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.

    The road to happiness

    We all know that money can't buy happiness, but many times we act as if we'd be happier with a bit more money. We are trained to want the latest style that television tells us.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}But none of that win bring us happiness. No matter how much we earn, no matter how nice our clothing or cars or toys, none of it will make us happier. And the sad thing is that it could take us decades to pursuing wealth and luxury items before we realize this. So what will bring us happiness?{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Positive thinking. I'm obviously a big proponent of positive thinking as the best way to achieve your goals, but it turns out that it can lead to happiness too.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Happy people feel energetic, in control of their lives, and have a positive attitude to life.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}We have a human need to be close. Having good, supportive friendships, a strong, marriage or close and loving links with our family members will make us much more likely to be happy.

    Flow. This is a popular concept on the Internet these days-the state we enter when we are completely focused on the work before us. Having work and leisure that gets you in this state of flow will almost undoubtedly lead to happiness. People find greatest enjoyment not when they're passively mindless, but when they're absorbed in a mindful challenge.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Don't waste them!

A. Good relationships

B. You've been given the three secrets to happiness

C. In fact, this should be one of first habits you develop

D. In may sound ridiculous, but it has worked for me every time

E. Luckily, here're three secrets to happiness that don't cost a thing

F. We want to earn more money because then we'll have the good life

G. Optimism and self-esteem are some of the best indicators of people who lead happy lives

    Want to know how to be a confident friend-finder? We can help, with four easy steps.

    Step 1. Change your mental state.

    It's easy to get so freaked out（不安的）about being in a new situation that you start throwing off don't-come-near-me signals. And guess what? It worked. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Instead, change your attitude with some positive thinking. Tell yourself: “It'll be great to get to know someone new”, or “I can't wait to hear what these girls have to say.”

    Step 2. Remember, the eyes have it.

    The first place we look at when we're uncomfortable is the floor. No one can tell if we're embarrassed. We can't tell if anyone is looking at us. Whoa! {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Holding your head up and making eye contact is a bold（大胆的）move． It's confident and friendly.

    Step 3.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Does starting a communication bring on an attack of shyness? Try adding a good question to your friend-finding tools. Strong opening questions usually begin with “what” or “how” words that get people talking. Typically, our first instinct (本能) is to ask a “can” or a “do” question, like “Can I borrow a pencil?” or “ Do you know where the bathroom is? {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Asking “what” or “how” questions gets you more information to respond to. Try something like “Hi. I really like that flower. How did you draw it?” or “Hi. I'm new. What's the least scary lunch option in the cafeteria?”

    Step 4. Practice, practice, practice.

    Making new friends is a skill. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}But the more you practice, the more relaxed and natural. You'll feel, and the easier it will get. So flash that smile, offer some welcoming words, and soon you'll be hanging out with your newest friends!

A. People don't come near you.

B. All you need is one question.

C. Listen closely to their answers.

D. Not a good way to meet people.

E. The thought of meeting people makes you excited.

F. But that only gets you short answers. Like “Yeah” or “Down the hall”.

G. Like art, music, or sports, it takes practice to feel truly confident of it.

    Every new person added to the planet needs food, water, clothes, and so on.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Those things require extra natural resources，including land and water. But Earth's riches are limited. Less than 1 percent of Earths water can be used for drinking and washing. One out of every thirteen people around the world does not always have enough clean water. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Too many people are using too much water, especially in the already dry areas of the southwestern United States.

    Food shortages(不足)are even more common. Worldwide, one out of every seven people does not get enough to eat. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Over time, the soil loses its nutrients (营养）and the farmland becomes useless for growing food. As the world becomes more crowded (拥挤的）， more land is needed to make way for growing cities.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. That's a problem because trees help take in a gas called carbon dioxide. Humans produce carbon dioxide by burning coal and oil. Fewer trees mean more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The buildup of carbon dioxide traps heat and pollution above Earth.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, although every person uses the planet's resources. The richest billion people, Americans especially, use the most resources. They also produce the most waste.

A. Forests are cleared away

B. Some people use a lot more than others

C. Water shortages have hit many parts of the world

D. Water pollution is a serious problem in some areas

E. More trees should be planted to handle air pollution

F. Huge needs for food force farmers to overuse their land

G. More people mean more cars, roads, schools, hospitals, and stores

Tips on Young Adult Life

    As you grow rapidly through your teenage years, you will experience a lot of changes. The changes may seem difficult. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Don't panic! You will deal successfully with them! You are a young adult now!

    With more responsibility, you will find more freedom to make your own choices. This is a time to be well informed about making choices. In this way you can make healthy balanced decisions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You may already know your career path or you may have no idea at all what you want to do. Both situations are fine! Work hard and the right opportunity will show itself to you.

    Young adulthood means greater freedom and more choices. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} But try not to shut your family out of your life. You should learn to think of others even though you are old enough to look after yourself.

    It is also perfectly natural at this time for you to spend more time with your friends than your family. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} A true friend will stand by you no matter what happens.

    This period is a part of the life cycle. There are some people who will be with you throughout life's journey. There will be some people with whom you part and go separate ways. Leaving school can be hard. The reality is that you may not even see all of your classmates again.

    You are a young adult. It is your life. No one can live it for you. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} So making the right choices will be important to you. Life is for living. Enjoy your life wisely!

It is often a complex and tiring task to live a healthy life, but that isnˈt always the case. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Itˈs time to change the classroom environment for the health of the children.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Itˈs not surprising that sitting for long as a child is associated with health problems as an adult. Fortunately, thereˈs a simple, overlooked solution to these problems—standing desks.

Over the last few years, a number of studies have shown that the benefits of the increased range of movement students experience when using standing desks are surprisingly broad. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Besides, standing desks encourage higher levels of teamwork and participation among students. Standing desks also help to reduce the risk of some diseases. They can help to prevent fatness, heart disease and low spirits. Sedentary（久坐的）lifestyles are a major reason why teenagers suffer from poor mental health, while higher activity levels reduce the chances of a child experiencing such an illness.

The benefits of bringing standing desks into classrooms are obvious. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Otherwise they will likely hurt their muscles when standing for a long time. Standing desks usually offer a full range of motion, which includes the option to sit or lean（倾斜身体）without losing eye-level of the rest of the class, and that full range of motion is important.

Sitting isnˈt horrible. It isnˈt a thing we should never do. The problem is that we do it too much, and so do our children, which makes children less likely to succeed and keep healthy. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A．It is time for us to stand up to stay healthy.

B．But it is important for children to use them gradually.

C．Children spend most of their school day sitting at desks.

D．Thus itˈs necessary to break up the sitting with standing desks.

E．Something as cheap as a desk could be making a major difference.

F．Right now there is something we can do easily to keep our children healthy.

G．For example, they help students keep fit and avoid putting on too much weight.