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.

Parents and the Young

    It is natural that young people are often uncomfortable being with their parents. They say that their parents don't understand them. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} And they tend to feel that their parents are too serious and too strict with their children, seldom giving their children a free hand.

    Parents often find it difficult to win their children's trust. And they always forget how they themselves felt when young. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is one of their ways to show that they have grown up. But older people worry more easily; most of them plan things ahead.

    Young people often make their parents angry with their choice in clothes, in entertainment and in music. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It is just that they feel cut off from the older people's world, into which they have not yet been accepted. That's why young people want to make a new culture of their own, which makes their parents worried and upset.

    Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents say “yes” to what you do. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It is natural enough, after being a child for so many years, when you were completely under your parents' control.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility, they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do.

A. So how should you understand that?

B. But they do not mean to cause any trouble.

C. All you want is to be left alone and do what you like.

D. If you plan to handle your life, try to win your parents over.

E. They think that their parents don't keep pace with modern ways.

F. You will have better success if you ask before you really start doing it.

G. For example, young people like to act on the spot without much thinking.

Tips for procrastinators (拖延者)

    You manage to finish and hand the project in on time, but you feel exhausted. Then, your teacher says, “Get ready. We will start the test in 5 minutes.” {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Many of us are guilty of delaying doing what we should do. At the same time, we might risk missing a deadline and not getting a good mark. It is also very stressful. Here are some tips for procrastinators on how to get your work done ahead of time.

    Create a to-do list. Creating a list will help organize your work and ideas while keeping you on track.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Keep it up to date by checking off completed tasks as you go along. This will keep you focused and orderly.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Chances are, you won't be able to get a lot of work done when you're tired. Finding a time of day when you are full of energy will get you to be more productive.

    Choose reliable study partners. Working with study partners will encourage you to complete the task at hand and ensure that you remain focused. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Divide the work into smaller parts. Procrastination is often a reaction to feeling overwhelmed (无法对付的). Dividing work into smaller parts will make it easy to handle. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You will find your ability and be more likely to finish what you need to do.

    Hopefully these tips will help you do away with the stressful, last-minute efforts of a procrastinator.

A. Work when you're feeling energetic.

B. Remind yourself to turn off all the devices.

C. You forgot that there's also an examination today.

D. Try to encourage yourself to stick to your work plan

E. Deal with your tasks a bit at a time instead of wasting time wondering where to start.

F. Put the tasks that you feel less confident about or are likely to avoid on the top of the list.

G. You know that others are relying on you and they think that you deserve trust and are responsible.

    You can read a book for pleasure one time through and be just fine. However, it is harmful to deal with academic reading the same way. In order to read and comprehend a book or article for school, you need to be much more strategic（策略）. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Understand types and themes.

    In most reading tests, the student is asked to read a passage and predict what might happen next. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}This is to make sure you're able to infer information from the clues. The type of text of a book helps you make predictions about the action-which helps you.

    Read with tools.

    Any time you read to learn, use active reading skills and there are tools that are not so good to use. A pencil and a pack of sticky notes will be good tools. You can mark in the margins without any damage. Use your notes to write down thoughts, impressions, predictions, and questions as you read. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You create some serious damage when highlighting.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    It is not wise to look up new and unfamiliar words as you read. Make a logbook of those new words, and revisit them later. Be sure to keep a logbook of new words and visit it often!

    Analyze the title (and subtitles).

    Once a text is completed, the writer may reflect on the true message or purpose and come up with a new title. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Find out the new words.

B. Work the vocabulary skills.

C. That is, if you want to earn a good grade!

D. A highlighter（荧光笔）, on the other hand, can be a really bad tool.

E. What might happen next will help you a lot in reading.

F. Prediction is a common reading comprehension strategy.

G. It will be a clue to help you understand the message better.

How to enjoy school

    School is a great place where you are always occupied in expanding your knowledge and further improving yourself. But School doesn't have to be a prison.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Learn some concrete strategies to help you enjoy your school life, making friends and keeping it fun.

    Cheer yourself up each day. You could wake up each morning with a bad attitude and each Corning will turn into a bad day. Or you could listen to some energetic tunes, eat a breakfast to your taste and make your school day pleasant. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If it makes you happier and more comfortable with your environment, try decorating your schoolbags, notebook, locker, and other supplies necessary' for school. Use stickers, colorful pens or other stuff to make your school things a little more fun to carry around with you.

    Join an afterschool club. It's a great way to make friends by joining a formal club or group at your school. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Check out the options offered at your school and consider joining one that lines up with your hobbies.

    Avoid distractions. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But it also risks getting you into trouble, and forcing you to fall behind when you're not paying attention. It may not seem like it, but the best way to enjoy the lessons is to listen more closely, not find ways to distract yourself.

A. Purchase things to make you feel happy.

B. Personalize your school belongings.

C. It might seem fun hiding an iPhone in your sweatshirt at school.

D. For instance, you could join the music lovers or chess players.

E. If you decide that your day will be fun, it likely will be.

F. Join a club that you have little interest in to meet someone you might not meet normally.

G. Whether you find school difficult, boring, or stressful, you can try to make it easier.

    Children start out as natural scientists, eager to look into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy, as there's no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Give them time to think. Studies over the past 30 years have shown that, after asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, children can give more logical, complete and creative answers.

    Watch your language. Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don t jump in with "That's right" or "Very good". {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. But in talking about science, quick praise can signal that discussion is over. Instead, keep things going by saying "That's interesting or "I have never thought of it that way before", or coming up with more questions or ideas. Never force a child to think. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, as children are always thinking, without your telling them to.

    What's more, giving them freedom to think can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want, in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target for your disagreement.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Real-life impressions of nature are far more impressive than any lesson children can learn from a book or a television program. Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass (放大镜) and they'll understand why you want them to wash before dinner. Rather than saying that water evaporates (蒸发), set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop.