Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several ways.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Second,your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you,are studying for a test.Third,note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.

    You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.Whenever or however you take notes,keep in mind that note-taking is a selective process.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The following methods may work best for you.

    Read the text quickly to find the main facts arid ideas in it.

    Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.

    Write your notes in your own words.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Note any questions or idea you may have about what was said or written.

    As you take notes,you may want to use your own shorthand（速记）.When you do,be sure that you understand your symbols and that you use them all the time.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A.Use words,not complete sentences.

B.There are three practical note-taking methods.

C.You must write your notes on separate paper.

D.Otherwise,you may not be able to read your notes later.

E.You will also want to develop your own method for taking notes.

F.That means you must first decide what is important enough to include in your notes.

G.First,the simple act of writing something down makes it easier for you to understand and remember it.

                                   I love Fridays. And so I celebrate Fridays.

    After dropping my son off at school I head to Starbucks to pick up a coffee treat or another. Then instead of driving straight home I take a long route through the most beautiful roads I can find. I see footballs being passed on lawns, hamburgers being thrown on grill（烤架）, and parties everywhere swinging into action.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    The o0ther day I came out from the doctor's office happy over a positive prognosis（预断）. Seeing the signs of spring around me-flowers, birds, sunshine, I was suddenly ready to celebrate. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    My mind rebelled. “What are you doing? It's Tuesday! Coffee treats are reserved for Fridays!”{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Why should Fridays be any more special than any other day of the week? Why waste six days while waiting to celebrate the seventh? Minutes later I was walking back to my car with a big smile on my face and a coffee in my hand.

    A small victory, to be sure, but it's also an accurate example of how many of us live our lives. We're waiting for conditions to be right before we allow ourselves to enjoy our time here on earth. Maybe when we finally graduate from college and get a job, it will be time to celebrate, or perhaps when our babies are old enough to be in school all day. We'll celebrate when the car is paid off, or enjoy life when we're finally able to retire. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} What if we moved a little of that “Friday feeling” into our rainy-day Mondays, our dull Tuesday and our mid-week Wednesdays? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Are you suffering from FOMO—that is, Fear Of Missing Out? Research shows that a growing number of young people are with worrying reasons for their sleep and schoolwork.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You aren't able to do your best unless you sleep well. Most experts agree that the optimum（最适宜）number of hours is eight, and this has been accepted as common sense for as long as I can remember. However, I was young once and know most of you get much less sleep than that.

    I read an interesting article in a teachers' magazine recently. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Worryingly, the results showed that teenagers are facing a new problem. They may go to bed and get up at appropriate times, but a growing number are waking up in the middle of the night, not to use the bathroom or have a snack, but because of FOMO.

    According to the article, the number of students waking up during the night to check social media is growing. Afraid of missing a comment or opportunity to take part in a chat, teenagers are waking at all times of the night, going online and getting involved. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Experts are worried about this growing trend and the report reveals some worrying statistics: 23% of 12 to 15-year-olds wake up nearly every night to use social media. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} One in third of the students are constantly tired and unable to function to their full capacity.

    So I'd like to ask you to be responsible when it comes to social media. Switch off your devices at night. The world won't end and your social media will be waiting to greet you in the morning! {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. But things are getting out of hand.

B. I give you my word that you won't have missed anything important.

C. Another 15% wake up at night once a week for the same reason.

D. They did a study of 848 students in Wales.

E. FOMO is the fear that everyone else is having more fun and more excitement than you.

F. All happens when they should be sound asleep.

G. Everybody knows how important it is for students to get a good night's sleep every night.

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

    Q & A

    Question：I have recently got a senior position within my company. One of my new tasks is to make monthly progress reports on my department in front of other senior officials. During my first meeting，I presented and then opened the floor to questions. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} My first reaction was to answer defensively. Later I realized that I shouldn't have felt that way. But how can I keep cool and effectively answer questions in this type of settings?

    Answer：Congratulations on your new position！Presenting in front of your peers(同事) is a hard task in itself，and it becomes much more difficult when a question and answer period is required. Question -and-answer periods are a great way to clarify the message and strengthen key points. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    When a person is asking a question，show interest and a desire to understand the question by listening and asking for clarification.

    Buy time.

    When facing a hard question，most people can't give an answer immediately. Buy time by repeating the question in your own words. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}These techniques allow you to quickly organize your thoughts as well as to make sure you will be correctly answering the question.

    Suggest a private meeting.

    A one-on-one meeting is a calmer setting than speaking in front of your peers. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Show your true interest.

B. Restate the question with respect.

C. Some ideas can be quite concrete.

D. There were many difficult questions.

E. It can also be more effective in exchanging ideas.

F. You may also ask for clarification(澄清、说明) on the question.

G. Here are some ideas that can help you prepare for your next meeting.

Socially, few things are more annoying than someone repeatedly checking their phone in the middle of your conversation with them. Soon enough, you're having unhappy thoughts, thinking of their way like, I'm boring you; you're more concerned with whoever's on that phone than me; you don't care about me. None of that is necessarily true, but this is: "If someone is engaged in a great conversation, they wouldn't care about their phones," says Leslie, a psychologist and researcher at NYU.

Do you sometimes wonder: What should I have said to a rude person like this? What if we have to talk to such maddening persons? Experts have advice about how to deal with this.

Whether you say something or not, remember that the cell-addict's annoying habits aren't about you. "It's rude, for sure, but sometimes we mistake the behavior for more than what it is," says Leslie. "It's possible that they are facing something tough and merely experiencing nervousness or anxiety," he adds. It's also possible that their partner is stuck with a flat tyre (轮胎) or their kid is sick in hospital. The point is that you don't know.

So before you become angry at the cell-addict's open rudeness, focus instead on building a better conversation than whatever's going down on Instagram. You might never be able to achieve this, given the power of today's social media, so if you're close enough to a person, Leslie advises you to directly ask them: "What's on that thing that's so interesting?" Chances are that they will apologise at once and quickly put the phone away. But if the answer is something real, talk about it. Better yet, you can avoid the situation in advance by saying something like, "I'm really interested in catching up properly, so how about we leave our phones in the car?" If they indeed have that flat tyre or sick kid, at least you won't have to assume that it's because your stories are boring.