Graph can be a very useful tool for conveying information especially numbers， percentages, and other data . A graph gives the reader a picture to interpret. That can be a lot more pages and pages and pages explaining the data .

    Graphs can seem frightening, but reading a graph is a lot like reading a story. The graph has a title ,a main idea ,and supporting details.You can use your active reading skills to analyze and understand graphs just like any other text .

    Most graphs have a few basic parts: a caption or introduction paragraph, a title , a legend or key, and labeled axes. An active reader looks at each part of the graph before trying to interpret the data. Captions will usually tell you where the data came from (for example, a scientific study of 400 African elephants from 1980 to 2005). Captions usually summarize the author's main point as well. The title is very important. It tells you the main idea of the graph by stating what kind of information is being shown. A legend, also called a key ,is a guide to the symbols and colors used in the graph. Many graphs, including bar graphs and line graphs, have two axes that form a corner, Usually these axes are the left side and the bottom of the graph .Each axis will always have a label. The label tells you what each axis measures.

Bar Graphs

    A bar graph has two axes and uses bars to show amounts. In Graph 1 ,we see that the x-axis shows grades that students earned, and the y-axis shows bow many students earned each grade .You can see that 6 students earned an A because the bar for A stretches up to 6 on the vertical measurement. There is a lot of information we can get from a simple graph like this(See Graph 1).

Line Graphs

    A line graph looks similar to a bar graph ,but instead of Bars, it plots points and connects them with a line .It has the same parts as a bar graph – two labeled axes –and can be read the same way .To read a line graph, it's important to focus on the points of intersection rather than the line segments between the points, This type of graph is most commonly used to show how something changes over time.

    Here is a graph that charts how far a bird flies during the first Five days of its spring migration (See Graph 2).

    The unit of measurement for the x-axis is days. The unit of measurement for the y-axis is kilometers. Thus we can see that ,on the first day, the pipit flew 20 kilometers. The line segment goes up between Day 1 and Day 2,which means that the bird flew farther on Day 2.If the line segment angled dawn, as between Day 4 and Day 5,it would mean that the bird flew fewer  kilometers than the day before. This line graph is a quick, visual way to tell the reader about the bird's migration.

    Pie Graphs

    A typical pie graph looks like a circular pie. The circle is divided into sections, and each section represents a fraction of the data. The graph is commonly used to show percentages; the whole pie represents l00 percent, so each piece is a fraction of the whole.

    A pie graph might include a legend，or it might use icons or labels within each slice. This pie graph shows on month's expense, (See Graph 3 ).

    Food $ 25

    Movies $ 12

    Clothing $ 36

    Savings $ 20

    Books $ 7

    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 (选择性的）process.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The following methods may work best for you.

    Read the text quickly to find the main facts and 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 ideas you may have about what was said or written.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols and that you use them all the time. Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes later.

A. Use words, not complete sentences.

B. There are three practical note-taking methods.

C. You must write your notes on separate paper.

D. As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand(速记),like symbols..

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.

    After a long day at work, coming home is a breath of fresh air. Home is a comfortable place to sit back and relax. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Below are a number of things we can do to create a healthy home environment that will help to ease the workday stress and promote our physical and mental health.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}It may seem like a tiring thing to clean but there is a reason for doing so. We can remove dust by cleaning the house. Leaving layers of dust everywhere means that there is a build-up of dust. And where do these layers of dust go? Into our lungs.

Making sure the rooms are full of sunlight is also important. We may not realize it but sunlight is an important part of our growth. We all know that sunlight promotes better working conditions. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Think about using a Parans system where sunlight does not reach. This technology gathers the sunlight by using solar panels(板). It can send out sunlight wherever we are.

    It is also a good idea to add more plants in our house. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}They also give off oxygen, which can lower stress and improve our moods.

    Along the lines of being green, it can also be vital to think about what things we are bringing into the house. Try to avoid specific plastics that are harmful to health. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}They may contain poisonous chemicals that can be breathed in, or simply absorbed through the skin.

