Here are some tips on listening. We hope it can help you in one way or another.

Relax yourself.

Before you start to listen to something, you need to relax. 1. This will help you with your listening.

Listen carefully to the first sentence.

2. For example, if at the very beginning, you hear “Many shops in many parts of China have decided to take away all kinds of Japanese goods off their shelves but some people say it's not a good idea. Our reporter says…” You know you will hear a piece of news, not a children's story, or a science report.

Think when you're listening.

When you're listening, try to do some thinking. 3. What happened, when, where and how? What was the result and what does the speaker want to tell us? This way, you may understand the passage better.

4.

It's important for you to remember some important facts. For example, if the passage is a science report, you should try to remember its findings and how the scientists got their results.

Don't think about one or two words for too long

You may hear some words that you don't know, but don't spend too much time on them. 5. But you can remember some words or sentences that you think are important,

and you can use them when you're answering the questions.

A. Listen for important facts.

B. Don't get nervous or excited.

C. The first sentence tells a lot about the whole passage.

D. For example, you can think of the following questions.

E. If you don’t understand what you listened, you’d better listen it again and again.

F. Very often, you'll find out what they mean later when you go on with the listening.

Time is something that we all are taking for granted these days. We spend hours watching TV or playing mobile games, thinking that this is very normal. However, I find it a waste of time. 1. Every second is valuable and we should rethink of the ways of spending our time.

Firstly, spend time in doing things that are really important. Spend time with your family and friends. Enjoy a nice hot meal and eat it slowly. 2. Little things like this may seem meaningless. But the truth is that the little things matter most in life.

Secondly, you have to know what is done cannot be undone. 3. Every day is a new adventure. You have to keep your eyes and ears open to the new opportunity. It may not be an opportunity like an immediate chance you can get, but it may be an opportunity for new experiences.

4. If you have only one chance to do something for someone, why not try your best to do it? It should not matter whether you will be rewarded or not. You will take pride in your work because you’ve done your best. Trust me, your efforts will be rewarded in the end.

Lastly, every moment you spend time in doing things is the time taken from your life.

5. That is not your life’s worth. The value of your time is measured by how you spend it and whom you choose to spend it with.

A. Make a proper time schedule.

B. Do not allow your mind to stay in the past.

C. Because it is hours of our lives that we can never get back.

D. Give yourself time to play and spend enough time in sleeping.

E. Don’t spend your time in working day and night just for money.

F. Then, do your best in every task as if the world will end tomorrow.

More and more children have to stay at home alone today. 1. If you are one of them, you should remember the following rules:

Arrive at your home

When you come home, you should check the doors and windows to see if they are broken. 2. If something seems strange, or someone may be in the house, you should go to your neighbor’s house and call the police.

Answer the door

If someone knocks at the door, you should identify the visitor before you open the door. 3. Or are they strangers who you never know? You can ask “Who is it?” through the closed door.You can also look through the peephole(透视孔) to see if you know the visitor. 4. You should not allow strangers to enter the house or give out any information about your family.You should be polite when you talk with the stranger. 5. If the visitor wants to speak to your parents, you should say that your parents can’t come to the door at the moment, and offer to take a message.

A. Are they your parents, friends or relatives?

B. But remember to stay behind the closed door.

C. If you don’t know the person, don’t open the door.

D. If everything appears normal, you should go inside and lock the door quickly.

E. If you are afraid of staying at home, you can ask your friends to stay with you.

F. It is important for them to know how to keep themselves safe when they are at home by themselves.

In schools across the world, you will find a kind of students who have ability to take part in classroom discussion. 1. They are simply talking with the same freeness and ease(自在)that most of us have when chatting with friends.

But for some other students, they’re quite afraid of speaking in front of people. Why can’t they do it? 2. But as soon as the teacher starts trying to have a discussion, and especially if she starts calling on student who aren’t raising their hands, all their happiness about “loving school” will fly away.

