Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duanwu Festival, is a traditional holiday, which {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (observe) each year over 2,000 years in China to honor Qu Yuan, an ancient Chinese patriotic（爱国的）poet. Originating from south China, Dragon Boat Festival enjoys higher{#blank#}2{#/blank#}popular) in southern areas, such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong Provinces. With a history over 2,000 years, it used to be a day{#blank#}3{#/blank#}people would use herbs（药草）to drive away diseases. However, the most popular origin is closely related{#blank#}4{#/blank#}the great poet Qu Yuan in the Warring States Period. Composing masterpieces like Li Sao, he was regarded as one of the greatest{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(poem) in Chinese history. After he was exiled（流放）by the king, he had no alternative but to choose to drown{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(he) in the river rather than seeing his country conquered by the State of Qin. He died on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which is{#blank#}7{#/blank#}people decided to commemorate（纪念）him on that day{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(annual).{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(remember) his death on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people celebrate the festival in{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(vary)ways.

    It was {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(extreme) cold last Monday morning. While I was walking on my way to school, I noticed two street{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (clean) sweeping the street, across {#blank#}3{#/blank#}I walk every day. Seeing them {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(work) so hard on such {#blank#}5{#/blank#} cold morning, I was moved and made up my mind to do something for them. After arriving at school, I discussed with some classmates{#blank#}6{#/blank#} we could do. The next day, we got up early and prepared porridge at home. When we handed them the hot porridge and expressed our appreciation for {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(they) hard work, they looked a little {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(surprise) at first. And then they took the porridge, grateful {#blank#}9{#/blank#} our kindness. Although it was very cold, we all {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(feel) warm at that moment.

Dear headmaster,

    On hearing the news that a Reading Festival is to be held on campus on the World Book and Copyright Day and the possible project is open to be recommended, I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} hardly wait to write to you, sharing my humble opinions.

    As far as I'm concerned, the theme of the festival can be “sharing”, primarily {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (consist) of three parts. Firstly, the festival can start with a 30-minute discussion where groups of students can exchange and share what they {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (expose) to recently, expressing themselves freely. Following this section is the speech. Teacher and student representatives previously selected by us are to share and recommend the book they think really deserving to be read. It's needless to say that the last sharing section which is the most meaningful is donation, during {#blank#}4{#/blank#} time everyone present, teachers or students, is expected to donate one or more books to the library. As for when {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (hold) the activity, the afternoon may be an ideal choice so that it won't interrupt our classes.

    My advice is justified by the following reasons. First and foremost, it is in the group discussion and exchange that we students can have a thorough idea {#blank#}6{#/blank#} our peers are reading for the moment, serving as a driving force for our own reading journey. So it is {#blank#}7{#/blank#} the books recommended. Named by those “idols” in our mind, they will definitely win our heart. As for the donation, the benefits are exactly self-evident. {#blank#}8{#/blank#} can we share beyond our class or even beyond our school, developing a good campus tradition, but {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (importantly), these books which are sure to be dusted on our shelves can now be of more value.

    I'm looking forward to your favorable reply. And {#blank#}10{#/blank#} is my sincere hope that the festival can be a great success and we can gain a lot from it.

Yours,

Amy Young

    Choice of seating in the lecture hall can affect a college student's performance, a study suggests.

    Lectures are a main part of higher education, and {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(understand) how students interact and learn within the lecture theatre environment is central to successful learning. Researchers from Sheffield Hallam University in the UK examined {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (student) reasons for choosing particular seats in a lecture hall, and investigated how seating positions are related {#blank#}3{#/blank#} students' performance.

    "Interaction is a key part of learning and knowing who the students are interacting with can be {#blank#}4{#/blank#} great benefit when designing activities," said David P Smith of Sheffield Hallam University.

    Many students {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (prefer) being able to sit with their friends, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} others were more concerned with either attracting or avoiding the lecturer's attention. Some students chose seats {#blank#}7{#/blank#} allowed them to see and hear clearly. But others {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (easy) picked seats that made them feel less depressed, they said.

    Friendship groups who sat together tended {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (achieve) similar grades, and students who sat alone at the edges were likely to do worse than average.

    Lecturers may be able to use these findings to offer assistance to {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (anxiety) students，and to support the learning of all students by encouraging interactions between the different groups.

    You may not have noticed it before, but many people often sit with a hunched (驼背的) back when they are in a difficult situation, such as trying hard {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (solve) a math problem. But there's a reason for this: this body position helps to reduce pressure.

     However, according to Erik Peper, a health professor at San Francisco State University, poor posture (姿势) may make our brains work not as well as they {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (normal) do.

    Peper and a team of researchers {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (study) 125 students' performance in a math test and their different postures. The team found that good posture—for example sitting up straight—could help people perform better {#blank#}4{#/blank#} bad posture when they feel stressed.

    Another professor Richard Harvey further explained in Science Daily that sitting with bad posture might make us feel more {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (comfort), but it actually increases our pressure levels.

    So the next time you have to take a test, try sitting upright and taking a deep {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (breathe). If Peper's study is correct, this small change may have {#blank#}7{#/blank#} great influence on you.

    There are many things {#blank#}8{#/blank#} lead to poor posture. The good news {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (be) that posture can be improved at any age by {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (make) just a few simple corrections in the way one stands, sits and moves.