Tips for Cooking on a Tight Schedule

    From my experience, there are three main reasons why people don't cook more often: ability, money and time. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Money is a topic I'll save for another day. So today I want to give you some wisdom about how to make the most of the time you spend in the kitchen. Here are three tips for great cooking on a tight schedule:

    1）. Think ahead. The moments when I think cooking is a pain are when I'm already hungry and there's nothing ready to eat. So think ahead of the coming week. When will you have time to cook? Do you have the right materials already? {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    2）. Make your time worth it. When you do find time to cook a meal, make the most of it and save yourself time later on. Are you making one loaf of bread? {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It takes around the same amount of time to make more of something. So save yourself the effort for a future meal.

    3）.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This may surprise you, but one of the best tools for making cooking worth your time is experimentation. It gives you the chance to hit upon new ideas and recipes that can work well with your appetite and schedule. The more you learn and the more you try, the more ability you have to take control of your food and your schedule.

    Hopefully that gives a good start. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And don't let a busy schedule discourage you from making some great changes in the way you eat and live!

Celebrating Sleep

    World Sleep Day, observed on 21 March, was created to bring attention to the growing number of sleep problems worldwide. Sleep is a natural part of human life, but many people in the modern world ignore its importance. As a result, sleep problems are increasingly common.In 2002, scientists at the University of Athens in Greece conducted a survey of over 35,000 people in 10 countries around the world, including China, Belgium and South Africa. Of the people that responded to the survey, 24 percent said that they did not sleep well, and based on their responses, 31.6 percent were diagnosed with insomnia(失眠) and another 17.5 percent were diagnosed with borderline(边界线) insomnia. In addition, 30.7 percent of survey respondents reported visiting a doctor for help with sleep problems and 11.6 percent said that they felt very sleepy during the day.

    Overall, the survey found that many people suffer the effects of poor quality sleep, some examples of which are being unable to fall asleep and waking up in the middle of the night. The main factors causing these problems are pressure from school or work and a fast pace of life, but noise pollution and light pollution also interfere with sleep and contribute to poor quality sleep. The survey's findings are particularly troubling because large numbers of people were found to have difficulty sleeping at night. The short-term effects of this are tiredness and trouble concentrating. If this happens for a long time, the risk of gaining weight and having a heart attack may increase.

    There are many things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep. First, you should have regular sleep habits. Try to go to bed and wake up around the same time each day. You also need to make your bedroom a cool, dark, quiet place to sleep so that heat, light and noise do not disturb you. At night, you should also avoid things that contain caffeine, such as chocolate, coffee, tea and many soft drinks, as caffeine may keep you from sleeping.

    Getting a good night's sleep is important for everyone. By following the advice above, you can rest better at night and work better during the day.

    Do you want to improve your networking skills? If so,check out five ways to promote your networking skills.

    Research the event before you go.

    Do your research before you attend an event.Figuring out the dress standard and the theme of the event will help you perfect your clothes, attitude, and approach{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Mental preparation will help you feel confident and comfortable.

    Describe yourself differently.

    Most people choose to describe themselves to strangers by saying their name and job. However, unless you have a unique name and an eye-catching job, this probably won't help. Give them a little more to work with{#blank#}2{#/blank#}In that case, people may have a chance to ask you a few questions.

    Network with everyone.

    At networking events, there are probably specific people that you want to talk to.While this could be beneficial to you, don't cut off your other choices{#blank#}3{#/blank#}It can also help you to get noticed by the people you want to speak to.

    Smile to make a great first impression.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} According to a research,people decide whether you are trustworthy or not after looking at your face for 34 milliseconds（毫秒）.Make those milliseconds count by relaxing the muscles in your face and smiling.

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    Don't let the end of your conversation affect your networking for the worse.Have a reason for leaving,smile as you say goodbye,and shake hands if appropriate.Even though you are leaving,this guarantees the person will remember you as polite,pleasant,and sincere.

A.First impressions mean a lot.

B.Finish the conversation gracefully.

C.Work on finding a conversational balance.

D.It is important to keep the conversation flowing.

E.Provide a more general and mysterious（神秘的）description.

F.It will also help you prepare some great conversation starters.

G.Being polite and friendly to everyone enables you to make a great impression.

    Maybe you are an average student.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}This is not necessarily so,however. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to.Here's how.

