You work hard for your money so why not keep it? Nothing is more disappointing than working hard all week just to have nothing to spend on the weekends or even worse, having to sit at home on vacation. Try these simple tips to help gain back your financial independence.

1．Educate yourself. Write down what you have spent. Look closely at where your money has been going the last few months. Are you spending a lot more money on morning coffee than you want to? Just by adding up what you're spending and where you're spending it each month will help you make better decisions about the purchases you make.

2．Keep your change. Instead of spending your change, make a habit of putting it all in a special jar or “piggy bank” at home. You will be surprised how quickly your change adds up. Want to go on a family vacation next summer but don't think you can afford it? Try having everyone in the family contribute their change to a “vacation jar”. Your family will enjoy pitching in and your children will learn valuable lessons in saving money and enjoying the reward.

3．Be a host! Like to go out with your friends for a good time? Sure, everyone does, but no one likes getting the bill at the end of the night. Going out to eat and have a few drinks can really put the strain on your wallet. Try going to the grocery store and purchasing food and drinks that can be made at home and inviting everyone over. Yes it can be expensive to play the host every time, but if you take turns going to friends, houses you can keep the cost down and still have a good time while enjoying the same food and drinks.

4．Plan your groceries. Grocery shopping can be dangerous in many ways. One way is to go shopping when you are hungry. Think about it, when you are hungry and want something to eat, you are more likely to put everything in your cart that you just don't need. Impulse(冲动)shopping brings us to the next point. Make a list(and check it twice)．Plan out your meals for the coming week and list all the ingredients you need at the store.

Saving money can be easy and even funny when you see how much you are able to save. Start by educating yourself and your family as to where the money goes every month and then set goals. Make games out of saving your change and look forward to the reward.

The smartphone has become the centerpiece of many students' digital lives.

Yes, it can be a distraction(困扰，分心), but it is also an incredible tool that can transform classroom learning and late-night studying.

Professors and students are starting to explore what the smartphone can contribute to learning-and there is a whole host of apps（设备） to help that process along. There are also plenty of apps to help students with the less academic parts of college life.

   To download any of these apps, search the iTunes App Store or Android Market. iOS apps are built for Apple's mobile platform and can run on the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.

Skype

   Cost: Free

   Platform: Android, BlackBerry, iOS

   More and more smartphones now ship with front-facing cameras that make them great video chat tools.

   There are several competitors here ---- including Apple's FaceTime ----but Skype is still the best cross-platform tool for keeping in touch with faraway friends and family. Users on either end can be on a computer, smartphone.

   Grades 2

   Cost: Free

   Platform: iOS

   This app is a sophisticated tool for calculating grades. Students can use it to figure out what grade they'll need on a test to achieve their target grade and also keeps track of overall GPA, weighted by each class's credit count.

Students can also enter due dates for assignments as reminders.

   The app is free and supported by ads, but users can pay $1 inside the app to turn them off.

    Snoozerr Recordings

    Cost: 99 cents

    Platform: iOS

    This is a great tool for logging long lecture classes or smaller study sessions(授课时间）． It records audio and pairs that with time-stamped pictures that the student takes of presentations--- say, equations（方程）on a blackboard----or of his or her own notes.

    When the student wants to review, he or she can use the pictures as a visual guide to what the instructor was saying and replay that section.

    TED

    Cost: Free

    Platform: iOS

    This app is great for the student in everyone. It compiles（编辑）video from hundreds of presentations at technology, entertainment and design----a conference that features short speeches focused on new ways of thinking.

    Presenters often speak about technology, social good or education and challenge societal norms.

    It's a great way to spend an hour or so hearing from some of the world's leading minds for free. All of the videos are also available at www.ted.com.

AroundMe

    Cost: Free

    Platform: Android and iOS

    This app uses a smartphone's GPS to find nearby locations by category such as banks, gas stations, bars, coffee shops, restaurants and supermarkets---- all the college staples(主要产品).

1.In which section of a newspaper could you find this article?

A. Science & Tech.     B. Entertainment.      C. Life.      D. Tourism.

2.What might be the best title for the text?

A. How to Improve College Students' Studies

B. How to Download Computer Games

C. How to Choose the Latest Smartphone

D. Five Tech Tools for College Students

3.Many college students use Grades 2 mainly for _____.

A. chatting                     B. calculating    

C. hearing speeches              D. recording lectures

4.If you want to use your smartphone to find a nearby supermarket, you should download _____.          .

A. TED          B. AroundMe       C. Skype       D. Grades 2

5.ios means _____.

A. TED          B. VCS            C. OS          D. ECX

ARLANDA, Sweden （Reuters Life!）—Many people hate the idea of having to sleep on a plane. But Swedish entrepreneur Oscar Dios thinks they can be persuaded otherwise and he has created a new kind of hostel to prove it.

Dios says it is the world’s first jumbo （unusually large） jet hostel, an actual jet-plane at Sweden’s main airport outside Stockholm which has been changed into a 25- room guesthouse that sleeps as many as 72 people.

