If you think your vocabulary is weak, a little effort every day over six to nine months can go a long way in improving it. Here are some tips for increasing your vocabulary.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. You may be comfortable reading a particular part of the newspaper but make an effort to read different articles on every page. The editorial (社论的) page is highly recommended not only for vocabulary but also for structuring and presenting thoughts.

    Make it a habit to read a new book every week. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. You can consider becoming a member of the local library. Make a list of new words and look up their meanings in the dictionary.

    Watch English movies and television shows. It's an interesting way to enrich your vocabulary. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Use vocabulary cards. Vocabulary cards are used by students who are trying to learn many words in a short time. You can make your own cards by writing the word on one side and the meaning on the other side of a piece of paper. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Use the Internet. The Internet is an unlimited resource for reading material.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. You will come across plenty of material to read. The Internet will also introduce you to new words. Be sure to look them up in a dictionary.

A. Read the newspaper every day.

B. Everyone has his own way of choosing books.

C. Vocabulary is important for you to learn English well.

D. Pick up a topic you like and search for articles about it.

E. Besides, by doing this you can learn the correct pronunciation as well.

F. Flash cards are a convenient tool to use to learn new words in your free time.

G. It is not surprising that those who read a lot of books develop good vocabulary.

    NGS Scholarship (NGSS)

    The NGS Scholarship is awarded to talented students with a strong interest in innovative(创新的) PhD research.

    Terms:

    Monthly stipend(津贴) of $3,200 for up to 4 years of PhD studies, or up to date of graduation, whichever is earlier.

    Payment of full tuition(学费) fees for up to 4 years of PhD or up to date of graduation, whichever is earlier.

    Other allowances include:

    Computer allowance

    Book allowance

    Conference allowance

    Eligibility(资格):

    Open worldwide.

    Graduates should have an affection for research.

    Graduates should hat at least Upper 2nd Class Honors, or equal qualification.

    GRE is compulsory（必须做的，义务的） for students applying from overseas.

    TOEFL is compulsory (ONLY) for applicants whose native tongue or medium of undergraduate instruction is not in English).

    Application:

    Click here to apply online.

    All supporting documents, together with a printed copy of the application form are to be submitted (提交) by post to :

    NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences & Engineering (NGS)

    Center For Life Sciences (CeLS)

    28 Medical Drive, #05-01

    ONLY Online Applications are accepted.

    Closing date: 15May 2017.

    It was a cold winter day. A woman drove up to the Rainbow Bridge tollbooth(收费站). “I'm paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me,” she said with a smile, handing over seven tickets. One after another, the next six drivers arriving at the tollbooth were informed, “Some lady up ahead already paid your fare.”

    It turned out that woman, Natalie Smith, had read something on a friend's refrigerator: “Practice random (任意的 )kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” The phrase impressed her so much that she copied it down.

    Judy Foreman spotted the same phrase on a warehouse wall far away from home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. “I thought it was beautiful,” she said, explaining why she'd taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, “like a message from the above.” Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the classroom wall for his students, one of whom was the daughter of Alice Johnson, a local news reporter. Alice put it in the newspaper, admitting that though she liked it, she didn't know where it came from or what it really meant.

    Two days later, Alice got a call from Anne Herbert, a woman living in Martin. It was in a restaurant that Anne wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper, after turning it around in her mind for days.

    “Here's the idea,” Anne says. “Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly.” Her fantasies include painting the classroom of shabby schools, leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town, and giving money secretly to a proud old lady. Anne says, “Kindness can build on itself as much as violence can.”

    The acts of random kindness spread. If you were one of those drivers who found your fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later? Like all great events, kindness begins slowly, with every single act. Let it be yours！

    Winning literary competitions doesn't always lead to fame. But having a few such wins to boast about does you no harm when approaching editors or agents, so if you have dreams of a writing career, these could be the place to begin. Below is a list of the most interesting competitions. Bear in mind that contests with smaller prizes attract fewer entries and are therefore easier to win.

    Wundor Editions Poetry Competition

    Wundor Editions are looking for creative writers to enter their latest poetry contest. If you happen to be 16 or over, send in a poem on any subject running to as many words as you think you can get away with before the judge's eyes glaze over (兴趣丧失).

