Ways to sleep smarter

    Studies show that poor sleep influences people to make good decisions, concentrate on tasks or even manage a friendly mood(情绪) at work. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Today we've got our top favorite sleep tips and facts.

Set a regular bedtime

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Choose a time when you normally feel tired. Try not to break this routine(惯例) on weekends when you will probably stay up late. If you want to change your bedtime, make the change gradually, such as 15 minutes earlier or later each day.

Eat the right food

    Some foods are more helpful to a better night's sleep than others.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Others like bananas, potatoes, and whole-wheat bread are also helpful.

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    Exercising provides lots of good health benefits(好处). A good night's sleep is one of them. But make sure you exercise in the morning or afternoon. The National Sleep Foundation reports that exercise in the morning or afternoon can help deepen sleep. However, those who worked out in the evening hours saw little or no improvement in their sleep.

Reduce(减少) screen time before bed

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A recent study shows that people who use electronic media(媒体) just before bedtime report lower-quality sleep even when they get as much sleep as those who don't.

A. Avoid the alarm clock.

B. Exercise to improve sleep.

C. Try to solve problems in your sleep.

D. Go to bed at the same time every night.

E. There are many ways to increase the quality of your sleep.

F. Everybody knows that warm milk helps people sleep better.

G. Stop watching TV just before bedtime and you'll sleep better.

                                                                                                                   Social Media

    Social media can be defined (解释) as web-based and mobile media that are used for people to interact, connect and communicate with each other. It often involves the creation and sharing of content (writing, pictures, and video) that people make themselves, mostly through the Internet.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The first type involves people getting together to work on a project, for example, Wikipedia. Blogs and micro-blogs (such as Twitter) are another type of social media. There are other websites like YouTube that allow people to share content such as pictures, articles or videos.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} These sites allow people to stay in touch with friends, make new ones and join communities. Facebook is an example of this type. Many people like to play games on the Internet and, yes, there are social media games as well. These games allow gamers to interact with each other and play with or against other gamers.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} The final type of social media is websites like Second Life, where people can create avatars (化身) and use and create objects, as if they were in the real world.

    Social media are different from traditional media. With social media, many individual people in different places create content.

    Another difference is that people who produce content in social media don't need very special skills.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} It takes only a few minutes to write a twitter post, for example.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But whatever you might think, social media is here to stay.

A. World of Warcraft is a good example.

B. And social media content can be produced much faster.

C. In general, there are six different types of social media.

D. Another type of social media are social networking sites.

E. Some people think social media is good and some think it is bad.

F. In traditional media，people need special skills to produce something.

G. Social media is one of the fastest-growing industries in today's world

    Reading books is one of the best hobbies. It not only helps you pass your time but also helps you increase your knowledge in a meaningful manner. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here we will give you a few tips that can help you.

    Fall into the habit of borrowing books to read.

    This is a very old school practice but still it can be highly effective. When you borrow a book, there is obviously a deadline set. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Read everywhere.

    Keep a book in your bag and read it anywhere you go. This will help you to pass your time in a very productive manner. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Anyway, you can read your book 24 hours a day.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    This can easily be described as a new school technique. You can read out to your brother or sister and this will enable you to finish your book as well as increase the knowledge and understanding of your brother or sister.

    Choose your books very carefully.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Thus choose your books very carefully in order to enjoy your time and also finish your book effectively. If you choose a good book that can keep you interested for a longer period of time, there is no way that you are going to leave it incomplete.

A. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the reading habit.

B. Realize the importance of reading books.

C. Read out to someone else.

D. Find an excuse to read every day just by visiting book clubs.

E. This can encourage you to read it often to finish the book on time.

F. It doesn't matter whether you are traveling or are about to sleep.

G. Yes, life is too short to read a book that doesn't impress you.

Public Speaking Training

    Get a coach

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, so get help. Since there are about a billion companies out there all ready to offer you public speaking training and courses, here are some things to look for when deciding the training that's right for you.

    Focus on positives

    Any training you do to become more effective at public speaking should always focus on the positive aspects of what you already do well. Nothing can hurt confidence more than being told that you aren't doing well. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, so good public speaking training should develop those instead of telling you what you shouldn't do.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    If you find a public speaking course that looks as though it's going to give you lots of dos and don'ts, walk away! Your brain is so full of what you're going to be talking about. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. As far as we're concerned, there are basically no hard and fast rules about public speaking. Your audience can be your friends.

    You are a special person not a clone

    Most importantly, good public speaking training should treat you as a special one, with your own personal habits. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Your training course should help you bring out your personality, not try to turn you into someone you're not.

Physicist and Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman developed a clever learning method known as the Feynman Technique. It involves explaining what you're learning to others. By teaching what you've learned from memory, you engage in active recall.  {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It also ensures that you understand the topic, because you can explain an idea if you truly understand it. The technique consists of four repeatable steps.

To begin, choose a concept or a topic you wish to fully understand. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The more interested you are, the faster you'll grasp it. Moreover, a personally interesting topic will keep you motivated and engaged.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}  Write notes and explain it in a way that makes sense to a five-year-old. If you'd rather avoid actually teaching someone, you can just teach it to an imaginary audience. But it works much better if you use a real person. They'll be able to let you know when something isn't clear.

While teaching, you may discover gap s in your understanding. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  Review your notes, reread books, or seek external help to ensure you have a complete understanding of the context before moving forward.

Now that you fully grasp the concept, test your understanding by trying to teach it to another person. This will help you identify any remaining areas of uncertainty you need to revisit.

The Feynman Technique is a great way for kids and grown-ups to learn.  {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You need to actively think about the problem instead of passively reading or listening to someone else. However, with great efforts in mastering this method, you'll see your learning results improve quicker than ever before.

A. It is mentally demanding.

B. This helps the information stick in your mind better.

C. Teach it to a five-year-old, who would give you direct feedback.

D. Your curiosity about it will determine the pace of your learning.

E. Once you have chosen a topic, you can teach it to someone else.

F. Active engagement plays a key role in promoting deeper learning.

G. When this happens, refer back to the original material for the missing pieces.