Investing in yourself

    Figuring out how to invest your money can be a difficult task. This is something that you will want to learn how to do.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Things that will improve your knowledge, skills or health are all great investments. However, before you start, you need to be clear about what you will gain out of doing all of these things.

    You may think investing in yourself means investing in your education. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} . There are some other things you can do as well as buying a gym membership or learning a new skill.

    So what are some specific things you can do? {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . Reading books can really expand your mind and allow you to learn different skills and gain knowledge. I'm talking about the books where you will actually learn a new skill, not fiction books.

    You can also take courses and attend seminars. These programs are taught by people with a high level of knowledge or skill. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . Only in this way can you avoid being fooled by some sales presentation.

    Moreover, investing in yourself is a safe way to keep your money. Although a savings account is seen as the most secure investment, that isn't 100% safe. Even if you never experience your bank closing down, the return is little when inflation(通货膨胀) is taken into consideration. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} . But over time, they will show up in terms of your happiness level as well as your level of success.

A. This is just one way.

B. The benefits will stay with you.

C. If you aren't a reader, you should start with that.

D. The more you do this, the more valuable you will be.

E. Of course, you need to do some research before investing.

F. The best way to invest your money is to invest it in yourself.

G. When you invest in yourself, you may not see gains right away.

How Can I Fight Laziness?

    Lazy people will never amount to anything in life. However, laziness can be defeated once a few changes have been made in your mind.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Many people lack sleep constantly, since they stay up too late and get up too early to prepare for work. These people have little motivation once they arrive home. Laziness works hand in hand with a lack of motivation and a tendency to put off things. By adjusting your sleep schedule to provide a few more hours of meaningful rest, you can fight laziness throughout the day.

    Another way to fight laziness is to change your mind from passive to active. Some people treat their lives as if they were pushed from task to task. Others take a more proactive（主动的） approach, viewing each task as a challenge they must overcome alone. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Some people fight laziness by removing the temptations(诱惑) that surround them. A television in the living room may provide entertainment, but watching too much TV often contributes to laziness. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Complete a few tasks and reward yourself with what you enjoy, such as a good dinner or a film.

    Laziness can also be a lasting problem at home. Couples and children may all have different energy levels, but laziness can be spread if not dealt with immediately. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Be the first to collect and wash dishes after a meal. Others in the home may eventually follow your example and perform their own task. It is difficult to practice laziness when you are surrounded by motivated people.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Enough exercise and a balanced diet can help you to develop a healthy lifestyle, thus enabling you to have more energy and help lift your spirits.

A．To fight family laziness, set an example.

B．One way to fight laziness is to get enough sleep.

C．Knowing how to fight laziness is important.

D．Finally, taking exercise regularly can help you fight laziness.

E. With strong determination, you will be able to achieve your goal.

F. Create a reward system for yourself, just as parents do for a child.

G. Laziness sets in when you no longer feel in charge of your own life.

The beginnings of the Globe Theatre

    The Globe Theatre is one of the most well-known theatres in the world. In 1996, it was voted for the “best attraction in Europe”. However, this version of the Globe, completed in the mid-1990s with funds from the Shakespeare Globe Playhouse Trust, is not the original Globe built in the 1500s.

    During the 16th century, plays were popular entertainment among all kinds of people from wealthy nobles to the working class.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Actors performed in small hotels throughout the countryside and in London. James Burbage, an actor and painter, build the first public playhouse in England called The Theatre because it was the first ever built in London. Now the audience could come to the actors rather than the other way around,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    When Burbage died, his sons Cuthbert and Richard, took over The Theatre. The Land, however, on which the playhouse was built was not owned by Burbage.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} The actors decided they would build their own theatre. They rented land near another theatre, The Rose, and used wood from The Theatre to build the first Globe Theatre. It was here that Shakespeare's famous plays were performed{#blank#}4{#/blank#} The actors' love for the Globe was so strong that when it burned down in 1613, they pooled their own money to rebuilt it, making it even better than before with beautiful decorations and details adorning(装饰) the stage{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. The Theatre was a huge success.

