Being organized is an important skill for school and life．When you're well organized, you can stay focused，instead of spending time hunting things down．

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} For schoolwork, it means having one notebook or place where you store all your assignment，so you know what you have to do and when. Keeping all your school work neat and in a specific place—these are the main parts of organization.

     For home stuff, being organized means having a place to put your things and putting them back as you go. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It means keeping your schoolbag，your shoes, and your clean underwear in the same places so you always know where to find them.

    Planning is part of being organized, too. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Calendars，lists，and schedules can help you plan. You can buy or draw a calendar and keep it near your workplace. Making a schedule or “to-do” list for yourself is a good idea. Looking at your list helps you keep track of what you need to do. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Check off things when you've done them. Use your list to help you decide which thing is the most important to work on first.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But once you're organized，it feels great．The less time you spend hunting around for things or panicking about homework，the more time you have for better things，like reading a good book or playing.

    May the first is an important date in the college admission process in the United States. This is the last day for high school seniors to accept or reject offers of admission in the fall. But according to a recent report, there is a great change. Acceptance rates at the top colleges this year were lower than ever. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    These days, college applicants are applying to more colleges because online and common applications make the process easier. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}On the other hand, deciding students for top colleges to accept can be difficult because it takes much time. Students may not like being put on waiting lists. Also, common colleges work more to get the students they accept to accept them. Some colleges hold visiting days that offer a chance to attend classes and stay overnight. Some universities send gifts. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    For many families, the most important thing colleges can do is show them the money, especially this year; the weak economy makes parents nervous. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}The recent problems that spread from the housing market to credit markets have even affected student's loans. So lately, top schools have to spare lots of money to increase their financial aid for students. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The Education Department expects the number of high school graduates to start to go down. This will happen as the last of the children of the baby boom generation finishes high school. The number is not expected to start rising again until 2019.

A. What contributes to it?

B. Besides, top colleges are facing changes in the population.

C. But a mistake can be costly if it happens.

D. It can mean several acceptances to choose from.

E. They have international students who know English.

F. But top colleges ignore them.

G. They cannot afford college as planned.

    Florence Nightingale was named after her birthplace, Florence, Italy. When she was almost a year old, she returned with her family to England.

    Florence often helped her mother deliver(运送) food to the poor and sick.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Her family was shocked because nursing was not a respected profession.

    But Florence was determined. She studied books on medicine. Later, she visited hospitals in France, Germany and Ireland and learned everything she could.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

In 1854, Britain was at war with Russia. Florence went to the British hospital in Scutari (now Üsküdar in Istanbul) and she was shocked. The hospital left men lying on the floor, and rats were running everywhere.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Many soldiers died before receiving help.

    The doctors wouldn't listen to Florence because they didn't like the idea of women in army hospitals—until one day 500 unexpected casualties(伤亡者) arrived. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Florence made changes, making sure the men were washed and their injuries were cared for. Every night she would check the patients with her lamp.

    When she returned home after the war, a fund had been set up in her honor. Many of the soldiers she had nursed had made contributions(捐款).Now she could set up the Nightingale Training School in London.

    After years of hard work, Florence Nightingale saw cleaner and more cheerful hospitals.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} All of this was because of the "lady with the lamp".

A.Nursing became an honored profession.

B.There was no running water and no heat.

C.She knew she had much to learn about nursing.

D.Florence saw the soldiers' health had improved.

E.As she grew older, she decided to become a nurse.

F.They soon realized that Florence knew what she was doing.

G.Upon returning home, she was an expert on hospital management.

    Many of us tend to compare ourselves to other people. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} When you compare yourself to your friend or coworker occasionally, there's nothing wrong with it, as such a comparison helps you become better and stay motivated to reach your goals. However, if you are constantly comparing yourself to others, it's a red flag.

    If you compare yourself to a previous time in your life and you believe that your past was better than your present, it's a sure sign you unconsciously compare yourself to others. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Focus on your present and enjoy new happy and bad moments in your life instead of past ones.

