Why Don't Students Like School?

    Most of the teachers I know entered the job because they loved school as children.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, they are understandably discouraged when they find that some of their students don't like school much, and that they, the teachers, have great difficulty inspiring them. Why is it difficult to make school enjoyable for students?

    As a matter of fact , the brain is not designed for thinking. It's designed to ask you not to have to think, because the brain is actually not very good at thinking. Thinking is slow and unreliable.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}People like to solve problems, but they do not like to work on problems that cannot be solved. If schoolwork is always just a bit too difficult for a student, it should be no surprise that he doesn't like school much.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    What is the nature of being human?{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Many people would answer that it is our ability to reason that makes us different—birds can fly, fish can swim, and humans can think . (By thinking I mean solving problems, reasoning, reading something complex, or doing any mental work that requires some effort.)  Shakespeare thought highly of our cognitive(认知) ability in Hamlet: “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason!” Some three hundred years later, however, Henry Ford came up with a quite different opinion, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few people are interested in it.” They both had a point of view. Humans are good at certain types of reasoning, especially compared to other animals, but we hardly often exercise those abilities.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Thinking is not only painful, as Ford noted, it's also slow and unreliable.

A. A cognitive scientist would add another point of view, “Humans don't think very often because our brains are designed not for thought but for escaping from thought.”

B. What sets us apart from other species?

C. Of course you could make each decision with care and thought.

D. However, people enjoy thinking if it is successful.

E. Therefore, teachers should reconsider how they encourage their students to think, in order to make thinking enjoyable enough for students to go after.

F. If we are all so bad at thinking, how does anyone get through the day?

G. They want to help their students feel the same excitement and passion for learning that they felt.

Third-Culture Kids

    Did you grow up in one culture, your parents came from another, and you are now living in a totally different country? If so, then you are a third-culture kid!

    The term “third-culture kid” (or TCK) was coined in the 1960s by Dr. Ruth. She first came across this phenomenon when she researched North American children living in India. Caught between two cultures, they form their very own. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} About 90 percent of them have a university degree, while 40 percent pursue a postgraduate or doctor degree. They usually benefit from their intercultural experience, which helps them to grow into successful academics and professionals.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In fact many hardships may arise from this phenomenon. A third-culture kid may not be able to adapt themselves completely to their new surroundings as expected. Instead, they may always remain an outsider in different host cultures. Max, for example, experienced this fundamental feeling of strangeness throughout his life as a third-culture kid.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} While this can be a way to create a network of friends all around the world, it can be difficult for a third-culture kid like Max to maintain close friendships and relationships.

    For a third-culture kid, it is often easier to move to a new foreign country than to return to their “home” country. After living in Australia and South Korea for many years, Louis finally returned to Turkey as a teenager. But she felt out of place when she returned to the country where she was born. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} She did not share the same values as her friends' even years after going back home.

    While a third-culture kid must let go of their identity as foreigner when he/she returns, the home country can prove to be more foreign than anything he/she came across before. The peer group they face does not match the idealized image children have of “home”.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    As a part of the growing “culture”, TCKs may find it a great challenge for them to feel at home in many places.

A. Yet being a third-culture kid is not always easy.

B. In general, they often reach excellent academic results.

C. This often makes it hard for them to form their own identity.

D. However, their parents can help them see the opportunities of a mobile lifestyle.

E. Their experience abroad helps them to gain a better understanding of cultural differences.

F. Unlike other teens of her age, she didn't know anything about current TV shows or fashion trends.

G. Additionally, making new friends and saying goodbye to old ones will at some point become routine for a third-culture kid.

    Here are six diet foods that can hurt your weight loss journey.

    Diet soda.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Drinking diet soda can make you likely to overeat. The answer is because your body is tricked into believing you're ingesting sugar and it makes you crave more.

    Microwave popcorn.

    Microwave popcorn contains the organic compound diacety to give you that butter taste. Try to avoid this ingredient! {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Granola bars.

    Commercial granola bars can be loaded with corn syrup, salt and processed oils that can add to your waistline.   {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Veggie burgers.

    Say isn't so! Going veggie could damage your diet. Read the labels.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Also Hexane has been found in veggie burgers. This a gasoline by-product used during the process of separating soybeans into oil.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Yup. Low fat-products like yogurt can be loaded with sugar. In a cup of Stoneyfield Farm French Vanilla yogurt, there are 20-plus grams of sugar.

    Blue chips.

    Blue corn chips or vegetable chips are a great alternative to potato chips. But again, there needs to be portion control. They can be loaded with salt and fatty oils.

