A student walks into his first class and realizes he forgot all about the midterm exam. He knows he needs to bring his grades up, and getting a zero will make it nearly impossible. He quickly jots down some notes and shoves them under his lap hoping it will help him pass. Cheating is a major concern in all academic environments. Students are creating new and more outrageous(令人吃惊的）ways of cheating every day: some claim that certain accounts of cheating can be justified, but overall it can always be prevented.

    Cheating has been around forever, and millions of ways to cheat have been fashioned. Copying homework and cheat sheets are some of the most basic ways students in all education levels have cheated. Some students think nothing about writing a few answers on their hand, in a gum wrapper, or boldly using a study guide to cheat. Desperate students have even gone as far as to steal the test or scan in bottle wrappers and put answers into the nutrition label. The internet has now become available in almost every location. Computers can be accessed at school, at home, and now even on cell phones. This opens a doorway for even more methods of cheating to be born.

    There are countless opinions on whether or not cheating can be justified. The truth is this behavior will always be a matter of opinion with each scenario of cheating. Students often rationalize their cheating by claiming they forgot to look over the material or did not understand what the teacher or professor was saying. Some may counter these arguments by saying that the student could have set reminders or asked the teacher to explain the material before the day of the test. Some other reasons students believe cheating is justified are their heavy workloads and trying to find time for school, sports, friends, and family. This may be true in certain instances, however, all students have these problems, and it is unfair to the students refrain(制止) from cheating when the student who is dishonest receives a better grade. The majority of students who think cheating is acceptable may believe the reason for this is that sometimes students are unaware they are cheating, there is not enough time given for assignments, or that the information is too much for the course.

    It may be difficult to accomplish, hut cheating can be prevented. 1'eachers and professors have tried many options to stop cheating. These options can range anywhere from simply spreading test-takers out in a room, to expelling（驱逐）a student, which will most likely hinder their plans of getting into another college. One simple way to fix the problem is to scold the student when caught. They may be so scared or embarrassed that they never do it again. This is a risky way to prevent cheating in some cases, however, because it can possibly damage self-esteem. Another simple way 10 avoid cheating is to create many different kinds of the same test. This prohibits students from getting the answers off of a neighbor's test, but students still have the option of using other cheating tactics.

    There may be a million ways to cheat and get away with it, but there are few times, if any, that it is justified. Cheating never has to be a necessity and is never worth compromising morals and losing years worth of working towards a degree. This problem is spreading throughout America; with everyone's help, it can be stopped.

    Everyone can benefit a lot from reading books. The following is about various benefits of reading books.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Whenever you read something, you learn information that you wouldn't have known. If you want to learn new words, reading books is a great way to enlargeyour vocabulary.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Similar to solving puzzles, reading books allows your mind to practice its processing skills. Going without books for too long will turn your mind into mess.

    One of the primary benefits of reading books is its ability to develop your thinking skills. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Wherever you are faced with a similar problem in real life, your mind is able to put its mystery solving skills to a test.

    The information in books can be referred to over and over again. For example, reading a cookbook allows you the chance to review the cooking steps whenever you need to. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Don't even think about writing the information down because you may lose the paper sooner or later.

    These are just some of the wonderful benefits of reading books. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you can't even go outside, you can download free e­books online and read them on your computer. That way, you can see how useful reading can be for yourself.

A. You can improve your memory by reading.

B. Reading keeps your mind in good condition.

C. Reading books can make you become confident.

D. Reading books provides you with new knowledge.

E. Reading mystery novels, for example, trains your mind.

F. Following the steps from a cooking video will be difficult.

G. Why don't you drop into a bookstore and pick a book up?

    Climate change will force exhausted birds migrating to Europe from Africa to travel further, with possibly disastrous consequences, according to a study.

    The annual voyage of some species, which fly north in search of food and suitable habitats, could increase by as much as 400 kilometers (250 miles), the research found. “Marathon migrations for some birds are set to become even longer,” said Stephen Willis, a professor at Durham University in Britain and the main architect of the study. “This is bad news for birds like the White throat, a common farmland bird. The added distance is a considerable threat. As temperatures rise and habitats change, birds will face their biggest challenge since the Pleistocene era (更新世), which ended 11,000 years ago,” he said in a statement.

    Some 500 million birds migrate each year from Africa, some weighing as little as nine grams (three-tenths of an ounce). To complete a voyage that can be thousands of kilometers long, birds have to fatten themselves up to twice their normal weight. Some even shrink their internal organs (收缩内脏) to become more fuel efficient, so any additional distance may be dangerous.

    The study finds that from 2007 to 2010, nine out of 17 species examined are going to face longer migrations, particularly birds that cross the Sahara Desert. Some birds travel the Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea in a one go, while others have a break in northern Africa before crossing. Many fly at night, when temperatures are cooler.

