If you want to learn English well, enlarging your vocabulary is important. Here are some helpful ways to help you to have a larger vocabulary.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}A good dictionary should be up-to-date and easy to understand. Make sure the definitions (定义) are written in clear English. I strongly recommend Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English as there is good coverage of spoken and written English, British and American English, as well as clear example sentences.

    Make notes of new words. But before you write them down on you notebook, you should look them up in the dictionary and make sure you are aware of any grammatical information.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}When you write down the new word in your notebook, try to include an example sentence in English.

    Organize your notes into themes. Some people find it very helpful to do so. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}For example, you can have one page containing words which have something to do with houses, while another page containing words relating to jobs, and so on.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}The next time you have spare time, skip through your notebook. Choose a page where you have already stored a number of words and expressions, cover the page and try to remember what you wrote. Then look at the page and see how many words you have remembered.

    When you find a new word, check to see if you can use it in other ways. English is a flexible language—nouns, verbs and adjectives often share the same root. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Review the words in your notebook.

B. Have good English dictionaries.

C. Read books that contain some new words.

D. Look up new words and phrases in your dictionary.

E. For example, love, lovely, beloved and loveless all share one root.

F. For example, if you are looking up a verb, check to see if it can be used in a passive form.

G. So rather than have a list of words without any obvious connection, you can divide your notes into themes.

4 Study Habits You Should Be Practising

    With exams, essays, projects, and many deadlines for different things, effective（有效的）study habits are necessary. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you are in need of a bit of an improvement, keep reading for the top four study habits that you should be practicing.

    ⒈Make and use flashcards.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} By using flashcards with a question on one side and the answer on the other, you will force your brain to recall he necessary information. Even if you struggle a bit with a card, you will still be actively revising the necessary material.

    ⒉Revise（复习）, revise, revise!

    Many students put off studying until just before the exam, with the more hardworking students giving themselves a week or two before a test. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It's best to revise the information a little bit every day, so that you are not upset when a test comes around.

    ⒊{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    One of the most effective—and the most fun—methods of studying is to watch related lectures and videos in order to get more material. Watch documentaries or videos on YouTube and educational websites. You may be surprised at how much you can learn from videos, and just how much information is available online.

    ⒋Re-write your notes.

    Studies have shown that writing information out by hand increases your ability to remember the material. This makes the recall go h and-in-hand with muscle memory. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    These are the four most effective study habits, and something all successful students do. Make sure you are on top of your game by following these study methods!

A. Watch related lectures and videos.

B. One method of revising is to make a mind-map.

C. Use these graded tests to create a new practice test.

D. Having these great study habits can make things easier.

E. However, it's actually an ineffective method of preparing and studying.

F. Flashcards are designed to improve active memory recall of information.

G. You will be able to picture your written notes when you are taking the exam.

How to Handle Being the New Kid at School

    Being the new kid at school can be a terrible experience! It might seem like everybody else knows exactly how to act. But remember you aren't alone. Actually, everybody is nervous on their first day and you can fit right in with the help of the following tips.

    Plan ahead the night before. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Lay out your first day outfit (全套服装), pack a lunch, and make sure you have all your school supplies ready to go. Planning ahead can help you get a good night's sleep and feel less nervous about your first day.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Make sure your clothes are cleaned and pressed and that you've showered, brushed your teeth. If you're hoping to attract friends with similar interests, try wearing a shirt with your favorite show, musician, or sports team on it. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Do your best to stay calm and positive. It's normal to feel nervous or anxious when you're the new kid at school. If you feel nervous, start by taking some deep breaths. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You can listen to music that makes you feel calm or happy. Try imagining a good first day in your mind instead of keeping thinking about things that could go wrong.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Don't come in on the first day with your head hanging down, your shoulders lowered, and your eyes on the floor. Walk with your head held up, your back straight, and a bright expression on your face. Make eye contact with other people, and smile if they look at you or speak to you.

A. Use your body language to show confidence.

B. Introduce yourself to your teachers and classmates.

C. Choose clothes that make you feel great.

D. This can be an easy way to start a talk and break the ice a little.

E. You should keep talking and let people know that you are friendly.

F. Remember that everyone is the new kid at some point and that it's not a big deal.

G. You'll feel less worried if everything is ready before you wake up for your first day.

Being a superhero to others

    Ewan Drum has always liked superheroes. He likes how they help people. At age seven, he told his parents, “I want to dress up like a superhero and help the homeless.” {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Wearing his red superhero cape (斗篷), Ewan helped pass out 70 bag lunches to hungry people in a park in Detroit, Michigan. That's how Super Ewan was born.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}People donated(捐赠) money and supplies (供给物), and Ewan took them to those in need.

