How can I fight laziness?

    Lazy people will never amount to anything in life. However, laziness can be defeated once a few changes have been made in your mind.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Many people lack sleep constantly, since they stay up too late and get up too early to prepare for work. These people have little motivation once they arrive home. Laziness works hand in hand with a lack of motivation and a tendency to put off things. By adjusting your sleep schedule to provide a few more hours of meaningful rest, you can fight laziness throughout the day.

    Another way to fight laziness is to change your mind from passive to active. Some people treat their lives as if they were pushed from task to task. Others take a more protective approach, viewing each task as a challenge they must overcome alone. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Some people fight laziness by removing the temptations(诱惑) that surround them. A television in the living room may provide entertainment, but watching too much TV often contributes to laziness. Create a reward system for yourself, just as parents do for a child to promote responsibility. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Spouses(配偶) and children may all have different energy levels, but laziness can be spread if not dealt with immediately. To fight household laziness, lead by example. Be the first to collect and wash dishes after a meal. Others in the home may eventually follow your example and perform their own task. It is difficult to practice laziness when you are surrounded by motivated people.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} enough exercise and a balanced diet can help you to develop a healthy lifestyle, thus enabling you to have more energy and help lift your spirits.

UK schools try Chinese math

    It's well known that Chinese students often outperform their peers from other countries in math contests. This is why the UK is going to try out Chinese math books and exercise papers in many of its schools.

    According to China Daily, international publisher Collins Learning signed an agreement with Shanghai Century Publishing Group on March 14 to publish translated copies of Shanghai's primary school math books. Under the agreement, Collins will print a series of 36 books, named Real Shanghai Mathematics. The series includes math textbooks, supplementary(补充性的) textbooks and teacher's textbooks. Some primary schools in the UK will use the books for first to sixth graders in September.

    The aim of this is to improve UK students performance in math by learning from the way Chinese schools teach their students the subject.

    Chinese schools, represented by those in Shanghai, have marked high in math scores in all three rounds of the Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) since 2009. However, the UK scored far less, according to The Guardian Still, some people worry that textbooks alone cannot solve the UK's problem with math, as the fundamentals of the education systems are so different.

    One key difference is that Chinese schools focus on students as a whole, while those in the UK value individual performance. In Chinese schools, students are taught together as a class, with students all moving through their lessons one step at a time. However, in the UK, students in the same class are often given different work to do depending on their progress.

    There are also huge differences in teacher training and deployment. Primary school math teachers in Shanghai teach only math for perhaps two hours a day, and the rest of the day is spent debriefing(报告) and improving lessons. English primary teachers, in contrast, are teaching all subjects, rather than specializing in a single area like math.

    Another key difference is that students in China are likely to get far more homework than UK student. Many will also have private tutoring and attend weekend school.

    With so many differences in the two education systems, it remains to be seen whether Chinese math books will benefit students in the UK. However, UK Schools Minister Nick Gibb believes that they will be a huge help. “I am confident that the steps we are taking now will make sure young people are properly prepared for further study and the 21st century workplace, and that the too often heard phrase can't do math' only exists in the past,” he said in a press release.

    Cross-country skiing can be enjoyed by a wide range of students, from the youngest kindergartners to those secondary students. It is really a fun activity, providing students a gentle workout outside in winter. While having fun, students can gain physical and mental benefits.

    The physical benefits of cross-country skiing are well-known. If we look at Olympic cross-country skiers, we can see the positive effects on the body that result from training for cross-country skiing.

    The average best female cross-country skiers carry 11 percent body fat, and best male skiers carry 5 percent. These percentages are well below the average people who are considered to be athletic—17 percent for females and 10 percent for males. Burning a high number of calories while skiing helps to keep skiers slim in a healthy and attractive way.

    Cross-country skiing is also an efficient way to exercise a large number of muscles at once. The upper body gets much more of workout because skiers use ski poles as a means of propulsion (推进), the force that drives skiers forward. Of course, the leg muscles also do their fair share. People who use cross-country skiing as a workout over several weeks will discover that the muscles of their whole body increase in strength.

    Cross-country skiing on a regular basis has a tremendous effect on a person's cardiovascular (心血管的) system. In addition to gaining strength in the muscles of the upper and lower body, people who use cross-country skiing as a workout method over several weeks will also discover that their heart is stronger. A strong heart pumps more efficiently, sending out more blood to the muscles with each contraction (收缩). Through weeks of skiing, people often discover that their resting heart rate has decreased. Highly trained Olympic cross-country skiers have resting heart rates between 28 and 40 beats per minute. Compare that to the resting heart rate of the average person, which is 60 to 80 beats per minute!

