Have you ever heard of homecoming? It's a tradition celebrated every year in the US. At homecoming, a school or university welcomes back former students or alumni(校友).{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It means, “coming home.”

    This is a time when everyone can get together.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}There are events that encourage school spirit all throughout homecoming week, which leads to the big day on Friday.

    A major activity that most students will take part in is choosing the homecoming king and queen.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} This is a group of boys and girls who represent (代表) school spirit. At the end of the week, students vote for a boy and a girl to be the king and the queen.

    Then it's time for the football game, the main event of homecoming week! {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Almost everyone from school goes to the game: students, parents, teachers, and alumni visitors. If they win, everyone is very happy.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Students dress up, and some might even bring a date to go with them. After the dance, homecoming is officially over, and everyone can't wait for next year!

A. The last event is the homecoming dance.

B. That is where the name comes from.

C. Students get to pick who will be on homecoming court early in the week.

D. The tradition began more than 100 years ago in the United States.

E. The football team faces a lot of pressure to do well for the big crowd.

F. Homecoming usually lasts a week and happens in the fall.

G. Homecoming week was not just about fun, but also a chance to try out new things.

    Choosing the right job is probably one of the most important decisions we have to make in life, and it is frequently one of the hardest decisions we have to make. One important question that you might ask yourself is: “How do I get a good job?”

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. There are people who can answer an insignificant advertisement in the local paper and land the best job in the world; others write to all sorts of places all over the country, and never seem to get a reply at all. Still others believe that the in person, door-to-door approach is by far the best way to get a job; and then there are those who, through no active decision of their own, just seem to be in the right place at the right time. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. He used to spend a lot of his free time down by the sea watching the tall ships, but never thinking that he might one day sail one of them. His father was a farmer, and being a sailor could never be anything for the boy but an idle dream. One day, on his usual wandering, he heard the captain of the ship complaining that he could not sail because one member of his crew was sick. Without stopping to think, the lad（少年）offered to take his place. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If the lad had gone home to ponder（考虑） his decision for a week, he may have missed his chance. It is one thing to be offered an opportunity; it is another thing to take it and use it well.  Sometimes we hear stories about people who break all the rules and still seem to land plum jobs（美差）. When you go for a job interview or fill out an application, you are expected to say nice things about the company to which you are applying. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. And within a year this person had become general manager of the company.

A. This story also illustrates the importance of seizing an opportunity when it presents itself.

B. People find jobs in a variety of ways.

C. It's almost impossible to find a good job by answering advertisement in newspapers

D. Take for example the young man who wanted to be a sailor.

E. But there was one person who landed an excellent job by telling the interviewer all the company's faults.

F. He spent the rest of his life happily sailing the ships he had always loved.

G. It is very important to seize an opportunity when it presents itself.

    The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modem traffic and modern communication means. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Pollution means making things dirty. It comes in many ways. We see it，smell it, drink it and even hear it Man has been polluting the earth.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Many years ago, the problem was not serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, Man moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Manis now slowly polluting the whole world. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}It's bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily {#blank#}4{#/blank#}They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city and from putting dirty smoke into the air. The earth is our home. We must take care of it {#blank#}5{#/blank#}And we must take care of the rise in population at the same time.

A. The more people, the more pollution.

B One of the biggest is pollution.

C. Air pollution is still the most serious.

D. Many countries are making rules to fight pollution.

E That means keeping the land, water and air clean.

F I hope scientists can find ways to solve the serious problem.

G Strange diseases have appeared in some places because of pollution.

    For the rest of March, a disease will sweep across the US. It will keep kids home from school. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Employees will suddenly lose their ability to concentrate.

    The disease, known as "March Madness", refers to the yearly 65-team US men's college basketball tournament (锦标赛). {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Teams compete against each other in a single-elimination (单局淘汰) tournament that eventually crowns a national champion.

    Nearly 20 million Americans will find themselves prisoners of basketball festival madness. The fun comes partly from guessing the winners for every game. Friends compete against friends. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Colleagues against bosses.

    Big-name schools are usually favored to advance into the tournament. But each year there are dark horses from little-known universities.

    This adds to the madness. Watching a team from a school with 3, 000 students beat a team from a school with 30, 000, for many Americans, is an exciting experience. Two years ago, the little-known George Mason University was one of the final four teams. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    College basketball players are not paid, so the game is more about making a name for their university and themselves. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} About 4 billion will be spent gambling (赌) on the event. According to Media Life magazine, the event will bring in 500 million in advertising income this year, topping the postseason income of every US professional league, including that of the NBA.

    Confidence is a skill that many folks want to master, but have a hard time acquiring. Have you ever wondered why? Possibly you were born confident. You were talked to negatively as a child or maybe you were rejected many times. Whatever the case is, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    But how to boost your confidence?

    Act as if .Begin to act as if you are confident. Act as the person you would want to be like. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Surround yourself with people who you think are confident and have high value. You will learn so much from observing other confident folks.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. One of the most areas that you need to pay attention to is your self-talk. Your thoughts about your capabilities and self-worth need to be positive and encouraging. Whenever you notice you think negatively, pause and take a moment, and shift your focus to something that can help you feel better about yourself.

    Go after your goals. If you are really serious about building self-confidence, you need to identify your goals and go after then. The more you add to your accomplishments, the more confident you will feel about your abilities and skills. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    By using these steps to boost your confidence, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. Always stay positive

B. Improve your positive self-talk

C. Begin to think and behave like them

D. This requires you to know what a confident person looks like

E. you will be on the path to improving your self-esteem and self-worth

F. You'll begin to trust your inner self more and appreciate yourself more

G. you should know you can improve your self-esteem and build confidence

    If You Can't Fall Asleep When Your Head Hits the Pillow. Here's What to Do Schedule Worry Time

    Just as you schedule time to see friends or get a massage do the same with your worries,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}In addition to writing down what's worrying you, create at least one action item you can do to help deal with the issue. Thinking through those potential stressors earlier in the day should help ease how much you worry about those things when your head hi is the pillow.

    Create a Routine to Power Down Your Brain

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Not true. Modern busy living has created so much stimulation (刺激) in the day that brains now operate at super-fast speed. If you don't give them time to rest; they'll continue going at that speed at bedtime. At least 30 minutes before you go to bed, start your probed preparations and then do something relaxing. Keep it consistent, and you'll train your body to expect sleep after that relaxation period.

    Keep a Gratitude List

    Now that you've thrown away your worries, replace the void (空白) where those negative thoughts once lived with positive ones by starting a gratitude journal. The impact of I hose positive thoughts is greater when you write them down,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Practice 4-7-8 Breathing

    Deep breathing is so effective for sleep. In order to get to sleep，your heart rate needs to slow down.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Practice 4-7-8 breathing before you go to bed: Inhale (吸气) for a count of four, hold for seven counts，and then blow out for eight counts.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    As you lie in bed, relax all of your muscles one by one, starting at your toes and ending at your head. Not only is this incredibly relaxing，as the name implies, it also forces you to think about the physical parts of your body, directing your attention away from whatever is stressing you.

A. Exercise Right Before Bed

B. Do Progressive Muscle Relaxation

C. Consider the relaxing effects of positive thoughts on your mind.

D. Schedule a consistent time every day to write down those worries on paper.

E. Most people assume that sleep is like breathing your body will just do it.

F. And breathing techniques are one of the most effective ways to achieve his goal.

G. So try spending a few minutes each night listing several things you're grateful for.