Have you ever been so worried about something that you have a headache or even can't sleep at night? Then you cannot pay enough attention during a test or in your study. If so, then you know that is stress. You are worried too much about something. The bad feeling in your mind can make you angry, sad, or scared, and can even give you a stomachache or a headache.

    However, some kind of stress is good. You might feel excited when you are called to give a speech at school. You feel nervous but excited. This kind of stress can help you to get things well done. And you may do a better job in your test if the stress pushes you to prepare more beforehand(提前).

    On the other hand, bad stress can last long if you are unable to come over your problems. You may not feel well, if your parents are having a quarrel, if a family member is badly ill, if you're doing poorly at school, or if anything else makes you unhappy. That kind of stress isn't going to help you. And it can actually let you do worse in your daily life.

    The best way to fight the stress is to have a balanced life. Make sure you get enough sleep and eat properly. Have some regular exercise. You should take some time for fun. Get advice from your parents, teachers and friends. Soon after that, you'll probably get away with your stress.

    As you know, homework is a big part of going to school. Luckily, here are several suggestions for you to make homework easy.

    Make a homework plan

    Most middle school students have two or three hours of homework a night. If it is a heavy homework day, you may need to spend even more time. It is a good idea to come up with some kind of homework schedule(进度表), especially if you are going to do sports or other activities after school.

    Watch where you work

    A bedroom, study or any room where you can get away from noise is good for you to do your homework. But don't study on your comfortable bed, or you might fall asleep there.

    Take a break

    Most people's attention (注意力) don't last very long, so take some breaks while doing your homework. Sitting for too long without relaxing will make you less productive(多产的) than if you stop to take a break regularly. Taking a 15-minute break every hour is a good way for most people.

    Get help when you need it

    Sometimes even though you are listening carefully in class, some subjects seem too hard. The first person to ask for help is your teacher. He or she may be able to work with you before or after school and explain things more clearly. Your classmates may also be able to give you a hand. However, this might not give you the results you want. Lots of people understand something well but are not able to explain it.

Monday, May 7, Sunny

    I had a pretty good time in Beijing last weekend with my parents and my brother.

    We went to Beijing by train on Friday night and got there on the morning of Saturday. We went to Tian'anmen Square first. There were many people there. We watched the national flag(国旗)go up. Then we went to the Palace Museum. My parents liked it very much, but I thought it was kind of boring. After lunch, we visited the Great Wall. When we got to the Great Wall, it started to rain. The rain made the mountains look very beautiful. We played on the Great Wall and took some photos. On Sunday morning, we visited a Beijing Hutong. Then after buying some things in Wangfujing Street in the afternoon, we went back home. We really enjoyed ourselves.

⑴题完成句子；(2)～(3)题简略回答问题；(4)题找出并写下全文的主题句；(5)题将文中画线句子译成汉语。

    Mr Jones was ninety, so it was difficult for him to remember things. But he still liked travelling very much, so he and his wife went to Spain for a holiday every year. (One summer when they were there, they went to visit some friends. One of them had two daughters.

    One afternoon Mr Jones was talking with one of the girls in the garden after lunch. "You and your sister were badly ill when my wife and I were here last year, weren't you?" He said to her.

    "Yes, we were," answered the girl. "We were badly ill." The old man said nothing for a moment, because he was thinking. Then at last he said, "Oh, yes, I remember now! One of you died. Which one of you was it, you or your sister?"

    The girl answered, "It was me."

    "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," said the old man.

    Mr Jones was too {#blank#}1{#/blank#} to remember things. He and his wife went to Spain to {#blank#}2{#/blank#} a holiday. When they were in Spain, they {#blank#}3{#/blank#}some of their friends. One afternoon when Mr Jones was {#blank#}4{#/blank#}with one of his friend's daughters, he remembered that the girl and her sister were badly ill last year. But he couldn't remember who died. The girl played a {#blank#}5{#/blank#}on him and told him that she died last year.

    I love to write! Even since I was a little girl, I wrote stories on my notebooks and on little scrips of paper. I told stories to my friends. As a grown-up, I have written over 100 books! That's a lot! As a teacher, it's my goal to encourage all of my students to love to write.

    Writing is easy if you're careful enough, I told them. Everyone I meet is a possible character.

    Everything I see or I do is a possible scene in a book. Start looking around you. You'll be amazed at what you discover.

    Anyone can be a writer. You just put your pencil on your paper and write what you like to read, step by step.

    Create great characters. If you know your characters well, they'll write the story for you.

    Interest the reader right at the beginning. You can start your stories with dialogue or action. If you can make the reader ask questions, then he has to keep reading to find out the answers.

    Following the steps. The steps for every story is almost the same: Introduce the characters and the conflict(冲突); things get worse; all seem lost; the hero saves the day!

    Balance is the key. Remember, when writing, it never hurts to add a little humor.