My mother is a diligent and kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us.

    My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} She treats them with patience and teaches them well. For her excellent quality and very good teaching results, she has been elected as a model teacher several times.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms or cleaning the furniture, and putting everything in good order. She seems to be busy all the time. As she has been very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mother never buys expensive dresses for herself, but she often buys some inexpensive but high quality clothes for us. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} She just eats a plain meal outside when she is too busy to cook herself. She lives a busy yet simple life, without any complaints.

    Often she says to us, “work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy and gay. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society”. What a piece of good advice this is! {#blank#}5{#/blank#} This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behavior. My mother is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.

A. She enjoys listening to classic music.

B. As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort.

C. She loves her students and cares for them.

D. She never goes to expensive restaurants to enjoy meals.

E. My mother is hard-working and never wastes money.

F. I never forget it and always bear it in my mind.

G. Can you tell us something about your mother?

    You know that you have everything to be thankful for：a loving family，a pretty good job，and a healthy working body．Still，you keep feeling that what you have just isn't enough．Sure，you can be happier by making some life changes．{#blank#}1{#/blank#} It will make you more likely to start enjoying that sunshine instead of complaining（抱怨）about sunburn．

    Live in the present．

    The people who are the happiest with their lives are able to enjoy and hug the present moment．{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Focus on what the day will bring you instead of what happened yesterday or what you'll be able to change about tomorrow. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Though your life may not be perfect in the moment，there are surely some things that you can be very grateful for，whether it's your loving family，your amazing friends，your health，your cool new job，or your amazing home．You probably don't have all of these things but surely there are a few things you can remind yourself to be grateful for every single day．

    Stop comparing yourself to others．

    Stop thinking about how big your neighbor's house is，how great your friend Jack's job is，or how perfect your best friend's relationship is．You'll never get anywhere if you compare yourself to others．{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Hang out with people who are satisfied with their lives．

    Surround yourself with people who are good influences．They will show you that there are all kinds of ways to be happy，and will maybe even give you some tips for how to walk to difficult situations．{#blank#}5{#/blank#} They are more likely to come up with some reasons to be unhappy．

A．Be grateful for what you have．

B．What if there is a major obstacle (障碍）standing in your way?

C．Take some time to enjoy exactly what you're doing right now．

D．The easiest way to be satisfied with your life is to adjust yourself positively．

E．Avoid people looking for reasons to be upset with their life．

F．But if you drop comparing completely，you'll only be doing yourself a favor．

G．Get regular exercise with friends every day．

Rich and Famous

    Twenty years ago the most common ambition of American children was to be a teacher, followed by working in banking and finance, and then medicine. But today's situation is quite different. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Instead they most commonly say they want to be a sports star, a pop star, or an actor—in other words, they hope to become a celebrity.

    According to experts, young people desire these jobs largely because of the wealth and the fame. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Let's take athletes and singers as an example. Their careers are short-lived. Many athletes' best time only lasts a few years and singers can have a very limited career. The field that was once the focus of their lives becomes something they have little or no involvement in. As a result, they'll have a feeling of worthlessness and a lack of control. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}The truth is quite simple: they have been so far removed from it for so long.

    In spite of these disadvantages, there is greater ambition than ever among young people to achieve that status. They are not satisfied just making a living—they want to be rich and famous. Globally, more and more TV shows provide talent competitions where winners can achieve their goals in just a few weeks or months. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}They unrealistically believe that this lifestyle is easily obtained and leads to great satisfaction.

    While many people argue that there is nothing wrong with having such ambitions, others feel that this trend will finally lead to dissatisfaction as more and more people are unable to reach their goals. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} That means they ignore the simple fact that great effort is needed before success. As a result, many people won't realize their childhood dreams, which could have a negative effect on their happiness.

A. In many ways this has been brought about by the celebrity culture.

B. People no longer have a sense of satisfaction once their goals have been achieved.

C. Besides, it can be difficult for them to adapt back to a normal everyday life.

D. The younger generation don't favor these professions any more.

E. Unfortunately, they do not always have a positive effect on people's life.

F. The reason is that they don't realize it takes talent and hard work to be rich and famous.

G. This quick way of gaining wealth and fame creates a celebrity culture among people.

    Have you ever imagined the benefits that a good memory can bring to you? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are four ways to improve your memory.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} There is evidence that sleep plays a vital role in the consolidation of memories relating to learning motor skills, such as learning to play a musical instrument or ride a bike. Having a full night's sleep soon after gaining a new skill helps consolidate the processes involved, so they can later be performed well.

