Some people have the feeling that nothing can be done about their poor reading ability（能力）.They feel hopeless about it.Can you learn to read better,or must you agree that nothing can be done about it?

    To be sure,people are different.You cannot expect to do everything as well as certain other people do.If all the students in a class tried out for basketball,some would be very good players,others would be very poor;and many would be in between.But even the very poor players can become much better players if they are guided in the right way,and with plenty of practice.It is the same with reading.Some seem to enjoy reading and to read well without any special help.Others find reading a slow and tiring job.In between,there are all degrees of reading ability.

    Many experiments have shown that just about every poor reader can improve his reading ability.In these experiments,the poor readers were given tests of reading ability.After some of the causes of their poor reading were discovered,they were given special instruction and practice in reading.After a few months,another test of the same kind was given.In nearly all cases,these people had raised their reading scores.

    One of the most important things in the world is friendship. In order to have friends, you have to be a friend. But how can you be a good friend at school?

    Listen — Listen when they are talking. Don't say anything unless they ask you a question. Sometimes it's not necessary for you to have anything to say; they just need someone to talk to about their feelings.

    Help them — If your friend is ever in need of something, be there to help them. You should try to put them first, but make sure you don't do everything they want you to do. Try to take an extra (额外的) pencil or pen with you to classes in case (以防) they forget one. Have a little extra money in your pocket in case they forget something they need.

    Be there for them — Try to make something for your friend to help make them feel better in hard times. Making cards and encouraging them are among the nicest things you can do for a friend. Marilyn Monroe, a famous U.S. actor, once said, “I often make mistakes. Sometimes I am out of control. But if you can't stay with me at my worst, you are sure not to deserve (值得) to be with me at my best.” Always remember this! If you don't want to stay with your friends when they're in hard times, then you don't deserve to be with them when they're having a good time!

    ______ — Try to make plans with your friends. Go shopping, go for ice cream, have a party, go to a movie and so on. Take time to know each other even better by doing something you both enjoy. By planning things together, you both can have a good time. And you'll remember these things when you're all old!

    I was at the chemist collecting my daughter's medication and she asked me to go into the shop next door to get some energy drinks for her.She was about to travel on a train and she tires easily.The shop did not have what she wanted so I went to the garage near my home.As I came out of the garage I could see Margaret across the busy road. I thought to myself she-d just got off the bus and was on her way to her daughter's house which is next door to me.I thought I'd give her a lift to her daughter's house.

    Then from across the busy road I could see the elderly lady I thought was Margaret going in a different direction down a different side street.I was surprised because I was really sure it was Margaret.In fact,I was so sure that I took the trouble of waiting to drive across the busy road to go to Margaret.

    By the time I caught up with the elderly lady she was at the bottom of a dead end and looked confused as she didn't recognize where she was.It was indeed Margaret.Though I have spoken to her before and given her a lift,she needed reminded of who I was.Margaret got in my car.

    We arrived at her daughter's house,it seemed in darkness and I didn't think Julie was in.I told Margaret to go and check.I had to take Lauren to the train station.If Julie wasn't at home I'd bring Margaret back to her own house.I went to my house and Lauren got in the car,then I saw Julie with Margaret.

    Margaret thought I was kind to her today.Truth is though that her thankful words will stay with me for a long time.I'm so happy too that the first shop I went to didn't have what Lauren wanted otherwise I' d never have got this beautiful compliment or more importantly, to help Margaret.

    Youth volunteers from Beijing University visited Song tang Hospital, a care clinic for the aged and dying patients, during the second Global Youth Service Day on April 21．

    Thirty student volunteers from the university's School of International Studies sat at the beds of the patients in their specially decorated “care huts”. They talked with them and gave massages （按摩）to patients kept in their beds.

    I felt sorry that I could not offer more to these people than talking with them and trying to cheer them up, said Deng Yetao, 20, a third - year student. “But it occurred to me that they need more care and love than babies. They are afraid of the coming death. Their loneliness is worse than physical pains.”

    “Even though they are suffering a lot, the majority of the elderly people want to talk to us. Each of them has a lot of life experiences and philosophies to share. Instead of doing them a favor, I felt I was gaining a valuable lesson. Said Mao Xiaohua, another third - year student.

