Do you have a hobby? Something you look forward to spending your time with? Something you love to do?{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Or making model airplanes. Sketching. Or making useful things out of waste material. It could be a musical instrument that you love playing. Or singing and dancing.

    There are many things that a hobby can give you, apart from an enjoyable time. Sashay was a shy boy but through his interest in model airplanes he learned the value of sticking to a task until it was finished. His model airplane club brought him to get into touch with similar souls.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Having a hobby helps you relax and get away from the routines of school.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} You really need this well deserved one, too! It gives you focus, self dependence, confidence and builds your personality. This is an opportunity to lose yourself in an enjoyable activity, away from the pressure of school, so at the end of it, you feel relaxed and yet, mentally charged.

    Your hobby defines you.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}And it also shows you what you are good at, and how far you can go, when you apply yourself.

    So go ahead.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.For a hobby is: Happiness: something which you look forward to doing. Opportunity: to nurture and develop your special and unique skills and celebrate them. Believe in yourself: makes you understand your strong advantages and improves your confidence. Best in you: brings out your best—for in each one of us there is a best that is only ours. YOU gives you a unique character, and makes you YOU!

A. Develop a hobby.

B. It gives you a break.

C. It proves your ability.

D. Hobbies show your character.

E. It showcases your special skills.

F. It could be collecting something.

G. He learned to make friends for the first time.

    Going camping is one of the best ways to get in touch with nature and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. However, thorough plans before a camping trip may be boring. Just follow these simple camping suggestions to make your trip safe and rewarding.

     Selecting a suitable tent

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}When determining the size of your tent, you should take into account the number of campers as well as the camping equipment(设备) necessary for your trip. There should be enough room in the tent for the camping equipment.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Importance of food

    While camping, you will need enough food to give you enough energy for your outdoor activities. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}You should use a two-burner stove to do all your cooking. Insist on simple cooking during your trip to reduce cooking time.

    Enough sleep.

    All campers should have enough sleep during the night. Nights are generally cooler than the days so you need to have enough warm clothes to feel comfortable to sleep during the night. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Extra air mattresses(气垫) may be included in your camping equipment to make your bed more comfortable.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Keep these camping suggestions in mind and make sure you are fully prepared to enjoy your camping trip.

A. When buying a sleeping bag, check that you feel comfortable in it.

B. The best camping trips belong to those people who prepare the best.

C. The comfort level in a tent determines the success of a camping trip.

D. Thus you must have an efficient arrangement for your food preparation.

E. If you have a habit to eat in bed, you might train yourself not to do it during camping.

F. The size is the most important thing you should carefully consider when choosing a tent.

G. It will destroy the mood of the entire camping trip if you don't have enough money.

    The "best years of your life"? Maybe not. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} .

    ⒈Learn to appreciate small things. Whether it's having a computer, having friends, having a family that loves you, having a decent education or simply being born in this world. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Be happy, and life will reward you. Remember that these are the last few years you will be able to enjoy yourself without having to worry about the responsibility of an adult, but make sure you prepare yourself for when you do become one.

    ⒉{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Participating in clubs, activities, and sports increases your chances of meeting new friends. While you only need 4 or 5 close friends, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to meet new people. Participating gives you something to do instead of sitting bored at home and wallowing in self-pity.

    ⒊You can pursue interests you enjoy. Video games, for example, are good if you're the type who can get into that kind of thing. You should also find a hobby that is meaningful or practical. Use your "hobby time" to either A. Volunteer (to gain practical skills for college apps, job resumes, and scholarships) B. Learn an instrument, or get into something else in the creative field like painting or dance.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} .

    ⒋Play a sport or work out. Having a healthy body leads to a healthy and happy mind. Being confident in your appearance makes you more confident in other areas.

