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.

    Choosing a college major is one of the most important choices you can make about your education and future career.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}What you study in school often determines what career opportunities you will have when you graduate.

There are a number of steps you can take before making a final decision.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} If you enjoy marine life, for instance, you should consider a marine biology major. If you love star-gazing, consider becoming an astronomer.

    Next, consider the academic subjects in which you excel(优秀). If you're not strong in math you might be better off not choosing engineering. If you are good at English you might choose to become an author or a journalist.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Once you've established a list of potential career fields, research them further to determine which college majors are most proper. Then you can get an idea for what courses you'll need to take.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Choosing a college major you will enjoy is important. You might find college life to be less stressful if you enjoy your classes.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Perhaps most importantly, choosing the correct major may improve your overall happiness and quality of life.

A. Your teacher is there to help with just this sort of dilemma.

B. If you struggle with these steps, consider looking for outside help.

C. It may even be more important than where you attend college.

D. Your future career choices may rely heavily on what you study in college.

E. You might also avoid the unpleasantness that comes with changing your major.

F. Compare the list of your interests with the list of your talents and see which fields overlap (交叉).

G. Begin by making a list of your personal interests and careers which correspond with them.

If you have a dream

    What do you dream about? There have been so many times when I've come back to Thomas Edison's wise words: “When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven't.”

    If there is a dream in your heart, you should dig it and shine a little light on the vision（视野）. This time, instead of looking at it as impossible, start thinking freely:{#blank#}1{#/blank#}?

    If you have a dream…

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Seeing it on paper will help you see the possibility. It will be a daily reminder to work on your dream.

    Tell someone. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Later on, you'll need someone to poke holes（指出漏洞）in your dream and help you make it into something that makes sense in the real world. But right now, you just need someone who will give you a big hug and tell you not to stop believing.

    Do one thing that will bring you closer to your dream. Read a book about the subject of your dream. Email someone who is living your dream and ask him or her what's the one thing someone just starting out can do to move forward. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Your dream might sound crazy or impossible, and that's OK. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. 5 or 10 years may sound like forever, but if you were directing some of your resources（资源）towards your dream each day, wouldn't those years be more enjoyable?

A. Ask for help

B. Write it down

C. Start now by doing one thing

D. Can you work hard to make your dream come true

E. The right someone is a loving, kind person you trust

F. It may take some time to make your dream come true

G. What changes could you make in your life to give your dream a chance

    There is nothing worse than sitting next to someone whose breath smells bad. In order to solve this problem, people have tried various methods since thousands of years ago.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Nowadays, we use gum（口香糖）instead and it seems to be much easier.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Scientists can even tell whether or not somebody has a disease just from a simple breath test now.

    How does it work? Breath is made up of waste chemicals that the body makes.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. In fact, they are just like fingerprints （指纹）—that's why scientists sometimes call them “ breathprints” .

    Compared with other kinds of tests, a breath test is much quicker. Instead of taking hours, it only takes a few minutes.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. This machine will help to test their breath. It has been useful in finding early signs of problems such as stomach cancer.

Now, scientists are trying to use breath tests as many as they can.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. There are many ways to make your breath smell better

B. It's much cheaper to do a breath test than other tests

C. How your breath smells says a lot about your health

D. In ancient China, people used to eat a special plant to make their breath smell better

E. Hopefully, someday, visits to the hospital will be a lot quicker and easier for everyone

F. Breath tests are also a lot easier to do than regular tests as people only need to blow into a special machine

G. Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology found that these chemicals are different for each person

    What will you do if you can't eat everything bought in the canteen? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} According to a survey, what students waste every year could feed over 10 million people.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} According to Xinhua News Agency, the food wasted by Chinese people is about 50 million tons of grain every year, which could feed 200 million people.

    Food waste, which has become a global issue, serves as a mirror that reflects various cultural and social issues in different countries. In the West, for instance, consumerism, the belief that it's a good thing to use a lot of goods and services, is often to blame for food waste. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Chinese people are well known for being hospitable and generous. Many even feel that they lose face if their guests have eaten all the food. On campus, a generation of single children is less aware of the food waste issue. Students nowadays are well protected by their families and hardly have any concept of how much toil (辛劳) others go through in order to provide them with the food they eat.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} There are over 925 million hungry people in the world, most of whom live in underdeveloped countries and areas. They don't have enough food to eat. Many children die for lack of nutrition each year in some African countries. And farmers work very hard to grow the crops. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It's also important that everyone should think about how they can do their bit to reduce food waste.

A. Most of us would simply throw away any leftover food.

B. Students' waste is extremely serious.

C. China features its own eating culture.

D. Compared with them, some live in a different world.

E. But canteen waste is merely the tip of the iceberg.

F. So there's no excuse that we should waste our food.

G. Students can never realize the serious food crisis.

As we all know, friendship is of great importance in our daily life. A friend can give us help and share our difficulties and happiness. But how to make friends is still difficult to some of us. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

1. Be friendly to others.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}You should try to make a stranger feel at home wherever he happens to be. Think more of others than of yourself and never judge a person by his appearance and clothes.

2. Be reliable. If you and your friend agree to meet somewhere, don't be late. If you're not going to make it on time or make it at all, call them as soon as you realize it.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Be someone that people know they can depend on.

3.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Listen carefully to what people say, remember important details about them （their names, their likes and dislikes）, ask questions about their interests, and just take the time to learn more about them.

4. Encourage your friends: A true friend always gives courage to his friends.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Never make fun of or laugh at your friends in front of others. You should come to support them.

A. Be a good listener.

B. When you say you'll do something, do it.

C. A friend to all is a friend to none.

D. The following information can give you some tips:

E. And never leave your friend when he is in trouble.

F. Smile at others and you are sure to get a smile in return.

G. He will remain with them in both good as well as bad times.