    It's rewarding to continue education. Older people are often told to adopt a “use it or lose it” approach to maintaining cognitive (认知的) function. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In a 2016 study, US researchers found participants aged 60-90 who spent 15 hours a week for three months learning a complex skill, such as digital photography, saw significant improvements in memory tests.

    Taking a break counts. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} More than a century ago, German scientists showed that people performed almost twice as well in memory tests if they took breaks.

It's useful to stay social. Having an active social life delays memory loss as we age, US scientists who asked people in their 50s and 60s to do memory tests every other year between 2001 and 2007 found the decline in recall abilities of their most sociable subjects to be half that of the least well connected. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Sleeping well helps strengthen memories.

B. Old people should participate in easy activities

C. Yoga, meditation or other relaxation techniques may help.

D. Memories can be destroyed if the brain doesn't have enough rests to sharpen them.

E. In fact, when it comes to memory, research suggests that only certain types of mental activities help.

F. Being able to remember important pieces of information can give you a powerful advantage in your life.

G. Having good friends, volunteering for charities and other forms of social engagement also protect memory.

How to Take Effective Notes During Lectures

Effective note-taking is an active part of the learning process that requires you to get the main idea and write down its key words in your own way.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Prepare for the lecture in advance.

Teachers hand out outlines of their lectures before they begin.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}It can help you focus on the difficulties you have in understanding and you will be able to ask better questions in class.

Find your style of taking notes

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}For example, some visual learners could draw certain shapes to represent important concepts. Some people prefer writing words, and some may find it most helpful to record a lecture and listen to it while studying. You have to find the style works best for you.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Rather than writing complete sentences or even complete words, create a form of fast and brief writing with some signs or phrases to make note-taking easier. This will help you take notes quickly and keep up with the lecture.

Take down key points.

It is important to write down key points from the lecture.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Things like key ideas, definitions, and descriptive phrases can help you remember the subject. For example, if the lecture is based on a specific battle in history, try to write down the date, the major characters involved and the overall outcome of the struggle.

A. Develop your shorthand.

B. Write questions as you are listening.

C. Skimming them will warm up your brain.

D. Everything you learn may be helpful in the future.

E. Different people may have different ways of note-taking.

F. It means you need to focus on the most meaningful information.

G. With the following tips, you can become a better lecture note-taker.

Ways to Develop Patience

Patience is essential to daily life and might be key to a happy one. Having patience means being able to wait calmly in the face of any difficulty or failure. This is all good news for the naturally patient or for those who have the time and opportunity to take a strict training in patience. But what about the rest of us? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Rebuild the situation. Feeling impatient is not just an automatic emotional response; it involves conscious thoughts and beliefs, too. If a colleague is late for a meeting, you can be angry about his lack of respect, or see those extra 15 minutes as an opportunity to get some reading done. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And consciously trying to regulate our emotions can help us train our self-control muscles.

Practice mindfulness. In one study, kids who did a six-month mindfulness program in school became less impulsive(冲动的) and more willing to wait for a reward. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Taking a deep breath and noticing your feelings of anger or overload can help you respond with more patience to your children.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} In another study, adults who were feeling grateful were also better at patiently delaying satisfaction. When given the choice between getting an immediate cash reward or waiting a year for more, less grateful people gave in once the immediate payment offer climbed to $

18. Grateful people, however, could hold out until the amount reached $

30. If we're thankful for what we have today, we're not desperate for more stuff or better circumstances immediately.

We can try to shelter ourselves from difficulty or failure. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Practicing patience in everyday situations will not only make life more pleasant at present, but might also help pave the way for a more satisfying and successful future.

A. Practice appreciation.

B. Practice in everyday situations.

C. Patience is related to daily life.

D. Patience is linked to self-control.

E. Mindfulness practice is recommended for parents.

F. But they come along with the life of being human.

G. It seems that there are everyday ways to build patience as well.