A. Come in with something to say.

B. Prepare general comments.

C. Bring materials with you.

D. Don't make them wait.

E. Have no fear.

F. Go it alone.

One of the best things you can do any time in the semester is go see the professor. So hoof on over to an office hour and have some one-on-one face time with someone who'll help you master the material and improve your grade, to boot. But how should you have this conversation with the professor? Here are five insider tips about how to make that office hour really count:

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} No need to get all bent out of shape about going to see the professor. The professor would actually like to see you and answer your questions. Believe it or not, he or she is on your side and is eager to see you do well. And besides, he or she has seen many students stupider than you, so nothing you're gong to ask will set the record for stupidity.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Even though you might feel more comfortable going with a friend or partner, the office hour will go better if it's just you and the professor. You'll get in more questions, the discussion will be tailored to what you need most help on, and two-party communication is almost always more productive than committee work. You friend can wait outside for the discussion.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you can't make the official office hours, most professors are willing to make individual, appoin tments to help you out. If you're lucky enough to land such an accommodation, though, be sure you're 100 percent on time. There's nothing that ticks off a professor more than making him-or herself available for a custom office hour only to find that you don't care enough to come on time. And besides, the professor might leave after ten minutes, which would make your trip a total loss.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you're meeting with the professor to go over a paper or test, or to ask questions about a particular lecture or reading, make sure you bring that paper or test, or your lecture notes or a copy of the article. The professor doesn't remember the comments he or she wrote on your individual piece of work—though he or she will be able to recall them after just a brief glance at your work. And if you have your lecture notes or the article in hand, you and the professor will be able to examine specific points that are confusing to you, rather than just talking in a general way about the contents.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Office hours almost always go better if you bring a few specific questions to the meeting. It's almost never good to start a meeting with general comments such as: “I didn't understand what you said about [main topic of the course]”or “I couldn't understand any of your lectures last week.” Much better is to come in with two or three conversation-starters, about a specific concept, point, or problem you didn't understand. Keep in mind that in a fifteen-minute office hour (which is how long these things usually last), two or three questions are usually the most you'll have time to discuss.

Ways to protect cell phones from damage

    While people use cell phones frequently, very few take the necessary measures to prevent damage. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are some simple ways for you to protect your cell phone from damage.

Keep cell phones out of the rain

    If you must talk on the phone while it's raining, try to move indoors.  {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Otherwise, you may have trouble with the numbers or the cell phone speaker. Imagine dialing (拨打) one number and getting different results.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Many people like to put their cell phones in the pants or jeans pocket. However, storing a cell phone there will put it at risk of damage. You may forget that it is still in your pocket and just sit on the cell phone. As a result, your cell phone screen will get damaged.

Do not handle cell phones while eating

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This is especially true for those times when you are eating messy things and get the ingredients on your hands. One accident can cause lots of damage for your cell phone.

Get a protective cell phone case

    There are many kinds of cases available on the market. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It will provide a protective cushion (垫子) that may save you from paying money to fix or buy a new phone.

    I still remember that summer before college.There were plans and ideas about what my college experience was going to be like, but none of them worked out as planned.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Use the mental health services available to you.

    That first night at college was memorable. There was scare and homesickness. Missing things from home wasn't the only reason why I felt down. The academic pressure to succeed and the social pressure to fit in are too much for some people, which don't just happen in the freshman year.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Close friends always guided me, which was important because talking helps—even if it's just with a friend. Don't be afraid to take that extra help.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    I had been ready to major in politics, philosophy and economics, in preparation for a law degree.Things changed.

    You meet new people and discover new interests.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} So, don't worry if you haven't figured out exactly what you're going to major in. It will likely change anyway.

    You're there to get a degree, but a little fun won't hurt.

    As time goes by, I'm not going to remember the grades I got on papers or the late nights spent studying. Instead, lifelong memories will include playing video games with my roommate at 3:00 am, or late-night runs with my friends after a night out. Apart from doing well inside the classroom, there are also internships(实习期) and other pressures. Employers might weigh internships more heavily than your GPA.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. It's OK to change your mind about your major.

B. You don't want to get tired of your college life early.

C. Everyone says that college is the best four years of your life.

D. Here are the things I wish I had known before my freshman year.

E. It's normal to be a little unsure of your plans once you start taking classes.

F. Getting internships and having fun with friends are also of great importance.

G. For me, there were upsets long after the days that required a map to go anywhere.

    Every person wants to achieve the goals set at the beginning of a new school year. The following are some ways to help you achieve your goals.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}When it comes to choosing your goal, ensure that it states precisely what it is that you want to achieve. Don't generalize. Your goal should involve both what you want to achieve and the effort that you will put in to achieve it.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Having a copy of your goal makes it real. You can write you goal in a journal you'll be keeping all year, or you can write it on a poster and stick it on your desk so that you can look at it each day. Every time you remind yourself of your goal, you're training your brain to accept the effort needed to make the goal happen.