    Closing: Nov.30. Prize: £ 500. Entry Fee: £ 10.

    Manning's Pit Poetry Competition

    It doesn't sound very attractive but it seems Manning's Pit is something of a beauty spot with more than its share of wildlife. But it's now under threat. This contest aims of raise funds to help save it. Your task is to write a poem of up to 40 lines about Manning's Pit or a similar treasured and threatened piece of countryside near a town or village.

    Closing: Nov.30. Prizes: £ 100, £ 30, £ 20. Entry Fe: £ 3.

    Commonwealth (英联邦) Short Story Competition

    This contest from Commonwealth Writers is for unpublished short fiction of between 2,000 and 5,000 words aimed at adults. But you have to be a citizen of a Commonwealth country. You can write your story in English, Bengali, Chinese, Portuguese, Samoan, Tamil, Kiswahili or Malay.

    Closing: No.1. Prize: £ 5,000. Entry Fee: £ 25.

    Southword Fiction Chapbook Competition

    To enter this international contest from the Munster Literature Centre in Cork, Ireland you should submit 10,000 to 15,000 words of fiction in the form of a collection of short stories. Stories can have been published previously in web or print journals, but not in a stand-alone publication by the author.

    Closing: Oct.31. Prizes: Best International Entry and Best Irish Entry. Entry Fee: £ 5 for one, £ 10 for six.

    I was so fortunate today to be able to offer my love and help to an older lady at my local supermarket. I saw her standing there. I felt quite strange about such a situation.

    What was she looking at? As I looked, I found it was a "Shredded Pork Bun Meal Kit", which is a service that sends customers food ingredients and recipes for them to prepare their own fresh meals. "That's new," I thought. Then I watched as the lady began to dig into her handbag and tried to pull out one of the biggest magnifying glasses (放大镜) I had never seen in my whole life! "Oh, she can't read it," I realized.

    So I stood there and continued watching her. The voice in my mind often asks me to do the right thing. It told me to help her. But I argued back saying, "No. I won't offer help. It will only embarrass her and she is OK now anyway. She has the world's biggest magnifying glass to help her！"

    And I stood there longer. But the voice came back, "Help her, Nicole. Don't be embarrassed. Just do it. Offer your help." So I did it. I read and explained all the things that were included in that box. I read out the ingredients, the instructions on how to cook it and so on.

    She didn't end up buying it, but she was still quite grateful. I walked away knowing that I had helped her and made the right choice. Mostly, I had reminded her that people in this world still care about the old.

    She was seen. She was loved. And she mattered so much that a complete stranger took time to help her. And that stranger was me, a person who argued and didn't want to do so in the beginning.

    So grateful I am when I choose to listen to the voice in my heart. It is because of love. Love is all that ever really matters. I also get happiness through helping her.

    When Kim Chil-doo was young, he says, he wanted to be a model. But he gave up that idea to make money. Now, at age 65, he appears in television advertisements and fashion magazines. With his gray beard and long hair, he is South Korea's first senior model.

    Kim is one of many older people in South Korea the country has the world's fastest growing ageing population. Almost half of the country's older people live in poverty. Some take low-paying jobs to support themselves after retiring. But Kim and some other seniors have shown how older South Koreans can find unusual job opportunities later in life.

    You Sung-lae is 59. When she was a child, she wanted to be an actress. But instead, she says, she got married and had children. Now she is training to appear on a catwalk to show clothes. She was wearing a bright blue jacket, orange high heeled shoes and designer sunglasses.

    You is also helping the fashion business by attracting older buyers. Older buyers have become big players. While many older people do not have much money, others have bought their homes and built savings. Now, those seniors are ready to spend some of their money on themselves.

    Some businesses are also trying to use older people's skills and experiences. For example, Cho Young-min started a company using Skype to connect older instructors in Korea with students around the world. The students are interested in learning Korean, and the instructors are interested in sharing their knowledge.

    Another man, Ji Byung-soo found success by performing a dance song on a televised singing contest. He is 77. Now he earns enough money to donate to a local support center. Last month, he danced nonstop at a youth festival in Seoul while young people called his name. "Life begins in your 70s," Ji said. "Let's be happy and have fun."