Stress is a normal physical response to things that make people feel worried or break their balance of life in some way.

Stress isn’t always bad. Sometimes, people’s stress is important during emergency situation, such as when a driver has to stop his car to avoid an accident. Sometimes, stress can help people do their best, like while getting ready before a big competition or exam.

However, too much or long-term stress gives people a stress overload. People with stress overloads may have problems remembering or concentrating on things. They are quick to get angry or lose patience. They may even have other problems, such as sleeping problems, headache and often getting colds.

What are some ways to deal with stress?

Ask for help.

Everyone has stress. For many people, stress is so common that it has become a way of life. Don’t be too shy to tell your parents or teachers that you are having a hard time. They may comfort you or give you some useful advice. Sometimes just sharing your problems with someone else can make you feel better.

Solve the little problems.

Develop skills to calmly look at a problem, choose a way to solve it and take action. Solving the little problems successfully helps to build confidence to move on life’s bigger ones.

Learn to relax.

Activities that make people clam and happy can help manage stress. For example, reading a good book, enjoying music, spending time with your parents, getting a good night’s sleep, or just taking a relaxing bath are all good ways to reduce your stress..

Encourage yourself with positive words.

When you are under your stress, saying certain things to yourself may help you feel more confident. For example, you might tell yourself, “I will do the best that I can.” or “I can handle this if I take it one step at a time.”

1. People with stress overloads may___________.

a. have trouble concentrating on things                       b. have good memories

c. have sleeping problems                                               d. easy to get impatient

A. abd         B. acd          C. abc         D. bcd

2.Which of the following is TRUE?

A. Stress is a kind of serious heart disease.          

B. Stress is always bad for people.

C. Stress is always useless for an exam.                   

D. Stress is greatly needed sometimes.

3.Which is NOT the way that people solve their stress?

A. Sharing problems with others to get help.              

B. Relaxing by enjoying music.

C. Try to be confident.                                                     

D. Having disagreement with someone else.

4.What does the underlined word handle in the last paragraph mean in Chinese?

A.處理             B. 觸摸        C. 把柄       D.  搬運(yùn)

5.The purpose of this article is to tell us_____________.

A. how to get good results with the help of stress

B. what a stress overload is and how to get rid of it

C. how to deal with stress and reduce it

D. what problems stress overloads might cause

Now students' English handwriting（書法）gets worse and worse. That makes their teachers feel worried. Is your English handwriting beautiful? If n  【小題1】, here are four steps that really work!
Use paper with lines
Using paper with lines can keep you writing straight i  【小題2】 of up or down when you write English words or sentences. Those lines on the paper can help you to write words in the right size. Be s  【小題3】 to fill the lined space completely. And make sure those capital letters(大寫字母) are written properly.
Slow down
If your writing is hard to read, try slowing down a little. For some kids, going slower makes the handwriting clear. If you write too q  【小題4】, it's hard for you to stop where you should, and even worse, you may make more m  【小題5】.
Hold your pencil right
When you hold your pencil the correct way, writing is much e  【小題6】. Some kids press down really hard when they write. That makes the handwriting not nice. Try to be relaxed and don't hold the pencil so hard. Let your writing appear nice and clean. If you do so, people will guess you are a student w 【小題7】 a good habit.
Draw more pictures
Drawing can improve your handwriting. You need to use the skills to control your pencil better w  【小題8】 you are drawing pictures. Even though you have no chance to draw at school, you can practice by y  【小題9】 at home.
Handwriting is very important. Imagine you are a world-famous movie star or a well-known sports player, what do you do when your f  【小題10】 run up to you? Give them your autographs(親筆簽名), of course!

                               Questionnaire

Read the questions and answer YES or NO, then you will find out how good you are.

1. When you don t understand something, you ask questions.                   

2. You like listening to older people talk about the post.                       

3. You think that you con learn something interesting from everyone around you.  

4. You ore brave enough when you have to talk to people you don't know.          

5. You enjoy reading books about famous people.                            

6. You always see and talk to different people.                                

7. You are interested in learning new ways of doing things.                     

8. You enjoy shying experiences with friends and learning from people of all ages.  

9.You talk o lot about yourself.                                             

10. Even if you ore often wrong, you make your own decisions.                   

11.You hate teaching what you are good at: sports, technology, whatever.            

12.Your parents don't understand you, so you don't talk to them much.              

SCORE NOW!

Score 2 points if you answer YES to each of tile first 8 questions, and 0 if you choose NO.

Score 2 points if you answer NO to each of the last 4 questions, and 0 if you choose YES.

18--24. You are friendly and open-minded. You make people feel important by listening to what they have to say. You'll probably succeed in learning al1 kinds of interesting things. Good for you!

10--16 Remember that every single person you know can teach you something. You will greatly make your life rich and colorful.

0- 8 About 400 years ago, a famous writer wrote, "No man is an island." This is still mm today. Try to be more open and interested in people around you.

1.If you say "YES" to all these questions, you'll get ____ points.

    A. 12              B. 16                  C. 20              D. 24

2. When you score 22 points, you are _____.

    A. shy and nervous          B. silent and serious

    C. open and friendly         D. brave and strong

3.The writer thinks you should _____.

A. always see and talk to the same people

 B. make your Own decision whenever you want

 C. enjoy teaching what you are good at

 D. talk much about yourselves when possible

4."No man is an island." in the text probably means that _____.

 A. the famous writer was very clever

 B. everything is the same as 400 years ago

 C. you will feel lonely if on an island

 D. you can not live alone in the world

5.The questions are used to test whether you are willing to __

     A. learn from others    B. help other people

     C. do all by yourself    D. depend on others

I’ve been working in a school for more than twenty years. Many parents often ask me, “How can you teach your child good study skills? How can he or she get the homework done as quickly as possible?” Here are some tips:  
1. If the child is as young as nine or ten, ask him or her to prepare a small notebook to write down the homework given by his or her teachers. By developing this habit, he or she will learn to be much more responsible (負(fù)責(zé)的).
2. Find a good place to study. This should be a quiet place that is free from everything but study things. No games, radios, or televisions. Once you have decided on a place to study, this should be the only place where your child does his or her homework and studies. There should also be a very specific time for homework to be done. Usually, homework should be done as soon as the child gets home from school. This also goes for the kids who take part in after-school activities. Of course, it is a good idea to allow the child to have a healthy snack before the work begins.
3. Also remember that it is the child’s duty to do his or her homework. Some children give up easily and go to Mom and Dad for help when they have a problem. Try to let them solve it first. By doing this, they will get a sense of success from overcoming problems. In this way we help them to help themselves.
【小題1】Asking the kids to keep a notebook to remember their homework will make them ______.