“I learned about this plane that was standing deserted at Arlanda airport and I’ve been trying the concept of hostels in many different houses and buildings,” he told Reuters. “I thought, ‘Why not a plane?’”

Jumbo Hostels opened for business on Thursday, giving customers the chance to check in and sleep in a room that can best be described as comfortable.”

“The most challenging part with this project is trying to build something inside a metal hull（壳） – it’s just really, really tight.”

The jet, which was originally produced for Singapore Airlines, was taken out of service in 2002. It is held on a concrete foundation with the landing gear secured in steel cradles.

One feature of the hostel is its price – a room starts at 350 Swedish crowns （about $ 41）, which is a lot less than hotel rooms outside of major airports.

Another feature is that customers can get married on the wing of the plane and stay in the plane’s more luxurious honeymoon suite （套房）.

Instead of walking down the aisle in the church, lovebirds can take what Jumbo Hostels calls the “wing walk,” where they can be joined in great happiness at the wing tip. The hostel has someone ready to perform the ceremony.

But in some respects this hostel remains a plane – most customers have to share the jet’s nine bathrooms and the staff only wear air host and hostess outfits. The only room that has its own bathroom is the honeymoon suite.

1. Which of the following is not true?

A. The jet plane was out of use for over eight years

B. The hostel provides ten bathrooms for customers

C. The rooms in the hotel are comfortable

D. The hostel lies at Arlanda airport in Stockholm

2. One of the features of the plane hostel is that         .

A. air hostesses can offer good service

B. a wedding ceremony can be held on the wing    

C. customers can sleep in comfortable rooms      

D. the staff can have a “wing walk”

3. Why does Oscar Dios make jet plane hotel?

A. Because he is fond of plane very much.

B. Because he is very curious

C. Because he wants to earn more money.

D. Because he likes trying the concept of hotel in many different things.

4. The writer mainly wants to          .

A. call on people to make use of the deserted things

B. describe a wonderful place for weddings

C. introduce a new kind of hostel    

D. prove people can sleep on a plane  

The Homeless World Cup is an international football event, where teams made up entirely of people who are homeless compete. The event has been held annually since 2003.

It was at the end of 2001 that Mel Young, a famous expert in the media inDustry, came up with the idea of the Homeless World Cup. 18 months later the first event took place in Austria. It was such a success that people decided to do more.

There are some interesting and special rules of the event. For example, players(male or female at least 16 years old) must have been homeless at some time after the previous year’s World Cup or make their main living income by selling newspapers in the street or be asylum（政治避难） seekers . Anyone can take part, regardless of his or her abilities. There are at most 4 players per team to compete in the field. Games are 14 minutes long.

In 2007, 48 nations, 500 players took a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent their countries for true spirit and glory in Copenhagen, Denmark. The winner in 2007 was Scotland. The 2008 Homeless World Cup took place in Melbourne, Australia. And in 2009 it was held in Milan. The latest Homeless World Cup was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in September 2010. Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup takes place August followed by the México City 2012 Homeless World Cup.

The success of the competition has been in two aspects—to attract the world’s attention to the problems of homelessness and also to help participants live a better life.

According to a survey by the Homeless World Cup Organization after 2006 Homeless World Cup, 92% of the players had a new motivation for life, 93 players successfully got rid of their dependency on drugs and alcohol, 44% improved their housing situation and 72% continued to play football.

1.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

2.The aim of the Homeless World Cup is to _____.

3.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

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

The speed and convenience of modern travel means that destinations that used to take a long time to travel to can now be reached quickly and easily. Even though” faraway” countries may now seem closer thanks to air travel, they may still be different from your home country. 1.  Following are some fundamental rules that will make communication easier, and your trip more enjoyable.

2.   If you don not know the word for something in local language, or can not make yourself understood verbally, try drawing a picture, or pointing to an object.

Avoid topics of conversation that you think may be sensitive. 3.  .Feel free to show interest in the history and customs of the place you are visiting, but don’t ask too many questions about why things are done a certain way; you may offend the local people.

    4.  Kissing on the street or in public places is unacceptable behavior and should be avoided. If you are unsure of how to behave, watch the local people and copy them---if they don’t behave in a certain way, you probably shouldn’t either.

Finally, if you are traveling on business, or plan to stay with a host to family, and you wish to take a gift, do some research.   5.    . One of the easiest ways to offend somebody is to give the wrong gift.

Wherever you go in the world, always be tolerant of the local customs. Avoid being critical; try instead to show respect for the values of the country you are in, even if you do not necessarily agree with them

A．Keep in mind that in many cultures, display affection in public is considered taboo.

B．Consider the main lifestyle of the country you plan to visit.

C．Never raise your voice in order to make yourself understood.

D．If a topic is sensitive in your own culture, it will more than likely be the same in other cultures.

E．The idea of the perfect gift varies greatly from country to country.

F．The opening of gifts is also treated very differently around the world.

G．Therefore, it is important to adapt your behavior not to offend the local people.