In many countries of the world, people do what is called housesitting．It means that if owners of the house are going away, they wantsomeone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets whilethey are away．

        In Australia, many people travel．After peopleretire, they might buy a van and travel all over the country．{#blank#}1{#/blank#}．

        So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, theymight want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy．House sittersmight have to care for pets．Also, quite afew people have swimming pools in their back yard and they need cleaning．{#blank#}2{#/blank#}． I feel it isa great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, getto meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area．

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}．There arewebsites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and byreplying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look aftertheir home．

        There are some requirements to be a house sitter．You must be atrusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything．You must beable to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time．{#blank#}4{#/blank#}．You need to begood with pets, able to care for cats and dogs, or other pets they may have．

        Some house sitting jobs are just for a few days or a couple ofweeks while the house owners have a short holiday．Sometimes itis for much longer．We have hadone house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe．

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Then you can travel to many differentcountries and stay there．One of theimportant things to get is references from the home owners where you havestayed． A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthyand have looked after their home well．You can showthese letters to possible house sitting jobs and they know you will do a goodjob．

A．I have donehouse sitting many times．

B．Thousands ofpeople do this all the time．

C．It is alsopossible to do house sitting in other countries．

D．Generally youhave many opportunities to get a house sitting job．

E．You must takea little care over what your description says about you．

F．This is aninternational house sitting service for all city and country areas．

G．Youmust have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country．

    Maybe you are an ordinary student. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} This is not necessarily so. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here's how:

    Plan your time carefully. When planning your work, you should make a list of things that you have to do. After making this list, you should make a schedule of your time. First arrange your time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc, then decide a good, regular time for studying. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you realize what is happening to your time.

    Make good use of your time in class. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Listening carefully in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says.

    Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes, review the important points that your teacher is going to discuss the next day, read that material. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful, and you will remember it longer.

    Develop a good attitude towards tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. The world won't end if you don't pass a test, so don't be over worried.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.

A. This will help you understand the next class.

B. You probably think you will never be a top student.

C. Don't forget to set aside enough time for entertainment.

D. No one can become a top student unless he or she works hard.

E. There are other methods that might help you with your study.

F. Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teacher says.

G. Make full use of spare time to take note of what the teacher says in class.

Forgiveness

    To forgive is a virtue, but no one has ever said it is easy. When someone has deeply hurt you, it can be extremely difficult to let go of your hate. However, forgiveness is possible, and it can be surprisingly beneficial to your physical and mental health. People who forgive show less sadness, anger and stress and more hopefulness, according to a recent research.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Try the following steps:

    Calm yourself. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can take a couple of breaths and think of something that gives you pleasure: a beautiful scene in nature, or someone you love.

    Don't wait for an apology. Many times the person who hurt you does not intend to apologize. They may have wanted to hurt you or they just don't see things the same way. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Keep in mind that forgiveness does not necessarily mean becoming friends again with the person who upset you.

    Take the control away from your offender(冒犯者). Rethinking about your hurt gives power to the person who causes you pain. Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you understand your offender, you may realize that he or she was acting out of unawareness, fear, and even love. You may want to write a letter to yourself from your offender's point of view.

    Don't forget to forgive yourself. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But it can rob you of your self-confidence if you don't do it.

A. Why should you forgive?

B. How should you start to forgive?

C. Recognize the benefits of forgiveness.

D. Try to see things from your offender's angle.

E. For some people, forgiving themselves is the biggest challenge.

F. To make your anger die away, try a simple stress-management technique.

G. If you wait for people to apologize, you could be waiting an awfully long time.

    I didn't just read a book in print, on an e-reader or even on a mobile phone. Instead, I read a book on dozens of devices. I was not trying to set a Guinness World Record. I wanted to answer a question I often hear: {#blank#}1{#/blank#}? So I set out to try them all, reading a chapter on each: the Amazon Kindle, the first and second generation Apple iPads and mobile phones. To be fair, I also read a chapter in that old-fashioned; form—a print book.

