In my bag I always carry the same essential items: my keys, my purse, some loose change, my mobile phone and my little blue vocabulary notebook. This year I am living abroad in Germany and I am trying to learn as much German as possible. I always knew that living abroad would be a great way to learn a foreign language but one thing I didn't realize was how many new words and phrases I would come across every day! I see and hear new words everywhere; the announcements in the train station; menus in cafes; on social media; on the local newspaper and of course from my German-speaking friends.

    At first I was slightly upset by the large amounts of German I didn't understand. Speaking German in Germany is definitely very different from that in the classroom; I kept on looking up new words and by the end of the day I had forgotten most of them already. It was very frustrating. After a month of worrying that I would never be able to improve my language skills, I went to the stationery shop and bought a small notebook which easily fit into my handbag or even into my back pocket! I set myself the goal of writing five new words or phrases a day into my little blue book and soon enough it became one of my most valuable language-learning tools.

    I don't have any rules about which words I write down. Most days I write down words that I learn from my colleagues at work, words that I don't understand in reading or words that I have learned from seeing them in context. For example, I have learned the names of many fruits and vegetables from looking at their labels in the supermarket (a very unexpected source of vocabulary!) and I have learned many words that I have heard on TV or on the radio. It doesn't even matter if I know how to spell a new word straight away. If I hear a word but I don't know how to spell it, I write down how I think it sounds and look it up later.

    My little blue vocabulary book is now like my close friend. We go everywhere together. Setting this small daily goal has made me feel much more in control of my language teaming and I am already seeing an improvement. I will continue to use it for the rest of my stay in Germany and also when I return to university at home in September.

    Buying new clothes isn't an easy matter for everyone, here are some tips(建议) for you .When you want to go shopping, decide how much money you can spend on new clothes. Think about the kind of clothes you really need. Then look for those clothes you really need. Then look for those clothes on sale.

    There are labels(标签) inside all new clothes. The labels tell you how to take care of your clothes. The label for a shirt may tell you to wash it in warm water. A sweater label may tell you to wash in cold water. The label on a coat may say "dry clean only", for washing may ruin this coat. If you do as the directions(说明)on the label, you can keep your clothes looking their best for a long time.

    Many clothes today must be dry cleaned. Dry cleaning is expensive. When buying new clothes, check to see if they will need to be dry cleaned. You will save money if you buy clothes that can be washed.

    You can save money if you buy clothes that are well-made. Well-made clothes last longer. They look good even after they have been washed many times. Clothes that cost more money are not necessarily better made. They do not always fit better. Sometimes less expensive clothes look and fit better than more expensive clothes.

    The correct way to brush your teeth is to use short, gentle strokes on the teeth, You should pay special attention to the gum (牙龈) line. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Pick the right toothbrush.

    Most dentists say that a soft-upraised toothbrush with a small head is best for removing dirt and rubbish while getting into those hard-to-reach places. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They have limited skills in their hands and thus they can do a better job at cleaning teeth.

    Pick the right toothpaste.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} And some are tailored (特定需要) specifically for dental issues such as sensitivity, dirt, holes or gingivitis (齿龈炎). Each person's mouth is different, and it is advisable to talk to your dentist about what toothpaste is best for you.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Hold your brush at a 45 degree angle, and use short, circular cleans or back and forth movements on your teeth. Brush the gum line in a pattern that pushes rubbish away from it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Make sure that all chewing surfaces are clean, and brush the surface of the tongue too.

A. Clean the teeth.

B. Pick a double-duty toothpaste.

C. There are many types of toothpaste.

D. However, this step often gets ignored.

E. An electric toothbrush is best for those.

F. Here are some basic ideas to help you clean your teeth well.

G. Gently brush the inside and outside of each tooth using this motion (动作).

    Taking care of a sick loved one can put stress on your health. When taking care of other persons, you may ignore your own physical needs. You may find that your health is failing. If you fall ill, you won't be able to help. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Eat well. When things seem out of control, you may have no time to focus on good eating habits. You may not eat much; {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Both of those put stress on you. Try to eat as healthily as you can, even if sometimes you have to rely on simple meals like salads.

