Maybe you are an average student. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} This is not necessarily so, however. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here's how.

    Plan your time carefully. When planning your work, you should make a list of things that you have to do. After making this list, you should make a schedule of your time. First your time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc. Then decide a good, regular time for studying. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you to realize what is happening to your time.

    Make good use of your time in class. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Listening carefully in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says.

    Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes; look at the important points that your teacher is going to discuss the next day, read that material. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful, and you'll remember it longer.

    Develop a good attitude towards tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. They help you remember your new knowledge. The world won't end if you don't pass a test, so don't be over worried.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You will probably discover them after you have tried these.

    Television is everywhere around us. Yet it is great for learning English. The pictures make it easier to understand than radio and because you can see who's talking, and get a better idea of what people mean. Just watch their ＂body language＂! Watch programs that you find enjoyable and entertaining. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Here's the English-at-home.com guide to learning as much as possible while watching English television:

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Learning English should be fun — not something that you have to force yourself to do. If you have a passion for football, watch matches or the sports news.

    Keep a notebook near to your television. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This is especially useful. You can look for programs with subtitles in your own language.

    Try to watch English television regularly. Even if you can only watch 15 minutes a day, you'll be amazed how much you learn.

    Don't worry if you don't understand everything. English television is normally aimed at native English speakers. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If the programs that you're watching are full of unknown words, just concentrate on understanding the general meaning.

    Keep a note of television programs and presenters that you find easy to understand and try to watch them regularly. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Soon you will impress your friends with your English skills.

A. Don't watch the programs too easy for you.

B. Programs often include many difficult words.

C. Better watch programs that you find interesting.

D. English learning has little to do with watching TV.

E. Whatever you watch will help you improve your English.

F. Doing this will increase your confidence in learning English.

G. You can take down any new words or expressions that you hear.

Good jobs for Sports

    If sports are something that appeals to you, it stands to reason that you would do well in them. Here are some tips that can help you become a good player.

    Set ambitious but realistic goals. If you want to be great at sports, you need to set your aims high.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Instead, you should take a look at what you are, and figure out where you think you would like to be. Give yourself a suitable amount of time to achieve that goal.

    Be patient{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Impatient athletes tend to make poor ones. If you're not patient, you'll try to jump into advanced techniques long before you're ready. You'll feel discouraged when you don't see immediate improvement.

Join a sports team. Most of the sports teams are free to join. If you go to school, you should go for team tryouts when they're happening{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Accept criticism（批评）.When you play sports, you will unavoidably receive criticism, whether from a coach or other players{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Are they angry because you missed a pass, or do they sincerely want to help you improve? In a lot of cases, you can use criticism as motivation to get better.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A skill become mastered when you're able to do it without thinking. Given enough time and practice, a skill will eventually fall under this category. When in a game, you won't have time to think everything through, so practice until it's all automatic.

A. You also need to be clear about what you are good at.

B. Practice until your skills become second nature.

C. If you're not in school, you can find a sports club online.

D. This does not mean being unrealistic.

E. Skills are often slow to build.

F. You need to take most of it with a grain of salt.

G. An important reason people join sports teams is to make friends.

Jealous Ken

    Dick and Ken lived in the same street. Both children had a good home and lots of nice things. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In other words, Ken was a jealous(嫉妒的) boy.

    Dick and Ken grew up and got jobs. At first, they both cycled to work every morning. Then Dick bought a motorcycle. Every morning, Dick on his motorcycle rode past Ken on his bicycle, and Ken felt jealous. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} He was happy until Dick bought a car.

    Ken worked hard until he had enough money for a car. He bought a car, and it was as good as Dick's car. There were a lot of other cars on the road, so the journey to work was slower, but Ken was happy.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} So Ken worked very hard, and yesterday he bought an expensive new car. This morning Ken left home in his new car. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} But Ken was happy because his car was bigger, better and faster than Dick's car.

