“As easy as falling off a log” is often used to describe a job that does not take much effort. You might hear a student say to her friend that her spelling test was “as easy as falling off a log”. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. It is easier to fall off the log than to stay on it.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. One is “easy as pie”. Nothing is easier than eating a piece of sweet, juicy pie unless it is a “piece of cake”.

    “Piece of cake” is another expression that means something is extremely easy to do. A friend might tell you that his new job was a “piece of cake”.

    Another expression is “as easy as shooting fish in a barrel”. It is hard to imagine why anyone would want to shoot fish in a barrel. But, clearly, fish in a barrel would be much easier to shoot than fish in a stream. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Sometimes, things that come to us easily, also leave us just as easily. In fact, there is an expression —“easy come, easy go”—that recognizes this. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Easy come, easy go.

    When life itself is easy, when you have no cares or problems, you are on “Easy Street”. Everyone wants to live on that imaginary street.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. It means to treat a person kindly or gently, especially in a situation where you might be expected to be angry with him. A wife might urge her husband to “go easy on” their son, because the boy did not mean to damage the car.

    I was ten when I first sat with my grandmother behind the cashier（收银台）in her general store. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} I quickly learned the importance of treating customers politely and saying “thank you.”

    At first I was paid in candy{#blank#}2{#/blank#} I worked every day after school, and during the summer and on weekends and holidays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. My father helped me set up a bank account. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    By the time I was 12, My grandmother thought I had done such a good job that she promoted me to selling cosmetics（化妆品）. I developed the ability to look customers directly in the eye. Even though I was just a kid, women would ask me such things as “What color do you think I should wear?” I took a real interest in their questions and was able to translate what they wanted into makeup（化妆）ideas. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

The job taught me a valuable lesson: to be a successful salesperson, you didn't need to be a Rocket scientist—you needed to be a great listener. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Except they are no longer women purchasing cosmetics from me; instead, they are kids who tell me which toys they would like to see designed and developed.

    With the development of society,it is common that many people are rushing all the way and all day,tired and subhealthy.A patient came to see me about the stress in her life{#blank#}1{#/blank#}One was to make her bed—from the moment she woke up until she flew out of the door for work.I suggested she experiment by not making her bed for two weeks. She was shocked,probably thinking I'd been brought up by wolves in a forest.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Two weeks later she went into my office merrily.She had left her bed unmade for the first time in 42 years—and nothing bad had happened."And you know what?"she said.“I don't dry my dishes anymore,either.”

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}One was discovering that she had choices in her life that she had never seen before.The other was giving herself permission to be less than perfect.This story shows an important principle about managing time: No one can do it all.Each of us has to make choices and accept trade-offs（利弊权衡）.The problem is that many people choose in ways that put themselves and their health last.They take better care of their houses and cars than they do of themselves.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    So what is the solution?There's an easy way.Decide what you want in your life,and put that first.On a daily basis,that should include regular meals,enough sleep and time with your family.Exercise,leisure,friendships and hobbies should also he regular aspects of life{#blank#}5{#/blank#}The choice is yours: whatever makes you feel good about yourself and your life.Take a nap.Take a walk.Take time to play the piano.Stop bringing your briefcase home from the office. Stop keeping your house as clean as your mother kept hers.Fill more of your time with want-to-dos instead of have-to-dos.

A.However,she went along with my idea.

B.She described all the things she had to do.

C.This woman had made two major breakthroughs.

D.Most people do not take time to relax themselves.

E.They put everyone else's needs ahead of their own.

F.The point is to do something for yourself every day.

G.Above all,you needn't do anything for yourself regularly.

    These days our society develops rapidly and forces people to rush. It appears that people have got used to being in a hurry. However, it's better for people to take their time and live their life at a slower pace than to hurry to get things done.

    The main reason that convinces us to oppose doing work in a hurry is the possibility of doing wrongs in a rush. When people do their jobs or take action in a hurry, they can't make a sound decision and probably regret later. As the saying goes, 'Haste makes waste.' We should think carefully before making a decision and do our work less quickly. We should not make mistakes by doing work hurriedly.

    Slowing down the pace of life helps people enjoy their life better. For example, taking a train to some place certainly will take more time than taking a plane. However, taking a train makes people have enough time to get to know a lot of new friends. Besides, it allows people to fully enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. On the contrary, being in a hurry will make us lose chances of enjoying our lives.

    Finally, slower life pace provides better health conditions for us. As is known to all, taking action in a hurry bothers people and raises their stress. People think if they are not in a hurry, they will become a loser and that annoys them. But being in a hurry can hurt people both physically and mentally. According to some studies, people who have a slower pace suffer fewer diseases, tend to be happier and live much longer than those whose life is tense, even if the former finish jobs more slowly than the latter.

    In short, working quickly will bring about more material benefits to make our society more advanced. Yet, much stress can't bring enjoyment, friends and health, which are much more important than money and other material advantages. Therefore, take your time and live your life at a slower pace.

    Every summer, hundreds of thousands of students travel to other countries looking for work and adventure. Most of the opportunities are in seasonal work, mainly connected with tourism and agriculture. The pay is usually poor, but most people work abroad for the thrill of travel. You can pick grapes in France, work on a family campsite, entertain kids on American summer camps, and of course, there are always jobs in hotels and restaurants.

    But it is not as easy as it used to be to find work. "Unless you speak the language of the country will, there will be very few openings." Says Anthea Ellis, an adviser on vacation work for students. "If you work as a nanny with a family in Italy, then of course you'll have to speak Italian. When you arrive to wash dishes in a restaurant in Paris, the owner will expect you to speak French."

    Not everyone enjoys the experience. Sarah James was an assistant responsible for a summer camp group of forty America children in Europe. One child lost his passport; another became seriously ill and was flown home; four children were lost in Madrid for a whole day; the whole group was thrown out of one hotel because of the noise they made. "I did visit a lot of new places," she says, "but it wasn't worth it. The pay was awful and really was a 24-hour-a-day job. The kids never slept!"

    "The trouble is, students expect to have an easy time of it," Anthea Ellis points out. "After all, they see it as a holiday. In practice, though, you have to work hard. At the same time, all vacation work is casual work. You'll have a job when the hotel, the restaurant, or the campsite is busy and you have few employment rights. As soon as the holiday season finished, they'll get rid of you. If you don't work hard, or if your employer doesn't like you, you'll get fired."

    Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several ways. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Second, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.

    You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is a selective process. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The following methods may work best for you.

    ●Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.

    ●Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.

    ●Write your notes in your own words.

    ●{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    ●Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.

    As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand (速记). When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols (符号) and that you use them all the time. Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes later.