How to Improve Your English

    One of the most important questions that every student asks is how to improve your English. There are probably as many answers to this question as there are people {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Let's begin with the three most important rules to help guide you. You'll find further ideas below.

Rule 1:{#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    The most important rule to remember is that learning English is a process. It takes time, and it takes lots of patience! If you are patient, you will improve your English.

Rule 2:Make a Plan

    The most important thing to do is to create a plan and follow that plan.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Patience is key to improving your English, so go slowly and focus on your foals. You'll speak English well soon if you keep to the plan.

Rule 3:{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    It's absolutely necessary that learning English becomes a habit. In other words, you should work on your English every day. It's not necessary to study grammar every day. However, you should listen, watch read or speak English every day even if it's for a short period of time.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When you truly understand and master these three rules, then you will find your English level is really great.

    Going to college is a new experience full of excitement of the unknown. Socialization is a big thing for college students and it is common to feel a little uncomfortable going into a situation where everyone is a stranger. You may probably miss your friends from high school.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} College is a great opportunity to make new lifelong friends. The question is: how?

    ▲ Get to know your roommate.

    You may find you have lots of things in common with your roommate, but even if you are completely different from each other, with a little effort and understanding the two of you may become best friends.

    ▲{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    If you leave your door open, this shows that you welcome visitors. As a result people will naturally stop in and say hello. Closed doors are not likely to bring many visitors and those who stay locked up in their rooms may give others the impression of being cold. Other students will be less likely to stop in and build a new friendship.

    ▲ Join clubs or organizations.

     Getting involved in organized socialization is a great way to meet new people.    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} By staying active in college groups such as clubs and organizations you can meet lots of people with whom you share common interests.

    ▲ Talk to classmates.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Starting conversations in class is a great opportunity to meet people who are interested in the same kind of studies as you are. Short friendly discussions can build lifelong friendships.

    ▲ Try out for a sport.

    If you're athletic trying out for a sport will do for you the same thing that joining a club will do{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Trying actively to find new friends can help ease the feelings of being lonely.

B. Close the door to keep away from theft.

C. Your roommate is the first person you will have close contact with.

D. Hang a welcome sign on your dorm room.

E. Get to know your classmates as you'll be spending several months with them.

F. You will instantly meet a large group of people who share your interests in sports.

G. It also helps you get more familiar with the campus.

    When home is far away, the sense of ease and belonging that so many people feel can transform into painful feelings of longing, commonly known as homesickness. Along with feelings of insecurity, loss of control and nervousness, physical effects, including sleep issues, tiredness and loss of appetite, are also caused by homesickness.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Check them out below:

    Realize that feeling homesick is 100 percent normal.

    Almost everyone experiences homesickness when moving to a new place—some people might just be better at hiding it.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Homesickness is a normal and evolutionarily healthy reaction.

    Make connections with new people in comfortable settings.

    Feeling homesick when separated from loved ones motivates people to be with those supportive people.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} When making new connections, it's best to stick to the style that works for you in order to ease homesickness.

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    This point is vital and also one of the hardest to accomplish. Self-compassion is loving yourself just as you love the ones you care about. The most important step in practicing self-compassion is substituting negative, critical and, sometimes, automatic thoughts about yourself with thoughts that are more supportive and kind.

    Keep tabs on your negativity.

    It's also useful to ask yourself how much of your homesickness is due to an event, such as being separated from loved ones, and how much is from how you're understanding a situation.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}A positive outlook on a situation can do wonders for your mood, but it often can be hard to practice. You can silence negative thoughts in many ways, including reciting positive mantras（祷文）, keeping a journal or even taking a walk in a park.

    If you're dealing with feelings of homesickness, remember you're not alone. Even though there's no place like home, give yourself some time and care, and you might find yourself falling in love with a new place.

A. Learn to help others.

B. Practice self-compassion.

C. Being homesick is abnormal.

D. Being homesick is not a sign of personal shortcoming.

E. We gathered a few psychologist-backed tips to help ease homesickness.

F. Taking a step back is recommended, instead of falling into the trap of a negative outlook.

G. But keep in mind that everyone is different when it comes to forming those new relationships.

Sleep Patterns and Health Troubles

    When Carol Gee turned 55, she made a new friend: 4 a.m. In the past, she usually slept through it. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} She's not the only older adult to have the same experience. In 2017, a national vote conducted by the University of Michigan found that 46 percent of adults 65 and older have trouble falling asleep on a regular basis.

