How to Protect Your Ears

    You and your friends are leaving a concert on a Friday night. When you get outside, your ears are ringing. You have to shout to be heard. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So no harm done…right?

    Not quite. Temporary buzzing may be easy to ignore, but repeated exposure to loud noise will eventually cause serious— and irreversible(无法治愈的)—hearing loss. A new study conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston shows that one in five people between the ages of 12 and 19 are experiencing slight hearing loss, and one in 20 have mild hearing loss. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    But the good news is that there plenty of ways you can protect your ears from further damage — and still listen to the music you love:

    Ask around. Put your earbuds in or your headphones on, and then ask a friend next to you whether or not he or she can hear what you're listening to. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Turn it down.

    Buy noise-canceling headphones. A pair of earbuds or headphones that fits comfortably will limit outside noise so that you can hear your music better at lower volumes.

    Take breaks. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} So when listening to music, take your headphones off for 15 or 20 minutes and let your ears enjoy the quiet.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You can buy a cheap pair at any drugstore as an easy way to lower volume at concerts — or while playing or practicing your own music — without changing the quality of the sound.

A. Use earplugs.

B. Keep the volume below 70 percent.

C. If the answer is yes, your music is too loud.

D. Like every other part of your body, your ears need rest.

E. But by morning, your hearing is totally back to normal.

F. Unfortunately, there's no way to get back hearing you've already lost.

G. The exposure to noise is louder and longer than in any previous generation.

How teens can stay fit

    Any type of regular, physical activity can improve your fitness and your health.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Exercise should be a regular part of your day, like brushing your teeth, eating and sleeping. It can be in gym class, joining a sports team, or working out on your own. Keep the following tips in mind:

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} A good attitude is important. Find an activity that you think is fun. You are more likely to stick with it if you choose something you like. A lot of people find it's more fun to exercise with someone else, so see if you can find a friend or family member to be active with you.

    Take it one step at a time.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, walk or ride your bike to school. Get on or off the bus several blocks away and walk the rest of the way. Use the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

    Get your heart pumping. Whatever you choose, make sure it includes aerobic (有氧的) activity that makes you breathe harder and increases your heart rate. This is the best type of exercise because it increases your fitness level and makes your heart work better.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Examples of aerobic activities are basketball, running, or swimming.

    Don't forget to warm up with some easy exercises or stretching (拉伸) before you do any physical activity. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It is also important to stretch out after you exercise to cool down your muscles.

A. Do the activity as often as possible, but don't exercise to the point of pain.

B. The most important thing is that you keep moving!

C. Make physical activity a habit.

D. Small changes can add up to better fitness.

E. Stay positive and have fun.

F. This warms your muscles up and may help protect against injury.

G. It also burns off body fat.

A. Come in with something to say.

B. Prepare general comments.

C. Bring materials with you.

D. Don't make them wait.

E. Have no fear.

F. Go it alone.

    One of the best things you can do any time in the semester is go see the professor. So hoof on over to an office hour and have some one-on-one face time with someone who'll help you master the material and improve your grade, to boot. But how should you have this conversation with the professor? Here are five insider tips about how to make that office hour really count:

     {#blank#}1{#/blank#} No need to get all bent out of shape about going to see the professor. The professor would actually like to see you and answer your questions. Believe it or not, he or she is on your side and is eager to see you do well. And besides, he or she has seen many students stupider than you, so nothing you're gong to ask will set the record for stupidity.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Even though you might feel more comfortable going with a friend or partner, the office hour will go better if it's just you and the professor. You'll get in more questions, the discussion will be tailored to what you need most help on, and two-party communication is almost always more productive than committee work. You friend can wait outside for the discussion.

     {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you can't make the official office hours, most professors are willing to make individual, appointments to help you out. If you're lucky enough to land such an accommodation, though, be sure you're 100 percent on time. There's nothing that ticks off a professor more than making him-or herself available for a custom office hour only to find that you don't care enough to come on time. And besides, the professor might leave after ten minutes, which would make your trip a total loss.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you're meeting with the professor to go over a paper or test, or to ask questions about a particular lecture or reading, make sure you bring that paper or test, or your lecture notes or a copy of the article. The professor doesn't remember the comments he or she wrote on your individual piece of work—though he or she will be able to recall them after just a brief glance at your work. And if you have your lecture notes or the article in hand, you and the professor will be able to examine specific points that are confusing to you, rather than just talking in a general way about the contents.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Office hours almost always go better if you bring a few specific questions to the meeting. It's almost never good to start a meeting with general comments such as: “I didn't understand what you said about [main topic of the course]”or “I couldn't understand any of your lectures last week.” Much better is to come in with two or three conversation-starters, about a specific concept, point, or problem you didn't understand. Keep in mind that in a fifteen-minute office hour (which is how long these things usually last), two or three questions are usually the most you'll have time to discuss.