    Mao talked with two elderly patients for a whole afternoon. The fact that most of the patients in the 80 - room clinic are aged people with diseases which will lead to death soon made the volunteers' hearts heavy.

    Ninety - one percent of the patients will spend the last days of their lives in the clinic, according to a survey by the hospital.

    Daily visits and services by social workers and youth volunteers are a very important part of their programmer. A total of 330, 000 Beijing students from 119 universities and colleges have visited the hospital. Many continue to offer services in their spare time. Some of them volunteer to hold the hands of dying patients during the last minutes of their lives.

    Yin Hang, a student from Beijing Medical College, said he felt“ the glory of life” as he saw the fading smile on the face of the old man who passed into a deep unconsciousness（昏迷）while he was holding his hands.

    Your local grocery store is a psychological minefield (布雷区), where even the bananas are ripe with mystery.

    ⒈Southpaws (左撇子) have an invisible advantage

    You've probably seen that stores keep go-to items produce, meats, dairy on the outer edge. But did you notice that most of them are set up to make you run counterclockwise (逆时针)? Ninety percent of us are right-handed, so we buy more when it's counterclockwise. You'll also often find the dairy section in the back-left corner: Because dairy is likely on your list, stores make sure you take the longest route to get there. In fairness, it's also a more convenient place to put a fridge.

    ⒉Everything is in its place

    It's safe to say that nothing you see on a shelf is there by chance. The cookies on sale at the end of a passage are likely the result of smart product placement. More expensive items are usually placed at an adult's eye level, while colorful treats and other products for kids are positioned lower to catch the attention of children.

    ⒊Time goes by so slowly

    Stores rarely have windows or clocks. With no reference to the outside world, customers can easily lose track of how long they've been there so that they can buy more. Grocery stores may use another trick to control your sense of time: small floor tiles (瓷砖).

    Half a year ago I came across a book called "Salt, Sugar and Fat. How the Food Giants Hooked US", but finished it only recently. I am far from being a fan of junk food, over-salty, or over-sweet stuff, and honestly this food doesn't appeal to me at all. Maybe it is related to the fact that I grew up in Russia and at that time we were not so exposed to the foreign, especially made in America foods. We knew Coca Cola, Pepsi, juice powder and Cheetos, but this stuff was not so cheap or available to buy it every day and we couldn't buy them in large quantities. We didn't know the word "fat" was not a bad thing but a normal of life for some people. We always had sweets and especially on holidays they were served as a dessert along with a cake. Russians like eating sweets when they drink tea. Even with my passion to desserts I still can't relate myself to the people Michale Moss was writing about, those consumers who could not say “no” when it came to junk food.

    What I found interesting in the book was that the author didn't focus on diets, necessity to exercise, sleep well at night and all other things we all are pretty aware of. The aim was not to teach people how to live but instead, after having made a huge research, interviewed more than 100 people in the food industry, Moss reveals the ugly of the food business. It puts all the facts in front of us and offers a choice: to buy or not to buy. However, the answer was known at the very beginning. Moss mentions the well-known food like Coca, Cola, Pepsi, Nestle and some others and tells how skillfully the consumers can be cheated when it comes to choosing what to put in the food basket in the supermarket. We like this taste of a chocolate, the crispy chips, and sweet porridges because it was all put on test by groups of scientists who made experiments to reveal what kind of taste will be most appealing to us. It involves brain, of course. Apart from scientific researches, it was also due to successful marketing strategies and plans that people prefer to buy food.

    In this companies' money race, the most vulnerable(易受伤害的)victims are kids. They can't tell good from bad and love everything that makes them feel good. Commercial ads of fast food particularly targeted kids and played on the fact that mothers can't fully control what their children eat because they spent all day at work. Mothers themselves buy chocolates bars and com flakes for their kids, guided by a powerful brainwashing that actually, these products were not unhealthy, on the contrary, it was encouraged to give them to kids, because fat and sugar provide energy, so they are good, right?

    Giving a credit to some food companies, they made attempts to fight the trend, but consumers, who already worked a habit of eating too salty, too fatting and too sweet products, didn't react to the changes. So the companies returned to the old policy. Surprisingly, such behavior was strongly backed up by the government.

    I would definitely recommend reading this book not only to those who struggle in the battle with his addiction to fast food but also people living healthily. It casts light on many things, including how vulnerable we can be in front of corporations and their powerful and accurate marketing strategies.