Why Don't Students Like School?

    Most of the teachers I know entered the job because they loved school as children.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, they are understandably discouraged when they find that some of their students don't like school much, and that they, the teachers, have great difficulty inspiring them. Why is it difficult to make school enjoyable for students?

    As a matter of fact , the brain is not designed for thinking. It's designed to ask you not to have to think, because the brain is actually not very good at thinking. Thinking is slow and unreliable.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}People like to solve problems, but they do not like to work on problems that cannot be solved. If schoolwork is always just a bit too difficult for a student, it should be no surprise that he doesn't like school much.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    What is the nature of being human?{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Many people would answer that it is our ability to reason that makes us different—birds can fly, fish can swim, and humans can think . (By thinking I mean solving problems, reasoning, reading something complex, or doing any mental work that requires some effort.)  Shakespeare thought highly of our cognitive(认知) ability in Hamlet: “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason!” Some three hundred years later, however, Henry Ford came up with a quite different opinion, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few people are interested in it.” They both had a point of view. Humans are good at certain types of reasoning, especially compared to other animals, but we hardly often exercise those abilities.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Thinking is not only painful, as Ford noted, it's also slow and unreliable.

A. A cognitive scientist would add another point of view, “Humans don't think very often because our brains are designed not for thought but for escaping from thought.”

B. What sets us apart from other species?

C. Of course you could make each decision with care and thought.

D. However, people enjoy thinking if it is successful.

E. Therefore, teachers should reconsider how they encourage their students to think, in order to make thinking enjoyable enough for students to go after.

F. If we are all so bad at thinking, how does anyone get through the day?

G. They want to help their students feel the same excitement and passion for learning that they felt.

    The favorite food in the United States is the hamburger, a kind of round sandwich of cooked beef. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} At fast food restaurants, people order their food, wait a few minutes, and carry it to their tables themselves. People also take their food out of the restaurant and eat it in their cars or in their homes. At some fast food restaurants, people can order their food, pay for it and pick it up without leaving their cars.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Most of them sell hamburgers, French fries and milkshakes, which are traditionally popular foods among Americans. In addition, there are many fast food restaurants that serve Chinese food, Mexican food, Italian food, chicken, seafood and ice cream.

    The idea of a fast food restaurant is so popular that nearly every kind of food can be found in one. Fast food restaurants are popular. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    First, they are not formal restaurants. Customers wear any type of dress when they go to a fast food place. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} People who are busy do not want to spend time preparing their own food or waiting while someone else prepares it. In fast food restaurants the food is usually ready before the customer even orders it. Finally, most food in a fast food restaurant is not expensive. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} However, they may not be able to afford a more traditional and more expensive restaurant very often.

A. Second, they are fast.

B. Chinese diets are also welcome.

C. In fact, they reflect American life style.

D. They will go to a good restaurant for important guests.

E. The favorite place to buy a hamburger is a fast food restaurant.

F. Therefore, people can afford to eat at a fast food restaurant often.

G. There are many kinds of fast food restaurants in the United States.

Simple Ways to Build Trust

    The most valuable thing you can have is trust. When there is no trust, it becomes hard to get anything done. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Then think of another one with very little trust.

    Which one do you prefer?

    We can all be better off with more trust in our lives. And I'm going to show you a few things you can do to build trust.

    Be honest. Honesty is the basis of any relationship. Be true to your word and keep your promises. Share honest information, even if it's to your disadvantage.

    Ask open-ended questions.  {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Open-ended questions give your friends chances to tell you about themselves. Ask more questions based on the answers that you get.

    Don't be perfect. There's always something fishy(可疑的) about someone who seem to have everything going for them. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This sends a message that you're not hiding anything and that you want to build trust.

    Say what you mean. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} When you build up a reputation of saying what you mean, people don't have to second-guess what you are trying to say. This helps you win trust.

    Don't blame others. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Be brave to take responsibility and then decide what you are going to do next. Don't waste the present thinking about the past which can't be changed. A person that doesn't blame gets the trust of others quickly.