A. However, is it as healthy as it can be?

B. Is our home as comfortable as it used to be?

C. The same thing applies to certain carpets and paint

D. Going green will help to remove toxins(毒素) in the air.

E. Besides, it can reduce both stress and high blood pressure.

F. Cleaning the house regularly is the first thing we should do.

G. It is acknowledged that a greener lifestyle is linked to better health.

    Why do we dream? It's a question researchers have been studying for years. Now new research suggests that some dreams may result from the brain's effort to keep learning, even as we sleep.

In a study in Boston,100 volunteers were trained for an hour on a maze(迷宫). They tried to find their way through the difficult puzzle as quickly as possible. Then half of the volunteers were allowed to sleep for 90 minutes. The other half stayed awake, reading or relaxing. The ones who slept were asked to describe their dreams when they woke up.

    After the rest, the volunteers were asked again to solve the maze. Those who hadn't slept showed no improvement or did even worse after the break. Sleepers who didn't report any maze­related dreams did better but showed only a little improvement. However, four nap­takers who reported dreaming about the maze showed a surprising improvement. They scored 10 times higher after sleeping and dreaming about the maze.

    Even though the number of dreamers was small, the researchers noted that the gap in learning between the dreamers and non­dreamers was so wide that the finding was significant(有意义的).

The dreamers had all performed poorly on the test before dreaming about it. That suggests that struggling with a task might be the trigger that leads the sleeping brain to focus on it and work on how to deal with it.

    "It's almost as if your brain is going through everything that happened today," Dr Stickgold, a scientist at Harvard Medical School, said. "The things you're obsessed(迷住) with are the ones that your brain forces you to continue to do with."

    The world we live in gets more mechanized every year. Some countries which were mainly agricultural a hundred years ago have now become industrial. New factories and towns have been built on good agricultural land. There are now fewer farms to serve a much greater population, so these farms must be more efficient in order to produce as much food as possible. There is no place in the modern agricultural world for the inefficient farmer. Unfortunately, many of the picturesque aspects of farming are disappearing in the search for efficiency. The more tractors are used, the fewer horses are needed. Everyone agrees that horses are far more pleasant to look at than tractors. But they are less efficient. Cows are usually milked by machinery nowadays, and even pigs are fed automatically. There is not much art or poetry on the modern farm, and the old traditional idea of a farm as a slow, peaceful, romantic place is totally wrong nowadays.

    The modern farmer has to be a mechanic, a scientist, an accountant and a gambler. The more mechanized farming becomes, the more expert the farmer has to be. He must understand what machinery is necessary for his kind of farm, and he must know how to use it efficiently. He must also understand the new technical advances in agriculture, and how to use chemical and synthetic products to improve his crops. The more workers a farmer employs, the more he must know about the problems of wages and taxes. As in any other industry, most modern farmers find it necessary to employ office staff to deal with these. But although he has more modern equipments and far more scientific aids than his grandfather had, the farmer is still dependent upon the weather. As he can never be sure what the weather will do, he must be prepared to take risks, and face the possibility of losing everything.

All students are expected to read and learn the School Rules. These rules aim to make each student aware of the value of self-control, orderliness and the need to develop a sense of responsibility for their own behavior and for the larger community of which they are a part.

Dress Regulations

The School expects its students to wear their full school uniform correctly and with pride. It is our expectation that uniform and shoes will be clean and in good repair. Boys' hair should be combed and of an acceptable length (not over the collar, ears or eyes), with no artificial coloring. Girls' hair should be of a natural color. Shoulder-length hair must be tied back.

Absence, Illness and Punctuality

All students must be at school on time. If late, the student must sign in the late book in the General Office. Parents are asked to inform the school if their child is absent by 8:30 am on the day of absence. A written note from a parent explaining the absence MUST be provided to the General Office the day after return.

Should a student be ill during school hours he is to go straight to the School Medical Center. The sister will then take appropriate action.

Safety

◆ Proper behavior is expected within and around buildings and on the sporting field at all times.

◆ Students are not to enter laboratories, language rooms, the Technics and music rooms until invited to do so by teachers.

◆ The riding of bicycles or skateboards is prohibited along the front drive. Students riding bicycles must wear an approved bicycle helmet.

◆ No knives, explosives or dangerous materials may be brought into the school or boarding houses.

◆ Students are forbidden to interfere with fire safety equipment. An automatic fine will be imposed if this occurs.