After entering high school, you must wonder how to study well. Here are some good skills for you.

Go to class.

    If you want to do well at school, going to class is the first step in studying well. If you miss classes, you will miss what the teacher thinks is important; as a result, you'll miss what is the most likely to end up on the test.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Take good notes.

    Try not to write down everything.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Write down unfamiliar terms. After class, review your notes as soon as possible. You can fill in details that you missed and review the material while it is still fresh on your mind.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    If you are struggling in class, talk to your teacher. He or she may be able to give you more help or tutor you before or after class. Most teachers have little sympathy(同情) for students who just become worried about failing during the last few weeks of the grading period.

Take part in class discussions.

    In order to learn more in class, it is helpful to take part i n class discussions. Asking questions and having eye contact with your teachers and classmates can increase your participation(参与) and your focus during the class discussion.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} This helps you make your point clear in class.

Form study groups.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Make sure that everyone is familiar with the material because you do not want to spend time re-teaching material to people who do not understand it. Be careful! Sometimes group sessions can become chatting sessions.

A. Don't be late for your class.

B. Talk to your teacher if you need help.

C. You should write down all the new terms.

D. So if you want to study well, go to every class.

E. Get students together who want to do well in class.

F. All you need is to put the main points in your own words.

G. If the material is difficult, you'd better read it before class.

    Winston Churchill once said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. “Life has never been kind, but if we really want to enjoy it, it can only be possible with a positive attitude. The only way to have a better and pleasant future is to change outlook or attitude towards life.

    Look at the Brighter Side of Things.

    Even in the most unfortunate situations, there is always something to look forward to. In life, we do come across various situations where we compare our fate with others.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Never go to the comparison road, because it is endless.

Believe in Yourself.

    Lack of motivation causes a great deal of stress, and negative thoughts easily pop up when a person suffers from an inferiority complex (自卑感).{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Clear your mind and get rid of all the negativity.

Think Positively.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}it is also the first step in self-improvement, as improving oneself is only possible through positive thinking. It has been noted that positive thinkers are better equipped in handling disappointments as compared to pessimists (悲观者), as they usually focus on things that can be done to solve it rather than spending hours complaining.

    Help Others.

    Helping or being kind to someone in their time of need is probably the easiest way to be happy. It is by doing these simple deeds that important discoveries about oneself are made.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Be Thankful.

    Each day take a few moments and be thankful for all the great pleasures that life has provided. Even during tough times, remember the people who were always there and provided unconditional love and support.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Think about everything that is right and forget about the wrong; your heart will be filled with thankfulness in no time.

B. Helping others, even in small things, helps in the birth of a happier and generous you.

C. Never think less of yourself because you are as different and important as everyone else.

D. Some people will always compare their worst with the best of others.

E. The best way to live is to get used to everyday changes and work hard.

F. Thinking positively is an important part of being positive.

G. First make the situation clear and see if they are right.

Can zoos ever be animal-friendly?

    The topic of our last class discussion was “How can zoos provide animals with a good life?” Everyone believed it was impossible for zoos to give animals a caring environment. Our teacher suggested that visiting a modern zoo might give us a new point of view.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In our discussion, many people said that zoos were full of smelly cages with unhappy animals living in. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, however, was set in an attractive, open environment. Trees and flowers had been planted around the park. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    At school, some people accused（指责）zoos of exploiting（剥削）animals for money but at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, as I see it, nothing could be further from the truth. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Before I visited Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, I wasn't sure about the rights and wrongs of zoos. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I feel that, although zoos can't provide the freedom of the wild, they can be animal-friendly by giving animals a safe and caring environment. As long as they do this well, to my mind they make a good contribution（贡献）to animal health. They also play an important part in educating us about wildlife. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    On the bus back to school, we all agreed that what we liked most was the zoo's environment and we would recommend（推荐）it for next year's group.

A. It is difficult for the zoo to raise animals.

B. More and more animals enjoy their wild homes.

C. I think lots of my friends changed their minds, too.

D. Most of the money is used to improve conditions at the zoo.

E. I went to the zoo and was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

F. In my opinion, the animals, rather than seeming upset, were pleased.

G. It was difficult to say how a zoo could really make up for animals' loss of freedom.

    Moving abroad cab be a challenging experience. You leave your family, friends and everything you know behind. You enter a new culture where the customs and sometimes the language are different.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} It's a time to discover new things, make new friends and begin a new adventure.

