How to Protect Your Ears

    You and your friends are leaving a concert on a Friday night. When you get outside, your ears are ringing. You have to shout to be heard. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So no harm done…right?

    Not quite. Temporary buzzing may be easy to ignore, but repeated exposure to loud noise will eventually cause serious— and irreversible(无法治愈的)—hearing loss. A new study conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston shows that one in five people between the ages of 12 and 19 are experiencing slight hearing loss, and one in 20 have mild hearing loss. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    But the good news is that there plenty of ways you can protect your ears from further damage — and still listen to the music you love:

    Ask around. Put your earbuds in or your headphones on, and then ask a friend next to you whether or not he or she can hear what you're listening to. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Turn it down.

    Buy noise-canceling headphones. A pair of earbuds or headphones that fits comfortably will limit outside noise so that you can hear your music better at lower volumes.

    Take breaks. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} So when listening to music, take your headphones off for 15 or 20 minutes and let your ears enjoy the quiet.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You can buy a cheap pair at any drugstore as an easy way to lower volume at concerts — or while playing or practicing your own music — without changing the quality of the sound.

A. Use earplugs.

B. Keep the volume below 70 percent.

C. If the answer is yes, your music is too loud.

D. Like every other part of your body, your ears need rest.

E. But by morning, your hearing is totally back to normal.

F. Unfortunately, there's no way to get back hearing you've already lost.

G. The exposure to noise is louder and longer than in any previous generation.

    There are so many things we do in our daily lives that have become a "habit"{#blank#}1{#/blank#}How you answer the phone is a habit. The way you sit in the car when you drive is a habit. Have you ever tried to change the way you do something, after you ve done it in a certain way for so long? It's not very easy to do. The minute your mind drifts to something else, you go right back to the old way of doing things{#blank#}2{#/blank#}it's a way of doing things that has become routine or commonplace. To change an existing habit or form a new one can be a boring task.

    Let's pick something fairly easy to start with, like spending 15 minutes in the morning reading a book. If you want to turn something into a habit that you do every day, you have to WANT to do it{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Make a firm decision to do this on a daily basis.

    Imprint it in your mind. Write several notes to yourself and put them in places where you will see them. By the alarm clock, on the bathroom mirror, on the refrigerator door, in your briefcase, and under your car keys are good places to start.

    After the newness wears off, then you will have to remind yourself, "Hey, I forgot to..." Keep using the notes if you have to{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Some people say it will take over a month to solidify it and make it something you will do without having to think about it. I tend to agree with the last statement. Two to three weeks will help you to remember, but thirty days or more will make it a part of your everyday routine.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. What is a "habit" anyway?

B. Forming a bad habit is easy.

C. Brushing your teeth is a habit.

D. Is doing things in an old way good?

E. If you don't, you will find a way to do everything but that.

F. It takes 16 to 21 times of repeating a task to make it a habit.

G. that's something you won't necessarily have to think about before you do it—habit.

    Teens are certainly confusing and complicated, but there is one thing that's clear about them: More than anything else, they want to fit in with their peers. They want and need to stay connected. Without connection, they feel lonely, anxious and sad{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Teens, like adults, run into all sorts of dilemmas with their friends. Friendships are neither all good nor all bad. As an adult, you have experience with these sorts of friends and have made your own adjustments in these relationships. Given both your own life experience and your concern for your teens, you're in an excellent position to help your teens set boundaries with friends. Certainly, some friendships are worth maintaining, while some are not,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}There are many ways you can help your teens handle these relationships effectively. Here are some steps I would suggest taking:

    Teach your teens to label their feelings. They need to know what it is that they are feeling first to effectively set limits and boundaries with friends. Help them label setbacks, exhaustion, disappointment and anger. This is no small task. Many kids struggle with labeling their feelings.

     {#blank#}3{#/blank#}If they sense that something is wrong in a friendship, they're probably right, end they need to quit it as soon as possible.

