Have you ever heard of homecoming? It's a tradition celebrated every year in the US. At homecoming, a school or university welcomes back former students or alumni(校友).{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It means, “coming home.”

    This is a time when everyone can get together.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}There are events that encourage school spirit all throughout homecoming week, which leads to the big day on Friday.

    A major activity that most students will take part in is choosing the homecoming king and queen.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} This is a group of boys and girls who represent (代表) school spirit. At the end of the week, students vote for a boy and a girl to be the king and the queen.

    Then it's time for the football game, the main event of homecoming week! {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Almost everyone from school goes to the game: students, parents, teachers, and alumni visitors. If they win, everyone is very happy.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Students dress up, and some might even bring a date to go with them. After the dance, homecoming is officially over, and everyone can't wait for next year!

A. The last event is the homecoming dance.

B. That is where the name comes from.

C. Students get to pick who will be on homecoming court early in the week.

D. The tradition began more than 100 years ago in the United States.

E. The football team faces a lot of pressure to do well for the big crowd.

F. Homecoming usually lasts a week and happens in the fall.

G. Homecoming week was not just about fun, but also a chance to try out new things.

    Winter is a really fun time of the year—it's great to have snowball fights and build snowmen.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}When it's cold outside and you're not prepared, you can feel uncomfortable. Lucky for you, learning how to stay safe is not difficult.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Wearing thick clothes is the best way to stay warm in the cold. Depending on where you live and how cold it is, some kids may need more clothes, some less.

    Take that hat. You maybe wear a large overcoat and ready to go, but are you forgetting something?{#blank#}3{#/blank#}You'll stay much warmer with a hat than without one—tons of body heat escapes right from your head.

    Drink up. Sounds like advice for hot weather, not cold weather, right?{#blank#}4{#/blank#}When you're outside in the cold and breathing hard, your body loses a lot of water through your breath. And the best way to get that water back is to drink up!

    Take it easy. Sometimes if you're out having fun, it's easy to forget to pay attention to your body. But if your body temperature drops even 4 or 5 degrees while you're outside, it can make you feel terrible.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}And if you ever feel weak, those are signs that you have to take it easy indoors for a while.

A. Love those clothes.

B. Have a snowball fight.

C. Pull a hat onto your head.

D. That's why you need to be careful with your body's signals.

E. Well, the truth is that it's good advice for both kinds of weather.

F. But you have to know how to be safe while you're out having fun.

G. You can stay outside as long as possible to fully enjoy your snow days.

    Listening to others requires entering actively and imaginatively into the situation and trying to understand a frame of reference different from your own, and yet so many of us don't listen properly as we should. Listening means more than just sitting silently while someone else talks.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Here are some ways to become a better listener.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Make sure you actually hear fully what your friend is saying, and you can't cut your friend off verbally carelessly. While you might intend to help move the conversation along your friend might feel as if what he has said needs to be continually talked over or sounds anything but interesting.

    Nod to encourage the conversation along. A better option to let your friend know you're interested in what he says is just to nod along from time to time. Sometimes you nod along but then start thinking about something unrelated to what he could say.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Turn out background noise. If you're easily distracted by laughter, glasses clinking, children crying, you might need to work extra hard to focus only on your friend.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Don't hesitate to tell them that the background noises are getting in the way. If you can't focus, try moving to another area.

    Don't text or look at your phone!{#blank#}5{#/blank#} For you see, when you're sitting in front of someone, he is the most important person in your world at that moment.

A. Stop the speaker whenever you have a question.

B. Practice silence when someone else is talking.

C. If necessary, ask your friend to repeat himself.

D. Whoever is calling or texting can wait until you're done with your conversation.

E. It means trying to see the problem the way the speaker sees it.

F. In this case, try to push away your thoughts until you're absorbed in what your friend is saying.

G Remembering ideas from previous conversations proves that your attention is kept and encourages your friend to continue.

Tips to fight summer weight gain

    When we think of summer, most of us think of outdoor fun. So it seems like we should naturally lose weight over the summer — not gain it. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Lots of summer activities can work against our efforts to stay at a healthy weight. The good news is that it's easy to avoid problems if we know what to look out for.

    Get going with goals. When we don't have a plan, it's easy to spend summer moving from couch to computer, with regular stops at the fridge. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Just be sure to plan for some downtime so you can relax a little!

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} With school out, we lose our daily routines. If you don't have a specific job or activity to get up for, it's easy to sleep late, watch too much TV, and snack more than usual. Make sure your summer days have some structure — like getting up at the same time each day and eating meals at set times. Plan activities for specific times, like exercising before breakfast, for example. If you have time on your hands, offer to make dinner a couple of nights a week so your family can enjoy a sit-down meal together.

