It wasn’t too long ago that I was in high school trying to balance hours of homework, dance team practice three days a week, taking voice lessons an hour a week, rehearsals for the drama show, holding down a weekend job and at the same time trying to have a social life. Colleges and employers have put an emphasis on the importance of being involved in school activities, most kids these days are trying to do more than they can. If it doesn’t seem possible, trust me, even though I learned the hard way, I somehow managed to make it due to serious Time Management.

When I was a freshman in high school I tried to do it all without making sure that I had time for myself. Well, I learned quickly that it was impossible to do everything and remain the same. I was rushing everywhere; I was skipping lunches to have meetings and do homework; I barely saw my family, much less to talk to them; I accidentally made dates to hang out with separate groups of friends on the same night; and, as if it couldn’t be any worse, I was barely sleeping. Getting sick was out of the question for me because it would mess up my schedule. This seemed to work until I noticed that I was falling asleep in class, arriving late to school, and calling in sick to work more often than not. I realized that I needed to brush up on my Time Management skills and work fast.

So I sat down with my mom and organized all the activities that I wanted to be involved in, next I prioritized; I decided what activities were most important to me. Schoolwork came first, second time with friends, and then my after – school activities. By doing this I even realized that I wasn’t enjoying playing a sport; I much preferred to spend that time hanging out with my friends. All of a sudden I saw what was important to me and time went to doing that rather than wasting it on activities that just sounded good to me.

1．Many high school students are quite active in different activities mainly because        .

       A．they have a lot of free time

       B．they want to have a good record for college

       C．they are required by their schools

       D．their parents wish them to do so

2．How did the writer solve the problem?

       A．She scheduled all her activities with her mother’s help.

       B．she asked her mother to organize everything for her.

       C．She cut out some activities so as to get involved in those she enjoys.

       D．She gave up everything except school work and being with friends.

3．From the passage we can infer that the writer is a (n)       person.

       A．determined but disorganized                  B．very intelligent and capable

       C．organized but weak – minded                D．active and organized

4．What would be the best title for the passage?

       A．Involving in School Activities.               B．Time Management

       C．Time Management   D．Getting Ready for Jobs

Do other countries’ students also have so much homework? What do they usually do in their free time? You may feel curious about them.

On April 8, a report came out on the lives of high school students in China, Japan, South Korea and the US. It surveyed around 6,200 students from the four countries last year. You will find the answers to many of your questions in this report.

Who studies hardest?

Chinese students spend the most time studying. Nearly half of Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework every day. That’s much more than students of the US (26.4%), Japan (8.2%) and South Korea (5.2%).

Who sleeps most often in class?

Japanese students fall asleep in class most often. About 45% of them said they sometimes doze offin class. In South Korea, it’s 32%; in the US, 21%; and 5% in China.

South Korean students don’t like taking notes. About 70% said they write down what the teacher says in class, many fewer than in Japan (93%), China (90%) and the US (89%).

Who is the most distracted (分心的)?

American students are the most active in class, but also the most distracted: 64.2% said they chat with friends in class; 46.9% said they eat snacks in class; and 38.9% said they send e-mails or read unrelated books in class.

What do they do after school?

In their spare time, most Chinese students study or surf the Internet. Most American students hang out with their friends. Most Japanese students do physical exercise. Most Korean students watch TV.

1.The report is about ___________.

2.What country isn’t mentioned in the report?

3.__________ of the Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework.

4. The phrase doze off means ___________.