    Plan your time carefully.When planning your work, you should make a list of things that you have to do.After making this list,you should make a schedule of your time.First your time for eating,sleeping,dressing,etc.Then decide a good,regular time for studying{#blank#}2{#/blank#}A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems,but it will force you to realize what is happening to your time.

    Find a good place to study.Look around the house for a good study area.Keep this space,which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room,free of everything but study materials.No games,radios,or television.When you sit down to study,concentrate on the subject.

    Make good use of your time in class{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Listening carefully in class means less work later.Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says.

    Study regularly.When you get home from school, go over your notes,review the important points that your teacher is going to discuss the next day and read that material{#blank#}4{#/blank#}If you do these things regularly,the material will become more meaningful,and you'll remember it longer.

    Develop a good attitude towards tests.The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. They help you remember your new knowledge.The world won't end if you don't pass a test,so don't be over worried.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}You will probably discover them after you have tried these.

A.There are other methods that might help you with your studying.

B.Don't forget to arrange enough time for entertainment.

C.Make full use of class time to listen to everything the teacher says.

D.No one can become a top student unless he or she works hard.

E.You probably think you will never be a top student.

F.Make full use of class time to take notes of what the teacher says in class.

G.This will help you understand the next class.

    Eyesight plays a very important role in our daily life. Every waking moment, the eyes are working to see the world around us. Over forty percent of Americans worry about losing eyesight, but it's easy to include steps into our daily life to ensure healthy eyes. Here are five suggestions for a lifetime of healthy eyesight：

    Schedule yearly exams.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Experts advise parents to bring babies 6 to 12 months of age to the doctor for a careful check. The good news is that millions of children now can have yearly eye exams and following treatment, including eye- glasses.

    Protect against UV rays. Long-term stay in the sun creates risk to your eyes. No matter what the season is, it's extremely important to wear sunglasses.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Give your eyes a break. Two-thirds of Americans spend up to seven hours a day using computers or other digital products.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Experts recommend that people practice the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}As part of a healthy diet, eat more fruits and vegetables each day. Vitamins C and E help protect eyesight and promote eye health.

    Practice safe wear and care of contact lenses （隐形眼镜）. Many Americans use contact lenses to improve their eyesight. While some follow the medical guidance for wearing contact lenses, many are breaking the rules and putting their eyesight at risk.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Otherwise, you may have problems such as red eyes, pain in the eyes, or a more serious condition.

A.Eat your greens.

B.Eye care should begin early in life.

C.They can properly protect your eyes.

D.Stay in good shape by taking more vitamins.

E.Parents usually don't care about their own eyesight.

F.Always follow the doctor's advice for appropriate wear.

G.This frequent eye activity increases the risk for eye tiredness.

    A fresh-faced batch of teenagers just began a new school year, but will they get the most out of it? In the mornings, many are forced to get to school much too early. And at night, screens are a temptation that's hard to resist. This double whammy (双重灾难) is a perfect lesson in sleep deprivation (剥夺).

    Three out of every four students in grades 9 to 12 fail to sleep the minimum of eight hours that the American Academy of Medicine recommends for their age group. In most cases, insufficient sleep results in reduced attention, preventing students' progress and lowering grades. More alarmingly, sleep deprivation may lead to physical and emotional problems.

    It is important to understand why teenagers have a particularly hard time getting enough sleep, and what adults need to do to help. First, a reminder of the basic biology: Adolescents are no longer the morning larks of their younger years. They become rewired as night owls, staying awake later and then sleeping in. This is mostly driven by changes in the way the brain responds to light.

    New technology habits aren't helping. More teenagers now turn to activities involving screens at night. The growth in screen time is particularly problematic for sleep. The blue light emitted by LEDs, TVs, tablets and smartphones suppresses the body's secretion (分泌) of melatonin, the hormone that signals it's time to sleep. Overdosing on screens at night effectively tells the brain it's still daytime, delaying the body's cues to sleep even further.

    Parents should inform their kids of the time that can be spent on screens, and praise children who show signs of regulating their own media consumption. In the hour before bedtime, there should be a suspension on bright lights in the home, avoiding devices and harsh LED bulbs in kitchens and bathrooms.

    In 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8: 30 a. m., a policy now backed by the American Medical Association and many other health organizations.

    Parents also need to join forces with community leaders, sleep scientists, health professionals and educators to put school start times on the local, then state agendas.

    Whenever schools have managed the transition to a later start time, students get more sleep, attendance goes up, grades improve and there is a significant reduction in car accidents.