A. Come in with something to say.

B. Prepare general comments.

C. Bring materials with you.

D. Don't make them wait.

E. Have no fear.

F. Go it alone.

One of the best things you can do any time in the semester is go see the professor. So hoof on over to an office hour and have some one-on-one face time with someone who'll help you master the material and improve your grade, to boot. But how should you have this conversation with the professor? Here are five insider tips about how to make that office hour really count:

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} No need to get all bent out of shape about going to see the professor. The professor would actually like to see you and answer your questions. Believe it or not, he or she is on your side and is eager to see you do well. And besides, he or she has seen many students stupider than you, so nothing you're gong to ask will set the record for stupidity.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Even though you might feel more comfortable going with a friend or partner, the office hour will go better if it's just you and the professor. You'll get in more questions, the discussion will be tailored to what you need most help on, and two-party communication is almost always more productive than committee work. You friend can wait outside for the discussion.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you can't make the official office hours, most professors are willing to make individual, appoin tments to help you out. If you're lucky enough to land such an accommodation, though, be sure you're 100 percent on time. There's nothing that ticks off a professor more than making him-or herself available for a custom office hour only to find that you don't care enough to come on time. And besides, the professor might leave after ten minutes, which would make your trip a total loss.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you're meeting with the professor to go over a paper or test, or to ask questions about a particular lecture or reading, make sure you bring that paper or test, or your lecture notes or a copy of the article. The professor doesn't remember the comments he or she wrote on your individual piece of work—though he or she will be able to recall them after just a brief glance at your work. And if you have your lecture notes or the article in hand, you and the professor will be able to examine specific points that are confusing to you, rather than just talking in a general way about the contents.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Office hours almost always go better if you bring a few specific questions to the meeting. It's almost never good to start a meeting with general comments such as: “I didn't understand what you said about [main topic of the course]”or “I couldn't understand any of your lectures last week.” Much better is to come in with two or three conversation-starters, about a specific concept, point, or problem you didn't understand. Keep in mind that in a fifteen-minute office hour (which is how long these things usually last), two or three questions are usually the most you'll have time to discuss.

    Your telephone is running low on power while you are waiting to fly out of an airport.

    Then you discover a public USB charging area close by.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Then you take a deep breath and sit back, happy to get the power for free.

What could go wrong? Plenty.

    In addition to providing an electrical current, phone charging cords can send and receive data. That free USB charging hub at an airport, hotel or any other public place may not only charge your phone.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}The USB charging hub could be connecting to your phone and copying your contact list, email and text messages, voice mail, photographs and videos. It can also copy passwords, banking information and any other information stored on your phone.

    If you want to charge your phone while traveling, you have other choices that do not increase your risks.

    Connect your phone only to electrical outlets so data transfer is not possible.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} It is better to use a distant wall outlet than a nearby USB charging hub.

    Carry an extra, fully-charged battery. Having one means you can charge your phone without having to worry about carrying a special cord or finding a power outlet.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    If you must use a public USB charging center, be sure to turn off your phone completely.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}But it will reduce the chances of it happening, depending on what phone you have.

A. Remember to fully charge your phone before you leave home or work.

B It also could be transferring information to and from the device.

C. The public USB charging hub may even download programs to your phone.

D This may or may not prevent data transfer.

E. You can charge your phone with the extra battery wherever you are.

F. An available outlet may not be as near as a USB charging hub, but the few extra steps may keep you safe.

G. You quickly reach for a charge cord and connect your phone to the charging hub.

    While everyone overthinks situations once in a while, some people are troubled by thinking all the time. Overthinkers rethink conversations they had yesterday, second-guess every decision they make, and imagine disastrous outcomes-all day. Their minds are like a movie where they imagine their car going off the road or they replay distressing events over and over again.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Keep the focus on problem-solving

    Keeping the focus on your problems isn't helpful-but looking for solutions is. If it's something you have some control over, consider how you can prevent the problem or challenge yourself to identify five potential solutions.

    If it's something you have no control over-like a natural disaster—think about the strategies you can use to cope with it.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Schedule time for reflection

    Worrying about your problems for long periods of time isn't productive, but brief reflection can be helpful. Thinking about how you could do things differently or recognizing potential traps to your plan, could help you perform better in the future.

    Add 15 minutes of “thinking time” into your daily schedule. During that time let yourself worry, or think about whatever you want.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Learning mindfulness skills

    It's impossible to rehash（反复推敲）yesterday or worry about tomorrow when you're living in the present. Mindfulness will help you become more aware of the here and now.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}There are classes, books, apps, courses, and videos available to help you learn mindfulness skills.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Do this in your brain by changing your activity. Exercise, engage yourself in a conversation on a completely different subject, or work on a project that draws away your attention. Doing something different will put an end to the negative thoughts.

