When Justin Tong was a child, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him doing lots of housework such as carrying out the rubbish and sending newspapers. But when he grew up, he was better off than his childhood friends and lived a happier and healthier life.

This is the finding of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 children in London. It showed that the children who had worked hard in childhood had a richer and a happier future. "Children who worked in the home or community gained competence(能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society," said Daniel Brown, the psychologist(心理学家) who made the discovery. "And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them."

Brown's study followed these children in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Brown, the researchers compared the children's mental-health scores with their childhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

    Working at any age is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence — the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this.

    Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, "One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work."

    Toby's family often goes on ski (滑雪) vacations. They are great fun. The snow is cold and wet, but the sun is warm. Toby loves the 1 of skiing down a mountain. It's always great.

    But there is one thing that Toby doesn't 2about skiing. There are so many things to 3. The most important things are the skis and ski boots (滑雪板和滑雪靴), of course. He also has to wear big socks to keep his feet 4and long underwear (内衣) for his legs. And he can't 5his hat and mittens (连指手套).

    Toby didn't like ski lessons before. He knew it was 6to learn, but he didn't like his teachers. They always gave very boring lessons. Also, the lessons always took very long 7they had to wait for everyone to get ready.

    However, this year Toby was glad to have the8. One time Toby's hat flew off while he was going down the mountain. One of the teachers went and got it9him. The teachers also showed him10to stop faster and turn better. Lessons were not so bad after all!

    Many students aren't getting enough sleep at night, which means they end up feeling sleepy during class. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}during the day may be a solution.

    According to Forbes, a mid-afternoon nap can {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, increase your energy and help you study even better. But {#blank#}3{#/blank#}should a nap last? The proper time should be between 10 and 30 minutes, Peter Venn, a sleep expert said.

    Sleeping for {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, such as five minutes or so, is not helpful. That's just not enough time to rest. But if you sleep for too long, you may {#blank#}5{#/blank#}feeling uncomfortable.

Mr. Wang is a teacher in our school. He teaches us English. He walks to work every day.