Do you want to take time to get in touch with yourself, your feelings, your dreams, and a good, healthy life? Here are some tips:

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Sometimes it seems as if our culture has begun to view the need for sleep as a sign of weakness. But your body was genetically(基因地) programmed to spend a third of its life on sleep, and this affects thinking, memory, growth, your immune(免疫的) system and even your weight.

    Begin the day in thankfulness. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Name each person and hold them in your thoughts. The sense of thankfulness you experience will set a peaceful tone for the entire day, and reduce a day's stress that can lead to sleeplessness that night.

    Strike a balance. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Think about tai chi, prayer, yoga(瑜伽)—any daily activity that allows you to develop a peaceful center and a sense of balance.

    Play with friends. The "tend and be friend studies", as they are called, conducted by UCLA researcher, Shelly Taylor, Ph.D. indicate that when women are stressed, they tend to their children and play with other women. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Use guided imagination. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The tone of your voice, pacing, music, and pictures will persuade your nervous system that it's time to calm down.

    It's always important to use the right tools for any job. Success in school is no different. If you need to vary your time management tool box, consider these less traditional tools. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} .

    Daily Task List

    A daily task list is nothing more than a notepad that you use to list your daily goals. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} . Cross them off as you finish them. At the end of each day, simply carry over any job that you didn't finish to the next day's list. It works wonders!

    Big Well Calendar

    Simply place the big wall calendar in a prominent place near your regular study space. Then come up with a color code for your classes(like green for math and yellow for history). When you have a big due date or a test date, place the appropriate colored sticker on that date. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} , so it works as a constant reminder. This trick is simple, cheap, and so effective!

    Sticky Note Flags

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} , whether you're putting together a big research project or you're simply reading a book. Whenever you need to remember to take a certain object or assignment to school, place a sticky flag on the door knob, bathroom mirror, or the cereal box the night before. It works like an alarm!

    Bedside Notepad

    You can keep a notepad beside your bed to write down any items or tasks you have to remember for the next day. As you settle in for the night, take a few moments to think about the things you need to do tomorrow. Then write them down and tear off the sheet in the morning. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} !

A. Remember to pack it in your schoolbag.

B. Keep your homework and your life in order

C. Two heads are better than one when it comes to projecting due dates

D. You could also use the calendar feature to alert you when projects are due

E. These little paper banners are lifesavers when it comes to getting organized

F. Carry a small pad around and write down every task you need to complete

G. The sticker will be something you can see every time you enter the room.

    Mariah, 35, was a single mother. She had four kids under the age 9, and was hardly keeping up payments on her small two-bedroom home by working extra weekend hours as a waitress. There were times when she lay in bed and cried. She didn't know how she could pay that bill. But she knew she must find a way to change her life.

    She knew how hard it was to mop(拖)the floor. “I was tired of bending down, putting my hands in dirty water and wringing (拧)out a mop,” Mariah says. “So, I got a better way.” How about a “self-wringing” mop? She designed a special tool. You could twist in two directions and still keep your hands clean and dry.

    She set out to sell her mops, but the mops didn't sell well at the market. Then Mariah met with the media. But would people buy a mop by reading an advertisement? They gave it a try, and it failed. Mariah was sure it would sell well if they let her do the on-camera show. “Get me on that stage, and I will sell this mop because it's a great thing,” said Mariah. So QVC let her have a try. “I got on the stage and the phones went crazy. We sold every mop in minutes.”

    Today Mariah is the president of Ingenious designs, a multimillion-dollar company, and one of the stars of HSN, the Home Shopping Network. Talking about her household inventions is as natural for her it is for parents to talk about their child.

    Today one of her favorite products is Huggable Hangers(衣架). The thin, space-saving tool are the most successful goods ever sold on HSN, with 100 million hanging out in closets across the country.

    People often go to cafes to relax themselves and keep themselves from falling asleep, but Mr. Healing, a popular cafe chain in South Korea actually does the opposite. Customers can come in, order a drink, lie down a comfortable massage（按摩）chair, and take a nap.