     {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Brains can slow. Wounds take longer to heal. And sleep patterns shift, too. The most noticeable ­ and often most annoying ­ changes are how sleep and wake-up times change and sleep gets lighter, often beginning in middle age. This can come as news to many, says Michael V. Vitiello, a psychologist at the University of Washington who specializes in sleep in aging.

    Studies have found that poor sleep can have a particular threat to older adults. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    Falls, depression and anxiety, problems with memory, and increased suicide risk are among the impacts of sleepless issues in this population group that researchers have found.

    As with changes in sleep architecture and timing, scientists are still unsure why those risk associations exist. Kristine Yaffe, a neuropsychiatrist (神经精神病学家) at the University of California's San Francisco School of Medicine who specializes in dementia, warns that there are more questions than answers when it comes to dementia and sleep. He found that if people have dementia, they tend not to sleep well. Do sleep problems actually lead to dementia?

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    What is clear is the association between good sleep and psychological well-being in older adults. But sleep quantity didn't show the same effects. And therein, experts say, may lie the key to understanding sleep as you age. If you're sleeping less, but don't feel negative effects out of bed, the changes you notice may just be normal age-related.

    Your bedtime pattern changes as you age, is that a sign of trouble? {#blank#}5{#/blank#} "A lot of older adults recognize that they don't sleep the same as they did when they were 18, but they can still function and they're OK. And all is well with the universe."

A. Researchers think it's hard to say.

B. But recently it has become her new wake-up time.

C. Over time, Vitiello says, sleep patterns simply change.

D. Statistics indicate that restless night is bad to our health.

E. As people age, the body changes in all sorts of predictable ways.

F. Too much work and pressure in life often cause you to wake up earlier.

G. Changes in the brain can be associated with a number of types of dementia.

    Before visiting Stonehenge I didn't know much about it. I remember seeing photos in my textbooks and being interested in the large stone structure. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    My visit to Stonehenge made me understand more about it. Stonehenge is an important piece of prehistory that is just outside London, England, in Wiltshire. It is in the middle of a field. My arrival at Stonehenge was by car. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} When arriving at the museum you will not see the stones. They are about a mile away from the main museum building that you enter upon arrival. The museum exhibits(展览品) describing Stonehenge history are in this building as well. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Then you will have a background on the history of the stones.

Then you will take a bus. The bus will drop you off outside the stones where you will take the path around the stones. The path is for tourists to view and walk through. Visiting the stones is quite a magical experience as you are viewing a piece of history that is over 5, 000 years old. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It's hard to believe that the stones were brought from Wales —hundreds of miles away. It's interesting to imagine what the stones were used for. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And the structure that is kept now is only a piece of the original(最初的) structure.

A. I suggest going through it first

B. Tickets are also a necessity for your visit

C. As time has passed many stones have fallen

D. This was probably the easiest way to get there

E. Then you can board the bus back to the main building

F. Once you start viewing the stones you realize how big they are

G. What is more interesting about Stonehenge is how it was built.

Each year, thousands of U.S. families open their homes and hearts to visitors from all over the world. In a homestay, students can observe, learn and experience a new lifestyle and culture, while practicing English skills in a home environment. Successful homestay experiences can help to ease homesickness for international students.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

What makes homestays special is the daily experience of living with hosts who are eager to share their way of life. Homestay hosts will reflect the diversity of the region in which they live. They may be single parents, retired couples or young families.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}What they will have in common is a desire to share their homes and their time with international students.

       {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Most homestay hosts will give the student a list of simple house rules to help everyone live happily together. They may give guidelines about Internet usage, lawn勿(洗衣房), television viewing, meal times, keeping the bedroom and bathroom clean, and money matters.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}For example, at the University of Delaware, all homestay hosts living more than one mile from campus(校园)must provide transportation to and from campus every day of the week. Hosts must also provide each student with a private, furnished room which has a desk, a bed, a closet and enough lighting. Students will have access to a shared or private bathroom as well.

       There is no better way to gain special insight into U.S. culture, while improving English language skills, than by participating in a homestay. It's not only important to get high scores in English testing, but to also learn how to get along with people from all over the world.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Occasionally, problems arise that cannot be solved. In these cases, the student can ask for another homestay or explore other housing options. The homestay coordinator(协调员)will work closely with the student to ensure that the next homestay will be a good match.

A. Unfortunately, not all homestay matches are perfect.

B. Living in a homestay will always require an adjustment period.

C. They will come from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.

D. Homestay hosts are expected to provide an English-only speaking environment.

E. Homestays provide students with a well-rounded education and great social skills.

F. Also, they can help students smoothly adapt to the life of an American university.

G. For universities offering homestays, it's important to set standards for licensed hosts.