Forgiveness

    To forgive is a virtue, but no one has ever said it is easy. When someone has deeply hurt you, it can be extremely difficult to let go of your hate. However, forgiveness is possible, and it can be surprisingly beneficial to your physical and mental health. People who forgive show less sadness, anger and stress and more hopefulness, according to a recent research.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Try the following steps:

    Calm yourself. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can take a couple of breaths and think of something that gives you pleasure: a beautiful scene in nature, or someone you love.

    Don't wait for an apology. Many times the person who hurt you does not intend to apologize. They may have wanted to hurt you or they just don't see things the same way. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Keep in mind that forgiveness does not necessarily mean becoming friends again with the person who upset you.

    Take the control away from your offender(冒犯者). Rethinking about your hurt gives power to the person who causes you pain. Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you understand your offender, you may realize that he or she was acting out of unawareness, fear, and even love. You may want to write a letter to yourself from your offender's point of view.

    Don't forget to forgive yourself. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But it can rob you of your self-confidence if you don't do it.

A. Why should you forgive?

B. How should you start to forgive?

C. Recognize the benefits of forgiveness.

D. Try to see things from your offender's angle.

E. For some people, forgiving themselves is the biggest challenge.

F. To make your anger die away, try a simple stress-management technique.

G. If you wait for people to apologize, you could be waiting an awfully long time.

    Have you ever wondered what an American high school is really like?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    A typical American high school has several large buildings and enough space for about 1,500 students.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}When students first arrive at school, they go straight to their lockers to put away or get their textbooks and to hang up their outdoor clothes. As American textbooks are expensive, students would rather rent than buy them.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    American students have different types of school transport. They usually take a yellow school bus or walk to school if they live close enough.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}When they turn 16 years of age, most take a free driving class at school for one term. If students earn passing grades in the class and also pass their state driver's exam, they can begin driving themselves to school.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}They must take science, math, English and social studies. They can choose art, homemaking, fashion design and other classes. In some schools students are required to take one or more of the following special classes: health education, physical education or foreign language studies. Students move to different classrooms for each subject. This is because each teacher has their own classroom. There is a five-minute break between classes, to give the students the time to hurry to their next class.

    The regular school day usually ends early in the afternoon. After school more than half of the students are involved in after-school activities. These activities include sports-especially football, basketball, baseball and soccer or clubs, such as yearbook, speech, school newspaper, photograph or student government.

A. Every student is given a locker.

B. Each day, students take six or seven classes.

C. Sometimes their parents drive them to school.

D. Students must pay back if they lost any of them.

E. This is because each teacher has their own classroom.

F. The regular school day usually ends early in the afternoon.

G. This article will describe a typical American high school and its students.

    Artificial intelligence（AI，人工智能）can help us make phone calls, guide us to where we want to go, or play games. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Researchers from Microsoft recently created the first machine translation system that can translate news articles from Chinese to English, Business Standard reported.

    According to Microsoft's official website, researchers tested the system by asking it to translate hundreds of sentences taken from news stories.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}They concluded that the system's translations were as good as the human translations. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}This is partly because different words can be used to express the same meaning. It can be hard to say which word is more “correct”.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}“Much of our research is really inspired by how we humans do things,” lead researcher Liu Tieyan said.

    One method is called dual learning（对偶学习）. In this method, the system translates every sentence from Chinese to English, as well as translating the sentences back from English into Chinese.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}This is similar to what humans do to make sure their translations are accurate.

        Another method makes use of deliberation networks. This is when the system is made to translate the same sentence over and over. Gradually, the system improves the quality of its translation, like humans who would improve their own writing by going over it again and again.