    Try to get enough sleep. Sleep can also be difficult when you're caring for a loved one. You may be too worried to sleep at times, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Not getting enough sleep can make you less effective in the task. Therefore, try to get as much as you can.

    Take time to exercise. Exercising will also help you keep healthy while you're caring for a loved one. Exercise can reduce your stress level. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. So you'll need to find ways to work it into your schedule. You can take a short walk a couple of times or do yoga at home.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. It can be easy to overlook the health problem in yourself when you're caring for someone else. If you fall ill, that does not do anyone good. So it's best to make sure you're in good health.

A. or you may end up eating junk food

B. or the task may interrupt your sleep

C. Don't ignore signs of illness in yourself

D. It can help you get recovered from illness

E. Therefore, it is important to take care of yourself

F. However, it can be difficult when you're taking care of a loved one

G. The best plan is to visit the doctor regularly to make sure you're in good health

Biologists from the John Innes Centre in England discovered that plants have a biological process which divides their amount of stored energy by the length of the night. This solves the problem of how to portion out (分配) energy reserves during the night so that the plant can keep growing, yet not risk burning off all its stored energy.

While the sun shines, plants perform photosynthesis (光合作用). In this process, the plants change sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into stored energy in the form of long chains of sugar, called starch (淀粉). At night, the plants burn this stored starch to fuel continued growth.

"The calculations are precise so that plants prevent starvation but also make the most efficient use of their food," said study co-author Alison Smith. "If the starch store is used too fast, plants will starve and stop growing during the night. If the store is used too slowly, some of it will be wasted. "

The scientists studied the plant Arabidopsis, which is regarded as a model plant for experiments. To give the plants some math tests, the biologists let night arrive unexpectedly early or late for them.

During one of the exams, they shut off the lights early on them that had been grown with twelve-hour days and nights. Putting them into darkness after only an eight-hour day means they didn't have time to store as much starch as usual. And this forced the plants to adjust their normal nightly rhythm.

Amazingly, even after this day length trick, the plants did very well in their exams and ended up with just five percent of starch left over at the end of the night. They had neither starved, nor stored starch that could have been used to fuel more growth.

The authors suggested that similar biological calculators may explain how a migratory bird, the little stint, can make a five-thousand-kilometer journey to their summer habitat in the Arctic and arrive with enough fat reserves to survive only approximately half a day more, on average.

The results of the study were published in e Life.

Teachers across America are struggling to decide whether to view artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT as friends or enemies in the classroom. Our study on whether AI affects student creativity shows that the answer isn't always simple. 

In the study, we asked college students to brainstorm — without technology — all the ways a paper clip can be used. A month later, we asked them to do the same, but using ChatGPT. We found that AI can be a useful brainstorming tool, quickly generating ideas that can spark creative exploration. But there are also potential negative effects on students' creative thinking skills and self-confidence. While students reported that it was helpful to "have another brain", they also felt that using AI was "the easy way out" and didn't allow them to think on their own. 

The results call for a thoughtful approach to using AI in classrooms and striking a balance that inspires students' creativity while utilizing AI's capabilities. The good news is that the students in our study generated more diverse and detailed ideas when using AI. They found that AI was useful for kick-starting brainstorming sessions. 

When it comes to brainstorming with AI, some students voiced concerns about over-reliance on the technology, fearing it might hurt their own thoughts and, consequently, confidence in their creative abilities. Some students reported a "fixation of the mind", meaning that once they saw the AI's ideas, they had a hard time coming up with their own. Some students also questioned the originality of ideas generated by AI. Our research noted that while using ChatGPT improved students' creative output individually, the AI's ideas tended to be repetitive overall. 

The study results indicate that allowing students to practice creativity independently first will strengthen their belief in themselves and their abilities. Once they complete this, AI can be useful in furthering their learning, much like teaching long division to students before introducing a calculator. That's to say, teaching students to be creative thinkers rather than rely on AI for answers is the key to answering the question mentioned above.