Why Don't Students Like School?

    Most of the teachers I know entered the job because they loved school as children.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, they are understandably discouraged when they find that some of their students don't like school much, and that they, the teachers, have great difficulty inspiring them. Why is it difficult to make school enjoyable for students?

    As a matter of fact , the brain is not designed for thinking. It's designed to ask you not to have to think, because the brain is actually not very good at thinking. Thinking is slow and unreliable.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}People like to solve problems, but they do not like to work on problems that cannot be solved. If schoolwork is always just a bit too difficult for a student, it should be no surprise that he doesn't like school much.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    What is the nature of being human?{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Many people would answer that it is our ability to reason that makes us different—birds can fly, fish can swim, and humans can think . (By thinking I mean solving problems, reasoning, reading something complex, or doing any mental work that requires some effort.)  Shakespeare thought highly of our cognitive(认知) ability in Hamlet: “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason!” Some three hundred years later, however, Henry Ford came up with a quite different opinion, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few people are interested in it.” They both had a point of view. Humans are good at certain types of reasoning, especially compared to other animals, but we hardly often exercise those abilities.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Thinking is not only painful, as Ford noted, it's also slow and unreliable.

A. A cognitive scientist would add another point of view, “Humans don't think very often because our brains are designed not for thought but for escaping from thought.”

B. What sets us apart from other species?

C. Of course you could make each decision with care and thought.

D. However, people enjoy thinking if it is successful.

E. Therefore, teachers should reconsider how they encourage their students to think, in order to make thinking enjoyable enough for students to go after.

F. If we are all so bad at thinking, how does anyone get through the day?

G. They want to help their students feel the same excitement and passion for learning that they felt.

    Best Way to Save Money

    Although the best way to save money can vary from person to person, depending on age, family size and other characteristics, there are still some easy things that all shoppers can do to keep more money in their bank accounts.

    Avoid impulse (冲动的) purchases.

    When you shop, a best way to save money is to have a plan in mind to help you avoid impulse purchases.  {#blank#}1{#/blank#} And you only carry the exact amount of cash that you will need for your planned purchase. Some shoppers agree to discuss any purchases over a certain dollar amount with their spouses (配偶) first.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Sometimes the best way to save money in the long term is to spend a little more money right now.  {#blank#}3{#/blank#} A high-quality pair of shoes will last longer than a bargain pair and prevent foot pain. Leaner (瘦的) cuts of meat and organic produce provide health benefits for your family.

    Buy secondhand.

    Check classified ads, thrift stores and garage sales for used clothing, toys, furniture, and much more available at a part of their original cost.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} And there members offer unwanted items for free to anyone willing to pick them up.

    Borrow instead of buy.

    If you're only going to use something once, try to borrow it instead of spending your money on it. Borrow a tool from your neighbor.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Check out the resources at your local library. You'll also be reducing disorder in your home.

A. Make things by yourself .

B. Exchange books with a friend.

C. Know when to pay for quality.

D. Refuse to buy things you can't use.

E. For instance, you might leave your credit cards at home.

F. A good piece of furniture can stay in the family for decades.

G. For the most secondhand savings, check out groups like Freecycle.

A memorable science project

    If someone tells you to remember a phone number or address, it feels like an easy task at first. You repeat the numbers to yourself, either aloud or in your mind. But after just a few seconds you might find yourself starting to doubt your own memory.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Thus, it will try to throw away information that seems old or irrelevant. There are ways of helping our minds retain (记住) information, however, and in this activity you will explore ways that we lose and keep memories.

    Short-term, or working memory, is a way of describing most people's abilities to store a small amount of information for a brief period of time in a readily accessible form{#blank#}2{#/blank#} People don't have to stop and think to remember something in short term memory.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Such techniques include visualizing (观察) the information in a surprising way or linking pieces of information together so that one reminds you of the other. In the case of visualizing information, this could be as simple as remembering you parked your car on the fifth floor in the D section by picturing five dogs sitting in your car!{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you need to purchase cereal (谷物), milk, fruit, cheese and eggs, you could imagine the cereal in a bowl, with milk pouring over it and pieces of fruit on top. Then imagine cracking an egg over everything, and it's full of melted cheese! These may seem simple or even silly.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} In this activity you'll test the recall of a few friends or family members, and learn a few tricks for improving memory!