    A few — such as the Blackcap — have started to adapt by spending winters in Britain, but such behavior remains exceptional, the study said. The study forecasts that the migration distance of the Orphean Warbler will jump from 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles) to between 3,050 and 3,350 kilometers (1,900 and 2,100 miles), with even longer increases for the Subalpine and Barred Warblers.

    What's the most important thing in a piece of writing? Is it the story, the characters, the description, or the style? Obviously, you can't choose only one. A great work succeeds in combining all of them in a great mix, producing a wonderful work.

    In most cases, you're better at one writing element over the rest, and working on your strengths will work to your advantage. Building characters, however, is important to your writing. It's not to be ignored no matter what your case is. So, how do you achieve that?

Make Them Real

    This is probably one of the most common pieces of writing advice: make your characters believable. What does it really mean? It means that your characters need to be there for a reason, not just for pushing the story forward. He/She has a real life, with his/her own fears and dreams, and you have to show this. Your characters don't need to be typical to be believable. The unusual ones are even more interesting, but it's your job to make your readers relate to them.

Understand Human Psychology

    To build great characters, you'll need to understand people's psychology: what are they thinking about, what are they feeling and experiencing, and why are they doing what they are doing? Get behind the obvious. Be in the backstage with them. Sit them in a chair and let them talk away. If you truly listen, you will learn.

Be your character

    When you immerse (使沉浸) yourself in your writing, you get lost in that world and you start living in it. This is when the magic happens and you become your character. By putting yourself in your character's shoes, you allow yourself to experience what you're writing about first-hand. The more it feels real to you, the more the readers will feel the same, too.

    Compared with solar and wind energy, which are booming, tidal (潮汐的) power is a loser in the clean - energy competition. But if you did want to build a tidal power station, there are few better sites than the mouth of the River Severn, in Britain. Its tidal range, the difference in depth between high and low tides, of around 15 metres is among the largest in the world.

    Engineers and governments have been toying with the idea since at least 1925. But none of the suggested projects has materialised. Price is one objection. A study thought that tidal energy might cost between ￡216 and ￡368 ($306 - 521) per MWh of electricity by 2025, compared with ￡58 - 75 for seagoing wind turbines (轮机) and ￡55 - 76 for solar panels. Environmentalists also worry that any plant would change the tides, making life harder for wildlife.

    An engineer called Rod Rainey thinks he has a way around both problems. He plans to replace the conventional turbines of previous plans with a much older technology. Specifically, he plans to span (横跨) the river mouth with a line of water wheels. This is a design that dates back to the early days of the Industrial Revolution. Examples can be found fixed to the sides of old watermills (水磨).

    But there would be nothing old - fashioned about Mr Rainey's wheels. Thirty metres high and sixty wide, they would be made from ordinary steel. Two hundred and fifty of them, along with the supporting structures, would be floated into place and secured to the seabed, creating a line 15km long. Together, they could supply power at an avenge ate of 4GW. That is about as much as two biggish nuclear power stations would manage. Substituting one of the wheels with a set of locks would provide a shipping channel about twice the width of Panama Canal, permitting upstream ports such as Avonmouth and Cardiff to continue operating.

Earlier this year Rodney Smith Jr. made headlines when he drove eight hours from his home in Huntsville. Alabama, to cut the lawn for an elderly soldier in North Carolina who couldn't find anyone to help him with his yard work.

That wasn't the first time the twenty-nine-year-old Bermuda native had gained such attention. To do his good deeds, Rodney often finds leads for those in need through social media.

Back to one August afternoon in 2015, Rodney Smith Jr. was driving home. That's when Rodney saw an elderly man struggling to mow his lawn. He would take a couple of shaky steps, using the handle to stabilize himself, pause, then slowly push the mower again. Rodney decided to help. Mr. Brown thanked him greatly, and Rodney went home feeling satisfied.

Sitting at his computer to do his homework, Rodney couldn't get Mr. Brown out of his mind. There must be many Mr. Browns out there. He went online and posted that he would mow lawns for free for senior citizens. Messages flooded in.

One day a cancer-battling woman said she wasn't having a good day. Rodney decided to do more than mowing lawns. After he finished mowing, he knocked on her door. "You're going to win this fight, Madam", he said. Then he asked folks to pray for her on social media.

Word of Rodney's mission spread. A grandmother in Ohio said he'd encouraged her 12-year-old grandson to mow lawns. He got a letter from a seven-year-old boy in Kansas. "Mr. Rodney, I would like to be a part of your program, and I'll make you proud," he wrote.

That gave Rodney an idea. In 2017, he decided to establish a programme Raising Men Lawn Care Service to make a national movement for young people. The kids learn the joy of giving back.

Yard work seems like a small, simple thing, but taking care of the lawn means a lot to the people they do it for. "When we mow their yards for free, they can use the money for healthcare and food etc. It means more than you would think," Rodney said.