Choosing the right job is probably one of the most important decisions we have to make in life, and it is frequently one of the hardest decisions we have to make. One important question that you might ask yourself is: “How do I get a good job?” {#blank#}1{#/blank#} There are people who can answer an insignificant advertisement in the local paper and land the best job in the world; others write to all sorts of places all over the country, and never seem to get a reply at all. Still others believe that the in person, door-to-door approach is by far the best way to get a job; and then there are those who, through no active decision of their own, just seem to be in the right place at the right time. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} He used to spend a lot of his free time down by the sea watching the tall ships, but never thinking that he might one day sail one of them. His father was a farmer, and being a sailor could never be anything for the boy but an idle dream. One day, on his usual wandering, he heard the captain of the ship complaining that he could not sail because one member of his crew was sick. Without stopping to think, the lad(少年) offered to take his place. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If the lad had gone home to ponder（考虑）his decision for a week, he may have missed his chance. It is one thing to be offered an opportunity; it is another to take it and use it well. Sometimes we hear stories about people who break all the rules and still seem to land plum jobs（美差）. When you go for a job interview or fill out an application, you are expected to say nice things about the company to which you are applying. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And within a year this person had become general manger of the company.

A．This story also illustrates the importance of seizing an opportunity when it presents itself.

B．People find jobs in an infinite number of ways.

C．It's almost impossible to find a good job by answering advertisement in newspapers.

D．Take for example the young man who wanted to be a sailor.

E．But there was one person who landed an excellent job by telling the interviewer all the company's faults.

F．He spent the rest of his life happily sailing the ships he had always loved.

G．It is very important to seize an opportunity when it presents itself.

    Getting your children to study can be a little like getting them to eat their vegetables. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Make a study time and have it at the same time every day. This will help your kids to learn to schedule their day and will give them a sense of control over how they spend their time.

    Allow them to study in blocks of time，such as for half an hour with a five-minute break in the middle. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Ideal(理想的) study times are after dinner or right after school before dinner.

    Never allow your children to study in front of the television，as that will encourage passive activity. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You'll also need to help your kids find the right place to study. After you've set up a good study time for little learners，set up a good place where they can get those creative juices flowing. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Make sure there is a table or a desk and a comfortable chair.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} This includes helping them out with their homework sometimes and being there for them with the answers to any questions. The input you give your children during study periods will help form a bond and help make studying enjoyable.

A．Pick a place where your children can study properly.B．Hold them to the schedule they create for themselves.

C．Finally，spend time with your kids when they're studying.

D．Keep the atmosphere light and offer lots of encouragement，too.

E．Instead，use TV as a treat or a reward when the homework is completed.

F．Try to stop this bad habit by offering some sort of reward.

G．One of the best ways to form good study habits for your kids is to design a schedule that they keep to.

    Perhaps at one point in time, it was acceptable to start any letter or e-mail with “To Whom It May Concern.”{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Starting your cover letter or e-mail for a job this way might give off the impression that you didn't do your research on who you're writing to{#blank#}2{#/blank#}After all, people who address other people by their names when writing and speaking to them tend to be more pleasant.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}It can be used in letters of recommendation or reference, formal complaints（抱怨）made to a company, letters of introduction, and letters of interest.

    Grammarly uses the example of needing to write a letter of recommendation, for a colleague who will have to make several copies to distribute to interviewers{#blank#}4{#/blank#}“In most cases, though, try to narrow your focus rather than cast a broad net,” notes Grammarly.”Ask yourself. Who does this e-mail concern? If you can honestly answer 'Anyone, 'then feel free to use “To Whom It May Concern.” （These are the things you should never say in your cover letter.）

    If you do happen to find that using “To Whom It May Concern” is appropriate, don't make grammar mistakes, for example, letters or punctuation.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. However, it maybe interesting.

B. Those times have changed, though.

C. Making mistakes in writing will surely get you low scores.

D. It's also very impersonal, which some employers might not appreciate.

E. In that circumstance, sending and receiving letters is more of a formal greeting.

F. You might want to take note of other common errors you might be committing, too.

G. But according to Grammarly, there are four times when it's OK to use this greeting.

Every art lover has a dream—to buy an old painting at a low price and later discover that it's worth millions. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But this dream can become a nightmare if it turns out that the painting is stolen.

    The following true story happened in London. An art collector was walking around an outdoor market in the East End when he saw two interesting paintings.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} He decided to buy them after they got the price down to 145 pounds. The art collector knew it was a good deal, but he wasn't sure how much his paintings were really worth.

    He decided to take the paintings to the Sorheby's, a famous auction house.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} They were painted by two of England greatest painters Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds. They had been stolen from Lincoln's Inn, a famous historical building in London and were worth about two million pounds.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Experts at Sotheby's were convinced that he was an art thief and called the police. Within minutes the police arrived. They arrested the frightened man and took him to the police station. After hours of questioning, the police realized that they had made a mistake and let the man go.

    The art collector returned them immediately because he was worried about his good name.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} So the stolen paintings are now back at Lincoln's Inn.

A. Nothing is more exciting.

B. At this point the art collector was in trouble.

C. An auction house is a place where things are sold to whoever offers the most.

D. Although he wasn't an art expert, he saw that they were old.

E. Obviously, he did not want to be associated with stolen works.

F. The art experts who saw the paintings recognized them immediately.

G. He recognized that they were stolen works worth great value.

How to Be Good at Sports

    If sports are something that interests you, it stands to reason that you would want to be good at 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. 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. Skills are often slow to build.

B. This does not mean being unrealistic.

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

D. Practice until your skills become second nature.

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

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

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

Today, what we have, is an always-in-your-pocket, 24/7 news cycle. When you open a news app, you'll notice a brief moment when the "old news" is still there. In a flash, the ancient history of a few hours ago is swept away for the next "breaking news". {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It's endless, but you had better keep up. 

Researchers introduce this world to the phrase, "noise bottleneck". A noise bottleneck is where we are overwhelmed with so much information or noise that our cognitive （认知的） abilities can't keep up. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Thus, while our attention can watch hours. of videos, our long-term learning processes can't. 

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} We watch TV holding our phones, and we listen to music while shopping. However, the human brain might have structural limitation rooted in the cognitive architecture which causes the slowing down that occurs when two tasks are performed at the same time. 

In short, your brain is not as good as you think it is. You are a human being who can only take in so much a day. Understanding the noise bottleneck allows us to fix it. So, here are three tips to get you going:

Clear your content-set up a new account on social media and follow only accounts or people that you think are really valuable. 

Single-task-you don't need to rid the phone but do rid the distractions. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Say, "I will only read this magazine after dinner. Multitasking is for show; single-tasking is for pros. 

Accept your limits-you'll never read all the news. Accept you can only choose two or three and embrace that fact. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You're getting more out of those few than that "super-productive" person on social media who says they read five books a week. After all, it's better to have a little remembered than a lot forgotten. 

A. Give yourself a time limit or restriction if it helps. 

B. Don't beat yourself up that you're being unproductive. 

C. Every second, you are presented with new information. 

D. Breaking through the noise bottleneck is a legendary idea. 

E. The matter is made worse by our modern addiction to multitasking. 

F. Multitasking has dramatically changed the way we use information. 

G. Our brains have limited resources, spread across numerous functions.