    Try various methods. One may not work while another may be just right for you.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Some people learn best through writing, some through listening and reading, and some through talking it through. Once you realize which way works for you, you can work better and achieve your goal easily.

    Think positive.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Negative thoughts are unhelpful and they became roadblocks. Stop telling yourself you can't and start telling yourself you can, and talk about you are doing rather than hoping you can do something. Always believe that you're capable, even if you have difficulty along the way.

    Reward yourself along the way.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Occasionally, when you've achieved certain “milestones” in your goal plan, take a break and reward yourself. Watch a movie, visit a friend who lives across town, go to the ice cream shop with your friends or buy yourself something new.

A. Write down your goal.

B. Choose specific and realistic gals

C. Be aware of the way you learn best

D. Remember that everyone makes mistakes

E. Set aside some time each week for exercise

F. All study and no reward can break your spirit

G. If you're not in the right state of mind, you won't be able to succeed.

    Our series The Genius Behind will take you inside the minds of people who are making the impossible possible. Whether it is designing the fastest ever land vehicle, helping the blind to see or creating space history, success relies levels of knowledge to new heights . What can we learn about genius from minds? Based on the people and the projects outlined in the series, we've come up with five lessons.

    Lesson one: New challenges require new ways of thinking

    Bloodhound SSC aims to be the first vehicle to break the 1,000 mph barrier. One of the key challenge has been to design the wheels. Thinking twice, Mark Chapman, chief engineer decided to change the way they were trying to solve problems and came up with a wheel design, part car, part jet fighter and part spaceship, which would hold together and was strong enough.

    Lesson two: Let evidence share your opinion

    Geophysicists widely believed that water on Earth originated from comets. But by studying rocks, Steven Jacobsen discovered water hidden inside, suggesting that the oceans gradually made its way out of the planet's interior many centuries ago. “Unfortunately, I had a pretty hard time convincing others,” he admits. Only time can tell whether the new theories are true.

Lesson three: It really is 99% efforts

    Sheila Nirenberg at Cornell University is trying to develop a new prosthetic device(假肢器官)for treating blindness. “Sometimes I'm exhausted and I get burnt out,” she adds. “But then I get an email from somebody saying that they can't see their own children's faces, and it is like, 'How can I possibly complain? Once I thought of this, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep—all I wanted to do was work'. It gives me the energy to just go back and keep doing it.”

    Lesson four: The answer isn't always what you expect

    Sylvia Earle has spent decades trying to see the ocean with new eyes. Her “dream machine” is a submarine that could take scientists all the way to the bottom of the deepest ocean floor what sort of material could best withstand the types of pressure y would encounter thousands of miles below the ocean surface?” It could be steel, it could be titanium, it could be some sort of ceramic, or some kind of aluminium system,” says Earle. “But glass is the best choice.”

    Lesson five: A little luck goes a long way

    It was considered as one of the biggest success stories in the history of space exploration—20 years of planning ended earlier this year with the Philae lander landing safely Comet 67P over 300 million miles(480 million kilometers)away from Earth, though Philae's anchoring harpoons(锚定鱼叉)didn't fire as planned.

    As a matter of fact, genius is difficult to define. “Genius is a funny word,” says Nirenberg. “I just sort of ignore it and just go on with life. You just do what you do regardless of whatever label's attached to you. I don't know really how else to explain it.

Can zoos ever be animal-friendly?

    The topic of our last class discussion was “How can zoos provide animals with a good life?” Everyone believed it was impossible for zoos to give animals a caring environment. Our teacher suggested that visiting a modern zoo might give us a new point of view.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In our discussion, many people said that zoos were full of smelly cages with unhappy animals living in. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, however, was set in an attractive, open environment. Trees and flowers had been planted around the park. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    At school, some people accused（指责）zoos of exploiting（剥削）animals for money but at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, as I see it, nothing could be further from the truth. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Before I visited Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, I wasn't sure about the rights and wrongs of zoos. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I feel that, although zoos can't provide the freedom of the wild, they can be animal-friendly by giving animals a safe and caring environment. As long as they do this well, to my mind they make a good contribution（贡献）to animal health. They also play an important part in educating us about wildlife. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    On the bus back to school, we all agreed that what we liked most was the zoo's environment and we would recommend（推荐）it for next year's group.

A. It is difficult for the zoo to raise animals.

B. More and more animals enjoy their wild homes.

C. I think lots of my friends changed their minds, too.

D. Most of the money is used to improve conditions at the zoo.

E. I went to the zoo and was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

F. In my opinion, the animals, rather than seeming upset, were pleased.

G. It was difficult to say how a zoo could really make up for animals' loss of freedom.