    So what are the best ways to involve yourself in the new culture while living abroad?

    Live with a native speaker

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} First, you have a friend! Living alone can be a lonely experience, especially if you're far from home. I've also had the opportunity to meet my housemate's friends and socialize with them. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In addition, you have someone to tell you about the cultural customs and interesting places in this area.

    Volunteer

    Volunteering is a great way to meet people of different ages in your local area. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This is a insightful(具有洞察力的)experience and speaking with homeless people about their life stories is improving my French vocabulary and understanding. I am also able to form relationships with people that I may not have met otherwise.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    The food in France is amazing and discovering new food is a fun experience. I've tried things that I've never tried before. My knowledge of the different bread and cheese types has grown greatly.

A.Try the local food

B.But it's also exciting

C. I currently cook French food for myself

D.You can speak the local language every day

E.Improve my French vocabularyand understanding

F.There are many advantages to living with a native speaker

G.I currently volunteer with homeless people through my local church

How to Rent Your House

    Before handing the keys to your house over to a complete stranger for care, there are decisions you need to make. In fact, the decisions you make now, before searching for a tenant (房客), will make the biggest impact on the success of your rental. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

What Condition Do You Want Your House in?

    There is no end to the amount of improving you can do to your house before renting it out. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} When is good enough, good enough?

    A house should be clean, empty (unless you are offering it “furnished”, which is uncommon) and free from any major repairs at the time the tenant moves in.

    Remember, the home does not need to be as fancy as you would want it to be. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Tenants will generally never take as good care of your house as you do―so don't spend too much time or money making unnecessary upgrades that will only be ignored or broken.

    Should You Use a Property Manager?

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you have the time, abilities, and energy to manage yourself―you can save a good deal of money by doing so. However, if you try to manage without the ability―it could end up costing you much more than what a property manager might charge.

    How Much Can You Rent Your House for?

    Luckily, discovering what the monthly rent will bear for your house is not difficult. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} In business, market research means to get out there and find out what others in your industry are charging; learning how much to charge for rent is no different. Your house will generally rent for about the same amount as other properties that are of similar location, size and condition.

A. The problem becomes learning when to stop.

B. No one wants to be a landlord with those problems.

C. The following are some questions to answer before you rent out you house.

D. Have a professional carpet cleaner clean the carpets before showing the property.

E. Look around at other rentals in your area and try to see what the typical quality is.

F. The best way to determine how much your house will rent for is to simply do market research.

G. The decision about whether to manage yourself or hire a property manager cannot be made by anyone other than you.

Voluntourism

    Volunteering to help people in need combined with travelling to faraway places is a new trend in the travel industry. It is called voluntourism. People travel to other countries, learn languages and gain new experiences. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Recent statistics show that in the past few years voluntourism has been one of the fastest-growing areas of tourism. More than 1.6 million people around the world are volunteers in other countries. They help build schools, assist in hospitals and do farming work in developing countries. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They keep in touch with their host families after they return home, and many return to visit.

    There are many reasons why people want to engage in voluntourism. When people choose to join a voluntourism program, they are joining a global network of volunteers who are living and working with diverse cultures on projects that have a positive effect. The volunteers come from all over the world, and they will share the passion for giving back and the desire to broaden horizons. Some students also see it as a gap year after school, while others simply want to take time out from a job and do something else. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} However, many voluntourists do not see volunteering as what it is. They think it is a cheap way of travelling and don't really want to get involved in hard work.

    While voluntourism has been around for over a century, modern volunteering started with the Peace Corps, a program that the US government started in the 1960s. From then on, voluntourism has become more and more popular. Many organizations start similar projects. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} And they have hundreds of different types of programs for people to choose from in more than 30 developing countries. The programs run year round and each volunteer chooses when they want to start and the duration they would like to stay for.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They say that if people really want to help those in need, there are many opportunities in their own community to do this. On the other side, volunteers are often not skilled enough for the tasks that they do. Travel experts point out that in some cases voluntourists are often taken advantage of by the organization that sets up the trips.

A. Not everyone sees voluntourism in a positive way.

B. Some of them establish lasting bonds with people there.

C. And there are those who are bored and merely seek adventure.

D. Most voluntourism organizations employ people from similar fields.

E. They find it is the best way to get the best of the world.

F. By participating in voluntourism, they are contributing to local economy.

G. They offer voluntourism trips to suit people's interest, experience level or age.