How to Study Better

    If you want to study better, you should pay attention to learning methods, study skills and study habits. Developing them can help you learn better.

    Keep your study area tidy and organized. Papers, books, magazines, or pictures all over your work area may distract you from the work you have to do. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If there are too many icons on your desktop, it is difficult for you to find what you need immediately.

    Maintain a quiet work area for yourself. Make sure your work area is free of distractions. There are too many distractions at home, such as a phone, music, TV, friends, or family members. Proper study space can usually be found in the public library, school library, or your bedroom. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} While learning, you need write, calculate and look up something. So it is very important and necessary to have all the necessary materials and tools that you need with you. In this way, you needn't be busy borrowing them.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} In addition to reading your textbook, it is helpful to read or view materials from other sources, such as newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and television programs. You can understand what you will learn in class better.

    Never forget to take notes carefully in class. Taking notes carefully can help to grasp the key parts. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} We can say that it is really a successful way to study.

    How to get siblings (兄弟姐妹）to get along

    One of the greatest gifts of parenthood is seeing your children form a relationship with each other that is independent of you. By giving them someone else to play with you can free up some time for yourself. Here are four techniques you can use to help your children appreciate each other while they are young.

    ⒈{#blank#}1{#/blank#}The No.1 thing parents can do to help their kids stay on good terms with each other is not to compare them with each other. Never say “Your sister never...” or “Why can't you do what your brother does?”{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    ⒉ Stay out of the way. Try not to get too involved(参与) in your kids' arguments. Learning cooperation and problem-solving is an important skill in life.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}And don't blame the older one for not “knowing better.” That puts pressure on the older child and leads to unhappiness.

    ⒊ Activities and opportunities. Have your kids go to their siblings' games and activities.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} “My kids go to each other's activities, and take part in activities together,” says Patricia Walters-Fischer, mother of two. Not only do her children go, but they also offer support, encouraging each other before a big game or performance and offering comfort when things don't go well.

    ⒋ Vacations. Don't ignore the value of a family vacation for bringing siblings together When kids are away from their friends and forced to spend time together, they often enjoy each other{#blank#}5{#/blank#}In fact, a weekend camping trip offers some of the best opportunities for working together, having fun and experiencing something new.

A. Don't compare.

B. Never shout at them.

C. That only serves to fuel the competition.

D. It doesn't need to be anything extremely great.

E. They may need help solving a conflict, but try not to take sides.

F. Give them a project, and they will learn how to work together.

G. Get them involved in one another's lives, so they can have a better appreciation of who their sibling is.

    Color is fundamental in home design-something you'll always have in every room. A grasp of how to manage color in your spaces is one of the first steps to creating rooms you'll love to live in. Do you want a room that's full of life? Or are you just looking for a place to relax after a long day?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, color is the key to making a room feel the way you want it to feel.

    Over the years, there have been a number of different techniques to help designers approach this important point.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}, they can get a little complex. But good news is that there're really only three kinds of decisions you need to make about color in your home: the small ones, the medium ones, and the large ones.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.They're the little spots of color like throw pillows, mirrors and baskets that most of us use to add visual interest to our rooms. Less tiring than painting your walls and less expensive than buying a colorful sofa, small color choices bring with them the significant benefit of being easily changeable.

    Medium color choices are generally furniture pieces such as sofas, dinner tables or bookshelves.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.They require a bigger commitment than smaller ones, and they have a more powerful effect on the feeling of a space.

    The large color decision in your rooms concern the walls, ceilings, and floors. Whether you're looking at wallpaper or paint, the time, effort and relative expense put into it are significant.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. While all of them are useful

B. Whatever you're looking for

C. If you're experimenting with a color

D. Small color choices are the ones we're most familiar with

E. It's not really a good idea to use too many small color pieces

F. So it pays to be sure, because you want to get it right the first time

G. Color choices in this range are a step up from the small ones in two major ways

    You often find somebody who works around you complaining all the time, don't you? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. About 70% of Americans say being around nonstop complainers sometimes has a bad influence on them. Luckily, here are 4 tips to help form positive patterns.

