Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several ways. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Second, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.

    You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is a selective process. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

The following methods may work best for you.

●Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.

●Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.

●Write your notes in your own words.

●{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

●Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.

    As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand(速记). When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols and that you use them all the time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

     Becoming Refreshed without sleeping

Sometimes there is just not enough hours in the day to get everything done and get a good night's rest.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Once in a while you can get away with a sleepless night and still feel reasonably good by adjusting your meals and activities.

     {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The last thing you want to do when you are tired is get warm and cozy, this will cause you to fall asleep. Keeping the air conditioner on will make you feel much more alert and refreshed.

     Eat small amounts. Eating small amounts of healthy food will help refresh you. Fruit and nuts are a good choice because they are nutritious and will energize you {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Try to stick to low carbon meals to keep you going. Chewing gum after your snack or small meal will also help keep you awake.

     Keep it bright. When it is dark your body thinks it is time to go to sleep. Turn on lots of lights, which will trick your body into waking up and feeling better. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You get double the benefits if it is daytime.

     Take a break. Taking a little break will help you in the long run. Turn up some energizing music to get yourself positive. Relax and talk to a friend in person or on the phone for a few minutes.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Keep it cool

B. Calm down and sleep

C. Avoid big, heavy meals as they will make you tired

D. Going outside whether it is day or night for some fresh air

E. Missing sleep regularly can make you sick and should be avoided

F. When you are tired, you may just want to sit around and do nothing

G. Having a good time for a few minutes will refresh you quicker than anything else.

    Are These the Best Years of Your Life?

    The ups and downs of life may seem to have no predictable plan. But scientists now know there are very clear life patterns that almost all people share. Even if you have passed some of your best years, you still have other good years to come.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    When are you smartest? From 18 to 25, according to I. Q. scores; but you are wiser and more experienced with increasing age. You're sharpest in your 20's; around 30, mental abilities begin to decline, particularly your ability to do maths.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Your vocabulary at age 45, for example, is three times as great as when you graduated from college. At 60, your brain possesses almost four times as much information as it did at age 21.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}You have the best physical sense of yourself from 15 to 24, when you feel energetic all the time. The best professional sense seems from 40 to 49. Before age 24, we believe that our happiest years are yet to come. Over 30, we believe that they're behind us. A National Health Survey agrees: After age 30, we “become more realistic and do not view happiness as a goal in itself. If we keep our health, achieve professional and emotional goals, then happiness, we feel, will follow.”

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Generally between 30 to 39, but the peak(顶峰）varies with different professions. Mozart wrote a symphony by age eight, and Mendelssohn composed his best-known work, A Midsummer Night's dream, at 17, but most of the great music was written by men between 33 and 39. Though the peak in most fields comes early—most Nobel Prize winners did their top research in their late 20's and 30's, creative people continue to produce quality work throughout their lives.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. When are you happiest?

B. When are you most creative?

C. But your ability to complete other tasks climbs.

D. The above gives you an accurate figure.

E. Certain good years seem to come later in life.

F. For people who are creative, there is no upper age limit.

G. The human life journey cannot be charted by a clear life pattern.

    Because of the Internet, people from different parts of the world can connect with one another, and get information about nearly everything in the world. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They spend so much time online, hardly realizing that much of it is actually wasted on something meaningless. For example, they waste much time playing games. Luckily there are many meaningful things you can do on the Internet.

     {#blank#}2{#/blank#} These courses don't require you to go out to attend classes. They can also be done from the comfort of your home. So they're very convenient.

    If you're a DIY person, you should check for online resources that help you with this thing. For questions like how to paint a room, or how to repair a broken car engine, all the answers can be found online. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} From home decoration and repair to fashion and relationships, there are many sources that give you good advice.

    Practice your hobby on the Internet. Find the latest information on things that you are interested in.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} In a word, the Internet has many good sources that allow you to practice your hobbies, and even earn out of them.

    Listen to your favorite songs, watch your favorite movies, or listen to speeches by inspirational speakers. Songs can help you feel relaxed. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And listening to inspirational speeches can make you feel good about yourself.

A. Take part in fun activities that you enjoy.

B. Movies can give you that much-needed break.

C. Take academic courses and improve your skills.

D. However, very few people make really good use of the Internet.

E. So, what type of productive things do you like to do on the Internet?

F. Therefore, there are so many websites from which we can gain knowledge.

G. Also you can use the Internet to find answers for questions related to daily life.

    Did you make financial decisions last New Year's Eve? Did they fall by the wayside? If so, you are not alone.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Make a smart budget

    Did you plan to make a budget and fail to do so? This is a perfect time to start, as you are heading into the new year. You may be able to stop yourself from overspending if you realize how overextended you are. If you've taken no other financial steps this year, start by setting a realistic budget.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Control your spending

    Even if you had a budget, were you able to stick to it?{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Use it as a psychological advantage－you have less to spend so you need to shop harder for bargains and research prices. Impulse buying (即兴购买) will be less likely to attract you and your spending should be more focused as a result.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    You had a savings goal, didn't you? If you didn't have a specific goal, it may be why your savings effort failed. Set a smaller savings goal now, and use that to build a larger savings goal for the upcoming year. Make sure that you equate（使等同）your savings with a specific goal.

    Reduce your debt

    Debt reduction is an important goal, especially in the case of high-interest debt such as credit cards. It's easy to get into an unrecoverable increase of debt if you have no plan to keep debt in check. It is a longer-term goal, but one you need to start right away.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. That may be a tall task, which is all the more reason to start immediately.

A. Increase your savings

B. Have a clear goal for your debt

C. You will go on with your new decisions

D. Most other financial improvements will follow

E. Start small by setting a spending budget for your shopping

F. But this year, you can make some progress on your financial goals

G. Attack the debt with the highest interest rate, and control your spending

    Five Things to Do in a Traffic JamTired of traffic jams? Here are some tips that can help you to calm down in a traffic jam. Listen to CD audio book. It's a good idea to keep several audio books in your car. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Listening to an exciting story is more interesting than sitting silently and being bored. Sing loudly. If you begin getting angry because of a long traffic jam, turn your CD player on or radio up. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Imagine you're a wonderful singer and the audience is listening to you in admiration. Your stress will disappear. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.You can use the radio and play entertaining games while waiting. For example, you can guess the song or the singer or to see how quickly you can recognize a new song. Have a snack Keeping a tasty snack in the car is especially good for waiting in traffic jams. Choose what you like most of all, so you will look forward to traffic jams to have a chance to eat the delicious snack. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}In that case, time is the last thing to worry about. Argue with the radio talk show host Find a station with a radio talk show.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}If you disagree, you can show your anger. Don't be afraid to call their ideas stupid. Only make sure that the car windows are closed so no one may hear you. Sitting in a traffic jam can be very stressful but next time you can use these simple tips, and you won't notice how long you have been waiting and soon you will be on your way.

A. Play games

B. Use the radio.

C. Enjoy every bite of it.

D. Listen to their debates carefully.

E. Loud singing can help to reduce stress.

F. Begin to enjoy them as quickly as you can.

G. The storyteller's voice can clear all your bad emotions.