Reading should be part of your life. But the problem is that there’s too much to read these days and too little time to read every word of it. There are hundreds of skills to help you read more in less time. Here are two skills that I think are very good.

Preview (预览)—if it’s long and hard. Previewing is very useful for getting a general (总的) idea of heavy reading like long magazine articles and reports.

Here’s how to preview:

Read the first two paragraphs and the last two paragraphs carefully.

Then read only the first sentence of the other paragraphs.

Skim (略读)—if it’s short and easy. Skimming is a good way to get a general idea of light reading like popular magazines or the sports and stars, movies of your daily paper.

Here’s how to skim:

Get your eyes to move fast. Sweep them across each line.

Pick up only a few key words in each line.

Everybody skims differently. You and I may not pick up the same words when we skim the same news, but usually we won’t get very different ideas of what it’s all about.

Studying makes you tired? How to deal with the worries and relax yourself? Here is some advice which may help you get more happiness in your life.

Weekends are time for a rest. After a week’s hard work, weekends are the best time for you to relax yourself. Having a nice lie-in (睡懒觉) is a good idea. And good sleep also makes sure of your study.

If you feel sad, don’t try to hide (躲藏) your feelings. Crying out may help reduce (减少) your sadness.

You can write down all that you want to say. That’s a great way to think about and remember life. You can do it on paper or on computers.

It’s not a good idea for a kid to lose weight (重量), so you don’t need to eat less food. When you feel unhappy, enjoy a big meal. Eating delicious food will make you feel good.

Having a get-together (聚会) is great fun. Going out with friends for a trip will make you happy. And it will also bring you a good sleep.

When we have our ups and downs, pains and joys, friends are always the first choice that we want to share those feelings with. We will feel much better after sharing those feelings, and we will also get more happiness and less sadness. Here are some ways to make new friends.

Be friendly to others. Smile at others and you are sure to get a smile in return. We should try to make others feel at home. That is exactly the first step of making friends.

Realize your fears. Some of us think meeting new people as a terrible event. We are worried about how to make a good impression, how to keep the conversation going, and so on. Actually, all these fears are just in our mind.

Be yourself. Changing yourself to make new friends is not wise. Just be yourself. We can meet real friends when we are who we are. The truest friendships are built with both accepting each other for who they are.