Homework is a problem for students all over the world. As a student, you have a lot of homework to do every day. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. And it helps you understand important knowledge. Luckily, there're several things you can do to make homework less difficult.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Write your homework down in your notebook if you need to. Don't be afraid to ask questions about it. Understand why you should do your homework.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Many schools have study halls. The students can study there. It's more interesting to play with your friends. But the more homework you finish at school, the less you'll have to do that night at home.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. It is difficult to hold your attention for too long. So take some breaks while doing your homework. Taking a 15-minute break every hour is a good idea for most people.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. If you don't finish your homework at school, think about how much you have left. It's a good idea to make a homework plan, especially when you want to enjoy sports or other activities.

    Do you like shopping? Here are some shopping tips for you.

    First, you should write down all the things you want to buy. You should know how much money you need and take enough money with you. People can bring their own shopping bags now so you needn't buy one from the shop.

    Second, it's very important not to buy the things you needn't. There are many nice things in the shopping mall, but what you need is only some of them.

    Third, when you are shopping , you need to go into different shops and compare(对比)things of the same kind. It may take you lots of time to get the best one.

    Fourth, you can go shopping at the weekend or during holidays. On one hand, there are lots of discounts(折扣) on many things. On the other hand, people have enough time to decide which to buy.

    What is life's greatest gift? It is choice. Choice is the ability to choose some actions from a set of things to achieve a goal{#blank#}1{#/blank#}The reason is that it turns us from dumb animals into artists. Choice becomes the tool we use to sculpt（雕刻）our life. The tool doesn't come free, however, for the price of choice is responsibility.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}It is enjoyment.

    Choice is power. Choice is at the heart of life. It's the creative power of life. Life is always changing and we have to make lots of choices{#blank#}3{#/blank#} We often need to check where we are on our journey. We need to ask questions: Am I moving closer to my goals? If not, what action will I take now to make myself realize my goals?

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}And our life becomes more convenient or comfortable because of them. For example, you decide which stores to shop at and which bus station to go to. But the decisions that we make to sculpt our lives are much more important than deciding where to shop. The more we understand the difference between small and big decisions, the more pleasure we will get.

    Life is like a chess game.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}All chess lovers realize that it isn't necessary to win to enjoy the game. Make the best moves you can under the conditions. Then you can enjoy your life.

A. Why is choice so great?

B. The pleasure is in the playing.

C. In fact, we have to make choices every day.

D. But when we accept and carry it out, we get a great return.

E. Every choice we make leads us closer to or farther from our goals.

    When the teacher asks a question in class, Wang Xiaobin never raises his hand and this situation is very common at middle schools. This 15-year-old boy always waits for other classmates or the teacher to give the answer. “What if my answer is wrong?” Wang asks.

    Wang said only six or seven students in his class raise their hands when a question is asked. ①“I think it's a problem that may affect (影响) our studies, but I am afraid of making mistakes in front of my classmates,” he said.

    When we asked the teacher, Hu Wei, why the students didn't raise their hands, he said, “They lack (缺乏) confidence, they are afraid of showing off, or they're afraid of losing face by giving wrong answers.”

    To encourage students to raise their hands in class, Hu suggests that teachers should repeat the question, then try to guide and encourage students to offer their answers. ②Hu also advised students not to be shy, but brave enough to try.

    Sun Pin, 16 of Fujian, always raises her hand as soon as she comes up with the answer, even if she isn't sure she has gotten it right. Sun can't understand why some of her classmates keep silent in class. She enjoys raising her hand a lot. “It keeps me enthusiastic(热情的) and confident to express my idea,” Sun said. “Raising my hand has really made me excellent.”

    Each year millions of new cars are produced in America. Americans will not live without cars! However, some have realized the serious problem of air pollution caused by cars. It is necessary to find ways to work out the problem of air pollution.

    One way to clean the air is to build a new kind of clean car. That's what several of the large car factories are trying to do. But to build a clean car is easier said than done. Progress in this field has been slow.

    Another way is to take the place of the car engine by something else. Engineers are now working on it. Many makers believe that it will take years to develop a practical model that can make people pleased.

    To prevent the world from being polluted by cars, Americans have to make some changes in the way of their life. They have to cut down on the number of their cars and they are encouraged to travel and go to work by bike. But this change does not close down – many workers may find themselves without jobs if a car factory closes down. And the problem of their pollution would become less important than that of losing jobs.

    Americans may live a happy but sad life for a long time because of the car problem.

    Mr Smith was ill and he went to see a doctor. The doctor asked him to put out his tongue(舌头), and then he said," OK, You can put your tongue back now. There's nothing wrong with you, but I'm afraid you have a problem. You hardly ever take exercise."

   "But, doctor," Mr Smith said," I don't think so."

   "Don't tell me what you think," the doctor said," I know what you need. I see a lot of people like you. None of them goes any exercise. They sit in offices all day and in front of the television in the evening. You must walk quickly for at least(至少)20 minutes a day."

   "I don't want to hear any excuse," the doctor said." You must find time for exercise. If you don't, you will get fat and have health problems."

   "But I walk every day," Mr Smith said.

   "Oh, yes, and I know what kind of walking that is. You walk a few meters to the bus stop from your house, a few more meters from the bus stop to your office, and a few more meters from your office to your dining—room for lunch and back. That's not a real walk. I'm talking about a walk in the park or by the lake for twenty minutes every day."

   "Would you please listen to me, doctor? Mr Smith said, getting a little angry with his doctor.

   "I'm a postman," Mr Smith went on," and I walk for nearly(几乎)seven hours every day."

    For a moment the doctor was silent(沉默的), then he said quietly," Put out your tongue again, will you?

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