How to help children improve the ability to study

    Children often have trouble studying because they haven't developed good study habits. Teaching your child study skills early will give those skills to become habits.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Create a Positive Learning Space. To increase concentration, set up a workspace for your child.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.  His or her desk should have as few distractions as possible and be well equipped with school supplies, like pencils, erasers, rulers, calculators, loose leaf paper and even a computer if your child is at a grade level where a computer is helpful or necessary. The environment should also be cheery and fun so that he or she has a good mental association with it.

Maintain a Reliable Schedule. Make sure your child studies at the same time every evening. This habit keeps children from wasting time ,and helps them focus. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Most children have trouble focusing for more than an hour. Encourage your child to take a brief break can help him or concentrate more deeply when it's time to do so.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.Encourage your child to turn off his or her cell phone, video games and computer unless the computer is needed for the task at hand. These devices often distract children and can lead to wasting time. You should also be reasonably quiet and calm while your child is studying. Avoid noisy activities like talking loudly on the phone, vacuuming or watching television while your child is studying.

    Give Positive Reinforcement(强化).Positive reinforcement is not simply a matter of rewarding good study habits or high test scores, but also of acknowledging a child's progress no matter how small. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.It will help to improve his or her study skills in effective ways.

A. Studies show kids and teens are more willing to study when praised.

B. A loving, caring and optimistic reaction will often be just the thing that your child needs.

C. The following tips can help your child study better.

D. Keep your child away from electronic devices.

E. If possible, only use the space to complete homework.

F. Avoid Distractions.

G. Also, let your child take a brief break every hour or so.

    May the first is an important date in the college admission process in the United States. This is the last day for high school seniors to accept or reject offers of admission in the fall. But according to a recent report, there is a great change. Acceptance rates at the top colleges this year were lower than ever. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    These days, college applicants are applying to more colleges because online and common applications make the process easier. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}On the other hand, deciding students for top colleges to accept can be difficult because it takes much time. Students may not like being put on waiting lists. Also, common colleges work more to get the students they accept to accept them. Some colleges hold visiting days that offer a chance to attend classes and stay overnight. Some universities send gifts. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    For many families, the most important thing colleges can do is show them the money, especially this year; the weak economy makes parents nervous. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The recent problems that spread from the housing market to credit markets have even affected student's loans. So lately, top schools have to spare lots of money to increase their financial aid for students. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The Education Department expects the number of high school graduates to start to go down. This will happen as the last of the children of the baby boom generation finishes high school. The number is not expected to start rising again until 2019.

A. What contributes to it?

B. Besides, top colleges are facing changes in the population.

C. But a mistake can be costly if it happens.

D. It can mean several acceptances to choose from.

E. They have international students who know English.

F. But top colleges ignore them.

G. They cannot afford college as planned.

    Reducing class size has traditionally been seen as an important way to improve a student's educational experience. Many often believe that smaller classes would permit teachers to give more personal attention to their students.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    But one recent study suggests there's not much research-based evidence to support this idea. The research was collected by a team from Denmark's Danish Center for Social Science Research.

The study notes that one of the main problems with reducing class size is that it can have very high costs. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Financial limitations make it very difficult for many schools to reduce the number of students in the classroom.

    The new study began by examining 127 studies on classroom size. Its goal was to examine the major research studies already completed on the subject. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. In the end, the research centered on 10 main studies with possible sampling (采样)problems.

    The researchers concluded that there's some evidence to suggest that reducing class size may lead to some improvement in a student's reading achievement. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They found just a 53-percent chance that a randomly selected test score from a student from a small class would be higher than the selected score of a student from a larger class. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. This led the researchers to conclude that there would be no benefit at all to math students in a smaller class size.