What is the problem? Why are they so nervous? The simplest answer is that they are scared of speaking or being regarded as a stupid one. Or, actually not even stupid. 3. They want to not only give the correct answer, but also say something outstanding and create every time they speak. Usually this kind of students were told that they were smart kids by teachers and family at a very young age. Of course, they felt good, but then they started to be stressed out as they became older. 4. As time goes by, that thought kept them silent during class.

5. First, write down something about what they want to say before raising their hands. It will make them feel safe. Second, make little goals for themselves: Today, I’m going to say one thing in class, no matter what. Then the next week, make two more. At last, things will go well. Until they can go through all the nervousness and discomfort.

A. I don’t understand why they could speak without fearing.

B. Because they expected to be that smart kid all the time.

C. Because they may feel embarrassed if their answers are wrong.

D. To solve this problem, they need to change in very small ways.

E. They are afraid that people won’t think that they are super smart.

F. All through each class, they are fine at first, taking notes, loving life and learning at school.

Why is setting goals important? Because goals can help you do and experience everything you want in life. Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen.

1. It’s like having a map to show you where you want to go. Think of it in this way. There are two drivers.One has a place to go to in mind clearly which can be found on a map. He can drive straight there surely without wasting any time. The other driver has no goal, or a map.

2. But he drives aimlessly(无目的地）around, never getting to anywhere, just using up oil. Which driver do you want to be?

3. They decide what they want in life and then get that by setting goals and making plans. Unsuccessful people just let life happen by accident. Goals aren’t difficult to set, and they aren’t difficult to reach. 4. You are the one who must decide what to achieve and in what direction to aim your life.

Research tells us that when we write a goal down, we are more likely to achieve it. 5.

They are difficult to forget. Also when you write your goals in your own way, you are able to make yourself realize the situations that will bring you nearer to your goals.

A.You’d better set a goal once a time.

B. Written goals can be reviewed more easily.

C. He starts off at the same time from the same place.

D. It’s up to you to find out what your goals really are.

E. By setting goals you are taking control of your life.

F. Winners in life set goals and follow through on them.

As teenagers, we have many dreams. These dreams can be very big, such as winning the Nobel Prize. 1. You may just want to become one of the ten best students in your class.

2. Have you ever tried to make your dreams come true?

Follow Your Heart by an Australian writer Andrew Mathews tells us that making our dreams come true is life’s biggest challenge.

In fact, everyone can make his dream come true. The first thing you must do is to remember what your dream is. 3. Remember it and achieve it step by step and your dream will come true faster because a big dream is, in fact, made up of many small dreams.

You must also never give up your dream. 4. But the biggest difficulty comes from yourself. You may think you’re not very good at some school subjects, or it is impossible for you to become a writer. These kinds of thoughts stop you from achieving your dream, the book says.

5. Studying instead of watching TV will lead to better exam results, while saving five yuan instead of buying an ice-cream means you can buy a new book. As you get closer to your dream, something may change a little. It is good for you to have the chance to learn more skills and find new interests.

A. They can also be small.

B. Don’t let it leave your heart.

C. Face the difficulties bravely.

D. You need to decide what is the most important.

E. Once you find a dream, what do you do with it?

F. There will be difficulties on the way to your dream.

Have you ever done housework? Most of us probably answer,“No, never.” Most of us think cleaning the bathroom or cooking is boring. However, the fact is that someone has to do it. 1. 2. However, if we all do some housework, it will seem less annoying(恼人的). Why should your mother wash your dirty dishes? Part of growing up is being able to take care of yourself. Please do a few things!

Some of us may think that we are so busy that we can’t do housework. But most parents work all day and are then expected to keep a clean house! 3. It seems much better to have three or more people together keep the house clean.

4. It can be very fun if you are creative. Learning how to cook a meal is a great skill. If you learn how to cook your favorite food, you will show others that you have a very special talent(才能).

Don’t be afraid to help around the house. Your parents will greatly like it. The next time you see something that needs to be done at home, do it yourself and show that you can do anything! 5. It helps you to understand the idea of fairness(公平).

