Tips to Increase Your Productivity（生产力）

    Want to get more done in your day? Of course you do.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} The good news is that everyone can increase the amount of tasks accomplish（完成）in a day. Here are some tips to help you have a more productive day.

    Make a plan for your day. Make sure you know how you want your day to go in advance, even before you start.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} To work best, create the next day's plan the night before so that every morning you spend time performing, not planning.

    Break large tasks down into bits accomplished easily. Do you have a large project that's just so big that you keep putting it off? Or maybe you're just unsure of where to begin, so you put it off.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Therefore, you will feel a sense of accomplishment as you check the items of your list.

    Always set your priorities（优先事项）.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Figure out what must be done, do that first and rank the rest of your work according to importance. If you don't get to the items at the end of your list, it won't be a big problem, and you can do them another time.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you are the most productive in the morning, that's when you should hit it hard and do as much as you can. If you work better in the afternoon, take care of some things like emails in the morning and then accomplish the important projects in the afternoon. Keep on top of your work habits, and you'll be more productive.

A. Be aware of when you are the most productive.

B. Reward yourself if you are productive.

C. It's important to accomplish the most important tasks first.

D. It's tough to meet depressed people who are productive.

E. This can provide you a roadmap for the day.

F. To stay competitive in any industry, you need to improve your productivity.

G. A good way is to break the project down into more manageable ones.

    Curiosity is at the heart of lifelong learning. It not only gives children an advantage in school, but today's business leaders agree that it's also at the heart of successful organizations.

    Psychologists view curiosity as a life force, vital to happiness, intellectual growth, and well-being.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} It points students toward the knowledge, skills, relationships, and experiences that they need to live full and productive lives.

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    Often, the temptation（诱惑）is to benefit students when their curiosity leads to a desired outcome or good grade. But it's more important to notice and strengthen curiosity when you see it in action. When you praise students by describing how their questions and explorations are contributing to their own or classroom learning, you let them know that they are valued for their motivation, regardless of the grade they achieve.

⒉Teach students how to ask quality questions.

    Quality questions are vital for curiosity; Google, is great at finding answers but doesn't motivate the formation of questions. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}An excellent book for understanding the art of questioning is A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger.

⒊Spread the curiosity around.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Curiosity is influential in groups working toward a real-world common goal, helping to inspire questions and new ideas.

⒋Explore a variety of cultures and societies.

    How is one culture or society uniquely different from another one? Encourage students to explore their genetic or emotional links to other cultures. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Three Ways to Self-fund College

    The idea that parents should pay for their children's college education is a nice one, but it's far from a reality for many students. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Whatever the case may be, it's time to take a good look at your options for funding college on your own.

Turn over every stone.

    If you're not a straight-A genius who could easily win college scholarships, there's good news:{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Check out these popular College Confidential threads to see which awards average and above-average students are aiming at. Are your parents retirees? Are you a first-generation student? Is your family attached to any church or community groups? (Seriously, there are scholarships for all those things.) The secret to scoring major cash is following every possible source of funding.

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    Instead of going straight to a four-year institution, many students are choosing to start out at an affordable community college and transfer later.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If these are options that could work for you, just be sure you have a solid plan in place, and don't let yourself get sidetracked from your goal of earning a college degree.

    Take what you can get.

    Remember that not all valuable contributions are monetary（与钱有关的. It's time to sit down with your parents and have a serious talk about other expenses they might be able to help you with.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} You can save several thousand per year on housing. What about books, meals, and other expenses? Even relatively small savings can be a huge leg up in the long run.

A.Take an alternative route.

B.You don't need to be a genius to qualify for scholarships.

C.If they're fine about letting you live at home, that's great.

D.Think about if you can afford a price of around $10,000 per year.

E.Recent studies show a widespread lack of understanding of the real cost of college.

F.Similarly, some choose to take a year or two off after high school to save up as much as possible.

G.Some parents believe the responsibility of paying for college should fall on the person seeking a degree— that's you.

