Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice---flipping(掷) a coin. Heads--the commander, the tails-- the peanuts guy.Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

Obviously, my grade was awful. Disheartened but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No new grades. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I devoted myself to my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the six grade. Justice is sweet!

It is never too late to develop great study habits. However, starting making some changes is hard. Even if you want to do well enough in school and improve your grades, you’re probably having trouble getting started in the first place! 【小题1】.

Plan your time carefully. Make a list of your weekly tasks. Make a schedule of your time. Then decide on good, regular time for studying. 【小题2】, but it will make you more aware of how you spend your time.

Find a good place to study. Choose one place for your study area. It may be a desk or a chair at home or in the school library, but it should be comfortable and quiet. When you begin to work, you should be able to concentrate on the subject.

Skim before you read. 【小题3】. As you preview the material, you get some idea of the passage and how it is organized.

【小题4】. Listening to what the teacher says in class means less work later. Taking notes helps you remember what the teacher says.

Develop a good attitude to tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. 【小题5】. Tests provide grades, but they also let you know that you need to spend more time studying.

There are other skills that might help you with your study. Share with your classmates some of the skills you have found to be helpful.

With good study habits, you’ll be able to reduce your stress and take exams with confidence. While building lasting study habits might seem hard at first, soon your new good habits will be part of your daily life.【小题1】

Stay organized with a study schedule. 【小题2】This can be in a notebook or online. For each day, write down the task you have to do and when you plan to do it, so that you don’t push it to the last minute.

Take detailed notes in class in the weeks leading up to the exam. Even if your teacher posts notes online, the physical act of taking notes will make the concepts stick better. Try not to just copy what the teacher has written on the board, but also write down important things your teacher says.【小题3】

Start studying for exams at least a week in advance. Instead of cramming (死记硬背) at the last minute, you should study for about an hour or two every day for a week.【小题4】Cramming the night before an exam isn’t just stressful and tiring, and it’s also not very effective.

【小题5】If you have a big exam coming up, rather than living in a cave with your nose in the books all day, get together a group of friends from your class to study with them. Group studying helps you to engage and process the information more deeply.