    Do you want to make more money because your friend has a higher paycheck than you? You think that your neighbors, friends, and coworkers have a better life because they can afford to buy a new car. But, are you sure that they really can afford all those things? After all, they might have lots of debts and financial problems. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Probably you often say something like 'Your hair is more beautiful than mine' or 'You're so slim and I'm so plump since I can't drop those extra pounds.' You should never ever say such things. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You are special and you are absolutely beautiful no matter your age, weight and height.

    Many of us are trying to stop comparing ourselves to others, but at the same time many of us don't even know that we have such a bad habit. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Remember, no one is perfect. Stay grateful, love yourself and enjoy your present life.

A. When you compare, you find your strengths and weaknesses.

B. Learn how to love your body, accept yourself and love yourself.

C. People who are constantly comparing themselves to others are more likely to succeed.

D. Your past was not as good as you may think now.

E. Comparing yourself to others has its advantages and disadvantages.

F. Comparing brings insecurity and makes us miserable.

G. Moreover, money will never make you happy, remember it.

    Entering a university is an important part of a person's life. Today, many people go to a university to study and train for a future job in subjects like law, medicine or education. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} An important one started in Egypt over one thousand years ago.

    The world's oldest surviving university, AL-Azhar, is in Cario, Egypt. It was first built as a mosque for religion (宗教寺院) in A.D.972. A few years later, learners and teachers began meeting in the mosque. They read and talked about the subject of religion and law. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Leaders in the city of Cario decided to create a school for higher learning and soon after that, and AL-Azhar University was founded.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For these teachers at AL-Azhar, they needed to think about what courses to teach and how to teach them. The earliest courses were in law and religion. In a course, students read and studied with the teachers, but there was also free discussion. Often, students and teachers had interesting discussions, and there was no ‘right' answer. In the years that followed, the new university interested scholars from around the world. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} At AL-Azhar, people studied the past, but it was also a place for sharing new ideas.

    Over a thousand years later, AL-Azhar is still an important university in the world. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Today, many of the world's most important universities such as Oxford and Harvard still follow the same traditions as they do at AL-Azhar.

A. However, the university is not a modern invention.

B.There are many reasons to study in Egypt.

C.They came here to teach and do research.

D.Around the year 988, a new decision was made.

E. Its library contains many of the world's oldest and most valuable books.

F. The cost of university education is increasing year by year.

G. A university was a new idea at that time.

    Friends should always be honest with you, right? So when they lie, it can be really hard to take. You want to trust your friends and that means knowing that they'll tell it to you straight no matter what it is. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Why does this happen?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    One of the biggest reasons friends lie is simply to avoid hurting your feelings. Some people don't understand the difference between being gently honest with a friend and being so straightforward that they leave a verbal wound. They choose to avoid these two extremes in the form of a lie.

    They feel embarrassed.

    Sometimes friends will lie about things in their life because they are too embarrassed to admit the truth. Maybe they are going through a rough time and they just don't want you to know about it. Avoid trying to badger (纠缠) your friends into telling you what's wrong. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Avoid an argument with you.

    Perhaps your friends know that if they tell you the truth, you'll get angry with them. Make sure that if a friend tells you something unpleasant, you don't overact. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you do end up arguing, do it in a respectable way.

    Exclude you.

    Lying isn't always a sign that friends are trying to protect you, however. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When you find out with certainty that your friend is lying to you, try and face it. If you feel your friend is lying because he or she doesn't want to be around you, that's your wake-up to move on.

A. Protect your feelings.

B. They want to be your closer friends.

C. But a friend who lies isn't always trying to hurt you.

D. Consider what's being said and why your friend is telling you this.

E. Being honest and making a sincere effort can keep the friendship strong.

F. Sometimes they lie because they don't want you to be included in their plans.

G. Instead, make it clear that you are there for them when and if they are ready to talk.