A typical school day in the UK starts around 8:30 am. This is often even earlier elsewhere in the world, with students siting down to their first lesson at 7:30 am in the US. The average teenager ideally needs eight to nine hours’ sleep each night, but in reality a lot of teenagers struggle to get this much. A lot of the problems happen because our sleep patterns are not fixed, and they change as we grow.

So a later school start time（推迟到校时间）could help to solve this problem, by ensuring to get their eight plus hours of sleep and react properly to their body's natural rhythms（规律）. There has been a general change over the past 25 years to shorten the school day, This is not at the cost of teaching time (which has remained constant) but at the cost of natural breaks, which has led to reduced lunch time and lesson breaks.

Later start times could help teens’ grades and health. This is mainly because it makes the management of children easier. Managing hundreds of children “playing” requires effective staffing（人员配备）. And there is always the fear that behavior worsens during breaks. So the theory goes that having them in class and strictly managed must be better.

But this means that students barely have enough time to absorb what they were doing in maths before suddenly they are forced to study ancient history. And teaching staff also move through from one class to another, with hardly a rest or time to refocus.

Clearly rethinking the school day could benefit everyone included. Anyway, it could also lead to better achievement in teenagers and less of a struggle for parents in the mornings. For teachers, it could also mean a less stressful day all around and what could be better than that?

Want to Learn Chinese? Italian? Russian? There’s No Time Like the Present.

It’s a classic travel fantasy: flying to another country to learn a language through a combination of classes and wandering around. Yet with the housebound conditions, you can still meet native speakers. Here are some to get you started.

This app offers straightforward lessons in over a dozen languages. A beginner level course, for example, introduces vocabulary words and then jumps into exercises. The first few challenges are free, but to go beyond those you must subscribe. Prices range from approximately $13 for one month to $ 84 every 12 months.

For a lesson on turning YouTube, a free video, into your virtual classroom, check out “How to Use YouTube to Learn a New language”. The language instructor Luca Lampariello walks viewers through his own learning process using short foreign language videos, subtitles, repeated viewing and note taking.

When learning to read in another language magazines with photos can be particularly helpful. One way to scan what’s out there is through a digital newsstand like PressReader, which has publications in many languages: Chinese, Danish, French, German and Turkish, to name but a few. Select “Languages” from the navigation (索引) menu and tap on your language of choice. It’s free to scan and read certain articles. But, in general, you’ll need to sign up for a plan.

Newscasters speaking a bit too quickly for you? Consider News in Slow, designed for those practicing Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian and German. Some of the online course material is free,   but for full access you’ll need a subscription. Standard subscription: from approximately $15 to $23 a month, depending on the language.

Sleeping in class prevents you from paying attention to the teacher as well as stops you from learning about the material that is being taught.【小题1】It is important to determine why you are falling asleep in class and try to change the situation so that you are able to stay awake and pass all of your classes. There are a number of different tricks you can use to try to stay awake, as well as habits you can adopt to help your alertness.

Get a full night's sleep on school nights. The National Sleep Foundation has reported that teenagers may need more sleep than adults.【小题2】This is a key part to staying awake in class. If you are not tired, you are unlikely to fall asleep.

Eat a healthy breakfast full of nutritious foods.【小题3】If you get hungry or tired in the middle of the day, try eating a healthy snack like a piece of fruit or some biscuits. If necessary, drink something with sugar or caffeine in it directly before the class.

【小题4】If you are actively engaged in the information the teacher is presenting, you are less likely to doze off. Taking notes, asking questions and otherwise getting involved in classroom activities anddiscussions will make you far less likely to doze off.

Contact your doctor in order to rule out medical conditions that can cause you to fall asleep. 【小题5】Prescription drugs may also cause sleepiness or drowsiness as a side effect, so discuss any medicines you are taking with your doctor.