    Then he saw Dick behind him, but Dick was not in a car. Dick was riding a bicycle. It was a new bicycle. The cars moved very slowly, so Dick cycled past them easily. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} He watched from his big, expensive car and felt jealous.

A.     Dick was very proud of his new car.

B.     But after a year, Dick bought a bigger car.

C.     Both Ken and Dick walked to work every day.

D.    So Ken bought a motorcycle and he was happy.

E.     Ken watched as Dick cycled away in front of him.

F.     But Ken was unhappy because some of Dick's things were better than his.

G.    There were cars in front as far as he could see, and none of them could move.

This Way to Dreamland

    Daydreaming means people think about something pleasant, especially when this makes them forget what they should be doing. Daydreamers have a bad reputation for being unaware of what's happening around them. They can seem forgetful and clumsy. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}They annoy us because they seem to be ignoring us and missing the important things.

    But daydreamers are also responsible for some of the greatest ideas and achievements in human history. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Can you imagine what kind of world we would have without such ideas and inventions?

So how can you come up with brilliant daydreams and avoid falling over tree roots or otherwise looking like a fool?

    First, understand that some opportunities(机会) for daydreaming are better than others. Feeling safe and relaxed will help you to slip into daydreams. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}And if you want to improve your chances of having a creative idea while you're daydreaming, try to do it while you are involved in another task—preferably something simple, like taking a shower or walking, or even making meaningless drawings.

It's also important to know how to avoid daydreams for those times when you really need to concentrate. "Mindfulness", being focused, is a tool that some people use to avoid falling asleep.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Finally, you never know what wonderful idea might strike while your mind has moved slowly away. Always remember that your best ideas might come when your head is actually in the clouds.

A. Having interesting things to think about also helps.

B. They stare off into space and wander by themselves.

C. Without wandering minds, we wouldn't have relativity, Coke or Post-it notes.

D. At one time, daydreaming was thought to be a cause of some mental illnesses.

E. It involves slow, steady breathing for self-control that helps people stay calm and attentive.

F. Daydreams are often very simple and direct, quite unlike sleep dreams, which may be hard to understand.

Ready for final year

    Even though they're anxiously awaiting their gaokao, Senior 3 students feel relieved after having survived their busiest year of high school.

    Your milestone year begins in just two months, so how can you make the most of it? Here, three graduates offer some practical advice to help you navigate (航行) your final year in the right way.

    Sun Hairuo, High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, Beijing:

    Think ahead about your major. Even though some universities allow students to switch to a new major after enrollment, it still involves a lot of effort to do. So while you're preparing for the gaokao, start to consider what field you want to major in at the same time.

    When I was aware of my interest in social science, I began to collect information on the internet about what courses I'd like to take in university and what life would be like on campus if I chose this direction. Don't judge a major before you know everything about it, since your entire future depends on it.

    Qian Wenjing, Hangzhou Foreign Language School, Zhejiang:

    Enjoy a hobby alongside your studies. It's important to get high marks in all subjects, but if you have nothing that can distract you from the piles of homework, you'll have no motivation.

    For example, I run a WeChat public account, which you can find by searching for “大嘴小个儿” on WeChat. On it, I share my reflections on life, recommend good books and introduce learning methods to others. I also make videos on how to write an interesting daily journal for the video platform bilibili.com.

    So, keep on top of your schoolwork, but make sure you find time to let your hair down sometimes too.

    Wang Zixin, Beijing No 4 High School, Beijing:

    Create your own system of knowledge using a notebook. In the review stage, find your weak points on every science subject after each exam. Summarize the knowledge behind the errors in your notebook — this will not only identify the problem, but will also save you time when you don't have to spend so long figuring out the answer.

    As for liberal arts subjects such as Chinese and English, write down any memorable sentences you come across in your notebook.

    And keep it in mind that improvements don't happen right away — it takes time to get better.

    Ready for final year