We all wish we had just a bit more time. Just think what you could do with an extra hour or two each day: you could finally stick to an exercise routine, or spring-clean the house, or write your novel, or learn the guitar and so on. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But I can help you find more hours in your day for the things that really matter.

1）. Get Out of Bed Earlier

If you normally get up at 7: 30 a. m. , try getting up at 7: 00 a. m. That half-hour might not sound like much, but it could be time that you use to exercise, to read that book you've been meaning to finish. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

2）. Do the Important Tasks First

    Once you get to work, get the important ones done first (not the easy ones, or even the urgent ones). You can afford to spend at least an hour working on big, important tasks rather than on all those little urgent ones. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}The urgent tasks will still get done, and you won't miss the important ones.

3）. Reduce Interruptions

    If colleagues have a habit of hanging around your desk to chat, or if the phone is constantly ringing, you might find that it takes you half the day to finish a simple task like writing a letter. Constant interruptions don't just eat up time, they also break your concentration.

    When you've got a big task to focus on, let your calls go to voicemail. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Wearing headphones makes it less likely that people will try to strike up a conversation.

4）. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    A few minutes chatting, browsing the web, and so on, can easily turn into hours of wasted time over the course of a day. When you're working, work. If your concentration is slipping, take a proper break: go and get a glass of water, or stretch your legs a bit. And if you're facing a difficult task, try breaking it into small steps or stages so that it's easier to deal with.

A. Or simply to get your day off to a calm and organized start.

B. I can't magically make all your days 25 hours long.

C. Would you want me to make your day longer?

D. Take Breaks When Necessary

E. If you have an office door, close it.

F. If you work like this, you'll usually save time.

G. Stay Focused on Your Work

    Bullies come in all shapes and sizes. Over time, most of us have to deal with a bully or two. Bullying can threaten students' physical and emotional safety at school and can have a negative effect on their ability to learn. Here are some tips for you to avoid being bullied at school.

    Show smallest reaction to their bullying.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} So do not show the bullies that you feel hurt. Just walk away as if you didn't mind it. Reacting to them will only encourage them further.

    Feel your inner strength. Everyone has an inner strength to draw on; the problem with bullying is that many bullies try to make you feel that you have no this strength.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}In fact deep down you are stronger than they are.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Bullies may be less likely to target a big group of friends. They tend to pick on people they consider as defenseless or powerless. If you're always surrounded by people, a bully may avoid bothering you.

    Stay within eyesight of an adult. If you stay within the eyesight of an adult, bullies will typically stay away.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Therefore they avoid bullying others if a teacher or other adult is near. When at school, stay in areas where teachers and other adults are typically present

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Try a different way to school; if they can't find you, they can't bully you. Try your best to avoid them but don't show that you are avoiding them. They will usually read this as fear, and they will bully you more as a result.

A. Hang out in groups.

B. Bullies are in fact paper tigers.

C. Report it to your teachers and parents.

D. Work your way around the bullies.

E. Believe that you are stronger than they are.

F. Bullies do not want to cause trouble for themselves.

G. Bullies gain satisfaction from making others feel hurt or uncomfortable.

    Color is fundamental in home design—something you'll always have in every room. A grasp of how to manage color in your spaces is one of the first steps to creating rooms you'll love to live in. Do you want a room that's full of life? Professional? Or are you just looking for a place to relax after a long day? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, color is the key to making a room feel the way you want it to feel.

    Over the years, there have been a number of different techniques to help designers approach this important point. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, they can get a little complex. But good news is that there're really only three kinds of decisions you need to make about color in your home: the small ones, the medium ones, and the large ones.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. They're the little spots of color like throw pillows, mirrors and baskets that most of us use to add visual interest to our rooms. Less tiring than painting your walls and less expensive than buying a colorful sofa, small color choices bring with them the significant benefit of being easily changeable.

    Medium color choices are generally furniture pieces such as sofas, dinner tables or bookshelves. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They require a bigger commitment than smaller ones, and they have a more powerful effect on the feeling of a space.

    The large color decisions in your rooms concern the walls, ceilings, and floors. Whether you're looking at wallpaper or paint, the time, effort and relative expense put into it are significant. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. If you're experimenting with a color.

