Lesson 1
Tips for a New School Year Start
Guidance
How to beat the stress and organize your study environment? 新的学期已经来临，有的同学满怀信心，有的同学却忧心忡忡。亲爱的同学们，面对新的压力和挑战，你们准备好了吗？或许你会从下面的建议中获取灵感呢！
1 The summer holiday is over. Some students are thirsty for knowing their new teacher and meeting their friends to share their summer adventures, and while others are more worried about the new year. Here are some tips to help you beat the stress and organize your study environment.
Reconnecting with a healthy lifestyle
2 During holidays, children have often been allowed to sleep late and eat a little of what they wanted at any time. The first thing to do is to help yourself make a smooth start and not to wait until the last day to find a healthy lifestyle. You should get used to having regular and reasonable hours of sleep and eating healthy food. This of course needs several days of “rehabilitation.” The ideal thing is to start reconnecting with a healthy lifestyle one week to ten days before school starts.①
Create a pleasant study environment
3 A few days before school starts, do a tidy-up of the desk and the shelves. Sort and throw away the relics of the past year. Donate your old books, pens and school things if they are still usable. Clean up your desk. Make it a comfortable place to do your homework. Your workplace should be a quiet well-lit corner where it feels good.
Talk over with your parents
4 If you feel anxious of the new school year, it is very important to talk to your parents about your fears. They will surely find a way to help you get over your fears and gain confidence. They will certainly show you that they believe in your abilities, and will be willing to help you with your first pieces of homework if need be.
Beat stress
5 If you are overly anxious about performance, work through your negative beliefs,② especially the beliefs about the implications of school failure. Good performance will be achieved only when you beat your fears and discover your own personal worth.
Set goals
6 Enjoy setting goals for yourself, so you can get over your weaknesses and reach your full potential. Your study goals must be realistic and achievable. For example, start with small steps to reach higher targets.③
Motivation
7 Achieving some goals will certainly motivate you to reach more challenging targets. Another motivating factor would be to understand that you work mainly for yourself and your future career. You must understand that studying well is your chance for self-development.④
(410 words)
Word bank
Notes
① The ideal thing is to start reconnecting with a healthy lifestyle one week to ten days before school starts. 理想的状况是：从开学前一周甚至十天前开始再次建立健康的生活方式。
② If you are overly anxious about performance, work through your negative beliefs… 如果你过度焦虑自己的表现，要先解决你的消极想法……
③ For example, start with small steps to reach higher targets.例如，从小处着手，慢慢抵达更高的目标。
④ You must understand that studying well is your chance for self-development. 你得清楚明白：好好学习是为了给自己自我发展提供机会。
Practice
Ⅰ. Reading comprehension
1. “Another motivating factor would be to understand that you work mainly for yourself and your future career.” The underlined word “career” means__________in Chinese.
A. 生涯
B. 经历
C. 进程
D. 顶点
2. What should you do to create a pleasant study environment?
A. Donate your old books, pens and school things.
B. Clean up your desk.
C. Sort and throw away the relics of the past year.
D. All of the above.
3. If you feel anxious of the new school year, __________is very important.
A. setting goals
B. creating a pleasant study environment
C. talking over with your parents
D. reconnecting with a healthy lifestyle
4. When should you do a tidy-up of the desk and the shelves to create a pleasant study environment?
____________________________________________________________
5. According to the passage, when will good performance be achieved?
____________________________________________________________
Ⅱ. Writing practice
New school year has started. What would you like to do to beat the stress and organize your study environment? Please write down your plans, and then share them in groups.
____________________________________________________________