High school plays a major role in shaping up your future and your whole development. Extracurricular (课外的) activities along with the studies can be very helpful. Make yourself take part in various activities and at the same time try to stand out in your studies. When you move out to college these efforts that you put in may count for a lot.

    High school is not just about books or classes. Schools always provide opportunities for students to socialize (社交). There are various group tasks designed which allow the students to learn to work together.

    High school is the right time for you to discover yourself and bring out some of your hidden talents. In your lessons, you may find that you are better at English than you were earlier or have grown an interest for Math. High school also provides many other opportunities for students to take part in. These help develop leadership skills and management skills at an early age, which in turn is a way of preparing students to manage and plan their careers (事业) better.

    Balancing all activities is an experience in time management. If you have taken up a part-time job along with your high school you would have to arrange your time for studies, and extracurricular activities. Such management can go a long way in teaching you to manage things better when you take up a job. Moreover, they help build your character. You would be better prepared for additional stress that you may feel sometimes.

    When at high school you should pick up your classes wisely. Depending upon what you like and your career plan you should choose suitable classes. Doing something that you hardly like may get you very low grades as well as lose valuable time. Take up interesting and challenging classes that would allow you to put in those extra efforts.

    Hundreds of years ago, news was carried from place to place by people on foot or by horse. It took days, weeks and sometimes months for people to receive news. Now it is possible to send words and pictures around the world in seconds. Billions of people learn about news stories of their own country and all over the world every day, either by watching TV or reading newspapers.

    Newspapers have been an important part of everyday life since the 18th century. Many countries have hundreds of different newspapers. How do newspaper editors decide which news stories to print? Why do they print some stories and not others? What makes a good newspaper story?

    Firstly, it is important to report new stories. TV stations can report news much faster than newspapers. Yet, newspapers give more about the same story. They may also look at the story in another way, or they may print completely different stories to those on TV.

    Secondly, a news story has to be interesting and unusual. People don't want to read stories about everyday life as a result, many stories are about some kind of danger and seem to be "bad" news. For example, newspapers never print stories about planes landing safely, instead they print stories about plane accidents.

    Another factor (因素) is also very important in many news stories. Many people are interested in news in foreign countries, but more prefer to read stories about people, places and events in their own country. So the stories on the front page in Chinese newspapers are usually very different from the ones in British, French and American newspapers.

How to Prevent Dehydration

    When the weather's warm, you need to make sure you drink enough water. But did you know that you lose your sense of thirst as you get older? This means you5re more likely to become dehydrated, making you more prone to (有倾向) falls, heart disease, urinary-tract infections, kidney stones and confusion. A study from Loughborough University in the UK has shown that drivers who had only a little water an hour made twice as many mistakes as motorists who were properly hydrated. In fact, they made a similar number of errors to what you'd expect from someone over the drink-drive limit.

    So how do you know when you're dehydrated? Warning signs include:

    Feeling tired

    Dry mouth and dry skin

    Dark urine

    Reduced appetite (食欲)

    Reduced concentration

    Headache

    Constipation.

    But you might not notice any symptoms (症状)at all，so to make sure you stay hydrated:

    Keep a glass of water by your side when you're at home, and drink it regularly.

    Form a new drinking habit—for example, when watching TV, always reach for the water glass during an ad break.

    Take a small bottle of water with you when you go out.

    Always drink a large glass of water with a meal.

    Eat fruit and vegetables with high water content.

    Draw up a weekly water card—a bit like a coffee loyalty card—with a target of eight glasses of water a day. Mark it every time you have a glass of water. Award yourself a prize when ifs full at the end of the week.

    Drink water before, during and after you take any exercise.

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    Researchers are looking into new ways to generate efficient photovoltaic energy (光伏能源) and for this they have been inspired by the v-shaped posture of the Cabbage White butterfly(菜粉蝶).

    Photovoltaic energy is the science behind solar power, where light is turned into electricity. It is a two-set process. Step one is a photoelectric effect, caused by sunlight. The second step is an electrochemical process, which generates an electric current.

    To improve the collection of sunlight, a research group has been inspired by the resting posture of the Cabbage White butterfly. The species has a natural range across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. To many farmers, the butterflies are regarded as a pest; to others, they are pretty to look at. To one research group the butterflies are an inspiration.

    The butterfly adopts a v-shape in order to heat up its flight muscles before taking off. By creating solar panels(太阳能电池板)in this formation，scientists think that the quantity of power that a solar panel can produce can be increased by around 50 percent.

    The Cabbage White butterfly is different to many other butterflies in using the v-formation. On cloudy days butterflies need to wait to receive enough sunlight in order to fly. However  by using the v-posture, the Cabbage White butterfly is able to take in more energy more quickly than other butterflies. In addition, the butterfly can reflect sunlight from its wings, which allows its flight muscles to be warmed to an ideal temperature.

    The new research was conducted at the University of Exeter's Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) and the Centre for Ecology and Conservation. Discussing the findings with Laboratory Manager magazine, lead researcher Professor Tapas Mallick stated :"Biomimicry(仿生学)in engineering is not new. However, this research shows pathways to develop low cost solar power that have not been done before. "

Start of Summer, the 7th term of the year, begins on May 6 and ends on May 20 this year. It signals the transition of seasons. Here are four things to learn about it.

Greeting Start ofSummer

The term Start of Summer originated at the end of the Warring States Period. Since it is a crucial time for the harvest of summer crops, ancient Chinese emperors in different dynasties attached great importance to the Start of Summer.

CheckingOne'sWeight

The custom of weighing people at the Start of Summer originated from the Three Kingdoms Period and prevails in South China today. It was believed this practice would bring health and good luck to the people weighed. It is said those who were weighed would stay healthy in the hot summer and those who weren't would suffer illness.

EatingEggs

In ancient China, people believed a round egg symbolized a happy life and eating eggs on the day of Start of Summer was a prayer for good health. They put leftover tea into boiled water together with eggs. Later people improved cooking methods and added spices to the eggs to make them taste delicious. Today tea egg has become a traditional snack in China.

Taking Care of theHeart

According to Chinese traditional medicine, Start of Summer is a key time to moisten the heart. When the weather grows hotter, dampness and heat can affect human health. Food rich in vitamins and cool in nature is highly recommended. Vegetables, such as cucumber, tomato, and watercress and fruits like watermelon, pear and strawberry are top recommendations.