    Many Koreans suffer from a lack of sleep as a result of overworking, so any opportunity to relax and even take a nap is greatly appreciated. Mr. Healing is the perfect place to go when you're on a short work or school break and you need to catch up on sleep. The cafe offers massage periods in various modes, depending on how much time you have and how you choose to spend it.

    The 20-minute session is priced at $ 3.5, the 30-minute massage costs $ 7, and the 50-minute session is $ 9, all of which also include a drink. Once you make your choice, you are taken to the "healing center". You are asked to take off your shoes as well as any jewelry that might damage the chairs, after which you can choose a massage mode, from "stretch" or "sleep". You can start with stretch for a few minutes, and then switch to sleep if you want to take a short nap. After it comes to an end, you are taken back to the cafe area to enjoy a coffee or one of the many other refreshing drinks on the menu.

    Mr. Healing cafes are so popular in Korea that customers are advised to make reservations in advance to be sure that a massage chair is available. "I have to sit on a chair and stare at a computer monitor all day due to my job, the healing room was truly effective to relieve tiredness and stress from weekdays," said Park Hye-sun, a 24-year-old officer.

    Some have described Mr. Healing and other similar cafes in South Korea as simple fashions, but others see them as a sustainable business model, because they offer a service that Koreans really need.

    Three-quarters of the world's coffee farms destroy forest habitat to grow coffee in the sun and typically use harmful pesticides (杀虫剂) and chemicals that poison the environment. When forests disappear, migratory (迁徙的) songbirds disappear, too. In order to deal with severe population and habitat loss, Smithsonian scientists created the Bird Friendly certification.

    Bird Friendly coffees are shade-grown, meaning the coffee is planted under trees, rather than on the land that has been cleared of all other plants. Coffee experts say shade-grown coffees taste better, because the beans ripen slower than coffee grown in the full sun, resulting in a richer, more complex flavor. Bird Friendly certified coffees grow under bio-diverse shade that provides habitat for migratory songbirds and other wildlife, stores carbon and fights climate change. Bird Friendly coffees are also certified organic, meaning they are grown without pesticides, which is better for people and for the planet.

    Bird Friendly producers can also earn more for their crops. The wood and fruit trees on shade coffee farms provide farmers with additional income. Every cup of Bird Friendly coffee purchased rewards these farmers with a little more money for being good stewards of the environment and encourages them to continue conserving Bird Friendly habitat.

    Buying Bird Friendly supports the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center's conservation research aimed at understanding and protecting your feathered friends. You can purchase Bird Friendly certified coffees around the world and protect wildlife and habitat with every cup. Find a store or cafe near you, or better yet, have it shipped to your door when you order online.

    A nation's humor is linked to the historical development of the country. How funny somebody finds a certain thing depends on many things including ages, personal experiences, levels of education and locations. Therefore, humor is something that is not always transferable (可转移的) in another country.

    What about when both countries speak the same mother tongue? Does that mean they will then share the same sense of humor, or can differences still take place? Let's take the example of Britain and America. Time and time again, people say that Brits and Americans don't "get" each other's sense of humor. It is often argued that one of the most common differences between the British and American sense of humor is that Americans don't understand irony (反话). Simon Pegg explores this topic in depth in his article What Are You Laughing At? He concludes that this statement isn't true and I agree with him.

    In fact, Brits use irony on a daily basis while Americans don't. I think Americans understand British irony (most of the time anyway); what they don't understand is the need to use it so frequently. When Americans use irony, they tend to say that they are "only kidding". They feel the need to make a joke more obvious than Brits do. Maybe this comes from a fear of offending (冒犯) people.

    The American sense of humor is generally more slapstick (闹剧的) than that in Britain. I think this arises from a cultural difference between the two. Their jokes are more obvious and forward, a bit like Americans themselves. British jokes, on the other hand, tend to be more subtle. This may stem from the fact that British culture is more reserved (矜持的) than American culture.