

F. there are no friendship ceremonies to strengthen the relationship between two people.

G. we pay attention to actual behavior, facial expression, and the way a person speaks.

    Are you truly happy? Do you ever know what it means to be happy and what it takes to achieve happiness? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The following are a few tips that I follow to create happiness in my life. Make a plan for achieving goals that you believe will make you happy. Your moods will very likely increase（增加） if you are going after something you value.

    Surround yourself with happy people. It is easy to begin to think negatively（消极的）. When you are surrounded by people who think that way. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}When something goes wrong, try to figure out a solution instead of being absorbed in self pity.

    Truly happy people don't allow setbacks（挫折）to affect their mood because they know that with a little thought they can turn the things back to their favor.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} These few minutes will give you the opportunity to focus on the positive things in your life and will lead you to continuous happiness.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  Whether you treat yourself to lunch, take a long, relaxing bath or simply spend a few extra minutes on your appearance, you will be putting yourself in a better mood.

    Finding the humor in situations can also lead to happiness. Find a way to make light of a situation that would otherwise make you happy.

    Keeping healthy is another way to achieve happiness. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. There are some tips in life that lead to happiness.

B. It's also important to take some time each day to do something nice for yourself

C. On the contrary, if you are around people who are happy, their emotional state will be easily passed to you.

D. Being overweight or not eating foods containing nutrition have a negative effect on your mood.

E. What makes one person happy may be very different from what makes someone else happy.

F. These are important questions for anyone who is seeking happiness to ask themselves.

G. Spend a few minutes each day thinking about the things that make you happy.