Make Your Brain Smarter

    You know that eating a proper diet and getting plenty of exercise help make your body healthy and strong. But did you know that there are ways to make your brain healthier and smarter? Studies show that when the brain is forced to do something new, it creates new neural (神经的) pathways. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} 

    ● Limit your TV viewing.

    Watching an average TV show requires very little brain power and brings the same result as neglecting (忽视) physical exercise.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} If you watch TV, choose something educational and informative.

    ● Use your non-dominant (非支配的) hand.

    If you are right-handed, use your left hand for everyday activities, or use your right hand if you are left-handed. Doing familiar things in a new way will cause your brain to create new neural networks. Brushing our teeth is something we do daily. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} But maybe we should. Experts suggest that we can force the brain to work by changing things up and working with our non-dominant hand. So the next time you brush your teeth, open the tube, apply your toothpaste and brush with the opposite hand.

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    Jump in the shower and shut your eyes. Even if you drop the soap—that's okay. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Searching for the soap while feeling the textures (质地) with your eyes closed works. Using your fingers to make fine distinctions between objects or textures can reconnect the brain areas involved in touch, suggests Larry Katz, a professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center and author.

A. Shower with your eyes closed.

B. Smart people rarely follow a set pattern.

C. The more pathways you have, the smarter you will be.

D. Use your different senses.

E. We really don't put that much thought into it.

F. Put your brain to best use.

G. Your brain will become weak just as your muscles do.

    With modern technology, much written communication tends to focus on the keyboard, but handwriting is still a necessary and important skill.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here are some tips for you to improve your handwriting.

    Examine Your Handwriting

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Look through your writing to decide what makes it difficult to read or what makes it unattractive. Perhaps you write your letters too small. Check on spacing of letters and words, and proper formation of letters. If your letters are small, put more effort into writing larger letters. If certain letters trip you up, practice those letters separately and within words.

    Write Correctly

    Positioning and technique play a role in how your handwriting looks. Hold the pen between your thumb and first two fingers so that it rests against your fingers. Hold it firmly enough to control the tip but not so hard that it hurts your fingers. Lighter pressure on the paper helps you create smooth lines and focus on your letter formation.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

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    Letters are formed from several basic strokes(笔划). Practice those strokes separately to get your hand used to forming them. Strokes found in letters include vertical lines, horizontal lines, and circles. Build on those to practice specific letters.

    Write for a Purpose

    Teach young children handwriting in meaningful contexts. Use that same idea by picking up a pen to write lists and notes by hand instead of typing. Keep a journal daily with slow, correct strokes.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}These true and sincere writing opportunities make the practice meaningful.

A. Build on Basics.

B. Practice makes perfect

C. Focus on improving your correctness instead of speed

D. Writing at a slower speed also helps you focus on letter formation

E. Put a handwritten letter in the mail to surprise a friend or a relative

F. Handwriting requires your brain, eyes and hands to work together to form letters.

G. Before you can improve your handwriting, you need to know where you're falling apart.

How to write an email?

    While many people are accessible by email, sometimes it is difficult to determine how exactly to write an email to them. Here are some tips for you to follow.

Write an appropriate subject line. The subject line should tell the recipient (接收者) immediately what the email is about. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Remember that your wording also has to be brief.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is best to be more formal rather than informal, so when writing to someone you have never met or written to before, a “Dear Jane Smith” is appropriate. When addressing someone whom you are a little familiar with, a “Dr. Smith” is okay until they tell you to address them by their first name, in which case a simple “Jane” will be okay.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Within the first two sentences of your email, your recipient should know exactly why you are writing to him. Sometimes an introduction may have to precede (先于) the sentence that states why you are writing, and sometimes it has to follow.

    Use appropriate language. You may be used to using informal language in certain social settings. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Even when dealing with colleagues or friends you are familiar with, do not immediately fall back on informal language.

    Keep it simple. People may get dozens and even hundreds of emails a day.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}In that way, they can save much of their time when reading emails.

A. Use proper greetings.

B. Express your ideas clearly.

C. State your purpose at the beginning.

D. Be as specific as possible when writing the subject.

E. However, an email may not be the best place to use such language.

F. It is important to check the language to avoid spelling and grammar mistakes.

G. It is always easier for them if you keep your email as short and brief as possible.

How to Learn A Foreign Language

    Spend the time!

    By far the most important factor（因素） is how much time you spend in learning the language. The more time you spend with the language, the faster you will learn.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Focus on words and phrases!

    To build up your vocabulary, you'll need lots.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Learn these words and phrases through your listening and reading. Read online, using online dictionaries, and make your own vocabulary lists for review. Gradually（渐渐地）you will be able to use them.

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    Listen wherever you are on your MP3 player. Read what you are listening to. Listen to and read things that you like, things that you can mostly understand. If you keep listening and reading, you will get used to the language.

    Take responsibility for your own learning!

    If you do want to learn the language, take control. Choose content of interest that you want to listen to and read. Seek out（找出）the words and phrases that you need to understand in your listening and reading.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Discover the language by yourself. Talk when you feel like it. Write when you feel like it.

    Relax and enjoy yourself!

    Do not worry about what you cannot remember, or cannot yet understand, or cannot yet say. It does not matter.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}The language will gradually become clearer in your brain, but this will happen on a schedule（计划）that you cannot control. Just make sure you spend enough time with the language.

A. Listen and read every day!

B. You are learning and improving.

C. That is the greatest guarantee（保证）of success.

D. Do not wait for someone else to show you the language.

E. Start to notice words and how they come together as phrases.

F. Soon you will run into your new words and phrases elsewhere.

G. This means spending time enjoyably connected to the language you are learning.

Easy ways to keep your brain sharp

    Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit — and that can be a very annoying thing. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Read on for some techniques worth trying.

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    People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance of Alzheimer's disease (早老性痴呆症), according to a recent study. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There's evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short-term goals appear to do better. In other words, keep your brains looking forward.

    ⒉Go for a walk.

    Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that are good for your brain. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    ⒊Learn something new.

    Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation (刺激) limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Or go dancing with your friends.

A. Focus on the future.

B. This can be especially harmful to the aged.

C. It should be something like learning gardening.

D. So take a few minutes each day to do some reading.

E. But don't worry if your schedule isn't filled with life-changing events.

F. Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments.

G. In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.

When it comes to having fun in the sun, it's easy to lose track of time. If you're not careful, this can be quite dangerous.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}But it can easily be prevented—all you need is a little sunscreen.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}People have been using chemical pastes to protect themselves from the sun for centuries. But the first modern sunscreen sold on the market was offered by French company: L'oreal in 1935.

Several other companies were quick to release their own sunscreens. Perhaps the biggest advancement in the world of sunscreen came in the 1970s, when scientists started looking at the sun protection factor, or SPF.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

The advantages of using sunscreen are obvious. It limits the painful effects of sunburn.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Millions of people have died from skin cancer caused by ultraviolet rays from the SUITL. Remember to apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going outside.

Unfortunately, there are many mistaken ideas about sunscreen.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Some also think you only need to put it on once for a whole day's protection or that you don't need it on cloudy days. None of these things are true. Experts say you should apply sunscreen every two hours when outside in the daytime, no matter how dark your skin is or what the weather is like.

A. And it can even save your life.

B. Sunscreen is not exactly a recent invention.

C. Choosing a sunscreen isn't as simple as it used to be.

D. In direct sunlight, sunburn can occur in less than 15 minutes.

E. This rating is a number that shows how effective a sunscreen is.

F. It's believed that you don't need much sunscreen if you have dark skin.

G. Some think a good method is to cover as much as possible with protective clothing.