Here are two interesting questions. Are you very happy with your life now? Are people happier as they get older? A study found that people generally become happier and experience less worry after age 50. In fact, it found that by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were at 18.

    The finding came from a Gallup survey of more than 340,000 adults between the age of 18 and 85 in the United States.

    Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of 22 and 25. Stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties. Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. But the people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.  The survey also found that men and women had similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men did.

    The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.

    So why would happiness increase with age? One theory is that, as people get older, they become more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.

    The original goal of the study was to confirm the popular belief that aging is connected with increased sleep problems. The survey did find an increase during middle age, especially in women. But except for that, people reported that they felt their sleep quality improved as they got older.

If you're a student, developing the following skills will help you achieve success in school and in life.

Time management. High-school students have an average of 35 hours per week of class time and college students have an average of 15 to 18 hours per week. Manage your free time wisely and you'll make full use of each day.

Good study habits. If you've got them, it's great. If not, there's still time to develop them. Good study habits include the following:

●Always be prepared for class, and attend classes regularly.

●Finish homework in a timely manner.

●Review your notes daily rather than study for tests the night before.

●Set aside quiet time each day for study, even if you don't have homework or a test the next day!

Good note-taking. Your can't possibly set down everything the teacher says since we talk at a pace of about 225 words per minute. But you do need to set down the important materials. Note-taking should be in a way that's the most helpful to you. You can try writing notes on different colored cards. If you really have a problem with note-taking, you might ask your teacher if you can record daily lessons. Do whatever it takes.

Review of daily notes. Don't wait until the night before the test to review your notes. Go over your notes each day while the lecture is still fresh in your mind. Add any missing pieces. Compare your notes with a classmate's notes. Review your notes each day to improve your learning and build towards your final goal: mastery of the subject or skill.

According to a survey, in Washington, DC, only 69 percent of public school students graduate from high school on time. Many factors influence that low rate. One of the most important ones is whether the people around the students expect them to succeed.

So, for the past 40 years, a DC organization has stepped in to give around 10,000 students the support and positive environment they need to thrive. This organization, called Higher Achievement, provides students with a welcoming space, help with class work, and caring teachers. More than 95 percent of students who complete Higher Achievement graduate from high school on time.

Katherine Roboff is the group's executive director in the DC area. She gives several reasons for the group's success. One is timing. Higher Achievement does not work with students who are already in high school. It works with students in middle school. They start High Achievement at fifth or sixth grade-in the US, that is usually age 11 or 12.

Robolf says research shows that if students are doing well academically in eighth grade-around age 13-they will have a greater chance of graduating from high school and going to college. In other words, what happens in middle school has a huge effect. The years between ages 10 and 13 may affect a student's future more than anything that happens academically in high school.

Roboff explains that students participate in Higher Achievement after school and during the summer，when public schools take a break of about two months. High Achievement students do homework, have community meetings, and work one-on-one with a mentor (导师).

The purpose of the programme is to help them use those after school and summer hours to become better prepared academically and to develop their leadership skills and confidence so that by the time they get into eighth grade they are ready to get into some of the top high school."

China dropped is decades-long, one-child policy several years ago to allow each family to have two children. This change has put 270 million married women of childbearing age in the position of choosing between family and work. The employers also face big challenges as more female workers will have two maternity leaves (产假) for a total of seven to eight months.

In a survey published by classified advertising website Ganji.com，career women who might be considering having a second child were asked what kinds of pressure they might expect. More than 76 percent of the women who were questioned mentioned concerns about the financial burden of raising two children, while more than 71 percent said it would be difficult to balance career and family. In addition, nearly 56 percent said that having a second child would definitely have a negative effect on their career.

Another survey conducted by Chongging-based human resources website job. cg. qq. com found that over 70 percent of job seekers believe that having a second child would make females less popular in the job market, although two-thirds of the employers said the policy will make no difference in their employment of staff.

