Many textbooks are not written in the kind of English that we speak every day. In fact, sometimes the reading is so difficult that it almost seems like a foreign language. In a way, it is the language of science. You should not expect to be able to read a difficult science passage the same way you read an interesting story; you should not expect to read it easily and all at once. Instead, you may have to read it several times, catching on the meaning of difficult words, going back over difficult sentences, and finally putting the whole thing together. Do not be discouraged if the whole passage doesn’t make sense to you at first. You need to pick it apart patiently until you can understand it.

These are the steps to follow when you are reading something difficult:

★ 1. Start to read normally until you run into a sentence that doesn`t make sense to you.

★ 2. When a sentence doesn`t make sense, go back and read it again more slowly.

★ 3. Look for any word you don`t know in the sentence. Try to understand their meanings using word parts and context clues（上下文线索）. If necessary, look them up in the dictionary.

★ 4. Look at the next few sentences to see if they explain more about the sentence you are working on. Do not read much farther ahead until you understand what is being said.

★ 5. Finally, read the sentence again. Try to put it into simpler words.

★ 6. Read through the passage once. Try to understand all the hard parts well. Then read the whole passage once more at a usual speed. This helps you to put all ideas together.

The steps sound a lot harder than they are. It is really just the normal way good readers understand anything that is difficult to read. After you have done the best you can this way, you should always feel free to ask your teacher for help.

What do you do when you feel unhappy? Do you listen to music? Do you talk to a friend?

Maybe next time you feel sad, you should try going outside if it is sunny. Doctors know that how much sunlight we get can change how we feel. Scientists learned this by interviewing people who live in different parts of the world. In the far north, in Alaska of Finland, for example, the days are very short in winter. People living in these places say that they often feel unhappy in winter. In the south, where there are more daylight hours, fewer people say they are unhappy in winter. The reason is the amount of sunlight these people get each day. Sunlight changes the chemicals in our bodies, and these chemicals can change the way we feel. A couple of hours of strong sunlight or light from a special lamp can help your body make the chemicals that make us feel happy.

Another way to feel happier is to get some exercise. Just like sunlight, regular exercise helps our bodies make certain chemicals, which make us feel happier. In addition, exercise helps people sleep better and lack of sleep often makes people feel unhappy. Exercise also helps you get rid of stress. When you are angry or upset about something, exercise is a good way to get those bad feelings out of you.