Before the summer of 2016,I had always been afraid of heights.For most of my life,even idea of climbing a mountain would give me butterflies in my stomach.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    On my birthday that year,when my mother and I first made the decision to climb Mt.Ranier in August,my knees actually shook with anxiety.However,it was finally time for our first outdoor climbing practice and the butterflies in my stomach had certainly multiplied.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Try to enjoy the feeling and turn the anxiety into hope.”She was always full of kind words,but could I apply her wisdom in time for the day of our final climb?

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Though it was August,the skies were gray on the southernmost face of the mountain.Near the halfway point,I lost my footing and fell backwards down the trail,slightly twisting my ankle.Though I was sore,I kept going for another mile or so,but I had to give up before we reached our intended target.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}However,I was able to recover in time for our planned summit climb.I had,over I gained the physical and emotional strength to recover quickly and come through adversity (even stronger.The breathtaking views along our climb no longer distracted me with fear but forced me to follow through with my goal.Unluckily,I had not overcome my fear of heights.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A.Don't let the butterflies get the best of you.

B.Eventually,I was not afraid of heights at all.

C.As it turned out,our practice hike proved challenging.

D.I didn't succeed on our first practice and suffered slight injury.

E.The breathtaking views made me relaxed and I went smoothly throughout the hike.

F.It was in that summer that I turned 16 and achieved something that deeply influenced my life.

G.However,I had made peace with it to the point where I could remain inspired by my own achievements.

Participating (参与) in Class

    Class participation is a valuable part of learning. Many students are unwilling to participate in class. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Other students participate in class, but do so not correctly. Here is some advice that can help you become an effective class participant.

     {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Do all tasks and readings and go over your notes from previous class periods. This will help to prevent you from making uninformed ( 无知的) comments or asking unsuitable questions. As you get ready for class, think about important questions and concerns that may appear in class. Be sure that you are prepared to deal with these.

    Try to sit close to the front of the class. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Besides, you can hear what the teachers say clearly.

    Listen to what the other students say. You can then build on their comments to make your own. Be active when you respond to something another student says. You can disagree, but don't go into an "attack mode".

    Don't be afraid to be wrong. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You can learn from being wrong. Don't be afraid to ask questions. This is a good learning skill. Also, the chances are that other students in the class have the same questions as you do, and they will appreciate your asking.

    Be sure that your questions and comments are closely connected with the class topic.

   Don't waste the time of the teacher and other students by going off way. Don't take it in person if others disagree with what you say. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Tests can be stressful even for the best students. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to make your stress much more manageable.

    Get Enough Sleep

    Getting 6 hours of sleep or less can put you into what's called a sleep deficit(不足),which makes you less sharp mentally and prevents you from performing properly on tests. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} This way, you needn't stay up for the test and can get a good night of sleep before your big day.

    Study Smarter

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Make a list of the most important things you need to learn and hit the items at the top of the list first. This will ensure they're mostly covered if you run out of time. Make a list of all the work you have to do, estimate how long each item will take, and compare that with the amount of hours you have available. This will tell you if you can carefully read or just skim, how many times you can afford to revise the papers.

    Visualize(想象)Success

    A proven way to build your confidence is to visualize yourself taking the tests and doing wonderfully. Visualization can not only help you perform better in the tests but can help you remember facts. You can create detailed situations that involve the information you're trying to remember.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

Stay Calm

    There're several techniques that can help you calm down quickly.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, hold it for a while and then let it out slowly. Your stress will come out with your exhales(呼气)

A. Be organized with your studies.

B. Extra time on tests can bring success to students.

C. Test anxiety has a negative impact on your performance.

D. In this process you can strengthen the facts in your memory.

E. Breathing exercises can be extremely effective in helping you relax.

F. So it's very important to get all your studying done before your exam.

G. There are options for easing stress and potentially improving test performance.

    For the rest of March, a disease will sweep across the US. It will keep kids home from school.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Employees will suddenly lose their ability to concentrate.

    The disease, known as "March Madness", refers to the yearly 65 – team US men's college basketball tournament (锦标赛). {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Teams compete against each other in a single – elimination (单局淘汰) tournament that eventually crowns a national champion.

    Nearly 20 million Americans will find themselves prisoners of basketball festival madness. The fun comes partly from guessing the winners for every game. Friends compete against friends. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Colleagues against bosses.

    Big – name schools are usually favored to advance into the tournament. But each year there are dark horses from little – known universities.

    This adds to the madness. Watching a team from a school with 3,000 students beat a team from a school with 30,000, for many Americans, is an exciting experience. Two years ago, the little – known George Mason University was one of the final four teams. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    College basketball players are not paid, so the game is more about making a name for their university and themselves.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}About $ 4 billion will be spent gambling (赌) on the event. According to Media Life magazine, the event will bring in $ 500 million in advertising income this year, topping the post – season income of every US professional league, including that of the NBA.

A. Husbands against wives.

B. The players will go all out for the games.

C. But that doesn't mean money isn't involved.

D. College students will ignore piles of homework.

E. People are willing to spend more money on watching it.

F. It begins on March 15 and lasts through the beginning of April.

G. Many people had never even heard of the university before the tournament.

    Many people think that English writing is difficult. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are some great writing tips that will help you improve your writing in a short time.

    Don't ramble(长篇大论). This is a very common mistake made by people who have poor writing skills. When they ramble, they are not paying attention to grammar. As a result, their sentences become very long. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If you know you have poor grammar, use short sentences.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Think about each sentence carefully to make sure that it is correct before moving on. It's better to write a short passage that is easy to read and mistake-free than to write a long article that is filled with grammar mistakes.

    Increase your vocabulary. If you don't have a large vocabulary, you will find it difficult to write as you can't find right words to express yourself clearly. The solution (解决办法) to this problem is to increase your vocabulary. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You can do this by reading the local newspapers daily, borrowing books from the library or watching English programs.

    Don't write when you are tired. Tiredness can lead to nothing to write. If you find yourself looking at a blank piece of paper with nothing to write, don't just sit there! Take a walk or a warm shower, or simply lie down to get some rest. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You'll find that you'll enjoy your writing a lot more and make fewer mistakes!

A. Find out the mistakes you've made.

B. Make sure your sentences are correct.

C. You can pick up new words almost anywhere.

D. Write what interests you most in the beginning.

E. As a result, they may give up after trying hard for a while.

F. The longer the sentences are, the more mistakes they'll make.

G. When your mind is relaxed, you should go back to your writing.

How long does a year last?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Your parents might say that a whole year can pass―in the blink of an eye. Why does time seem to pass faster as we get older?

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} This physical change causes the rate at which we take in and process new information to decline. Babies, for example, move their eyes much more often than adults because they're processing images at a faster rate. They take in a lot of information and do many things in a single day.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}However, as people's brains degrade over time, fewer images are processed in the same amount of time. Therefore, older people receive less information during a day than younger people. This causes things to seem as though they're happening more quickly.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}People may measure time by the number of memorable events that can be recalled within a certain period. Have you ever noticed that when you recall your firsts, they seem to be in slow motion? That's because when something is a first, there are many exciting things to remember. Recalling these memories makes you feel like they took forever.

For many adults, life is routine. When they look back, they might feel like there are not many novel things to remember.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Children might say that a year lasts forever.

B. Different people have different feelings toward time.

C. Therefore, time seems to be moving faster to them.

D. As we grow older, we become less interested in new things.

E. This makes them feel like a single day lasts for a long time.

F. According to scientists, our brains degrade and change over time.

G. In addition, people may also feel time differently due to psychological reasons.