    When someone donated jugs(大罐) of water, Ewan and his family drove their car to get even more. They took the water to Flint, Michigan, a city that had unsafe drinking water. Another time, a businessman donated six turkeys(火鸡) for Thanksgiving. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}“In the end”, he says,“ we gave 64 turkey dinners to families all around Detroit.”

    Ewan has a motto: Everyone can be a superhero to someone. At an event called the Hero Round Table, Ewan told the audience, “It's not hard to help people. You can keep some socks and food in your car to help people in need. You can help a neighbor with doing the garden. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} ”

It's been several years since Super Ewan started his task. Every month, he still visits the same park to hand out clothes, food, and supplies to people who are hungry or homeless —his Super Friends. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    “No matter what, ”Ewan says, “I will always keep helping people.”

A. News spread about Ewan's act of kindness.

B. This superhero says he'll never take off his cape.

C. Ewan says he wants more adults to act like superheroes.

D. Every little thing helps and can make someone feel happy.

E. A few months later, Ewan's family planned a day of giving.

F. Several days later, his parents drove to Flint and helped him raise a lot of money.

G. With his parents' help, Ewan asked for more turkeys through the Internet, plus side dishes.

    Think of everything that could go wrong in your life. What if your city floods tomorrow and you lose your home? What if a tornado passes by and you are struck by flying objects, leaving you with several broken bones? Or maybe next year you crash your car and are badly in need of a life-saving surgery. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    All of these incidents, terrible as they are, require money to fix. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} With an insurance policy, you are given a safety net which you can land on in the event that anything terrible happens to you or your family.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} As a part of this plan, you will have to pay a premium (保费). It is a monthly or yearly payment to an insurance company. If you do have an insurance plan, then in exchange for your premium money, an insurance company will agree to cover the cost of whatever accident may occur to you. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} For example, if you tend to get sick a lot, you will have to pay more in your premium because it is more likely that you will go to the hospital.

    In many ways, getting an insurance plan is a bit of a bet. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} However, by getting an insurance plan, you can ensure that you will always have a safety net to land on if anything terrible does occur, as you have a guarantee that at least some portion of the cost will be covered by your insurance company.

A. What will you do then?

B. We should have the sense of insurance.

C. And this is where insurance comes into help.

D. There are some ways to help you handle the problems.

E. Your payment usually varies based on your risk factors.

F. Insurance companies offer insurance plans to people in need.

G. You never know whether you will have an accident in the future.

Today, what we have, is an always-in-your-pocket, 24/7 news cycle. When you open a news app, you'll notice a brief moment when the "old news" is still there. In a flash, the ancient history of a few hours ago is swept away for the next "breaking news". {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It's endless, but you had better keep up. 

Researchers introduce this world to the phrase, "noise bottleneck". A noise bottleneck is where we are overwhelmed with so much information or noise that our cognitive （认知的） abilities can't keep up. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Thus, while our attention can watch hours. of videos, our long-term learning processes can't. 

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} We watch TV holding our phones, and we listen to music while shopping. However, the human brain might have structural limitation rooted in the cognitive architecture which causes the slowing down that occurs when two tasks are performed at the same time. 

In short, your brain is not as good as you think it is. You are a human being who can only take in so much a day. Understanding the noise bottleneck allows us to fix it. So, here are three tips to get you going:

Clear your content-set up a new account on social media and follow only accounts or people that you think are really valuable. 

Single-task-you don't need to rid the phone but do rid the distractions. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Say, "I will only read this magazine after dinner. Multitasking is for show; single-tasking is for pros. 

Accept your limits-you'll never read all the news. Accept you can only choose two or three and embrace that fact. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You're getting more out of those few than that "super-productive" person on social media who says they read five books a week. After all, it's better to have a little remembered than a lot forgotten. 

A. Give yourself a time limit or restriction if it helps. 

B. Don't beat yourself up that you're being unproductive. 

C. Every second, you are presented with new information. 

D. Breaking through the noise bottleneck is a legendary idea. 

E. The matter is made worse by our modern addiction to multitasking. 

F. Multitasking has dramatically changed the way we use information. 

G. Our brains have limited resources, spread across numerous functions.