Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several ways {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.Second, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.

    You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is a selective process. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The following methods may work best for you.

●Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.

●Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and

supporting facts.

● Write your notes in your own words.

●{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

● Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.

    As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand(速记). When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols(符号) and that you use them all the time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A．Use words, not complete sentences.

B．There are three practical note-taking methods.

C．You must write your notes on separate paper.

D．Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes late

E. you will also want to develop your own method for taking notes.

F. That means you must first decide what is important enough to include in your notes.

G. First, the simple act of writing something down makes it easier for you to understand and remember it.

    Are you embarrassed to recite in class because you might give the wrong answer? Are you ashamed to share your ideas in a group？If you find yourself being shy about a lot of things, you need to understand that being shy is a very big obstacle(障碍) to one's success.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    First of all, you need to discover and understand the causes of your shyness.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} One of the biggest reasons why people are shy is that they were branded as a shy person. Because you heard it over and over, you believed it and thought it is true. If this is the cause, you need to stop this in your mind.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    One way to stop your shyness in your mind is to focus less on your weakness.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}We all have our own unique strength. So if speaking in front of many people isn't your strength, that's okay. Maybe the strength you're given is in writing. And if you think there still a lot for you to improve on your strengths and talents, that's okay too.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. All you need to do is spending time training yourself to be a master in your strengths.

B. You need to dig deep and get to the roots of your shyness.

C. Then try to replace it with positive things in your life.

D. When you doubt yourself, others will doubt you.

E. The good thing is that you can overcome it.

F. Stay fearless in everything you will have to do.

G. Instead, focus more on your strength.

    Empathy is the ability to imagine what it must be like in someone else's situation. It is an essential part of what it means to be human, to the extent that we are suspicious of anyone who does not show empathy in their behavior.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}We read novels, watch television and go to the theatre, and part of our enjoyment comes from understanding the dilemma faced by the characters because we know how we would feel if we were in the same situation.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}One study has shown animals displaying empathy towards other animals and towards humans. Creatures from across the animal kingdom such as bees and whales, as well as domestic pets, display behavior that suggests they cooperate with and protect each other.

    In another study, psychiatrist Jules Masserman and his team conducted an experiment with monkeys in which the monkeys pulled one of two chains that released food. One chain simply released the food, while another gave an electric shock to a second monkey. The first monkey stopped pulling the chain that delivered the shock.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}This empathetic behavior was observed in a number of monkeys.

    The origin of empathy is probably the need for the young of all animal species to be cared for. They communicate this requirement by crying for attention and to show pain. Both human and non-human young were more likely to survive if their parents reacted positively to their needs. People and animals alike are social beings and are more likely to work together.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}If we help others, we are also helping ourselves and so empathy is sensible and realistic.

    We don't always display empathy, however. Just as animals react aggressively to unknown creatures from their own or other species, humans tend to regard people they don't know with suspicion.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Our unwillingness to trust anyone unfamiliar is as natural to us as our empathy towards those we know and love.

A. To feel empathy is not restricted to real life.

B. You can empathize with someone without feeling sympathy for them.

C. This fear of strangers will, we believe, protect us from personal danger.

D. It seemed to be willing to go hungry rather than see a fellow animal suffer.

E. However, it seems that in fact empathy may not be a quality unique to humans.

F. Empathy plays a role in that as it allows us to understand our fellow humans better.

G. It's certainly difficult to understand an animal's intention behind an emphatic response.

    Everybody hates the idea of cutting back financially(财政上) because it usually means living without things you like. But not always.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.They could reduce your costs by thousands of dollars a year.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    An increasing number of grocery chains are selling their own lines of food. Actually, these brands cost vastly less than the name brands, but taste the same. Switch and you could save 25 percent on your grocery bills.

    Make a list.

    Whether you're buying groceries or gifts, spur－of the－moment impulses(一时冲动)are your enemy.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. If you want to buy something on impulse, force yourself to go home and think about it.

    Carry snacks.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The same holds true for anything you eat out. So if you know you're going to be out for several hours and likely to get hungry, throw an apple in your car or carry a six-pack of soda or water in your bag.

    Use it up.

    Before you run to the store, make sure you check your fridge. There's a good chance that you've got lots of unused or partially used items that will go to waste while you waste your cash buying more.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. Make a savings plan

B. Switch to store brands

C. There are many painless ways to save

D. Choose reliable brands of well-known companies

E. Write a to-do list before you go shopping and stick to it

F. Whether it's food or beauty care, use it up before you replace it

G. Buy a soda at a restaurant and you're likely to pay twice as much

Top Poetry Writing Tips

Tip 1: Poetry involves work, rest and play.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It involves hard work, especially in the early stage when you are deciding on the overall form and tone of the poem, and getting the bones of it onto the page. But writing poetry should be a playful activity, too. Have fun playing around with the language, the ideas and the music inside the poem.

Tip 2: Poetry requires both words and silence.

Poetry has been defined as "the best words in their best order". Choose your words carefully for their sounds and meaning. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Just as the white space on the page is needed to shape the pattern of words, so the thoughts that are left unsaid, the pauses and the quiet hints, will add something extra to your poem. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}If you have created enough solid stepping stones in words and thoughts, then the reader will follow you to the end of the poem.

Tip 3: {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Poets often turn to writing a poem when they experience a strong emotion and have the need to express it. The reading of other people's poetry can also give comfort or a sense that you are not alone in how you are feeling. But be careful not to write your poem with abstract emotions and don't tell your readers how to think or feel.

Tip 4: Writing poetry can be difficult to start and hard to let go.

It is often difficult to know how to start a poem, but the trick is to recognise the beginnings of them, in everyday life. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}They can start from remembering a funny conversation that you've overheard at the bus stop, yesterday's nightmare, a secret you've been told, or an interesting postcard that you have noticed in a shop. If you catch yourself thinking about something for more than a minute or two, that's when you reach for a pen and some paper and start jotting down(匆匆记下) thoughts, words and phrases.

A. But poetry is also about silence.

B. Writing a good poem rarely comes easily.

C. Don't be afraid of the gaps that you leave.

D. Poetry needs an emotion and a control of it.

E. Poetry sets the scene for readers to step into.

F. Poems don't have to come from exciting events.

G. You must write your feelings and views with passion.

How to Make a Homemade Gift

Looking for a heartfelt gift that won't leave you broke? Try making your own. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Such sorts of gifts can make a major impression.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} While cards can be purchased at nearly any supermarket or department store, making one yourself can make a statement about the time and effort you're willing to spend on the recipient. The most important part, though, is the words you write on it. Try to be sincere and honest while writing something.

Create a scrapbook(剪贴簿). A scrapbook isn't just a great gift. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} To make a scrapbook, you'll just need some paper, glue and photos of you and the gift recipient. Stick the pictures in any order you want on your sheets of paper. For example, you can begin with photos of your first meeting.

Prepare love coupons (礼券). These are fantastic gifts for family members and close friends. The basic idea is to make a small book of "coupons" from zero. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} For example, if you're giving the coupons to your mother, you might write "I will go to a movie with you" on one of the coupons.

Make a pack of cards. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} For this gift, you take an ordinary pack of cards and turn it into something special by writing your praise for the gift recipient on each one. When you give the gift, offer to use the cards to play your favorite card game together.

A. Write a heartfelt card.

B. Make a piece of DIY art.

C. Write things they would like on each of them.

D. This is sometimes also called "The Things I Love About You".

E. There are hundreds of affordable DIY projects that make great gifts.

F. It's a way to remind your friend of all the great memories you have together.

G. Making something by hand is often more impressive than spending lots of cash.