If anyone had told me three years ago that I would be spending most of my weekends camping. I would have laughed heartily. Campers, in my eyes, were people who enjoyed insect bites, ill-cooked meals, and uncomfortable sleeping bags. They had nothing in common with me. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    The friends who introduced me to camping thought that it meant to be a pioneer. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We sleep in a tent, cooked over an open fire, and walked a long distance to take the shower and use the bathroom. This brief visit with Mother Nature cost me two days off from work, recovering from a bad case of sunburn and the doctor's bill for my son's food poisoning.

    I was, nevertheless, talked into going on another fun-filled holiday in the wilderness.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Instead, we had a pop-up camper with comfortable beds and an air conditioner. My nature-loving friends had remembered to bring all the necessities of life.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} We have done a lot of it since. Recently, we bought a twenty-eight-foot travel trailer complete with a bathroom and a built-in TV set. There is a separate bedroom, a modern kitchen with a refrigerator. The trailer even has matching carpet and curtains.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It must be true that sooner or later, everyone finds his or her way back to nature. I recommend that you find your way in style.

A.This time there was no tent.

B.Things are going to be improved.

C.The trip they took me on was a rough one.

D.I was to learn a lot about camping since then, however.

E.I must say that I have certainly come to enjoy camping.

F. After the trip, my family became quite interested in camping.

G. There was no shade as the trees were no more than 3 feet tall.

    Good learners can inspire students or anybody to learn well. Here are some characteristics of good learners.

    Good learners are curious. They wonder about all sorts of things, often about knowledge beyond their areas of expertise(专长). {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Finding out about something they didn't know satisfies them for the moment, but their curiosity is addictive.

    Good learners don't give up easily. A few things may come easily to learners but most knowledge arrives after effort. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They try to search out new information. They read, analyze, and evaluate the information they've found. Then they study more and work at what they don't understand.

    Good learners know that a lot of learning isn't fun. The journey to understanding generally isn't all that exciting. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Others need a tiresome attention to detail, and still others need periods of intense mental focus. Your backs hurt, your arms and legs get tired, and your coffee gets cold.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}There's always more to know. Good learners are never satisfied with how much they know about anything. They are pulled around by questions—the ones they still can't answer, or the ones without very good answers. Those questions follow them like day follows night with the answers bringing daylight.

    Good learners share what they've learned. Good learners are teachers committed to sharing with others what they've learned. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Good learners can also explain what they know in ways that make sense to others. They are connected to the knowledge passed on to them and committed to leaving what they've learned with others.

A. Some learning tasks require boring repetition.

B. Good learners are willing to put in the time.

C. Some knowledge can broaden our views.

D. Good learners stay positive.

E. They write about it, and talk about it.

F. They love the discovery part of learning.

G. Good learners never run out of questions.

    Whether you've been in college or you're looking forward to going to university in the future, you and your family likely spend some time worrying about the cost of your college education.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, that will pay off for years to come. Earning scholarships is a great way to help you. The Financial Aid Office at Illinois State helps students identify scholarship opportunities every day. Here is some advice to help you.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Have you asked your high school or community college financial aid office about scholarships at your school? Many schools have a list of several scholarships right there.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Check with community organizations, banks and credit unions, and large employers who may offer scholarship opportunities in your area.

    Find your “hook”

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Your unique characteristics can help your scholarship applications stand out. Pay special attention to awards that mention your best qualities, whether that's academic achievements, leadership, community service, or something less common. Think about why a donor wants to assist you in paying for your education. Most scholarship providers want to encourage a particular behavior. Companies may want to attract future employees.

    Develop a routine

    Every scholarship is different in terms of when you can apply, what you need to turn in, when the winner is announced, and how the money is given to you.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} There isn't a single application or search engine that allows you to find and apply for everything. Visit the website for the Office of Student Financial Aid for lists of scholarship opportunities. Go through the lists to find the ones that match you best and keep track of when you can apply for them.

A. While you're searching, consider what makes you special as a student.

B. Typically, scholarship applications open in the late fall or early spring for the next school year's awards, but that also varies depending on the donors.

