①Computer games have long been a part of my life. When I was a kid, I wasn’t that heavy a gamer. However, once I felt the need to be more productive (富有成效的) , I started feeling guilty (内疚的) about it anyway.

②I stopped all gaming from entering my life. But after a few days, I restarted. Then I forced (强迫) myself to stop again. This struggle(挣扎) was repeated so many times that I decided to take a different path.

③Gaming is here to stay, but I must balance (平衡) my gaming with my studies.

④Activities like gaming, though they are not productive, are necessary. We need some time when we aren’t thinking about our problems. For other people, this means watching TV or going shopping. For me, it’s playing games.

⑤But let’s face it: For most of us, gaming is not an important activity. These types of activities shouldn’t take up too much of our time, I started to record how much time I was spending playing computer games. I play games only after I’ve prepared myself for quizzes and exams. Also, I decide how long I want to play before I start-30 minutes a day at most. This way, I can relax by gaming, but I won’t spend the whole day playing games.

⑥To make sure that I am sticking to (坚持) my plan, I will set an alarm clock and put it in another room before I start playing. When it rings, I must get up to turn it off. I believe that gaming can be part of a productive day as long as I am able to learn how to balance it with my studies.

Chinese primary and middle school pupils spend longer at school and take more after-school classes compared with students in other countries, according to a report.

In 2015, the average (平均的) school time for primary school students increased to 8.1 hours a day, from 6.7 hours in 2010. This report was from an important education organization in China.

The report said that middle school students spent 11 hours a day at school in 2015, 3.3 hours longer than five years ago. Besides, Chinese students had too much homework to do, which also put pressure on their parents. About 80% of parents said they had to supervise (监督) their children while they were doing their homework.

Chinese students also spent more time on learning outside the classroom. By the end of 2016, about 137 million students had taken part in after-school classes, the report said. Chinese students spent 17 hours a week on learning after classes finished, much longer than the average —7. 8 hours around the world.

Luckily, these days the Ministry of Education has realized these problems and is now trying to make some rules to solve the problems. I hope Chinese students can study easily and happily in the future.

Running away is a serious problem. There are lots of run-away and homeless kids living in the streets around the world.

孩子们为什么想离家出去呢？

★Some kids run away because they’re afraid to tell their parents the bad things that they did at school or in society.

★Some kids run away because there is violence (暴力) in the family.

★Some kids run away because their parents divorce (离婚) or marry again.

★Some kids run away because they have problems at school.

What will you do if your friend wants to run away from home?

If your friend is thinking about running away, tell him or her that it is difficult to survive (幸存) in the streets. Try to help your friend feel less alone.

Whatever the problem is, there are other ways to solve it. Maybe you can’t think of the ways right now, but an adult (成年人) will know how to help you. You should tell an adult that your friend plans to run away as soon as possible. Being a real friend doesn’t mean keeping a secret that may hurt someone. And running away isn’t a solution for either of you. It only makes more problems and danger.