A. But they said the effect is very small

B. For mathematics achievement, the result was 49 percent

C. This can theoretically lead to improved academic results for students

D. Many public opinion studies have shown teachers favor smaller class sizes

E. The effects of larger class size can stay long after the students complete their education

F. Increasing class size is one of the most common ways school systems control education spending

G. They especially centered on those trying to measure if smaller class size led to greater academic success

    When I was 16 years old, a boy gave me an important gift. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It was the early autumn of my first year at a junior high school, and my old school was far away. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I was very lonely, and afraid to make friends with anyone.

    Every time I listened to other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart break. I couldn't talk about anyone with my problems. And I didn't want my parents to worry about me.

    Then one day, my classmates talked happily with their friends, but I sat at my desk unhappily as usual. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I didn't know who he was. He passed me and then turned back. He looked at me, with a smile on his face.

    Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy, lively and warm {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I started to talk with other students and made friends. Day by day, I became closer to everyone in my class. The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now! {#blank#}5{#/blank#} I believe that the world is what you think it is. If you think it lonely, you might always be alone. So smile at the world and it will smile back.

A. At that moment, a boy entered the classroom.

B. He's living in Australia now and he loves it.

C. It doesn't matter because all the dark days have gone.

D. It was a smile.

E. That smile changed my life.

F. It's practically impossible to make friends here.

G. As a result, no one knew who I was.

    In the most basic sense, self-regulation (自我调节) involves controlling one's behaviour and thoughts in pursuit (追求) of long-term goals. Generally, people who are good at self-regulating tend to see the good in others and view challenges as opportunities. They exactly know what they want to achieve, act in accordance with their views, and devote their best effort. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} A bad-tempered child who hits others won't be popular at school. An adult with poor self-regulation skills may lack self-confidence. He may have difficulty handling stress, and often, this might be expressed in terms of anger and anxiety.

    How do problems with self-regulation develop? It could start early when a baby isn't treated with enough care. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Later, an adult may struggle with self-regulation, either because this ability wasn't developed during childhood, or because of a lack of skills in managing difficult feelings. When left unchecked, over time this could lead to risky behaviour such as taking drugs.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} One of the most frequently used methods is to change your thought patterns, which means that you think about a situation in a positive way, rather than one that's likely to increase negative emotions. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Rather than thinking that this reflects something about yourself such as "My friend hates me", you might instead think, "My friend must be really busy."

A. Try to cheer yourself up after disappointment.

B. Do the usual series of things at a particular time.

C. A child who doesn't feel safe may have trouble self-regulating.

D. A lack of self-regulation will cause problems in life.

E. Anyhow, self-regulation is so important that we should learn to use this skill.

F. For example, imagine a friend who doesn't return your calls or texts for several days.

G. Also they can calm themselves when feeling upset and cheer themselves when feeling down.

A writing club is a group consisting of writers who meet together to share and comment on manuscripts (手稿). People who write stories, poetry, or even non-fiction articles can join a writing club. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}But the usual site is in a library, bookstore, private home, or a school.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Joining a club allows writers to understand the challenges of being a writer. And members of a writing club can receive constructive criticism (评论) from their fellow writers so that they can learn how to make their articles stronger. Moreover, commenting on other writers' manuscripts allows them to see what makes a writing piece interesting or boring.

If a writer wants to become a member of a writing club, he can find one by contacting the public library or a local university. Many writing groups will advertise for new members in local newspapers as well. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

But sometimes, no matter how a writer has tried, he may still experience extreme difficulties finding a writing group to join or finding a writing group suitable for him. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} He only needs to advertise for desired members by posting online, placing an ad in local newspapers, etc.

For many writers, the journey of writing is demanding. For example, writing can be troubled by lack of inspiration. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}So joining a group of writers can be the ideal way a writer can improve his writing skills and assist others with their manuscripts.

A. And writing can be a lonely task.

B. There are many benefits of joining a writing club.

C. Members of a writing club should know each other.

D. If that happens, the writer can start his own club.

E. Joining a writing club has advantages and disadvantages.

F. It's also possible to find writing clubs on the Internet.

G. A writing club can have meetings just anywhere.