High school plays a major role in shaping up your future and your whole development. Extracurricular (课外的) activities along with the studies can be very helpful. Make yourself take part in various activities and at the same time try to stand out in your studies. When you move out to college these efforts that you put in may count for a lot.

    High school is not just about books or classes. Schools always provide opportunities for students to socialize (社交). There are various group tasks designed which allow the students to learn to work together.

    High school is the right time for you to discover yourself and bring out some of your hidden talents. In your lessons, you may find that you are better at English than you were earlier or have grown an interest for Math. High school also provides many other opportunities for students to take part in. These help develop leadership skills and management skills at an early age, which in turn is a way of preparing students to manage and plan their careers (事业) better.

    Balancing all activities is an experience in time management. If you have taken up a part-time job along with your high school you would have to arrange your time for studies, and extracurricular activities. Such management can go a long way in teaching you to manage things better when you take up a job. Moreover, they help build your character. You would be better prepared for additional stress that you may feel sometimes.

    When at high school you should pick up your classes wisely. Depending upon what you like and your career plan you should choose suitable classes. Doing something that you hardly like may get you very low grades as well as lose valuable time. Take up interesting and challenging classes that would allow you to put in those extra efforts.

    Driving could soon be a far more pleasant experience thanks to a personal in-car robot being developed by researchers. The robot, which is called “Affective Intelligent Driving Agent (AIDA)” will be able to tell you the best route home based on traffic reports, remind you to pick up petrol and suggest places you may like to visit. The robot, which sits on the dashboard, is being developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in collaboration with Volkswagen.

    AIDA communicates with the driver through an expressive robot screen and will even appear sympathetic if you're having a bad day. Cynthia Breazeal, director of MIT's Personal Robots Group, said: “We are developing AIDA to read the driver's mood from facial expression and other cues and respond in a proper way.”

    AIDA works by analyzing the driver's mobility patterns, keeping track of common routes and destinations. The creators say the robot should be able to work out home and work locations within a week of driving. Soon afterwards, the system will direct the driver to their preferred supermarket, suggesting a route that avoids traffic-clogged roads. AIDA might recommend a petrol stop en route if the fuel tank is nearly empty. The robot will also incorporate real-time information about traffic jams, the weather report, commercial activity, tourist attractions, and residential areas.

    “In developing AIDA we asked ourselves how we could design a system that would offer the same kind of guidance as an informed and friendly companion.”

    “AIDA can also give you feedback on your driving, helping you achieve more energy efficiency and safer behavior,” Assaf Biderman from SENSEable City Lab added.

    Health is the most important thing in the world. Nothing is more important than health. If one takes away our money, houses, cars or even our clothes, we can still survive.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}That is why we always try to eat in a healthy way and exercise regularly.

    How can we keep healthy? In order to eat healthily, I usually avoid eating food high in fat, like French fries or cookies, which are junk foods.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Besides, I only eat little meat.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Taking exercise every day helps us build a strong body. Regular exercise is an important part of keeping me healthy.

    What's more, I think friends are an important part of one's health.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}I always feel better when I am with friends than when I am alone. When I am with my friends, I always laugh. Laughing is also an important part of health. It is good to stay with my friends.

    By eating properly and exercising regularly, I can keep my body at a proper weight and keep healthy. By spending time with my friends, I can keep my mind as well as my body happy. These things sound easy to do, but not many people can manage them.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Many studies show that people with a narrow range of social contacts often get sick.

B. There are some people who like staying alone, but they keep healthy.

C. On the other hand, doing exercise is very important.

D. But if our health were taken away, it's certain that we would surely die.

E. I think a strong will is necessary if we want to keep healthy.

F. I eat a lot of vegetables and fresh fruit which are full of vitamins

G. Some people appear fat because they often eat too much.

    The values of artistic works, according to cultural relativism（相对主义）, are simply reflections of local social and economic conditions. Such a view, however, fails to explain the ability of some works of art to excite the human mind across cultures and through centuries.

    History has witnessed the endless productions of Shakespearean plays in every major language of the world. It is never rare to find that Mozart packs Japanese concert halls, as Japanese painter Hiroshige does Paris galleries. Unique works of this kinds are different from today's popular art, even if they began as works of popular art. They have set themselves apart in their timeless appeal and will probably be enjoyed for centuries into the future.

    In a 1757 essay, the philosopher David Hume argued that because “the general principles of taste are uniform（不变的）in human nature,” the value of some works of art might be essentially permanent. He observed that Homer was still admired after two thousand years. Works of this type, he believed, spoke to deep and unvarying features of human nature and could continue to exist over centuries.

    Now researchers are applying scientific methods to the study of the universality of art. For example, evolutionary psychology is being used by literary scholars to explain the long-lasting themes and plot devices in fiction. The structures of musical pieces are now open to experimental analysis as never before. Research findings seem to indicate that the creation by a great artist is as permanent an achievement as the discovery by a great scientist.

    In the past, people who graduated from college felt proud of their academic achievement and confident that their degree would help them find a good job.

     However, in the past four years the job market has changed dramatically. This year's college graduates are facing one of the worst job markets in years. For example, Ryan Stewart, a graduate of San Jose University, got a degree in religious studies, but no job prospects. He points out that many people already working are getting laid off and don't have jobs, so it's even harder for new college graduates to find jobs.

    Four years ago, the future looked bright for the class of 2013. There were many high-tech job opportunities. Graduates received many job offers, and they were able to get jobs with high salaries and benefits such as insurance and paid vacations. However, “Times have changed and it's a new market,” according to Cheryl Allmen- Vinnidge of the San Jose State Career Center.

    Allmen-Vinniage says students who do find jobs started preparing two years ago. They worked during summer vacations, they have had several internships（实习）, and they have majored in one of the few fields that are still hot, like chemical engineering, accounting, or nursing, where average starting salaries have actually increased over last year. Other popular fields (like information system management, computer science, and political science) have seen big reduction in starting salaries.

    Ryan Stewart (he had hoped to become a teacher) may just end up going back to school. “I'd like to teach college some day and that requires more schooling, which would be great in bad economy.” he said.

    In conclusion, these days, to some students a degree may not be a ticket to instant wealth. For now, they can only hope its value will increase over time.

    It's important to prepare for rainy days. Similarly, it's important to save money. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Why? It's because they've got used to spending all the money they make. Sometimes, the hardest thing about saving money is just getting started. Here are some tips to help you save money.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}The first step in saving money is to know how much you're spending. For one month, keep a record of everything you spend money on. Once you have your data, organize these numbers by category(类别) and get the total amount for each.

    You can make a budget(预算). Now that you have a good idea of how much you spend in a month, what can you do now? {#blank#}3{#/blank#} To plan your spending, you can build a budget. In this way, you can limit over-spending and make sure that you put money away for unexpected situations.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Doing so make it much easier to get started. Begin by deciding how long it will take to reach each goal. Some short-term goals include starting a fund to cover 6 months to a year of living costs and saving money for a vacation. Long-term saving goals are often several years or even decades away and can include saving for retirement and putting money away for a child's college education.

    Make saving money easier with automatic transfers (自动转帐). Automatic transfers to your savings account are very helpful. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}By moving money out of your checking account, you'll be less likely to spend money you plan to use for savings.

A. You can set savings goals.

B. You can record your costs.

C. You can plan your spending.

D. You can keep a record of what you do.

E. They can make saving money much easier.

F. However, some people find it hard to save money.

G. You can move money out of your savings account.