    ⒌Do well in school. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It will pay off in the end. Plus, doing well means no angry parents. (257)

A. This is the time to start developing and uncovering passions that might otherwise lie inactive.

B. Even though you want to enjoy your teen life as best as possible, don't be lazy in school.

C. But you can learn to make the most of your high school days.

D. Choose your friends wisely.

E. Be sociable.

F. Remember that the point of life is for you to enjoy it.

G. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your hard work pay off in the form of A's and B's.

    Ready to take a gap year? A "Gap Year" is a period of time when a student takes a break before going to university. It is often spent travelling or working.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Gap years are popular with European and Australian students, but remain less popular in America. However, in recent years, more and more American students are preparing for college by taking a gap year. The advantages of taking a gap year are as follows：

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Although you don't have to go abroad to experience gap years, most gap year students catch the chance to travel abroad. You are able to work out who you are and what you are for. The experiences of different cultures offer you interesting lessons. You can learn more about the world and get to know yourself better.

    Face challenges and have fun

    A gap year is not only a time to take a vacation, but also a time to face challenges. Gap year students usually work, volunteer or take service projects. You have to learn how to get along in the real world. This process isn't always easy, but it is an important part of growing up.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Save money and improve your college admission chances

    There's a common thought that gap years are only for rich students, but it's not true. Actually, taking a gap year can save your money. Gap year students often take a part-time job. Besides, at the end of a gap year, students are much more likely to know what to study in college. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Both of them are excellent and have high grades. However, one student has much practical experience or has volunteered in his vacation. Who do you think the admission officer will choose?

A. Learn about the world and yourself

B. Only in this way can you enjoy life and have fun.

C. Check out your gap year choices before making the right decision.

D. It can give young people useful learning experiences and new skills.

E. Imagine an admission officer trying to admit only one between two students.

F. More students than ever before are taking a gap year before going to university.

G. Clear learning goals can keep the students working hard instead of wasting time and money playing.

    In our life most people like green and green is an important color in nature. It is the color of most growing plants. Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh, and growing. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the 15^th century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns have not yet developed. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} By the 18^th century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today - a person who is new in a job.

    About 100 years ago. Greenhorn was a popular expression in the American west.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} The greenhorn lacked the skills he would need to live in the hard, rough country.

    Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    A person with green thumb seems to make the plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door had a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.

    Green is also used to describe the unpleasant emotion, jealousy. The green-eyed monster is not a frightening creature from outer space. It is an expression used about 400 years ago by William Shakespeare in his play "Othello". {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else. Or, that green-eyed monster may affect your friend if you get a pay raise and she does not.

A. The plants produced much larger crops.

B. The expression comes from the early 1900s.

C. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished.

D. Later, it meant a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle.

E. It was used to describe a man who had just arrived from one of the big cities.

F. It was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had green thumbs.

G. It describes the unpleasant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants.

    Think of everything that could go wrong in your life. What if your city floods tomorrow and you lose your home? What if a tornado passes by and you are struck by flying objects, leaving you with several broken bones? Or maybe next year you crash your car and are badly in need of a life-saving surgery. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    All of these incidents, terrible as they are, require money to fix. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} With an insurance policy, you are given a safety net which you can land on in the event that anything terrible happens to you or your family.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} As a part of this plan, you will have to pay a premium (保费). It is a monthly or yearly payment to an insurance company. If you do have an insurance plan, then in exchange for your premium money, an insurance company will agree to cover the cost of whatever accident may occur to you. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} For example, if you tend to get sick a lot, you will have to pay more in your premium because it is more likely that you will go to the hospital.

    In many ways, getting an insurance plan is a bit of a bet. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} However, by getting an insurance plan, you can ensure that you will always have a safety net to land on if anything terrible does occur, as you have a guarantee that at least some portion of the cost will be covered by your insurance company.

A. What will you do then?

B. We should have the sense of insurance.

C. And this is where insurance comes into help.

D. There are some ways to help you handle the problems.

E. Your payment usually varies based on your risk factors.

F. Insurance companies offer insurance plans to people in need.

G. You never know whether you will have an accident in the future.