B. This theatre could hold several thousand people!

C. Queen Elizabeth I of England had a great love for plays.

D. When one enters the Globe Theatre ，one is in the greatest theater.

E. A man named Giles Allen owned the land and didn't want to rent the land to them.

F. Success was immediate and the Globe Theatre was a favorite of audiences and actors alike.

G. Even though this version of the Globe Theatre didn't survive through the century, its influence lives on.

    The color of animals is by no means a matter of chance; it depends on many considerations, but in the majority of cases tends to protect the animals from danger by making it less outstanding Perhaps, it may be said that if coloring is mainly protective, there ought to be fewer brightly colored animals. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. The kingfisher itself, though so brightly colored, is not easy to see.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Thus, for instance, the lion, and the wild donkey are all sand—colored. “Indeed, in the desert, neither trees, brushwood, nor even undulation (起伏) of the surface afford the slightest protection to its enemies.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.” says an expert.

    The next point is the color of the mature caterpillars(毛虫), some of which are brown. This probably makes the caterpillar even more outstanding among the green leaves. What would you do if you were a big caterpillar? Why, like most other defenceless creatures, you would feed by night, and lie hidden by day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. When the morning light comes, they go down the stem of the food plant, and hide among dry sticks and leaves around the ground, and it is obvious that under such circumstances the brown color really becomes a protection. While we may say as a general rule that the large caterpillars feed by night and hide by day, it is by no means always the case that they are brown: some of them still remain green.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}, and that the brown color is a later adaptation.

A. So do these caterpillars

B. Therefore, the color of the animals is bright

C. We can say that they formed a good habit

D. Desert animals are generally the color of the desert

E. We may conclude that the habit of hiding themselves by day comes first

F. However, there are some cases where vivid colors are themselves protective

G. So the color of birds, snakes and even smaller animals, is of one uniform sand color

Homework

    Do arithmetic problems 15 through 25. State the different forms of the verbs on page 50 of your French workbook. Read pages 12 through 20 of the Shakespeare play, and don't forget to fill in the missing chemical symbols on the worksheet.

    Sound like a list of your homework for the next few nights－or maybe even just for tonight? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It's your teachers' way of evaluating how much you understand what's going on in class. And it helps strengthen important concepts.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It's inviting to start with the easy things to get them out of the way. However, you'll have the most energy and focus when you begin, so it's best to use this mental power on the subjects that are most challenging. Later, when you're more tired, you can focus on the simpler things. If you get stuck on a problem, try to figure it out as well as you can－but don't spend too much time on it because this can mess up your homework schedule for the rest of the night. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}But don't pick someone whom you'll be up all night chatting with, or you'll never get it done!

    Most people's attention spans aren't very long, so take some breaks while doing your homework. Sitting for too long without relaxing will make you less productive than if you stop every so often. Taking a 15-minute break every hour is a good idea for most people. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Once your homework is done, you can check over it if you have extra time. Be sure to put it safely away in your backpack－there's nothing worse than having a completed assignment that you can't find the next morning or that gets ruined by a careless brother or sister. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Now you're free to hang out.

A. Homework is a major part of going to school.

B. Luckily, you can do a few things to do less homework.

C. When you start your homework, deal with the hardest tasks first.

D. But if you're really concentrating, wait until it's a good time to stop.

E. If you need to, ask an adult for help or call or email a classmate for advice.

F. And no teacher still believes that "chewed by the dog" line－even when it's true!

G. In conclusion, no one is expected to stay long, and people have very different learning styles.

    Dream is strength. The strength can bring us wherever we want to get to and it can bring us a lot of wonders on our way to the place in our dreams.

    Dream is beauty. Maybe you can see the things full of magic and maybe you will be moved by your own dream.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. But should we have our life without dreams? Of course not.

    Everyone has his dreams and dreams are especially important to teenagers. As teenagers, you have many dreams. These dreams can be very big, such as winning the Nobel Prize. Or they can be small, for example, you may just want to become one of the ten best students in your class. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, what do you do with it? Do you ever try to make your dream come true?

    Andrew Matthews, an Australian writer, tells us that making our dreams come true is the biggest challenge in our life. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, or that it is impossible for you to become a writer.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. In fact, everyone can fulfill his dream. The first thing you must do is remember what your dream is. Don't let it leave your heart. Keep telling yourself what you want. Do this step by step and your dream will come true earlier because a big dream is made up of many small dreams.

    You must never give up your dreams.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. But the biggest one comes from yourself. You need to decide what is the most important and face all these difficulties bravely.

A. These kinds of thoughts stop you realizing your dream

B. There will be many difficulties on the road to your dreams

C. Once you find a dream

D. You may think you're not very good at some school subjects

E. Both big dreams and small ones are very important to our lives

F. The world is so real that the dreams seem weak

G. Your talent is one of the most important factors in living your dreams