Feng Lijuan, a senior expert on human resources at 51 job. com, a leading Chinese job finding platform, said she would not say "there is prejudice against career women." Feng said Chinese women shoulder more family responsibility. "It is not only about maternity leave; a female employee might only fully get back to work after three to five years after having her first child."

Wang Yixin, a senior employment adviser, said the positive side is that more companies are trying to attract more talents by providing support to career women. "Different from before, it is not only employers choosing employees. Many talents, including professional career women, also chose employers." said Wang. "According to our survey, many large companies are very open to their employees'choice of having a second child."

How to Discover Your Talent

    Talent tends to refer to that inborn skill that everyone seems to be born with.       . It's good to try and identify and practice that skill.

    Revisit your childhood. A good way to figure out where your talents lie is to go back to your childhood.       . This is often the time when you had plans that weren't limited by what people tend to think of as 'reality'.

    Consider what it is you do when you lose track of time. One of the chief things you can do is focus on what you love to do so much that you have a tendency to forget everything else for a while.       . You might have to research a bit deeper into the things you enjoy to discover what makes you feel satisfied.

          . Sometimes, when you're having difficulty seeing clearly, it's good to get an outside opinion. Your friends and family members know you well and they should be able to offer you some insights into the areas they think you're talented in.

    Try new things. Especially if you're not sure what your talents might be, you should get out and try new things. This way you're more likely to hit on what it is that you're really good at and that really makes you happy.       . In your quest for your own talent you should look into the talents of other people.

A. Consider what you loved to do as a child

B. Ask others for better advice

C. You can use your talents in the service of kindness

D. Focus on the areas that you're less talented in

E. Not all talents are going to be super obvious

F. Observe and enjoy the talents of other people

G. It's true that having a talent can help you in life

One day, I saw a small poster across the room, which read, "In order to help others, I must help myself first. " I can't1where I got it, but the poster has always been there. I didn't take notice of it before, but this time, I felt something2

Somehow in my mind there often3pictures from a documentary (记录片), which I saw several days ago about the lives of4children in Palestinian refugee camps (难民营). Their living5are so poor. They live in overly crowded6without electricity or fresh water supply. Schools are7a luxury (奢侈) for many children. 8can tell when it will end. They surely need a helping hand.

I sincerely hope that there will be some helping hands which can give hope to these children9they can start to appreciate a good and10world. At that moment, I11that the joining of many helping hands must start with one helping hand and that was mine. But how do I go about doing this? I was silently lost in my own12.

"What are you thinking?" My silence was13by my dad. I asked him, "How can I be a helping hand?" He14a deep breath. Then he said, "To be a helping hand, 15, you have to be successful in whatever you16to be. "

He walked out of the room and soon came back with a17in his hands. He handed it to me and said, "Spend some time reading this and18you will understand what I meant. " After spending the whole day reading the book, I realized that "in order to help others, I must help myself first" has a deeper-rooted19. Helping myself means I have to be20so that I can help others with my helping hands.

If you get injured in a sport, what should you do? The best way (deal) with sports injuries is to keep them from happening in the first place. Knowing the rules of the game and using the right (equip) can help you preventing injuries. If you've got injured，pull  (you) out the game or stop doing your activity. Let a coach or parent know what (happen) in case you need to see a doctor. Serious head and neck injuries happen most often in athletes  play sports like football. Keep the injured person still with his or her head  (hold) straight while someone calls for medical help. If the person  (lie) on the ground, do not try to move him or her.

Your first question after a sports injury will  (probable) be, "When can I play again?" This depends on the injury and  your doctor tells you. Even if you can't return to your sport right away, a doctor might have advice on what you can do to stay healthy. Always talk with your doctor trying any activity following an injury.

1）个人情况；

2）为什么申请当志愿者；

3）你将如何当好这个志愿者。

1）词数100左右；

2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文流畅；

3）开头及结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Mr. Wang,

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours,

Li Hua