If you want to work more on writing, we suggest(建议)that you read throngh the passage below．That will help you learn how to improve your writing．

　　Choosing a Writing Topic(题目，话题)

　　Your teacher and your group members may help you choose a topic sometimes．We suggest that you try if possible to choose or make up a topic that is interesting to you because it will be easier for you to write about something you are interested in．

　　Getting Started

　　Once you have chosen a topic, you have to get started writing．Getting started is the hardest part of writing for most people．However, there are ways of making this job easier, and we would like to introduce you some of these techniques(技巧)at this time．

　　Brainstorming helps you get ideas for your writing．Here is how to do it．First, take a pen and piece of paper and write down your topic on it．Read your topic over a few times to yourself．Then let your mind go freely．And then write down any ideas that come to your mind．Now let’s suppose your topic is blue jeans．Please do as suggested．

　　blue jeans　　youth/young people　　clothing

　　freedom　　comfortable　　enjoyable

　　Listing is useful for exploring something where you are trying to look at two sides of a subject, the advantages(good points)and disadvantages(bad points)of something, reasons for doing and not doing something．

　　Another useful technique is mapping．You start by writing your topic in the center of your page in a box．And then as you brainstorm for ideas, you write your ideas around the topic．As you write one idea down, you may think of another idea related to(与……有关的)it, so you could write this second idea close to the first one．Mapping can be useful for helping you see relationship between ideas and also showing important events in relation to each other．Here are two examples of mapping．

　　Another way to get started and to explore your ideas on a topic is to do some free－writing at the beginning．You can do free－writing after or in place of brainstorming．You write for 10～15 minutes about your topic．You should write anything that comes into your mind．Keep on writing even if nothing comes into your mind．When you free－write, don’t think about grammar, spelling, or punctuation(标点)．Just write!And don’t stop writing until your time is up．After you finish, read over what you have written．Draw a line under anything that seems interesting to you．You can free－write again beginning with the part you underlined．You can free－write several times．Each time you bring your ideas more and more closely to your topic．

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阅读理解

　　“I hate school, and I’m not going back!”Have you ever had that thought?

　　Lots of kids have had．Usually this feeling doesn’t last long．But what if you feel this way too much?

　　If you are stressed out, you might have a hard time making decision．In the morning, you can’t decide what to eat, what to wear, or what to take for lunch．

　　Sometimes it’s a problem with your classes and schoolwork．Maybe the work is too easy and you get bored．Or maybe the work is too hard, or you don’t feel as clever as the other kids．Reading may be difficult for you, but you are asked to do a lot of it．

　　You may be getting farther and farther behind, and it may seem that you will never catch up with others．

　　When you know why you don’t like school, you can start taking steps to make things better．It’s a good idea to talk to someone about your problems at school．Your mom, dad, friends, teachers, or even classmates will be able to help you．

　　Another good idea is to write down your feeling about school．For instance, keep a diary or just write in a notebook．It’s a great way to let out emotion that may be stuck inside you．And you don’t have to share(分享)what you have written with others．

　　The next time you find yourself disliking school, this will also help you：

　　Make a list of everything you dislike or enjoy－even there is only one thing．See what you can change on“don’t like”list．Could you find a way to show off your special interests and talents on what you like? Which activities could you try that would help you solve these“don’t like”problems? Focus on what you can change and you might be able to put the good feeling back in school!

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