We often see top students around us and everyone knows about them. Let us take Jenny as an example. She is the monitor of our class. She spends a lot of time working for our class. But she always gets good grades in all subjects. How do students like Jenny do that? When I asked her, she said, "Hard work is not the whole story. It's not how long you sit at the desk with your books open. It's what you do as you are sitting." In fact, we can see many top students spend fewer hours on their studies than their classmates. Jenny gave me some valuable suggestions.

    If your math teacher gives you five exercises, you should do six. If your Chinese teacher gives eight pages of reading, you should read nine. The more you practice, the more you learn.

    Studying is a matter of your personal interest, so choose the way you are most comfortable with. Some people like working at night when the house is quiet, while others like doing their work early in the morning. However, others like studying as soon asthey arrive home from school while the work is fresh in their minds. No matter(无论) which way suits you, try to do your best.

    Studying is your business and the business comes before entertainment(娱乐). When you are studying, phone calls should go unanswered, TV shows unwatched, snacks given up. Studying is the only thing in your mind. Nothing can pull your attention away from what you are studying.

    Studying is like eating. You should eat a little at a time. You can plan what to do today, but don't do too much. When you can't finish the work you planned to do, you will feel stressed and may lose confidence. On the other hand, you will not study well without a good plan. It all depends on how you manage your time.

    The students who hand in a clearly written paper are already half way to get an A. Tidy papers are likely to get higher marks than messy(乱糟糟的) ones. When you write clearly and do your work carefully, the thoughts in your mind are clear. You are able to make fewer mistakes.

    When Norman left high school, he went to a college to learn cooking for two years. He enjoyed cooking and was good at creating (创造) his own dishes. Then he got a job in the kitchen of a big hotel as an apprentice (学徒) for four years.

    ①Norman soon found that cooking in a hotel was nothing like cooking for his family at home. He needed to work in a hot kitchen for a long time every day. A lot of people couldn't stand it, but Norman enjoyed it. He always made new and unusual cakes on Friday. More and more people visited the hotel on Friday just ②________ his cakes. The hotel owner soon found out why.

    When Norman decided to leave the hotel, ③the hotel owner offered(提供) him more money and the position (职位) of the head cook. Norman took the position and saved most of the money he made. Finally, he bought his own hotel last year. Then he found he needed a lot more skills than just cooking skills. So he went to an evening school to learn business every Tuesday and Friday.

    Norman enjoys having his own hotel. But he also enjoys working in the kitchen and ④thinking up new creations when the hotel is not too busy.

Suggestions

A. Let your parents know you will not be alone. Also, you can ask a teacher to talk to your parents about the after-school activities.

B. Don't worry.  Even great piano players have to practice. Hard work and a lot of practice are the only ways to become a good piano player.

C. When you feel angry you should stop talking and count to ten or walk away until you keep quiet.

D. Don't worry. Everybody worries about their school work, even those students like you who study well. Find a hobby or a sport to help you relax for a while.

E. Tell your parents that many kids play computer games and do well at school, too. Ask them to let you play computer games for a short time on weekends.

Problems

⑴Sometimes I get angry easily and shout at my friends. That makes them think I'm not being friendly to them. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

⑵In my teachers' eyes, I am a good student. Both my classmates and my parents also think so. No one knows what my problem is. I often feel worried about my school work. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

⑶My parents never allow me to play computer games at all. They want me to study all day and do well in my exams. I feel unhappy. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

⑷I want to join in some after-school activities, but my parents think it's too dangerous and don't allow me to go out along. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

⑸My mother gets me to take piano lessons. She makes it a rule that I must practice two hours a day. I really try my best, but I just can't play well. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Julie is ten years old. Her brother Rick is eleven. Last year their family went to Kenya (肯尼亚) for their summer holiday.

    They had a wonderful time. Kenya is famous for its safari holiday.

    On a safari holiday, you stay in a national park and watch the wild animals. Julie's family did this. They camped in the middle of a national park, far from any towns.

    There were guides with them, and the guides knew a lot about wild animals. During the day, their guides took them in a big car and they saw all kinds of animals. They saw lions, elephants monkeys and many other wild animals. Sometimes the animals came very close to them. Once an elephant started to walk towards them, and Julie and Rick felt very scared. The guide said, "It's all right. Don't move, please." He didn't seem afraid at all! After some minutes, the elephant walked away.

    At night, the family slept in a tent. They could hear the noises of the animals. They said it was noisy, and sometimes they couldn't sleep! Also, they said it was very, very hot. But they loved their holiday and are going again next year.

    Body language is used by people for sending messages to one another. It is very useful because it can help you make yourself easily understood. When you are talking with others, you are not just using words, but also using body languages. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} A smile and handshake show welcome, and clapping hands means congratulations. These are accepted both by Chinese and foreigners as having the same meanings.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For example, men in Russia, France and Arab countries kiss each other when they meet, but men in China or Australia shake hands instead of kissing. People in Puerto Rio like touching each other, but people from English speaking countries do not touch each other. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In some Asian countries, you must not touch the head of another person. People in Arab countries like standing close to one another when they are talking. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} In Arab countries, you eat with the fingers of your right land; the left hand is not used at all. In parts of Asia you must not sit with your feet pointing at another person.

    When you use a foreign language, it is very important to know the meanings of body languages in the foreign country. Following this will help you live and work better with foreign people.