A. Roast meat.

B. Low fat yogurt

C. Diet soda can actually make you gain weight

D. You're better off making your own popcorn

E. Some are made with processed soy and loaded with oils and butter

F. It is as important for thinking as it is for lifting, especially as we age.

G. Opt(选择)for making your own granola at home, but watch your potions.

    If you need to interview someone for an article but you have never interviewed before, it can be frightening. Here are some tips for preparing for and conducting a successful interview.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If the person is a known author or speaker, take the time to read or listened to his/her work, or at least get familiar with his/her most recent or most important work. If the interview will cover events, review whatever is known publicly about those events.

    Prepare a recording device(录音设备). You can use your phone or an audio recorder. In this way you needn't struggle to write things down. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And this will make it easier to include direct quotes when you start writing.

    Remember to make it a conversation rather than a list of questions. Prepared questions are just a guideline. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You can also try to ask your interviewee about his/her personal thoughts and reactions to events and people they deal with.

    Appropriate feedback(反馈) is also important. Feel free to say words that show you are listening, like "yeah" and "Mmmm". {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You can also give more facial feedback like smiling.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If the interviewee changes suddenly from one line of thought to another, lead them back to the area you are focusing on. Guide the interview but don't keep interrupting with many questions.

A. Politely ask if you can interview them.

B. Do your homework before you pick up the phone.

C. Then you can focus all your attention on the interview.

D. Consider how all the questions can be asked in a short time.

E. Nodding your head can be an encouragement to the interviewee.

F. In order to get the information you need, you should guide the interview.

G. You can try to ask questions based on what they have said to you in previous responses.

    Every student has his/her own style of studying and it's up to you to use the available resources to be as effective and productive as possible. Here are some tips on how to study effectively.

    ● Know yourself. When determining the best approach, you need to assess your personality. Some people can read for hours while others can't sit still through more than one chapter. Find your pace, improve it and work around your strengths and weaknesses.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}If you prefer being alone, learn to study by yourself.

    ●Set a goal. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}It'll not only help you keep focused and stay on track, but it'll also help you organize your time and activities.

    ●Learn over time. It's impossible to learn a lot of things in a short time. If you don't know or understand the lesson from the start, you won't get it the night before your big test. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    ●{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Allocate(分配) your time between studying and other activities. Create a routine schedule for your studying time. Strictly follow this schedule so as to develop an effective studying session.

    ●Have time to rest. It's necessary to have enough time to rest in order to regain all the energy used up by the body from all the studying. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Communicate with other people and participate in recreational activities to help you relax and refresh your mind.

    Following the tips above, you can easily have your way of studying effectively!

A. Have good study habits.

B. Set a realistic and reasonable schedule.

C. Try to discover the type of reading that best suits you.

D. Your mind won't be so sharp if you don't have enough sleep.

E. You need to determine what you want to achieve in a given subject.

F. If you need other people to help you, get a tutor(家教) or join a study group.

G. It's best to study smaller loads of information repeatedly over a period of time.

Effective Ways to Protect Our Planet

We only have one earth. However, humans haven't been very good protectors of the earth over the years. To leave a fine planet for our children and future generations, we all need to take steps to develop better living habits. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Buy less. Cheap goods in the sales may make your life better, but few of those are essential. And they almost always end up in the trash can or are forgotten in the back of a. closet. So next time you're hesitating about buying or accepting a non-essential item, think over whether it will truly improve your life. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Turn waste into treasure. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Not only does it keep items out of trash cans, but it can also prevent you from buying new items, which require lots of resources to produce. Moreover, children love making things. So instead of heading towards the craft store, check out your recycling bin first and improve your children's imagination.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Did you know it takes over 700 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to make just one plain T-shirt? Instead of going to the mall to buy new clothes, you can consider looking first in a secondhand shop or trading clothes. Second-hand shopping also applies to many other categories of consumer goods such as furniture, cars and children's toys.

Walk, bike or car sharing.According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a typical passenger vehicle emits (排放) about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per year. Thus, any amount of what you can cut back on will matter. For short trips, you can try walking or biking. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If travelling on foot or by bike isn't practical, you can try carpooling with a friend, neighbour or coworker to the same destination.

A. Save water.

B. Choose second-hand stores.

C. If not, it's okay to just say, "No, thanks!"

D. And here are some ways to protect the environment.

E. Plastic bottles are a clear example of waste material.

F. In this way, you can get some exercise without going to the gym.

G. Creating something new with unwanted items is a good way to protect the environment.