Lack of motivation drags people down in their language learning and high motivation pulls them up. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Reward yourself after each hour of concentrated study.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} After each hour reward yourself in whatever way is most appealing. Here are some common 5-minute rewards. A cup of coffee, a quick phone call, a short bike ride, 5 minutes of TV sport, walking the dog, etc.

    Remove distractions.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Listening to songs in the foreign language while you have a food break could make you feel still on target while stopping the distraction of hunger.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Some of the ideas students report for keeping themselves motivated go beyond just the language. Here are two ideas. I try to cook Spanish food. To feed interest in the country, I look at posters, pictures, articles, books.

Look for motivation in the wider world

    Keep your interest alive by watching movies, and taking time to have contact with native speakers. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You can provide conversation in Chinese for overseas students, and in exchange they spend an hour another day talking their language with you. If you combine this with lunch then it doesn't even take extra time.

    Four benefits of writing by hand

    Today is National Handwriting Day! Although we don't write like we used to, here are four ways handwriting is still helpful.

    It's better for learning.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}That's because putting ink to paper stimulates (刺激) the brain.  One study from 2010 found that the brain areas related to learning “lit up” much more when kids were asked to write words like “spaceship” by hand versus just studying the word closely.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Many famous authors prefer writing by hand to the use of a typewriter or computer. Writer Susan Sontag once said that she penned her first drafts (草稿) before typing them up for editing later. She said, “{#blank#}3{#/blank#}” A 2009 study seems to support Sontag's preference for writing by hand: Elementary school students who wrote essays with a pen not only wrote more than their keyboard-tapping friends, but they also wrote faster and in more complete sentences.

    It will prevent you from being distracted (分心).

    The computer in front of you is really a distraction.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}In 2012, scientists even suggested that taking five-minute breaks to browse Tumblr or BuzzFeed could make you a more productive worker. However, when it's time to work on that essay, have only a pen and paper in front of you.

    It keeps your brain sharp as you get older.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}According to The Wall Street Journal, some physicians say that the act of writing is good exercise for those who want to keep their minds sharp as they age.

A. It makes you a better writer.

B. Writing is good for your brain.

C. Of course, the Internet isn't all bad.

D. I like the slowness of writing by hand.

E. Try writing by hand at least 20 minutes each day.

F. Many writers have a preference for writing by hand.

G. One of the most effective ways to study is to rewrite your notes by hand.

    Both men and women are living longer these days in industrialized countries.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}In general, they can expect to live six or seven years more than men. One reason for this is biological. One important biological factor that helps women live longer is the difference in hormones between men and women. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Between the ages of about 12 and 50, women produce hormones that are involved in fertility(生育能力). These hormones also have a positive effect on the heart and blood flow. In fact, women are less likely to have high blood pressure or to die from heart attacks.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}They help the body defend itself against some kinds of infections. This means that women generally get sick less often and less seriously than men. The common cold is a good example: women, on average, get fewer colds than men.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Scientists are still not exactly sure how they influence aging, but they believe that they do. Some think that a woman's body cells have a tendency(向) to age more slowly than a man's. Others think that a man's body cells have a tendency to age more quickly.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. However, women, on average, live longer.

B .The biological factor plays an important part.

C. Women are also helped by their female genes.

D. The female hormones also protect the body in another way.

E. Recent research seems to support both of these possibilities.

F. However, women are more healthy than men and can live a better life.

G. Hormones are chemicals which are produced by the body to control carious body functions.

Getting Along Well With Parents

Getting along well with parents is a big problem for most teenagers. Teenagers are gradually getting more mature—or at least they think they are. So they can't wait to get themselves free from their so—called bondage. Their parents are in their 40s and they are annoyed by their aging.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} But people prefer harmony. How can we achieve it? Here are some tips:

    First and foremost, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We can't be sure if we are created by God, yet people worship him, but we are absolutely sure that our parents created us. Isn't a good enough reason why we should respect them?