A. Machine translation is always challenging.

B. However, experts used several methods to improve the system's translation abilities.

C. Then, language experts compared the results to two translations that were done by humans.

D. Researchers collected a lot of data to help the system learn and improve.

E. And now, AI can do even more things.

F. Researchers have worked on machine translation for decades.

G. This way, the system can improve itself and learn from its own mistakes.

Time for a Brainstorm

    A brainstorm is a session （会议）where a small group of people come together to solve a problem. People voice spontaneous ideas, sometimes just shouting, and a note-taker writes them all down.  {#blank#}1{#/blank#} By getting different ideas out there, ideas are said to bounce off each other and even can help solve the problem at hand. Brainstorming is often a group exercise but individuals can also conduct personal brainstorms.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}He defined it as using the brain to storm a creative problem and do so in commando (突击队）fashion，with each stormer attacking the same objective. According to him, it was easier to tone down a wild idea than think up a new one. He placed importance on the collection of as many ideas as possible and dismissed scientific thinking.

    Brainstorming has become one of the most popular ways to solve problems and hold discussion in schools and businesses. Many students brainstorm for a group assignment or even for a personal essay.  Sarah Grace, 24, is an Australian marketing analyst and uses brainstorming during all her creative duties.  She thinks brainstorming is the best way to work as a team. The sessions get everyone on the same page，everyone moving together and with a clear understanding about the foundations of an event or idea. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    However, a big problem with brainstorming is creating a mess that leads people further away from a solution. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you don't have a strong moderator or leader of the brainstorm, can go really off track，and people just start discussing something totally different.    
     Brainstorming can sometimes confuse the human brain.  {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you brainstorm too much and your page is filled up with all the messy links, you can paint yourself into a bit of corner and get trapped with ideas.  You need to move past brainstorming as soon as you have something workable.

A. The ideas can be smart，strange or crazy.

B. It is caused by a lack of direction from a leader.

C. Brainstorming really helps her organize her thoughts.

D. Brainstorming really is the best way to build team spirit.

E. It can open too many doors and not suggest a clear direction.

F. They can be words, phrases, paragraphs and anything that can help answer the question.

G. Brainstorms were popularized in the 1940s by American advertising boss Alex Osborn.

    Most successful people attach importance to why learning from mistakes is important. Every unsuccessful attempt can help you gain important experience. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Here are some of the top reasons why mistakes are valuable.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Do you remember your first bad grade for a test? Do you remember an embarrassing moment when a teacher caught you cheating during an exam?

    These are common struggles but they are actually a great way to build good future habits. Once you have the experience, you will no longer make the mistakes you did before. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Encourage different thinking

    As we make mistakes, we remove certain ways of reaching our goal. When an approach is proven wrong, people immediately start looking for different ways to resolve a situation. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If your initial idea did not work, you are more likely to take a different stand and think of ideas you wouldn't have thought if that didn't happen.

    Build characters

    This is quite the tricky benefit since people can go either way when it comes to building characters. Very often, too many mistakes make people depressed. Too many failures convince them to just give up on their dreams. However, once you start learning from mistakes, you'll gain confidence from them. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. And they will help you become a more passionate, successful person.

A. Give us experience

B. Reveal weaknesses

C. As we make mistakes, we learn from them

D. We have to practice, fail and rise up again

E. They will help you build a stronger character

F. Basically, mistakes encourage you to find a new solution

G. And mistakes can even be more valuable than achievements

    HSC, mid-terms, finals, no matter how you describe them, exams have something in common—including how to study well. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Plan a study timetable

    Make sure you will cover your material in time with a realistic study timetable. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. With a plan in place, you'll be less likely to put off your work as knowing how you will use your time will also mean you make best use of it.

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    Give yourself the best environment by choosing somewhere with enough light, a comfortable chair, and little to no distractions. Sit down with all that you need — and only the things you'll need — like any books, notes or pens, as well as some water and healthy snacks on hand. Also ask what you don't need. A rule of thumb is if it doesn't help you study, it shouldn't be on your desk. It may look so simple but is really effective to help you focus on your study.

    Keep healthy: sleep, eat and move

    When exams come around somehow there never seems enough time for the basic things like sleep and exercise. Taking care of your health and wellbeing will really help you study at your best by improving your memory, mood and energy levels, and keeping those stress levels down. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Eating three meals and sticking to healthy snacks throughout the day will give you the energy you need to focus. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A good aim is 20-30 minutes of exercise but even a walk nearby during study breaks will do you good!