What can keep your brain young and active? Marie Pasinski{#blank#}1{#/blank#} doctor from Massachusetts General Hospital, says, “New experiences as well as a good snack.”

    The next time you feel{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (bore) at the pool, play a board game or cards. Exercising your mind with a challenging game that requires brainpower,{#blank#}3{#/blank#} chess or bridge (桥牌), is more than just fun. These types of games are so interesting{#blank#}4{#/blank#} they can build up working memory. Traveling, especially in the places where English isn't spoken, can make you{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (smart) and more intelligent. There is a great deal of recent research proving its benefits.

    {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the other hand, eat more nuts! Not only are nuts the perfect snack for a summer road trip, they also keep your mind sharp. Some nuts are rich in magnesium(镁),{#blank#}7{#/blank#}can improve learning skills and memory of mice. The research{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (publish) in the Journal Neuron last month. Another study at New York State Institute also proved the point{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (show) that mice who ate nuts made improvements in learning, memory, emotional regulation and movements, compared with{#blank#}10{#/blank#} who didn't eat nuts.

    Keeping a diary in English is one of the {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(effect) ways to improve our English writing ability.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(compare) with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes less time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. If we persist in this practice, gradually we {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(learn) how to express ourselves in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(difficult). In the first place, it often happens {#blank#}5{#/blank#} we have trouble finding and phrases to give expression to our mind. Secondly, there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. And it is {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(extreme) hard for us to put them into English properly.

    As far as I'm concerned, my {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(recommend) is that we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary {#blank#}8{#/blank#} easy reach. Whenever something beats {#blank#}9{#/blank#}, we can first put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary. We can also turn to our English teacher for help, if necessary. In {#blank#}10{#/blank#} word, I believe that it is of great use to keep a diary in English for the development of our writing skills.

    A good friend not only likes to hang with you and have {#blank#}1{#/blank#}good time, but thinks about you and wishes good things for you when you're apart. A good Friend may not talk to you every day or even every week, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}can come up in a matter of minutes. A good friend will come to help you, even when you haven't talked to him in weeks. Time doesn't lessen a good friend's relationship with you.

    Beth is a friend of{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (I), I can for weeks without{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (talk) to her but then drop anything in minutes because {#blank#}5{#/blank#}her. She has no problem giving me some of her {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (suggest) either, Last week. I{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (buy) a pair of jeans which wasn't{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(exact) right for me. Some of my friend laugh at me. Beth would give a bees opinion, rather than leaving me hanging with my big jeans. She advised me{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (wear) this mini skirt instead because it made me look pretty.

    I believe that good friends also{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (be) the most honest with you, instead of looking down on you, showing off themselves or ignoring you. Beth is a friend like that. I feel so lucky to have such a friend.

    If {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (give) the choice, a great many people would change at least one aspect of their appearance. They would request a doctor to give them a straighter nose, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (big) lips, and so on.

    Firstly, one's appearance is{#blank#}3{#/blank#} or her parents' blessing. After breast enlargement surgery, many women look sexier than before. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, many of them are later diagnosed with mammary diseases. The more serious effect is {#blank#}5{#/blank#} they risk {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (be) unable to breast-feed. Secondly, the advocating {#blank#}7{#/blank#}such a practice will mislead people in the{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (judge) of beauty. The concept of beauty is quite rich in its content. It should include many virtues like honesty, diligence, and so on, which should form the real mainstream of our spiritual life. The practice and the debates about man-made beauty will confuse those who are to develop {#blank#}9{#/blank#} correct concept of beauty.

    Concerning the above possible {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (harm) the practice may bring about, I am strongly against it and advocate seeking true and natural beauty. Besides, people, especially women, should lay more attention on the cultivation of their inner hearts. The inner beauty outweighs the outside beauty in the long run.

    Smell the flowers before you go to sleep and you may just end up with rosy dreams. Have a whiff of rotten(腐烂的)eggs during the night and your dreams may be {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(pleasant). So says researcher Dr. Boris Stuck, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}invited sleeping volunteers to a rose vs. rotten egg test in the University Hospital Mannheim in Germany. The subjects didn't dream about roses {#blank#}3{#/blank#}eggs, but rather he found that what they smelt affected the emotions of {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(they) dreams.

    And if you think {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(smell) have a say in dreams, wait for what TV tells us. A UK study reveals that people exposed {#blank#}6{#/blank#}black-and-white film and TV in their youth are to have monochromic(单色的)dreams throughout their life more {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(probable). Eva Murzyn from the University of Dundee tested two age groups— one half {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(age) over 55 and {#blank#}9{#/blank#}other half under 25.

    The result? Under 5% of the dreams of the under-25s were in black and white. {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(watch)color TV in childhood seems to be the reason why.