    What's more,{#blank#}3{#/blank#} We can't just take their payment for granted or become apathetic to their kindness. We are always impressed by strangers' occasional kindness. How can we be insensitive to our parents who worry about us all the time?

    In addition, don't forget to communicate with your parents.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} For example, they may read our private diaries or follow us everywhere even to the bathroom. This will definitely cause strife in the family.

    Last but not the least, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It may be difficult at first, but once you do it, your parents' actions will suddenly be clear.

    If parents and teenagers work a little more we can all get something back.

A. we need to switch places with our parents.

B. As we get older, we begin to realize that our parents are not as perfect as we thought.

C. That's why people say families at this time are a confrontation between adolescence and the climacteric.

D. we must respect our parents from the bottom of our heart.

E. Gradual disappointment with patents is, in some degree, inevitable.

F. If we refuse to communicate with them, parents will fell so frustrated that they will do anything they can to know us.

G. it's important to be grateful to our parents.

    This summer, when earthquakes rocked Southern California on back-to-back days, it was a close-to-home reminder that we may one day experience the "Big One," a quake with the power to kill and destroy. A few people, however, saw something else: a photo opportunity. Tourists poured to a large crack in a highway to see evidence of the damage for themselves and, of course, take a quick selfie.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It feeds so many of the weakest parts of ourselves: our born attraction to images of human faces instead of landscapes or objects, our interest in capturing memories, and yes, our need for social approval. Yet, it is easy to feel uncomfortable with selfies and even laugh at them, especially when they are risky or in bad taste. So why do we take selfies?

    Selfies have become so common that my grandma does them when we get together. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Instead, selfies are a way for us to connect and communicate, and feel a more personal connection with people all around the world.

    In one example, researchers developed a #ScientistsWhoSelfie campaign studying how scientists posting photos of themselves with their work on social media influenced public opinion of the profession. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} "Those scientists in general were described as warmer, but no less competent," said Paige Jarreau, the lead author on the study.

    While some scientists refused at first, fearing that their colleagues would consider them self-centered or think they take their work less seriously, those concerns disappeared once researchers explained that it could help build public trust. "This is not just me taking a duck-faced (嘟嘟嘴) selfie or trying to look cute on camera," said Dr Jarreau. "This is me being able to better tell the story about my science in a way that helps people trust me."

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Dr Jarreau recalled a road trip she made to national parks, where she witnessed so many people taking selfies, she began taking photos of the selfie-takers themselves. "Ask yourself: Why are you posting that picture?" she said. "If there was a platform that didn't enable likes, would you post it?" After all, there are other ways to develop a social connection. You could send the photo to a private group. You could put it in a frame at home. You could be mindful in the moment by not taking it at all. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. But if you do, watch your step.

B. There is no denying the draw of the selfie.

C. With each like, we feel better about ourselves.

D. The thought that selfie is the symbol of self-love is outdated.

E. However, most of us post mechanically, even madly, in our daily lives.

F. After all, people have been making self-portraits for long, in remarkably similar ways.

G. They found that photos with human faces helped improve impressions in a field that is often subject to negative stereotypes.

What will you do if you can't eat everything bought in the canteen(食堂)? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} According to a survey, what students waste every year could feed over 10 million people. 

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} According to Xinhua News Agency, the food wasted by Chinese people is about 50 million tons of grain every year, which could feed 200 million people. 

Food waste, which has become a global issue, serves as a mirror that reflects various cultural and social issues in different countries. In the west, for instance, consumerism, the belief that it's good to use a lot of goods and services, is often to blame for food waste. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Chinese people are well known for being hospitable and generous. Many even feel that they lose face if their guests have eaten all the food. On campus, a generation of single children is less aware of the food waste issue. Students nowadays are well protected by their families and hardly have any concept of how much toil (辛劳) others go through in order to provide them with the food they eat. 

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}There are 925 million hungry people in the world. They don't have enough food to eat. And farmers work very hard to grow the crops. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}It's also important that everyone thinks about how they can do their bit to reduce food waste. Recently a campaign against food waste launched on line in China might make you think twice about being so wasteful.