    Self-awareness

    When a negative thought pops into your mind, immediately correct it. Instead of telling yourself “That's a nice shirt, but I can't afford it,” change the message to “That will look great with my black pants when I can afford it.”{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Of course, everyone complains sometimes. But the less frequently you complain, the better you will feel.

    Distance yourself

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Excuse yourself and go somewhere quiet, somewhere outdoors in the fresh air. Think of something pleasant before returning. You have to take this seriously because negative people can and will pull you into the quicksand (难以摆脱的困境).

    Don't try to change complainers

    If you find yourself trapped in a group of complainers in a meeting or at a social event, simply choose silence. Let their words bounce off you while you think of something else. Attempting to stop the complaining can make you a target.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If someone says, “I hate Mondays; weekends are too short,” try to think, “I'm glad I rested over the weekend, so I'm ready to make some improvement on that big project.”

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    When someone is shouting at you angrily, throw the responsibility back at them by asking, “So what do you intend to do about it?” In most cases, complainers don't really want a solution. They just want to speak them out. If you make them aware that they themselves have to find the solutions, they will leave you alone and find someone else to complain to. If so, you will be happy.

A. Find solutions

B. Change the responsibility

C. You have got a lot of company

D. By doing this, it will lead to positive behavior

E. But you can redirect the discussion in your own mind

F. Whenever possible, escape from negative conversations

G. You will never know what they are going to talk about

    In the world today, hunger is still the biggest threat to health. Hunger holds back children's growth and their dreams. Around 67 million of the world's hungriest children do not attend school. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Even if they do make it into the classroom, hunger will affect their ability to learn.

    Mary's Meals is a Scottish charity that was started in 1992. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It sets up school feeding projects in some of the world's poorest countries. The charity provides one daily meal in schools to attract hungry children to the classroom, where they receive education to get out of poverty. Thanks to the supporters and volunteers around the world, Mary s Meals is now providing life-changing meals to 1,257,278 poorest children in 15 countries.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    It has reduced hunger among children at school. Many children, teachers and volunteers observed the positive physical effects that the school feeding programmer is making. The percentage of teachers saying “children in my class never complain of hunger” increased from 7% to 87%.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 98% of teachers said that children pay more attention in class since Mary's Meals started feeding at their school.

    It has reduced levels of children quitting school! Teachers reported a reduction in the number of children dropping out of school due to hunger.

    It has increased children's feelings of happiness at school. The percentage of children saying “I feel happy at school” increased from 60% to 81%.

    By one meal at a time and one child at a time, Mary's Meals fills hungry children's empty stomachs so they have the energy and opportunity to learn. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. Most of them hate to go to school.

B. It has improved children's concentration in class.

C. In order to survive, they have to work or beg.

D. Research has proved Mary's Meals has many positive effects.

E. This offers the children a life free from hunger and full of hope.

F. Since then it's grown from a small organization to a global movement.

G. They are reaching out to more hungry children waiting for Mary's Meals.

    Rainbows (彩虹) are one of the most beautiful works that nature creates. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you've ever seen one, consider yourself lucky.

    Rainbows can be seen when light passes through raindrops, says Kristin Calhoun, a research scientist studying the conditions of weather.

    When sunlight passes through raindrops, the light bends, as it enters a droplet. As it leaves the droplet, the light separates into different wavelengths (波长). {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The seven colors — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet — bend in seven different directions. Red light, for example, bends in a different way than violet light. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It also explains why rainbows look like an arc (弧). Sometimes, however, rainbows can actually form a circle that you can see in a plane with the right conditions.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} "There is an even better chance when the sun is at a lower level, early or later in the day," Calhoun says. And another key is to face the rain and have your back to the sun.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} "Small showers and storms often form in late afternoon in this area," Calhoun says. "These types of showers often produce heavy rain, but remain isolated (孤立的) over the center of the island."

A．There are lots of stories relating to rainbows.

B．Rainbows are created by light through raindrops.

C．And each wavelength appears as a different color.

D．With the conditions just right, Hawaii gets lots of rainbows.

E．The best time to catch a rainbow is when it's sunny and raining.

F．But they can be seen only if you are in the right place at the right time.

G．This is why the person on the ground sees each color at a different location.