Ways to Worry Less

    Do you want to worry less? Of course you do. That's like asking if I can send you free bacon. Worry is like black mold—it appears in damp conditions and spreads uncontrollably. And very often we don't realize it's there until it's killing us. We must get rid of worry before it destroys us. But how should we do it? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Do what you need to do.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You ought not to avoid tough projects or hard conversations. If you don't do what you should be doing, you will end up spending the rest of the time worrying about the must-do things. Believe it or not, the anxiety that comes from the worry is much worse than the task we're worried about.

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    I think many of us act like we're puppets (木偶) in a play and we're waiting for something or someone to put us in the right place. We just react to whatever is going on. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} We need to live purposefully. Nothing can cause more worry than purposelessness.

    Make plans.

    You can't succeed without making plans. Making plans will enable you to achieve your aims more smoothly. However, your plans aren't set in stone. You can adjust your plans flexibly. Accept changes. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    There are other ways to lessen worry. As long as you are determined to take action, you will live a worry-free life.

Every time you're online. you are bombarded by pictures, articles, links and videos trying to tell their stories.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Sometimes they want you to click on another story or advertisement at their own site, other times they want to upset people for political reasons. Experts in media studies and online psychology have been examining the fake news phenomenon. Read these tips, and don't get fooled!

Check the source. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Fake news websites often use addresses that sound like real newspapers, but don't have many real newspapers, but don't have many real stories about other topics. If you aren't sure, click on the "About" page and look for a clear description of the organization.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Look to see if the story you are reading is on other news sites that you know and trust. If you do find it on many other sites, then it probably isn't fake, as many big news organizations try to check their sources before they publish a story.

There are other techniques that fake news uses. These include using ALL CAPS and lots of ads that pop up when you click on a link. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}If the news story makes you angry, it's probably designed to make you angry.

If you know these things about online news, and can apply them in your everyday life, then you have the control over what to read, what to believe and most importantly what to share. If you find a news story that you know is fake, the most important advice is: {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Don't share it.

B. Read about it in print media.

C. Check the story in other places.

D. Unfortunately, not all of these stories are true.

E. Also, think about how the story makes you feel.

F. Look at the website where the story comes from.

G. However, the rash of fake news is a relatively new problem.

How to Appreciate Art

Unlocking the meaning behind a work of art is one of the many joys of viewing and collecting. But how do you appreciate art and actually interpret it?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

Look at the art

        {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, but it's more than quickly glancing at the art and drawing a conclusion. Before stepping back and taking the artwork in, take a moment to identify the artwork's basic qualities：

Is it a painting or sculpture?

Is the texture (质感) rough or smooth?

Does it appear chaotic (混乱的) or organized?

All of these are elements the artist chose when designing the artwork, so they need to be considered. 

Identify the art and artist

Knowing when or how the artwork was made reveals more information. Take for example the famous Guernica (1937) by Pablo Picasso, knowing Picasso composed the painting in response to the bombing of the town of Guernica during the Second World War leads to understanding its anti-war ideas. Even if the historical context of an artwork is not apparent, knowing the year of its creation offers an idea as to the broader events taking place at the time.         {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

   {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

Use what you observed in the first two steps to think about meanings the artwork could have. Many artists have specific meanings behind their art, but also encourage viewers to come up with their own understandings. In this way, there is no "right"answer that must be reached to unlock the painting's mysteries.

Discover your tastes

Just remember one important fact: You don't have to look at everything. For instance, if you dislike abstract art, skip the abstract. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, so don't be afraid to stop and observe something outside of your tastes.

The next time you are admiring a work of art, keep these techniques in mind, and its meaning may unfold before your eyes.
 

A. Think about the meaning

B. Maintain your own opinions

C. Viewing the art seems like an obvious first step

D. However, keeping an open mind is always encouraged

E. Applying these techniques to every work of art you come across may seem confusing

F. Looking at and understanding art is all about taking the time to view, identify and think

G. In all cases, learning something about the artist undeniably adds to the appreciation of art