A. Change the channel.

B. Change your attitude.

C. Focus on the things you can control, like your attitude and effort.

D. Just like any other skill, mindfulness takes practice, but over time, it can decrease overthinking.

E. Overthinking can become such a habit that you don't even recognize when you're doing it.

F. There are four tips that can help you stop overthinking.

G. When your time is up, move onto something else.

    Shorts may feel nice and casual on your legs on a warm summer's day, but they're not so gentle on your wallet.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Usually the fact that one obviously uses less cloth than the other makes it hard to be accepted. So what gives?

    It turns out clothing sellers aren't trying to cheat you by charging you too much money. They're just pricing shorts according to what it costs to produce them.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Extra material does go into a full pair of pants but not as much as you may think. As experts explain, shorts that don't fall past your knees may contain just a fifth less cloth than ankle-length trousers{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Those same details that end up accounting for most of the material—pockets, belt loops, waist bands—also require the most human labor to make{#blank#}4{#/blank#} The physical cotton in blue jeans accounts for just a small part of its price Jag. Most of that money goes to pay the people stitching (缝合) it together, and they put in roughly the same amount of time whether they're working on a pair of pants or some shorts.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} For another example, short-sleeved shirts cost roughly the same as long-sleeved shirts. There are also numerous invisible factors that make some shorts more expensive than nearly identical pairs, like where they were made9marketing costs, and the brand on the label. If you don't want to spend $40 on something that covers just a small piece of leg, stay at home with your wallet!

A. More or less, shorts almost cost what pants do.

B. This is where the true cost of a garment is determined.

C. This price trend becomes popular across the fashion field.

D. This is because most of the cloth is sewn into the top half.

E. In general, a pair of shorts isn't any cheaper than a pair of pants.

F. To tell you the truth, it is a real bargain to pay for a pair of shorts.

G. Customers are willing to purchase a pair of shorts if it is at a reasonable price.

    Earth is home to around 7,000 languages, around half of which are expected to disappear by 2100.

    Languages disappear for many reasons. Sometimes younger generations stop learning a language because parents want children to fit in. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Native American children of the late-19th century were required to attend boarding schools where educators forbade them from speaking their native languages.

    The United Nations ranks endangered languages according to their risk level. For example, a "critically endangered" language is one that even grandparents don't speak often. New York's Onondaga language is an example with only 50 speakers left. An "extinct" language has no speakers. It is gone forever. Alaska's Eyak language is one example. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}In the same way, different languages contribute to cultural diversity. Saving these languages benefits our understanding of other cultures. Languages can show how a society looks at the world and what it values. A language may describe something in a way that is funny, too. In Welsh, it rains not cats and dogs, but old wives and walking sticks.

    The Endangered Language Alliance wants to save languages from disappearing. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} However, its efforts are limited. If an endangered language is going to make a real comeback, it'll probably get its start in schools. For nearly 100 years, public schools in Hawaii did not teach the Hawaiian language. Now students can keep learning in Hawaiian from elementary schools to college and beyond.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} At least one did. In 1881, a Jewish linguist named Eliezer Ben-Yehuda brought the 3,000-year-old language Hebrew back to life. Today it is one of the official languages of the country of Israel, with more than 4 million speakers.

A. The last person who spoke it died in 2008.

B. Why should we save endangered languages?

C. Various animals and plants benefit our environment.

D. With just 5 speakers left, it is absolutely endangered.

E. Can a language with zero native speakers come back to life?

F. Sometimes societies force minorities to give up their language.

G. The nonprofit group finds native speakers and records their stories.

    This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. That makes it a good time to think of ways to honor the teachers who inspire, educate and care about the students they work with year after year.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    An easy way to make teachers feel appreciated is to write them a thank-you note. Be sure to include any favorite parts of their class and anything the teacher did for you that really had an effect on you. "I value notes and letters I receive from my students, their parents and grandparents," a teacher once said. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Visit A Former Teacher

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Many teachers mentioned they love seeing and hearing from former students. It makes them realize that their work matters. If you want to visit a former teacher, the best time to go is during their "off-period" or lunch. If you go to a different school and you want to see your former teacher, be sure to email them in advance. Ask when a good time to visit would be.

    Put Away Your Cellphone

    Putting your cellphone away in class is an easy thing any student can do. It may seem helpful to look up an answer to a question or do research. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Try to think hard about an answer before immediately reaching for your phone. Think about how you are staying in the present moment while you're paying attention in class.

    Listen And Learn

    The teachers interviewed said they had many different struggles and things that made them want to be a teacher. However, they all did agree on one thing. All the teachers mentioned wanting to see their students learn and succeed. This tip hardly requires any action at all. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Value Notes and Letters

B. Write A Letter To Say Thank You

C. However, your cellphones can actually seem like a competitor for your teacher.

D. Another simple way to show your appreciation is to visit a teacher you had a few years ago.

E. When teachers are trying to get students to remember concepts, this can be a huge challenge.

F. Just know that when you listen and learn, you'll show your teacher why they do what they do.

G. Seeing the evidence of the positive influence they have had on their students is comforting for teachers.