B. While all of them are useful.

C. Whatever you're looking for.

D. It's not really a good idea to use too many small color pieces.

E. Small color choices are the ones we're most familiar with.

F. So it pays to be sure, because you want to get it right the first time.

G. Color choices in this range are a step up from the small ones in two major ways.

    When Ava McCarver was in kindergarten, her class visited a nursing home (疗养院). Ava learned that many of the residents (住户) there receive few visitors. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} “I asked my mom if I could visit them,” she says. Soon, Ava and her mom became volunteers at Birchwood Health Care Center.

    That was six years ago. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} She enjoys hanging out with Mary, Shirley and other residents during her twice-monthly visits. “I paint their nails, and I talk to a lot of them,” she says. Sometimes she helps lead craft (手工艺) projects. Other times they play card games. “It's good for the residents to see little kids,” Ava says. “That makes them really happy.”

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} She has raised money for the nursing home by making refrigerator decorations and selling them at a craft fair. She has also collected used puzzles from garage sales and donated them to Birchwood.

    Ava wrote a book called The Squirrel Family. In the book, two squirrels raise a family and eventually move into a place called Birchwood where they live happily. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Ten stores in her city agreed to display the books, along with a can to collect money. Ava's project raised about $750. Birchwood used that money to buy furniture for the residents.

    Ava says she enjoyed the look of “pure joy” on a resident's face after a hug from her. That's why she started visiting Birchwood — to bring happiness to others. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} “It's really fun,” she says. “They have good stories, and I enjoy my time there.”

A. She decided to take action.

B. But she has gained happiness for herself, too.

C. Since then, Ava has made many friends at Birchwood.

D. Ava used her book to raise money for the nursing home.

E. Birchwood needs more volunteers for its craft project.

F. Ava has found some creative ways to help her friends at Birchwood.

G. Ava's book has achieved a great success and earned a large amount of money for her.

    On December 22, 2016 I landed in the land of the “American Dream.” {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here is one of the things I've struggled with during my almost one year in the States.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} My uncle and aunt joked that I brought rain from Saigon to America. Saigon, where I come from, is the old name of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Vietnam is a tropical country where it rains most of the year. Before going to the U.S., actually, I had no idea what to expect about its weather, but the big rain on my arrival gave me the first expectation of what the weather here might be like.

    California is known for having a great climate — more sunshine, cooler in summer and warmer in winter. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} However, having been here for a pretty long while now, I have experienced various forms of climate in California.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Most of the time I was living in Silicon Valley, where the weather is a bit colder than where I study in Orange County. But I was really surprised to find chill-to-the-bone weather in San Francisco — a big shift from Silicon Valley in only about an hour's drive. How strange!

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The worst is that I get n runny nose whenever I wake up in the morning. Because I am allergic to the cold and windy weathers, I keep sneezing badly, and even more badly if I get caught in the cold. I think that my body needs more time to get used to this climate, but as many people said, I am luckier to be in California where I don't have to fight with extreme weathers as in other states.

A. I am sensitive to weather change.

B. Such strange weather has affected my health.

C. So the amount of rain this year is considered unusual.

D. LAX airport in California welcomed me with a big rain.

E. So I quickly get used to the unchangeable climate in California.

F. The weather varies widely depending on where you are in the state.

G. Since then, I have discovered tons of dilemmas about life in America.

    It's very common these days for people to take some sort of regular exercise each week. But if you've never done it before, what's the best way to go about it? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} He or she will create a personalized plan for you based on your aims.

    However, each hourly session can be steep considering you have to pay both the personal trainer and membership of the gym, too. So what's left? Well, if you have the courage to do it, you can make your own plan. It's relatively easy to do if you have the know-how. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    First, keep your fitness goal in mind. Are you looking to slim down or increase your abilities? Whatever it is, make sure the things you choose to do are achieving that goal. Next, do your research. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Watch as many of these as possible, but make sure to be a little critical of them — everyone has a different physique and what works for one may not work for another. Finally, keep your feet on the ground. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It takes at least three months to see any realistic body changes. And don't be overzealous(过度热衷的) — never work in pain — a good workout is difficult and challenging, but never painful. Pain means you are damaging yourself.

    If nothing else, focus on calisthenics (健身操). {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Do as many of one exercise as you can without stopping, and then try and repeat that number twice more — make sure you sweat, and don't forget to rest for a minute in between each activity!

A. Be patient with yourself and set realistic goals.

B. But before you do, here are some basic pointers.

C. Well, many people make use of a personal trainer.

D. They just don't want to design their own workout plan.

E. These days, social media is full of fitness videos and advice.

F. Find a way to make each exercise more difficult as you get in shape.

G. These are the basic body movements which everyone can do anywhere.