C. There is no doubt that college education is a necessary step to get yourselves prepared for the future.

D. Local awards can often be easier to get as the application pools are smaller and less competitive.

E. Begin in your own backyard

F. It's no secret that college is one of the biggest investments.

G. Believe in yourselves

How to Survive Being Stuck in a Lift

    Being stuck in a lift, also known as an elevator, can sometimes be scary, especially if you are a fan of those kinds of movies which have a lot of elevator tragedies. You may think being stuck in an elevator in real life is not like in the movies.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Remain calm and do not panic! You may have heard of this a lot of times and it is true that panicking will do you no good. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Press each of the floor buttons one by one. Then, try the “doors open” button. If none of the buttons works, the lift is broken, and you need to let someone know about it.

    See if your phone has any reception or Internet. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you have WiFi connection, contact a family member or friend. Don't forget to tell them what the address is of the building and possibly which elevator you are stuck in. If your phone is not available, the following tips can help you.

    Look through the gap between the doors of the lift. If you can see light between the doors, the lift has stopped near a floor, and you should be able to shout for help and be released. Do not try to force the doors open yourself. If you can't see light between the doors, the lift has stopped between floors, and no one will be able to let you out if you scream for help. Look for an emergency telephone. If there is no telephone, press the alarm button repeatedly. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}If you have waited for more than half an hour and nobody has come to get you out, shout and bang the inside walls of the lift. If no one is responding to you, then you'll have to accept that you will be in the lift overnight. If this happens, make yourself as comfortable as possible to save your energy. By morning, the building should be full again. You can try to get some help then.

A. It will cause you not to be able to think clearly.

B. Check the time.

C. Eventually, someone should hear you and get help.

D. Here are some tips to help you survive.

E. However, it is still a vital thing to know how to survive if it ever happens to you.

F. Use your watch.

G. If you do have reception, call emergency services.

    Asking for a raise can be a discouraging prospect for any employee. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you're a female employee seeking a raise, it matters to approach that conversation strategically. Here are a few tips for pulling it off successfully.

    Do your research.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} So if you're making a case for a pay increase, you'll need to gather some data on what others in similar positions are earning. To that end, do some research on sites like Salary. com. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Remember to collect the average earnings for all workers in your position and make your case for why you deserve to be paid similarly.

    Don't get emotional.

    Women are often accused of getting emotional on the job. In fact, it's that so-called sensitive nature that causes some people to claim they're uncomfortable working with and promoting female employees. That's why it's extremely important to keep you cool during a salary negotiation. Be specific and present hard evidence of your value to the company. Try to focus on your positive contributions, rather than the negative feelings. And although the discussion might get heated, be sure not to yell or, worse yet, cry while it's going down. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Given many news stories about how men out-earn women, you may tend to draw on some of that data as a reason for getting a raise. But be very careful about using that argument, because unless you have definitive proof that your male colleagues - with the same exact titles, experience, and responsibilities—are making more money than you, you're better off avoiding that angle.

Why Is Sorting Important When Recycling?

    We all agree that we should recycle more at home, in the office or when out and about. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Consequently, they can be collected and taken to the right place for recycling. This is what the process of sorting allows us to do.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}And the effective sorting needs to happen first, in our own home and second, in sorting plants to which waste is collected. When you put a plastic bottle in the right recycling bag or bin, you are helping sort recyclables so that the right material can be fed into the right recycling process. If sorting does not happen, a lot of recyclable materials can end up in landfills. It will lead to valuable resources lost from our economy.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}For instance, in Brussels consumers put plastic packaging, cans and beverage cartons in blue bags designed for recyclable packaging; paper in yellow bags for recycling; and glass needs to be taken to specific collection bins. Somewhat differently, in Vienna (Austria), citizens can expect their paper, metal, glass and plastic to be separately collected in different weeks of the year.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Once recyclable materials are collected from your home, they are further sorted in specialized facilities which ensure the quality of the recycling process. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Traditionally, sorting has been done either manually with workers sorting what can be recycled and picking out the materials to be discarded or mechanically. Today, however, new sorting technologies are being developed in order to speed up the process of sorting but to also cause better results. Exciting technologies using magnets or optical systems are being used to effectively sort materials so more of it can be recycled.

A. For effective recycling we need effective sorting.

B. Packaging at work is the first step towards recycling.

C. This is where different sorting techniques come into play.

D. So citizens need to be aware of their local collection system

E. Collection systems can be very different from country to country.

F. The rest was landfilled or burned even though they could have been recycled or reused.

G. But for materials to be recycled, they first need to find their way to the right waste stream.