A. If you think it's a bad idea, say so.

B. When things go wrong, don't point the finger at them.

C. Value long-term relationships more than short-term success.

D. Don't waste your energy hiding your mistakes or weaknesses.

E. Think of one of your relationships where there is a lot of trust.

F. Learn more about your friends and be interested in their answers.

G. Trust may be the most important part in successful relationships.

    With the development of technology and economy, social media is becoming one of the fastest-growing industries in today's world. A study conducted by the US Pew Research Center showed that 92 percent of teenagers go online daily. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Changing relationships

    High school student Elly Cooper from Illinois said social media often reduces face-to-face communication. "It makes face-to-face relationships harder because of people s attention given to their phones instead of their friends," Cooper said.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Beth Kaplan from Illinois met her long-distance friend through social media. He currently lives in Scotland, but they're still able to frequently communicate with each other. "I can feel close to someone that I'm talking to via FaceTime,'' Kaplan said.

    Wanting to be "liked"

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The 19-year-old Essena O'Neill announced on the social networking service Instagram that she was emitting social media because it made her unable to stop thinking about appearing perfect online. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Teenagers who get negative comments can't help but feel hurt.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    However, Armin Korsos, a student from Illinois, takes advantage of the comments he receives over social media to improve his videos on the social networking site YouTube. "Social media can help people show themselves and their talents to the world in a way that has never been possible before," Korsos said.

A. Opening new doors.

B. Teenagers' attitude toward social media

C. However, the social media is beneficial to long-distance friends.

D. The rise of social media has changed the way teenagers see themselves.

E. Negative comments can also do great damage to a teenager's self-respect.

F. The wide spread of social media has changed nearly all parts of teenagers' lives.

G. Yet, some think with social media, it's easier to start relationships with anyone from anywhere.

    Learning a foreign language can be interesting. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In order to increase your chances of success, it is important to consider which method of language learning will provide you with the most benefits. So think about the three ways of learning a language: self­study at home, attending classes and online courses.

    The main disadvantage of learning by yourself is that there is no one available to answer your questions. One way to deal with this is to make a list of your questions and ask for the help of a native speaker of the language regularly. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Learning a foreign language in a classroom is probably the most popular choice. The regularity(规律性) of the lessons will encourage you to attend classes. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In most cases, the enthusiasm of the other students may also encourage you to make progress.

    Online learning is the newest method of learning a foreign language. It suits both the students who prefer to learn alone and the students who may prefer to attend a class but are unable to do so. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It is also possible to ask questions and to communicate with other students online.

    Whichever method you choose, keep in mind the reasons why you are learning the language. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} This will help you stay focused throughout the learning process.

A.Many students prefer to learn by themselves.

B.But it can also be difficult, frustrating and boring.

C.You should also make sure you will benefit from it.

D.You will be able to ask the teacher questions face to face.

E.You may even decide to ask others sometimes to help your self­study.

F.Online learning makes the whole process more interesting and fun.

G.Your personality should be considered when deciding which method of learning to use.

Art galleries are places in which artists can display all types of works of art, including paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, etc. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} At the same time, however, each artwork must be protected from exposure to too much light since that can cause works to fade and therefore get ruined. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

The most common form of lighting used to light up the artwork is indoor spotlights on tracks attached to the ceiling near where the work is being displayed. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. It permits the lights to be moved more easily when the light patterns require adjusting. Recessed(嵌入的) lights in walls and ceilings can be useful so long as they are not fixed in place but can instead be easily moved to create ideal light patterns. Most art gallery directors state that a combination of tracked and recessed light equipment is ideal because the tracked lights focus directly on the artwork while the recessed lights are used in the nearby walls to provide a surrounding light source. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

How to angle the lights depends upon the height of the ceiling and the size of the artwork. Caution must be taken to avoid creating too many areas with shadows or to have the lights cause a glare on the artwork. Besides, the lights should not be bare bulbs(电灯泡) burning directly on the artwork but should be made in some way to make the lighting softer. According to experts, low voltage(电压) bulbs are the best to use when lighting artworks. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Thus artworks should be placed in a room where sunlight cannot directly hit them.

A. It can make the displays attractive.

B. Using tracked lighting is beneficial.

C. Light plays a key role in art galleries.

D. This light source can better improve the mood surrounding the work.

E. To better improve their appearance, the display area needs to be well lit.

F. Finding a happy medium between not enough light and too much of it requires considerable skill and experience.

G. Above all, natural light should be avoided since direct sunlight will damage artworks, particularly paintings, over time.