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.

How to improve your sleep cycle

    Try to sleep at the same time every day

    Your body's internal clock will become accustomed to going to sleep and waking up at the same lime every day. Going to sleep at 10 pm and waking up at 6 am is a good method of getting enough sleep. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Get the right mattress（床垫）

    Having the right bed and mattress is very important for getting a good sleep. Having an uncomfortable place to sleep at will cause you to wake up during the night. This will have a negative effect on your sleep cycle. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} These beds can be customized for what you need.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    In the modem age, it is too easy to get distracted by technology. Many people have television. In their bedrooms and use their smart phones when they should be sleeping. If someone previously has difficulty in getting to sleep. It is likely that he will give up and watch a show instead. He tells himself that it will help him to get to sleep. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Exercise regularly

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The afternoon or the evening is a pretty popular time for people to work out. It can sometimes be difficult if you have a full-time job, but things can usually be rearranged a bit.

    Are you simply moving through your day without fully living? I think many of us have done this. Everyone wants to fully live every day. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So I've decided to share with you some ways to help you enjoy every moment.

    Sit in the morning. When you wake up, in the quiet of the morning, sit on the floor. I often use this opportunity to stretch (伸展). {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I also just sit, and focus on my breathing going in and out.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I like to take breaks from work, and go outside for a slow walk. Pay attention to your breathing, to everything around you, to the sounds and light of objects.

    Read in silence. Find a quiet time, and a quiet place, and read a good novel. Have no television or computers on nearby. And just put yourself in the world of the novel. It might seem difficult to let your mind move from the present into the time of the novel, but it's a great practice in focus. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Each day, find someone you care about and be grateful for his existence. If you want, you can tell that person how thankful you are to him.

A. Walk slowly.

B. Work with focus.

C. Look at someone in a grateful way.

D. But this is easier said than done.

E. I feel every muscle in my body.

F. It's a way of building something good into your life.

G. Also, I love a good novel more than almost anything else.

Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp

    Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit—and that can be a very annoying thing. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Read on for some techniques worth trying.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance of Alzheimer's disease (早老性痴呆症), according to a recent study. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There's evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short-term goals appear to do better. In other words, keep your brain looking forward.

    Go for a walk

    Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that are good for your brain. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Learn something new

    Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Or go dancing with your friends.

A. Focus on the future.

B. This can be especially harmful to the aged.

C. It should be something like learning gardening.

D. So take a few minutes each day to think about your future.

E. But don't worry if your schedule isn't filled with life-changing events.

F. Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments.

G. In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.

    Everyone knows that fish is good for health. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}But it seems that many people don't cook fish at home. Americans eat only about fifteen pounds of fish per person per year, but we eat twice as much fish in restaurants as at home. Buying, storing, and cooking fish isn't difficult. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}This text is about how to buy and cook fish in an easy way. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Fresh fish should smell sweet: you should feel that you're standing at the ocean's edge. Any fishy or strong smell means the fish isn't fresh. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}When you have bought a fish and arrive home, you'd better store the fish in the refrigerator if you don't cook it immediately, but fresh fish should be stored in your fridge for only a day or two. Frozen fish isn't as tasty as the fresh one. There are many common methods used to cook fish. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}First, lean it and season it with your choice of spices(调料). Put the whole fish on a plate and steam it in a steam pot for 8 to 10 minutes if it weighs about one pound. (A larger one will take more time.) Then, it's ready to serve.

A. Do not buy it.

B. The easiest is to steam it.

C. This is how you can do it.

D. It just requires a little knowledge.

E. The fish will go bad within hours.

F. When buying fish, you should first smell it.

G. The fats in fish are thought to help prevent heart disease.

    Are you happy with your appearance？{#blank#}1{#/blank#} "Almost all the girls with single﹣fold eyelids in our class have had double﹣eyelid operations," Zeng, a Senior 2 student from Chengdu, told Xinhua. Zeng had the same surgery done this summer. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    From popular photo﹣editing apps to plastic surgery, it seems that large eyes, pale skin and a skinny body are the only standard for beauty these days. But can following this standard really make us feel good about ourselves？

   {#blank#}3{#/blank#} According to Huxiu News, over six in ten girls choose not to take part in certain daily activities, such as attending school, because they feel bad about their looks. As much as 31 percent of teenagers avoid speaking up in class because they worry that others will notice their looks.

    Many teenagers are upset about their appearance because they believe in unrealistic standards of beauty, experts say.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Seeing all these things can make anyone believe that they're too dark, too fat, too short, or too tall.

However, trying to live up to strict standards can make us feel anxious. What troubles us is not just our "imperfect" looks, but the fact that we criticize ourselves too much.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Plus﹣size models are being featured in some fashion shows. All of us should be just as confident as they are.

A．Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes．

B．Body image anxiety is common among teenagers．

C．Guys care just as much as girls do about their body image．

D．Some teenagers might feel negatively about their appearance．

E．She and many of her classmates believe bigger eyes look more beautiful．

F．It's not uncommon for teenagers to feel confident about their appearance．

G．Perfect faces and bodies are everywhere in advertising TV shows and social media．