A. Don’t do housework at home.

B. Cooking is one part of housework.

C. Let’s take cleaning the room as an example.

D. Anyway, doing housework is not so difficult.

E. Doing housework is really not as good as it sounds.

F. Most of the time our parents end up doing housework.

G. Dividing housework among the whole family will make everyone’s job easier.

Here are some important rules for you to become a good student at school.

◆Go to school on time.

1. If you are late, you will not start your lesson at the same time with your classmates so that you will miss some lessons，which can influence your grades. If you are late，the teacher will be angry with you，too. So remember to go to school on time.

◆Follow the school rules.

2. For example，you are not allowed to chew gum(嚼口香糖)or sleep in class. Don’t fight with your classmates，and you should be friendly to your classmates and your teachers and be ready to help others who are in trouble. 3. It is dangerous to run there.

◆Preview lessons before class.

If you want to know what you will learn next day，you’d better preview lessons. It is good for your study and it can help you get good grades. 4.

◆5.

Try to be in all kinds of activities at school. For example，sports can not only improve the relationship between you and your classmates but also make you healthier.

A. Do not break the school rules.

B. You mustn’t run in the hallway.

C. Don’t eat unhealthy food at school.

D. Take part in all kinds of activities at school.

E. As a student, going to school on time is very important.

F. Besides, you should listen to the teachers as carefully as possible.

Confidence is very important in our daily life. It can help you develop a healthy attitude. A study shows that people who are more confident are much happier. 1. But how to be more confident? Here are some suggestions：

Speak louder. When you are not confident, You speak in such a low voice. 2. A higher voice can help you become more confident.

Play sports. A strong body helps you become confident.

3. Write down a list of things you did during the past days to see how many things you have done well. Did you finish your homework? Did you tell a joke that made everybody happy?Give yourself praise for the good things you’ve done.

4. Fear comes along with failure. But it’s easy to overcome it if you know that failure is a part of your life. Don’t hide your head just because you said something stupid last time. Try to start again and believe you can do better.

Pick up a hobby. If you like singing,sing as much as you can. 5. And it will make you happy and confident.

A. Get rid of fear.

B. Encourage yourself.

C. In some ways, a hobby can make you outstanding.

D. You can get anything as long as you want to pay the price.

E. They can have more chances to make themselves successful.

F. Try to speak loudly enough so that people can hear you clearly.

It is not always a good thing to praise children because “empty” words may make them unhappy. Words such as “Well done!” may make them doubt their own abilities. 1. He said that words such as “You’re so clever!” or “You’re such an artist!” could also stop their future development at school. 2. They may say they can’t live up to these expectations.

Instead, he advised parents and teachers to praise children less and use words like“trying really hard”. Mr. Grosz said, “3.People often pay no attention to children’s feelings and thoughts.” He also mentioned a research showing that children who were heavily praised probably performed worse at school.

Some psychologists from Columbia University asked 128 pupils aged 10 and 11 to work out a number of math problems. 4. But the researchers told the other group, “You did really well—you must have tried really hard.” Both groups of children were then given more difficult questions and those who had been told they were clever did not do as well as the others.

He said that when collecting his daughter from a school near their home in North London, he heard a teacher telling his daughter,“You have drawn the most beautiful tree. Well done.” Later, after she had done another drawing, the same teacher said, “Wow, you are really an artist.” In his book, Mr. Grosz wrote, “How could I explain to the teacher? 5.”

As a parent of two children, I strongly agree with Mr. Grosz. I want them to know if I praise them, they have done something beyond my expectation, beyond what they are able to do.

A.Parents should praise their children from time to time.

B. Empty praise is as bad as thoughtless criticism(批评).

C. In fact, I would prefer it if she did not praise my daughter.

D. Later, some were told, “You did really well—you’re so clever.”

E. A leading psychologist(心理学家) Stephen Grosz has warned it.

F. He also said that such empty praise caused children to be unhappy.