In the age of the keyboard,some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out.

    Steve Graham, a literacy professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, has been hearing about the death of handwriting for the past fifteen years. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} He said, "If the results of a survey we have published this year are accurate,it is being taught by about ninety percent of teachers in grades one to three."

    Ninety percent of teachers also say their are required to teach handwriting. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Professor Graham says one study published this year found that about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}others teach it for sixty to seventy minutes a day.

    Many adults remember learning that way—by copying letters over and over again. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Many experts also think handwriting should not be taught by itself. Instead ,they say it should be used as a way to get students to express ideas. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Teachers commonly report that about one-fourth of their students have poor handwriting.Some people might think handwriting is not important anymore because of computers and voice recognition（辨认）programs.

A.After all,that is why we write.

B.Nowadays teachers pay more and more attention to their students' writing.

C.So is it still being taught?

D.But who cares if people know how to write well?

E.But studies have yet to answer the question of how well they are teaching it.

F.Today's thinking is that short periods of practice are better.

G.He says some teachers teach handwriting for ten or fifteen minutes a day.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Fans used to be crazy about a specific film, but now the public tends to base its consumption(消费) on the interest of celebrity attached to any given product. Besides, fashion magazines have almost abandoned the practice of putting models on the cover because they don't sell nearly as well as famous faces.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Celebrity clothing lines aren't a completely new phenomenon, but in the past they were typically aimed at the ordinary consumers, and limited to a few TV actresses{#blank#}3{#/blank#}The most successful start-ups have been those by celebrities with specific personal style. As celebrities become more and more experienced at the market, they expand their production scale rapidly, covering almost all the products of daily life.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}No matter how famous the product's origin is, if it fails to impress consumers with its own qualities, it begins to resemble an exercise in self-promotional marketing. And once the initial(最初的) attention dies down, consumer interest might fade, loyalty(忠诚) returning to tried-and-true labels.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The pop-cultural circle might be bigger than ever, but its rate of turnover has speeded up as well. Each misstep threatens to reduce a celebrity's shelf life, and the same newspaper or magazine that once brought him fame has no problem picking him to pieces when the opportunity appears. Still, the ego's(自我的) potential for expansion is limitless. Having already achieved great wealth and public recognition, many celebrities see fashion as the next frontier to be conquered. As the saying goes, success and failure always go hand in hand. Their success as designers might last only a short time, but fashion-like celebrity-has always been temporary.

A. Today, celebrities face even more severe embarrassment

B. It is the celebrity effect, rather than the quality of the products that appeals to the consumers

C. Celebrity has become one of the most important representatives of popular culture

D. The public's taste of fashion is not always constant and easy to predict

E. Today they're started by first-class stars whose products enjoy equal fame with some world top brands

F. However, for every success story, there's a related warning tale of a celebrity who overvalued his consumer appeal

G. As a result, celebrities have realized their unbelievably powerful market potential, moving from advertising for others' products to developing their own

    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.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}You probably think you will never be a top student. 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 has mentioned in class. If you know what your teacher is going to discuss the next day, 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 set aside enough time for entertainment.

C. Take advantage 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. Maybe you are an average 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.

Fun Writing Activities for Struggling Writers

    There are dozens of reasons kids struggle with writing. They may have difficulty getting their thoughts down on paper. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Perhaps grammar and language barriers are blocking their progress. Whatever the reason, adding a little fun can be a great way to get the creative juices flowing.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Sometimes writers get stuck because they simply don't know where to start. For a child, you can try things that are geared(合适)toward their interests, like My Favorite Toy, or What I Like to Do in the Summer. Remember, it's important to support and guide their ideas, not to discourage thoughts or judge them.

    Develop a story map

    A great activity to help struggling writers is to build a story map. Write down ideas for the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Or put the topic in the middle of the paper and draw lines out like a wheel for who, what where, and why. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This is helpful, because it takes stress out of the writing process.

    Make writing relevant

    Children are more apt to write if they can identify with the purpose of writing. Writing a letter to a friend or relative can better engage a struggling writer. Or maybe your child has some suggestions for books that the library should have. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If writing becomes a more meaningful activity to the child, it can help to make it an easier process.

Make writing enjoyable

    You could consider making different writing supplies available like colored pens and pencils, notebooks, etc. Or you could provide a word bank of common words for your kid to use and spell. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Afterwards, reward your child's good performance. These all set the stage and invite kids to get excited to write.

A. Inspire ideas

B. Develop an interest.

C. Use the map to guide the writing.

D. Make the process into more of a game.

E. Maybe they lack experiences to write about.

F. There are loads of fun ways to get children writing.

G. Encourage him to write a letter to the person in charge.

    Imagine a child standing on a diving board four feet high and asking himself the question: "Should I jump?" This is what motivation or the lack of it can do. Motivation and goal setting are the two sides of same coin. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Like the child on the diving board, you will stay undecided.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} More than that, how should you stay motivated to achieve the goal? First, you need to evaluate yourself, your values, your strengths, your weaknesses, your achievements, your desires, etc. Only then should you set your goals.

    You also need to judge the quality and depth of your motivation. This is quite important, because it is directly related to your commitment. There are times when your heart is not in your work. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} So, slow down and think what you really want to do at that moment. Clarity(清晰) of thoughts can help you move forward.

    Another way of setting realistic goals is to analyze your short and long term objectives, keeping in mind your beliefs, values and strengths. Remember that goals are flexible. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They also need to be measurable. You must keep these points in mind while setting your goals.

    Your personal circumstances are equally important. For example, you may want to be a pilot but can't become one because your eyesight is not good enough. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}You should reassess your goals, and motivate yourself to set a fresh goal.

    You will surely need to overcome some difficulties, some planned, but most unplanned. You cannot overcome them without ample motivation. Make sure that you plan for these difficulties at the time of setting your goals.

A. This can affect your work.

B. So how should you motivate yourself?

C. However, this should not discourage you.

D. So why should we try to set specific goals?

E. They can change according to circumstances.

F. Motivation is what you need most to do a good job.

G. Without motivation, you can neither set a goal nor reach it.