    Explain to your teens that they can't be all things to all friends. And let them know that friendships are most likely to grow and continue if they feel good about them.

    Discuss different ways to set boundaries. Explain to your kids that just as it makes sense to say yes at times{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Just as it's fine to spend lots of time with a friend during the week, it's equally OK to spend less time with the same friend when that friend is being too demanding or needy.

    Look at your behavior in relationships{#blank#}5{#/blank#} They are quietly watching your every move. So .make sure you're setting a good example for them to follow in your relationships as well.

A. so they need to tel what are right relationships

B. and they shall find their way ou of those friendship

C. Keep in mind that you are your teens' most important role model

D. Remind your teens of bad relationships

E. it's also socially acceptable to say no at other times

F. Encourage your teens to mind their feelings and follow the sixth sense

G. but they may get exhausted by their friendships as well

    China has been the birthplace of many of the world's greatest inventions. It was, for example, the first country to produce paper money. Before the invention of paper money and coins, people used many different kinds of things for buying and selling. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} This exchange of goods and services for other goods and services is called bartering（物物交换）.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In 1200 BC, people in China began to use shells as money. Usually the shells used as money were very small. This made it easier for people to carry money over long distances, and allowed for trade to develop between different parts of the country.

    In the years which followed this invention, many other countries around the world began to do the same. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The next development was in 1000 BC, when China started making bronze and copper shells. It wasn't long before the Chinese made round coins out of metal. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} By 500 BC, metal coins had begun to appear in countries like Persia and Greece, and later in the Roman Empire.

    About 1000 years later, leather was used as money in China, and in 806 AD, the first paper banknotes were produced by the Chinese people. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. As time went by, trade between countries increased.

B. People also began collecting foreign coins as souvenirs.

C. They also used tiny shells as money for buying and selling.

D. It was still many years before paper money appeared in Europe.

E. However, as economies developed, such exchanges became impractical.

F. During that time, for example, buying a chicken might cost several potatoes.

G. The very first coins often had holes in them so that people could tie them together.

    Summer is the perfect time to relax. As you plan for your trip, here are some tips on how to protect yourself. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Fight against the mosquitoes in the hot spots.

    There are many mosquito-borne illnesses in tropical regions, which are traditionally vacation hot spots. Therefore, mosquito repellent (驱蚊剂) that contains DEET should be an essential item in your travel bag.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    In lesser-developed countries there is less equipment for clean water and public health. If you can't avoid unhealthful water, make sure you bring along a tea or coffee—making pot that will boil water for you. You'd better buy a case or two of water and check that all bottle caps are sealed to assure the bottled water isn't just a refilled bottle of dirty tap water.

    Always protect your feet.

    It's best to wear slippers in the shower, but if you must be barefoot, put a towel down on the floor. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. You should never walk barefoot in any area of a foreign country, including your hotel room.

    Be sure to eat safe fruits.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They may have been washed in the same water, or wiped with the same rag used to clean work surfaces in kitchens. The best advice is to bring your own peeler（削皮器）so that you know that something clean has been applied to the fruit.

    Enjoy the smell of roadside stands, not the food.

    Unless the food is piping hot when served, it's best to stay away from roadside stands, no matter how good the smell of the food might be. If you are concerned about whether a restaurant is clean, order the food to go. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    Some embarrassing situation pack a double effect: not only do you embarrass yourself, but, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You say to a friend that another friend is such a copycat (无主见的人), and then realize the copycat is standing right behind you. You imitate your teacher's unusual accent just as teacher walks in. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Making a joke now would make the situation even worse, so don't go there. Although you might feel like running away or even crying, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Instead, apologize, "I'm so sorry. That was really mean of me."

    If you've been disrespectful to a teacher or a parent, accept whatever consequences without complaint. If you've hurt a friend, do your best to make it up to them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If someone else bring it up, just say," I feel bad enough about that—can we just let it go, please?"

    The next time you're stuck in an embarrassing moment, remind yourself that you're a strong person and you can get through this. Stay calm and act confident and {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.