    The book I chose was The Alienist. For the first chapter, I turned to an Amazon Kindle. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. The kinder is light. Its six-inch screen is the perfect size for reading, and reading on its black-and-white-E-Ink display doesn't harm your eyes. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, and on average you charge the device only once a month. My only complaint with the Kindle design was the placement of the keyboard at the bottom of the device.

    Despite the small screen on a mobile phone, I found reading on one to be simple and satisfactory. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, but all of the phones on which I read chapters felt somewhat similar.

    If I had wanted to, I could have bought my book through dozens of e-book apps in the Apple App Store. Most are free and offer access to thousands of free e-books or paid versions. Both iPads 1&2 offer an immersive(身临其境的)reading experience. I found myself jumping back and forth between my book and the web, looking up old facts and pictures of New York City. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    For the last chapters of the book, I read the print one, which is still my favourite choice.

    Since we are comparing devices. So I guess I need to choose one. In the end it might come down to Kindle. But if money is tight, go for print. My used print book cost only $4 from Amazon.

A. Battery life is outstanding

B. Which e-reader is the best for reading books

C. Shopping on Amazon for the Kindle is simple

D. Should students make use of the devices to read

E. No wonder a lot of readers also speak highly of it

F. Reading on the Amazon Kindle is a joy in many aspects

G. The brightness and size of the mobile phone's screen did vary

How to Beat the Procrastination Habit

    I am a procrastinator (拖延症患者). I always have been. I've tried all sorts of things to beat the habit. Here are some techniques I've been using:

    Set aside blocks of time to do things.

    When I was talking with my wellness (健身) coach earlier this year, she asked me why I didn't exercise more often. " {#blank#}1{#/blank#}," I said. "Something always comes up." She wasn't impressed. "J.D.," she said, "You have to make time. Make an appointment with yourself to run or to go for a bike ride." The same principle applies to other things you might procrastinate.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Often I'll be sitting on the back porch reading a book, and it will occur to me that some chore needs to be done － mending the fence, for example. "{#blank#}3{#/blank#}," I tell myself. Wrong! What usually happens is that I forget to write it down, and even if I do, I just look at the list and procrastinate for weeks on end. The best move is to actually do the chore when I think of it. (Assuming, of course, that I have the time at that moment, which I usually do.)

    Use a timer to bring you back to reality.

    Part of the reason I procrastinate is that I'm a daydreamer. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. One way to keep on track is to use a timer. I use the Ultrak Jumbo Countdown Timer, but not as often as I should. I set it for 48 minutes. When it goes off, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}：Am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing?

    Do not multitask.

    I often start many things at once, but I never actually do any of them. In order for me to get something done, I need to focus my attention on it. Trying to do several things at once is a sure way to be sure they'll all be unfinished tomorrow.

A. I'm always lost in thought

B. it brings me back to reality

C. If it comes to mind, then do it

D. I don't have the time

E. it serves as an instant reality check

F. Do it right away if you are asked to do something

G. I need to write that down so I can remember it

    Our world is more connected than ever before thanks to technology. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Indeed, it is becoming increasingly important that we all learn how to deal with this painful feeling.

    You should be determined to actively end your loneliness. We often end up passively waiting for someone else to make us feel less lonely. You may feel that your loneliness indicates that nobody is willing to connect with you. And there is nothing you can do about it. But that is far from the truth. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    You should find reasons why you are lonely. We all feel lonely for different reasons. Some of us have no one to interact with on a consistent basis and that's why we feel lonely. You may feel that the people in your life don't share your thoughts and ideas. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} you need to identify it. And you know exactly how to handle your loneliness.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} People who are lonely tend to fall into destructive mental habits. They try to avoid the pain of not being understood and being disconnected by not giving people an opportunity to understand and connect with them. So the solution is to share your thoughts and feelings with others and to do so openly and fearlessly.

    You should find people who share your interests. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} everybody is interested in something. And just as there are many interests, there are many people who share those interests. Find what interests you and connect with others on that basis.

A. Whatever the reason is,

B. When you feel really lonely,

C. If you want to make friends with them,

D. Whether it's coin collecting or video games,

E. You should be open about your thoughts, ideas and desires.

F. Ending loneliness is something that you can and should pursue actively.

G. However, more and more of us find ourselves having to stand loneliness.