Christmas is a time for relaxing, having fun and spending time with family and friends.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It can be difficult to find the motivation for study when everyone around you is having so much fun. So, here are my top five tips for revising effectively over the Christmas break.

    Set aside a few hours a day to revise.

    Find the best time to revise and make sure that you stick to your timetable! For example, I find that I work best in the morning.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Plan something fun to do every day.

    Even if it's just going for coffee with a friend or watching a film at home, this will give you something to look forward to and motivate you to finish your revision.

    Explain to your family why your revision is important.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}So, make efforts to tell them why your exams are important. Perhaps you can agree to do something nice with them when your exams are over.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    It is important to take some time to relax. When you do get back to revising, you'll probably find it easier to concentrate. Pick the most important days for you and your family to concentrate on celebrating Christmas!

    Remember that it won't last forever.

    You might have to spend your Christmas revising this year, and perhaps for a few more years, but soon enough you'll be free of exams forever.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Have a great Christmas and make sure you find a balance between studying and celebrating. Good luck in your exams!

A. Spare your time for your family.

B. Make sure that you take a few days off!

C. So I get up fairly early and do a few hours of revision.

D. Sometimes it can be difficult for family to understand you.

E. However, for many of us, it is also time to prepare for January exams.

F. Otherwise, you may probably fall into trouble with your friends and family.

G. And after spending time revising, your future Christmases will seem even better!

    I do think that dieting does not work. What it does do is to make you uneasy about food. Imagine you are prepared to abandon your belief and imagine yourself like a slim person...how do you get there?

Transform your focus

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Focus on what you really want, not what you don't want. Imagine how you would like to be. See a big picture of yourself, looking fantastic in your bathing suit, how good would you be feeling?{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Understand your hunger

    Slim people eat based on how hungry they are and when lunch time or tea time or dinner time around; they don't just fill up their plate because the food is there. The next time hunger pangs （剧痛） strike, imagine you have a scale in your mind from one to ten. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Check where you are on that scale before you put something into your mouth. You can also use the scale to judge how full you're getting.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Hunger is the only good reason for eating. Most overweight people have got into the habit of eating    when they are not hungry. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Many people have forgotten how to eat when they're hungry and most    diets tell you to ignore pleasure and ignore hunger and they also tell you when/how much and exactly what to eat.

How to improve vocabulary fast

    Your vocabulary refers to the words in a language you are familiar with. We should learn some ways to expand it.

    Read every day.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Choose reading material that is slightly above your level and keep a dictionary with you to look up words you do not know.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.If you do not meet with an unfamiliar word in your daily reading, use your dictionary to search for one.

    Learn the correct definition and pronunciation for each new word. Pronunciation is as important as definition because in order to add a word to your active vocabulary, you must be able to use it in speech.

    Elaborate (详尽阐述) on the meaning of the word. If you have just learned the word “stubborn”, think about the neighbour who will not lend you his car.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Use your new word in speech and in writing. E-mail your sister about how your cat is stubborn about sleeping on your pillow. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.But the more you use it, the more fluent you will become in its use. Soon it will be a regular part of your active vocabulary.

    Tell everyone you are trying to increase your vocabulary. Encourage them to ask you what your latest word is.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    The more you explain the meaning of a word to someone, the more likely you are to remember it.

A. Find a new word every day.

B. The vocabulary can be increased.

C. Your vocabulary contains the words you understand.

D. The more often you read, the faster your vocabulary can grow.

E. Or let them ask for the definition of a new word you have used.

F. Imagine him shaking his head, and think of him as 'stubborn in his refusal.”

G. The first time you use a new word in speech it may seem strange.

    My friends and I had one-week trip to Bali Island in June three months ago, which was really impressive.

    It wasn't the typical trip by the sea with swimming suit at the beach. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The rest of the days we would practice what we had learnt from the video with our coach, first in the pool, and then in the sea. Every day we had to dress ourselves up in the tight diving suit and a jacket with a heavy steel tank on the back

    I wasn't how most people would imagine spending their holiday. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Not only did we appreciate beautiful view under the ocean, but we also felt less like tourists and more like professional divers as we learn more skills each day. This was more than just diving in life jackets. We were able to get away and explore underwater, swimming with turtles and other beautiful sea creatures in the ocean. “There are no mobile phones down there, no emails, no keys to lose, no birthdays to forget… {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The ocean is the last quiet place on Earth,” as a US journalist wrote in his book DEEP.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} When we had to fully concentrate on our breathing, we started to realized how we had been taking it for granted. We had never truly “felt” ourselves breathe before.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} In fact, my friends and I are already planning another diving trip to the Red Sea in the coming winter holiday. Why not join us?

A. Of course we had dived in the sea before.

B. However, we really enjoyed every minute of it.

C. It's said that diving can be attractive yet I was unsure about it.

D. The experience also allowed us to get to know ourselves better.

E. All stress, noise and troubles of life are left at the surface of the sea.

F. I've become interested in diving and have no doubt about the attraction of diving.

G. Instead, we spent our first morning siting in a room watching teaching videos about diving.

    Each year there is an increasing number of cars on roads and streets as millions of new cars and trucks are produced. One out of every six Americans work at putting together the parts of cars, driving trucks, building roads or filling cars and trucks with gas. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Because most Americans find they are using their cars in almost every aspect of their life. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The polluted air becomes poisonous and dangerous to health.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} That's what several of the large car factories have been trying to do. But to build a clean car is easier said than done. Progress in this field has been slow.

Another way is to take the place of the car engine by something else.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Many makers believe that it will take years to develop a practical model that pleases man.

To prevent the world from being polluted by cars, we'll have to make some changes in the way many of us live. Americans, for example, have to cut down on the number of their total cars. They are encouraged to travel and go to work by bicycle. Bicycling is thought to help keep the air clean. But this change does not come easily. A large number of workers may find themselves without jobs if a car factory closes down.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Although cars have led us to a better life, they have also brought us new problems.

A. Americans know cars very well.

B. Americans won't live without cars!

C. Inventors are now working on steam cars as well as electric cars.

D. However, the number of vehicles has continued to increase in recent years.

E. One way to get rid of the polluted air is to build a car that does not pollute.

F. Thus the problem of air pollution would become less important than that of unemployment.

G. However, some have realized the serious problems of the air pollution that is caused by cars.

    The world is a colorful landscape of different languages, skin colors, and different cultures. It's important to have a good understanding of different cultures in order to become a well-rounded person{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    One way is to read hooks written by authors from a particular culture. Reading works by authors who have a close relationship with a particular culture allows people to gain an authentic glimpse into the food, music, language, religion, and way of a life of a particular group of people.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Another way to learn about different cultures is to try to learn a foreign language.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}A person can choose a language she has always wanted to learn and locate learning programs to help her master the language. Besides, one can enroll in a foreign language class in order to learn in a more formal setting. One can also try to visit areas of the city to establish social connection with native speakers of the language.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Seek out restaurants that feature authentic food from a variety of countries. Food is an important part of different cultures and allows people to gain deep understanding into a particular cultural group's way of life.

    Communicating with people from other countries through email or snail mail is another useful way to become familiar with different cultures.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Various websites offer pen pal services, offering to connect individuals with pen friends around the world.

A  Stories based on a local culture expose one to a different culture.

B. Trying authentic food from a specific cultural group is also a great idea.

C. There are several ways to become knowledgeable about different cultures.

D.A variety of language-learning books, software, and audio programs is available,

E. The Internet has made it possible to communicate with others from different countries.

F. Making contact with native speakers of the language allows one to gain firsthand knowledge.

G. One way to develop this appreciation is to try to team about other cultures around the world.