    The benefits of cross-country skiing extend beyond overall general health. A lot of evidence exists showing that regular physical activities increase the release of mood-lifting endorphins  (内啡肽) in the body. After fun skiing lessons, students will be full of energy; they will be relaxed and in a better mood than when they started class. Students will leave class with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that they have developed new skills in a fun activity.

Cross-country skiing is a great way to exercise the whole body. Now more and more students are taking part in this exercise outside during the winter months. They are enjoying it and benefiting from it!

    These days our society develops rapidly and forces people to rush. It appears that people have got used to being in a hurry. However, it's better for people to take their time and live their life at a slower pace than to hurry to get things done.

    The main reason that convinces us to oppose doing work in a hurry is the possibility of doing wrongs in a rush. When people do their jobs or take action in a hurry, they can't make a sound decision and probably regret later. As the saying goes, 'Haste makes waste.' We should think carefully before making a decision and do our work less quickly. We should not make mistakes by doing work hurriedly.

    Slowing down the pace of life helps people enjoy their life better. For example, taking a train to some place certainly will take more time than taking a plane. However, taking a train makes people have enough time to get to know a lot of new friends. Besides, it allows people to fully enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. On the contrary, being in a hurry will make us lose chances of enjoying our lives.

    Finally, slower life pace provides better health conditions for us. As is known to all, taking action in a hurry bothers people and raises their stress. People think if they are not in a hurry, they will become a loser and that annoys them. But being in a hurry can hurt people both physically and mentally. According to some studies, people who have a slower pace suffer fewer diseases, tend to be happier and live much longer than those whose life is tense, even if the former finish jobs more slowly than the latter.

    In short, working quickly will bring about more material benefits to make our society more advanced. Yet, much stress can't bring enjoyment, friends and health, which are much more important than money and other material advantages. Therefore, take your time and live your life at a slower pace.

    It's not easy to talk with teens about their relationship with screens.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Open with a discussion of young children's tech use

    Rather than asking teens to put down iPads, introduce a discussion on babies' tech use. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}When I had my eighth graders read an article about banning iPads for children under two, the class were interested.

    Admit your tech problems

    One of my students wrote that she would like to prevent the whole family from using tech facilities. Clearly, someone in her home was having some tech use problems. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}We can't tell kids to put down their devices if we continue to use them.

Keep a balanced opinion

    We adults wouldn't be able to live in today's society without screens, so we shouldn't expect teenagers to do so either. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It's improved our lives in many ways. Before we start talking about its challenges, we need to realize its opportunities, too.

    Deal with the topic like you would nutrition (营养)

    If children weren't making good food choices, we would never take their lunches away and make them stay hungry. We would teach them how to eat healthy and help them learn to set new habits: {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Instead of taking their devices away, we should help them keep a balance with technology.

A. The same should go for technology.

B. Technology isn't a bad habit to be got out of.

C. This will invite teens to talk about the subject.

D. Teens need face-to-face communication with adults.

E. One of teens' fears is that we'll take their devices away.

F. So we need to be open about our own tech habits as well.

G. Here are a few ways that will make the discussion easier and more productive.

Quiet the Complainer

For years, Jane Booth's mother made lengthy airing of complaints. It got so bad that Jane felt it was ruining the quality of their time together, so she finally spoke up and helped her mother realize how often she complained. It turned out that Jane's intervention not only helped her mother—it also helped their relationship.

You may not be as direct as Jane was to her mother, but there are other ways to get a constant complainer to end. To be effective, it helps to correct misbeliefs about complaining in the first place. In fact, even the kindest, most considerate people complain. And complaining doesn't always have a negative impact. Sometimes, complaining can change an unfavorable situation into a more desirable one. Other times, it can foster new relationships with people we don't know well.

The problems start when complaining becomes the default mode(默认模式). "When we have a need to be heard, we repeat ourselves," says Dian Killian, a life coach, "the satisfaction for frequent complainers comes from attention, so they are never satisfied with any suggestion to address the problems that they highlight—resolution isn't their aim."

So, how do you quiet a constant complainer, for the sake of your health and his?

Change the subject. Some complainers will switch gears if you shift the conversation in a direction that interests them.

Summarize the complaint. If your complainer keeps repeating himself, he may stop if you demonstrate that you're listening.

Challenge the person to act. When a constant complainer tells you about his latest problem, ask nicely what he's done to improve it.

Be honest. When you have things to do, tell the complainer that you must cut the conversation short—especially if it's someone who's complained to you many times before.

When someone stresses you out with lots of negativity, it's important to talk about the problem. Otherwise, if you bottle up your feelings and continue listening to repeated complaints, you may grow annoyed or start avoiding the person.

Remember: Quieting a constant complainer can be beneficial to both of you.