A. There are many techniques for improving memory.

B. Our brain is always seeking new and useful information.

C. Short-term memory has a short duration but is quickly and easily accessed.

D. In addition, linking information could help you remember your grocery list.

E. Retaining that information over longer periods of time becomes difficult yet.

F. Your short-term memory has a limited amount of space to store information.

G. However, they are proved to be good ways for improving memory by scientist.

    Because of the Internet, people from different parts of the world can connect with one another, and get information about nearly everything in the world. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They spend so much time online, hardly realizing that much of it is actually wasted on something meaningless. For example, they waste much time playing games. Luckily there are many meaningful things you can do on the Internet.

     {#blank#}2{#/blank#} These courses don't require you to go out to attend classes. They can also be done from the comfort of your home. So they're very convenient.

    If you're a DIY person, you should check for online resources that help you with this thing. For questions like how to paint a room, or how to repair a broken car engine, all the answers can be found online. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} From home decoration and repair to fashion and relationships, there are many sources that give you good advice.

    Practice your hobby on the Internet. Find the latest information on things that you are interested in.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} In a word, the Internet has many good sources that allow you to practice your hobbies, and even earn out of them.

    Listen to your favorite songs, watch your favorite movies, or listen to speeches by inspirational speakers. Songs can help you feel relaxed. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And listening to inspirational speeches can make you feel good about yourself.

A. Take part in fun activities that you enjoy.

B. Movies can give you that much-needed break.

C. Take academic courses and improve your skills.

D. However, very few people make really good use of the Internet.

E. So, what type of productive things do you like to do on the Internet?

F. Therefore, there are so many websites from which we can gain knowledge.

G. Also you can use the Internet to find answers for questions related to daily life.

    It's important to prepare for rainy days. Similarly, it's important to save money. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Why? It's because they've got used to spending all the money they make. Sometimes, the hardest thing about saving money is just getting started. Here are some tips to help you save money.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}The first step in saving money is to know how much you're spending. For one month, keep a record of everything you spend money on. Once you have your data, organize these numbers by category(类别) and get the total amount for each.

    You can make a budget(预算). Now that you have a good idea of how much you spend in a month, what can you do now? {#blank#}3{#/blank#} To plan your spending, you can build a budget. In this way, you can limit over-spending and make sure that you put money away for unexpected situations.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Doing so make it much easier to get started. Begin by deciding how long it will take to reach each goal. Some short-term goals include starting a fund to cover 6 months to a year of living costs and saving money for a vacation. Long-term saving goals are often several years or even decades away and can include saving for retirement and putting money away for a child's college education.

    Make saving money easier with automatic transfers (自动转帐). Automatic transfers to your savings account are very helpful. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}By moving money out of your checking account, you'll be less likely to spend money you plan to use for savings.

A. You can set savings goals.

B. You can record your costs.

C. You can plan your spending.

D. You can keep a record of what you do.

E. They can make saving money much easier.

F. However, some people find it hard to save money.

G. You can move money out of your savings account.

    Accidents happen more often than you think. Every year in China, 3.2 million people die in accidents – that's an average of six people per minute. Experts say that the 10 minutes after an accident can make the difference between life and death. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    The second Saturday of September is World First Aid Day. It fell on Sept 8 this year. First aid refers to the first steps taken to help someone who's injured. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. It also includes getting help, either by telling other people or calling 120.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR, 心肺复苏), and treat things like burns, bleeding and broken bones. It takes as little as two hours to learn these skills.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. You can also read books or watch videos that can be found on free apps like First Aid(急救指南). {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. The Peking Union Medical College Hospital offers these options.

    “Learning first aid is good for everyone and it is better to start young,” Wang Jiangshan, a doctor in the hospital's emergency room, told the China Youth Daily. “It can benefit oneself and others for the rest of one's life.”

A. It includes keeping the person safe and staying calm

B. You can learn first aid by visiting the official website of China First Aid Training

C. This is why learning first aid is so important

D. Right now is a good time for us to learn more about first aid

E. Some hospitals also give courses or even hold first aid camps for kids

F. In the US, first aid is a basic skill that every student has to learn

G. Basic first aid training teaches you how to deal with emergencies