    Think about what and how you eat. Summer means picnics and barbecues — activities that revolve around an unlimited spread of food. Pace yourself. Don't overload your plate. Avoid going back for seconds and thirds. Choose seasonal, healthy foods like fresh fruit instead of high-sugar, high-fat desserts. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Stay busy. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} In addition to helping you avoid the cookie jar, filling your days with stuff to do can give you a sense of accomplishment. That's especially true if a dream summer job or planned activity fell through. Limit your screen time — including TV, computer, and video games — to no more than 2 hours a day.

A. Stick to a schedule.

B. Plan more activities.

C. Appropriate summer eating sets you up on the right track!

D. Most of us, however, don't take summer weight gain seriously.

E. In reality, though, summer isn't all about beach volleyball and water sports.

F. When we're bored, it's easy to fall into a trap of doing nothing and then feeling low on energy.

G. Avoid this by setting a specific aim, like volunteering, mastering a new skill, or working at a job.

    Today it is common to see people who walk about with colored wires hanging from their ears wherever they go. They move about in their personal bubbles, sometimes unaware of what's happening around them. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Outside life is shut out. So are you one of them"?

    For me; walking around in my own personal bubble is perfect. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}What's even better, wearing earphones seems to give a signal to people which says; "I'm not available for chatting at the moment!"

    Suppose, you're at work and about to make an incredible breakthrough, but a colleague suddenly turns up. At this precise moment, the slightest disturbance would break your concentration.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Once again, those wires hanging from your ears would be sure to give that "Go away!" signal.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It's probably part of the growing up stage when they just want to ignore their whole family. While their mothers give them lectures about why they should do their ' Yes. Mum." Problem solved.

    Pretty soon, not only will we have pretty colored wires hanging from our ears-but also our brains will be directly plugged into some new high-tech instruments. We'll be in a virtual (虚拟的) world, communicating with everyone else, or choosing not to, as we like. In this world, we will all be permanently plugged in.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}And they are changing our social habits along the way.

    In the end, there is a thin line between using technology as a tool for making life better and being a slave to it! It's so strange-suddenly, I don't feel like wearing my earphones anymore.

A.Our instruments are changing quickly.

B.I also have wires hanging from my ears.

C.In the home situation, teenagers love these wires.

D.I don't have to deal with the noise from the environment.

E.After all, I am listening to my favorite music and would rather not be disturbed.

F.Listening to music through earphones is the perfect way to ignore such interruptions.

G.They walk around in their own spaces, with their personal "digital noise reduction systems".

How to Cultivate Confidence?

    When faced with a big challenge where potential failure seems to appear at every corner maybe you'll hear this advice: "Be more confident." {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Take the belief that you are valuable, worthwhile, and capable, also known as self-esteem. Confidence turns thoughts into action. It comes from the genes you are born with, the way people get used to treating you as well as the choices you make. While it isn't possible to completely separate these three factors, the personal choices we make obviously play a major role in confidence development. As a result, by keeping in mind certain practical tips, we do actually have the power to cultivate our own confidence.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If you're looking for a long-term change, consider the way you think about your abilities and talents. Do you think they are fixed at birth, or that they can be developed? These beliefs mater because they can influence how you act in the face of setbacks, if you have a fixed mindset, meaning that your talents are locked in pace, you might give up, assuming you've discovered something you're not good at. But if you have a growth mindset, and think your abilities can improve, a challenge will become an opportunity to learn and grow. Neuroscience(神经学)supports the Jatter. The connections in your brain do get stronger and grow with study and practice.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Practicing failure is a must. Failure happens.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} J.K. Rowling was rejected by twelve different publishers before one picked up Harry Potter. The Wright Brothers built on history's failed attempts at flight before designing a successful airplane. Studies show that those who fail regularly and keep trying anyway are better equipped to respond to challenges in a constructive way. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}So, think of a challenge you want to take on, realize it's not going to be easy, accept that you'll make mistakes, and be kind to yourself when you do. You'll feel the excitement, knowing that whatever the result, you'll have gained greater knowledge and understanding.

A. But what is confidence?

B. So can confidence be easily cultivated?

C. Everyone is possible to encounter failure.

D. Being a talented person is quite necessary.

E. They learn to try different strategies and persevere.

F. Believing in your abilities to improve is the first step.

G. It also turns out that people with a growth mindset are better at dealing with challenges.