Think Positive and Feel Positive

    When you're in a stressful situation, are you confident or unsafe? Do you react positively or negatively?

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}A study by researchers at the University of Notre Dame found that negative thinking, and depression coming from it, can be catching in certain circumstances.

    For example, the researchers studied 103 freshman college roommates who'd been paired casually.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Specifically, the researchers measured the subject's likelihood to see negative events as a reflection of their abilities and disadvantages.

    After only six months, it became clear that thinking patterns and styles can be catching.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}And students paired with more positive thinking roommates were more likely to become more positive in their thinking and report less depression.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}So they might be particularly accessible to adopting the thought and behavior patterns of people around them — perhaps more so than people in less intense situations at other stages of life.

    But maybe not. Other research has shown that, in general, people are affected by how those around them think.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. The answer may depend in part on whom you're around.

B. Now college freshman are in a unique, life changing environment.

C. However, think positive and feel positive is quite important for college students.

D. Students paired with a negative-thinking roommate “caught” that style and became more depressed themselves.

E. They measured each roommate's cognitive weakness, or tendency to give in to negative thinking and depression.

F. So surrounding a negative, depressed person with people who think positively could be a powerful form of treatment.

G. But what was to the researchers' embarrassment was that the subjects never talked with each and stayed apart from each other for most of the time.

How to interview for your dream job

    Here are some tips for getting your foot in the door and then maximizing your chance of getting that dream job.

    Do some homework first.

    Google the company and find out as much as you can about their mission, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Try torelate the position you're interviewing for to these overall corporate goals.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Look the interviewer in the eye when you meet him/her. This shows confidence, indicating smartly to the interviewer that you feel as though you belong in the room. Do not just touch hands with people when shaking with them. This will doom you to many. Instead, grab their hand and shake with some firmness, but not with a death grip.

    Focus on the point.

    It's not about you, it's about them, Whenever you interview, keep in mind that it's about them, not about you, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Try to relate your assets(资产) to the overall mission of the company. The stronger connection you can make, the better.

    Close positively.

    Whenever an interviewer leaves you, shake their hand and thank them for their time. Look them firmly in the eye again. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Write a thank-you email.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}The next time you're at your computer, fire off an email to each person you interviewed with thanking them for their time, Mention that you're excited by the prospect of working for the organization and how you think it's a great fit.

A. Greet appropriately.

B. Mind your language.

C. Read a recent annual report of the company.

D. This leaves them with a positive impression of you.

E. Send an email thank you as soon as you can after the interview.

F. It's not what the company can do for you, but what you can do for the company.

G. However, it is vital in the short term as it is a way to continue a positive interaction.

    Although problems are a part of our lives, it certainly doesn't mean that we let them rule our lives forever. One day or the other, you'll have to stand up and say—problem, I don't want you in my life.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Problems with friends, parents, girlfriends, husbands, and children—the list goes on. Apart from these, the inner conflicts within ourselves work, too. These keep adding to our problems. Problems come in different shapes and colors and feelings.

    But good news is that all problems can be dealt with. Now read on to know how to solve your problems.

    Talk, it really helps. What most of us think is that our problem can be understood only by us and that no talking is going to help. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Talking helps you move on and let go.

    Write your problems. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When you write down your problems, you are setting free all the tension from your system. You can try throwing away the paper on which you wrote your problems. By doing this, imagine yourself throwing away the problems from your life.

    Don't lose faith and hope. No matter what you lose in life, don't lose faith and hope. Even if you lose all your money, family…you should still have faith. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Your problems aren't the worst. No matter what problem you get in life, there are another one million people whose problems are huger than yours. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Your problems might just seem big and worse, but in reality they can be removed.

    Go about and solve your problems because every problem, however big or small, always has a way out.