If you think your vocabulary is weak, a little effort every day over six to nine months can go a long way in improving it. Here are some tips for increasing your vocabulary.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. You may be comfortable reading a particular part of the newspaper but make an effort to read different articles on every page. The editorial (社论的) page is highly recommended not only for vocabulary but also for structuring and presenting thoughts.

    Make it a habit to read a new book every week. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. You can consider becoming a member of the local library. Make a list of new words and look up their meanings in the dictionary.

    Watch English movies and television shows. It's an interesting way to enrich your vocabulary. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Use vocabulary cards. Vocabulary cards are used by students who are trying to learn many words in a short time. You can make your own cards by writing the word on one side and the meaning on the other side of a piece of paper. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Use the Internet. The Internet is an unlimited resource for reading material.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. You will come across plenty of material to read. The Internet will also introduce you to new words. Be sure to look them up in a dictionary.

House Sitting

    In many countries of the world people do what is called house sitting. It means that if owners of the house are going away, they want someone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets while they are away.

    In Australia, many people travel. After people retire, they might buy a van and travel all over the country. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, they might want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy. House sitters might have to care for pets. Also, quite a few people have swimming pools in their back yard and they need cleaning. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I feel it is a great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, get to meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} There are websites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and by replying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look after their home.

    There are some requirements to be a house sitter. You must be a trusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything. You must be able to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You need to be good with pets, able to care for cats and dogs, or other pets they may have.

    Some house sitting jobs are just for a few days or a couple of weeks while the house owners have a short holiday. Sometimes it is for much longer. We have had one house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Then you can travel to many different countries and stay there. One of  the important things to get is references from the home owners where you have stayed. A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthy and have looked after their home well. You can show these letters to possible house sitting jobs and they know you will do a good job.

A. I have done house sitting many times.

B. Thousands of people do this all the time.

C. It is also possible to do house sitting in other countries.

D. Generally you have many opportunities to get a house sitting job.

E. You must take a little care over what your description says about you.

F. This is an international house sitting service for all city and country areas.

G. You must have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country.

    Everything you do to protect the planet helps all living things, including humpbacks（座头鲸）and other species of whales that live in oceans worldwide. And yes－just one kid, like you, can make a difference.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Don't litter. Rubbish thrown away carelessly outside often washes into storm drains（排水沟）, which empty into rivers and eventually flow to the oceans.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}including whales.

    Say, “No bag, thank you.” Whether you're buying toys, snacks, or clothes, tell the checkout person you don't need a bag.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}you'll help reduce the 100 million plastic bags that each year block sewers（下水道）, and get swallowed by whales, sea turtles, and other wild life.

    Plant a tree.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}They produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）, a gas that animals, including humans, produce naturally as they breathe. But because carbon dioxide also comes from cars and factories, there is too much of it in the atmosphere, which is contributing to global warming. If everyone planted one tree, those trees would remove a large amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Every time you leave a room for more than a minute, turn off the light you're using. In this way, you save energy and keep greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.

    Try the family challenge! Many streams and rivers are polluted and littered with rubbish. You and your family can help preserve the waterways by joining others in your community to pick up rubbish.

A．Trees help clean the air we breathe

B．Turn off the light

C．Avoid driving cars

D．By carrying your own reusable bag

E．Treat them like friends

F．Here are ideas for easy small things you can do

G．Pollution is a growing problem for all the Earth's oceans and its wildlife

    Homework is a major part of going to school: It's your teachers' way of evaluating(评价) how much you understand of what's going on in class.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Luckily, you can do a few things to make homework less work.

    Be sure you understand the homework.

    Write your homework down in your notebook or day planner if you need to.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}It's much easier to take a minute to ask the teacher during or after class than to struggle to remember later that night!

    Use any extra time in school.

    Many schools have study halls that are specifically designed to allow students to study. It's tempting(诱惑) to hang out with friends during study periods or unstructured(松散的) time.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Take a break.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} So take some breaks while doing your homework. Sitting for too long without stretching or relaxing will make you less productive than if you stop every so often. Taking a 15 minute break every hour is a good idea for most people.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    If you don't finish your homework during school, think about how much you have left and what else is going on that day, and then budget your time. Most high school students have between 1 and 3 hours of homework a night. If it's a heavy homework day and you've got an assignment in every subject, you'll need to devote more time to homework. It's a good idea to come up with some kind of homework schedule, especially if you are involved in sports or activities or have an after school job.

A. Make a homework schedule.

B. Settle down to do homework.

C. And it helps digest important concepts.

D. Most people's attention spans (跨度) aren't very long.

E. Don't be afraid to ask questions about what's unknown.

F. Once your homework is done, you can check over it if you have extra time.

G. But the more work you can get done in school, the less you'll have to do that night.

    What attitude would you have to disappointments in life?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Find out how a chair, a pair of sunglasses and other items can hold unexpected promise for controlling your anger.

    ⒈{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    There's a reason you've probably never gotten into an angry state of mind from a chair. W. Robert Nay, a clinical professor, says, “Our brains become conditioned to associate sitting and lying down with feeling relaxed.” That's why it's so easy to fall asleep on an airplane. Sitting down, Nay says, sends a message of safety and security to your brain.

    ⒉Don't get mad; get organized.

    A study of nearly 11,000 subjects in 42 countries found that the key to hold back anger is preventing it in the first place. Spending a few minutes every morning to map out your day will go far in lowering anger and anxiety levels. The theory:{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    ⒊Keep your cool with a pair of shades.

    Research in the journal Cognition & Emotion (情绪) found that when people walk in direct sun without sunglasses, the light causes them to feel depressed.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Study co-author Daniele Marzoli suggests seeking shade during heated exchanges: “Compared outdoor, indoor conversations have more friendly interactions.”

    ⒋Handle anger in a sensible way.

    We are busy working all day as if running a car on the high way. But remember: remind yourself to brake at any time in case of sudden crash. When you're in anger, say to yourself, “Why am I angry? Is it necessary?”{#blank#}5{#/blank#}It's useful to handle problems.

A. Take a seat right now.

B. Don't be an angry bird.

C. Well begun is half done.

D. You're suddenly a crazy angry person.

E. Effective time management keeps you on track, avoiding stress.

F. When attention is transferred, blind emotion will be controlled.

G. Those who walked unshaded against the rays had increased aggressiveness scores.

The man who could see the future

    The ability to predict the future is a rare talent. American author Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), one of the great science fiction writers of his age, had such a talent. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Now that we're here, let's see what he got right.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Asimov thought computers would cause a revolution comparable to the industrial revolution of the 19th century. Specifically, he said that "mobile computerized objects" would be an important part of everyday life. Here, he clearly predicted our world of smartphones, tables and other devices. He also had a great deal to say about space exploration. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    How did Asimov develop his special sense of future developments? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} He read the newspapers and magazines sold in his parents' candy store. His scientific interest gained sharper focus at Columbia University in New York. Asimov went to study chemistry, but became bored with pure laboratory science. Instead, he thought hard about the social implications (作用) of science. He wanted to communicate his ideas to the public.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Asimov had his finger on the pulse (脉搏) of both scientific and social change. He had a clear vision of what was coming around the corner for humanity in his works like the Galactic Empire series (《银河帝国系列》). "His predictions are absolutely fascinating," Calum Chase, an English writer, told BBC News. "He was a genius."