Some people make you feel comfortable when they are around. You spend an hour with them and feel as if you have known them half your life. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} .

    Here are several skills that good talkers have. If you follow the skills, they'll help you put people at their ease, and make friends with them quickly.

    First of all, good talkers ask questions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} . One well-known businesswoman says, “At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning. It's a common question，but it will get things going.” From there you can move on to other matters—sometimes to really personal questions. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . Second, once good talkers have asked questions, they listen to the answers .This point seems clear, but it isn't. Your questions should have a point and help to tell what sort of person you are talking to. And to find out, you really have to listen carefully and attentively.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . If someone sticks to one topic, you can take it as a fact that he's really interested in it. Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones of voice. If the voice sounds dull, then, it's time for you to change the subject.

    Finally, good talkers know well how to deal with the occasion of parting. If you're saying goodbye, you may give him a firm handshake and say, “I've really enjoyed meeting you.” {#blank#}5{#/blank#} . Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away feeling as if they've known you half their life.

A. Real listening at least means some things.

B. You can become a popular person.

C. Almost anyone, no matter how shy he is, will answer a question.

D. And how he answers will let you know how far you can go.

E. If you want to see that person again, don't keep it a secret.

F. It's polite to listen to others with a smile.

G. These people have something in common.

    Lots of people find it hard to get up in the morning, and put the blame on the alarm clock. In fact, the key to easy morning wake-up lies in resetting your body clock.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here's how to make one.

    ●{#blank#}2{#/blank#} In order to make a change, you need to decide why it's important. Do you want to get up in time to have breakfast with your family, get in some exercise, or just be better prepared for your day? Once you are clear about your reasons, tell your family or roommates about the change you want to make.

    ●Rethink mornings. Now that you know why you want to wake up, consider re-arranging your morning activities. If you want time to have breakfast with your family, save some time the night before by setting out clothes, shoes, and bags.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} That's a quarter-hour more you could be sleeping if you bought a coffee maker with a timer.

    ●Keep your sleep/wake schedule on weekends. If you're tired out by Friday night, sleeping in on Saturday could sound wonderful. But compensating on the weekends actually feeds into your sleepiness the following week, a recent study found.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    ●Keep a record and evaluate it weekly. Keep track of your efforts and write down how you feel. After you've tried a new method for a week, take a look at your record.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} If not, take another look at other methods you could try.

A. Get a sleep specialist.

B. Find the right motivation.

C. A better plan for sleep can help.

D. And consider setting a second alarm.

E. If the steps you take are working, keep it up.

F. Stick to your set bedtime and wake-up time, no matter the day.

G. Reconsider the 15 minutes you spend in line at the cafe to get coffee.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} one of the best things you can possibly do is to start you own club. It's great fun especially if you are the sort of person who feels there's never anything to do during the school holidays.

    The first thing you need to come up with is an idea for your club.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}pets , clothes, pop music or dancing groups, sports, making things? The list is endless.

    Next you need some friends to be in your club with you. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}all you need is three or four other people who are interested in the same thing as you.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}you should all sit down somewhere together with lots of pieces of paper and write down every name you can think up. That'll keep you busy for ages.

    At your first meeting you should make up a rule book. And the first rule should be no grown-ups or little/big brothers or sisters! The best clubs are always secret!

    Now you have just about everything you need, except membership cards. These are very important and again you can speed a lot of time making them.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}why not leave some space for a photo of yourself? That will make the membership card really look like it.

    So there you are, get clubbing! Once you get started, you'll think of loads of more interesting things to do!

A. That's easy.

B. Enjoy your own club!

C. Invite a designer to join you.

D. What are you interest in?

E. Some vacation is just around the corner.

F. Then you need to pick a name for your club.

G. Use a bright thick pen to make a special design.

    Everyone knows that fish is good for health. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}But it seems that many people don't cook fish at home. Americans eat only about fifteen pounds of fish per person per year, but we eat twice as much fish in restaurants as at home. Buying, storing, and cooking fish isn't difficult. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}This text is about how to buy and cook fish in an easy way. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Fresh fish should smell sweet: you should feel that you're standing at the ocean's edge. Any fishy or strong smell means the fish isn't fresh. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}When you have bought a fish and arrive home, you'd better store the fish in the refrigerator if you don't cook it immediately, but fresh fish should be stored in your fridge for only a day or two. Frozen fish isn't as tasty as the fresh one. There are many common methods used to cook fish. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}First, lean it and season it with your choice of spices(调料). Put the whole fish on a plate and steam it in a steam pot for 8 to 10 minutes if it weighs about one pound. (A larger one will take more time.) Then, it's ready to serve.

A. Do not buy it.

B. The easiest is to steam it.

C. This is how you can do it.

D. It just requires a little knowledge.

E. The fish will go bad within hours.

F. When buying fish, you should first smell it.

G. The fats in fish are thought to help prevent heart disease.

    Do you want to be at the top of your class？Add these tips to your life and you should be on your way to being a top student！

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} I cannot stress(强调)enough how important it is to pay attention to what your teacher is teaching you. Take part in class discussions if you have something worthwhile to add. Pay attention during class, especially during lectures.

    Taking notes is important. You don't need to write down every word your teacher says but write down what he writes on the board, or any special fact you think you might need for a test. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} This way it will help you learn more effectively by actually thinking about what you are writing.

    Don't skip school(逃学). You will be missing out on stuff. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} However, you will have more work because you have missed lectures. Also, try not to be late for class. It's most likely that your teacher won't appreciate it and you will get yourself behind.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you have an "I don't care about school or this class" attitude, then teachers will be less willing to offer you extra credit(学分). The same goes for lazy attitude. Have a respectful attitude to the teacher and other students. Try not to laugh when other students make a mistake.

    Always ask questions. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you don't understand, ask someone. Read your textbook and notes, and then if that fails, seek help. Ask a teacher, friend, classmate, parent, etc. Get a tutor if you need one.

A. Be prepared.

B. Write in your own words.

C. Staying organised will be helpful.

D. Keep a good attitude toward things.

E. There is no shame in needing some help.

F. I t is true that you could make up the work.

G. Pay attention to everything the teacher says.

When you think about art, you might consider it to be permanent. After all, that picture you drew in kindergarten might still hang on your refrigerator years later. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Think about a Broadway performance. When it's over, it's over. Sure, it might live in your memory. But the live show is a special event. It is limited to a certain time and place. 

Can you think of other forms of art that are temporary? If you're a fan of the beach, sandcastles might come to your mind. Have you ever spent hours building a beautiful sandcastle? {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You knew your work of art would be gone as soon as the tide came in. The sandy beach is a canvas where nature erases "paintings" daily. 

Most of the time, art made from sand can't last long. Still, many people love using sand to create their own unique vision of beauty. One of the most attractive types of sand art is sand animation. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Artists who work in sand animation use sand to make a set of images that usually tell a story. They often start with a large amount of sand on a flat surface, such as a table. They then use their hands and fingers to draw in the sand. 

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} However, the wide variety of beautiful and highly-detailed sand artworks might surprise you. Many of these works or art are temporary. That's where the animation part comes in. 

Sand animation artists create a series of images that move to tell a story. They might also use music and special lighting to complete the effect. Sometimes they photograph or video their creation throughout the process. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. It is a type of live performance art. 

B. Not all works of art are permanent, though. 

C. Sand animation is beautiful but lasts only for the moment. 

D. Then, they turn it into a sand animation movie when it's finished. 

E. It might seem like using sand would limit the art you could make. 

F. If you have, you would probably be sad when it was time to leave the beach. 

G. Building a sand castle is a family-friendly activity perfect for large groups.