How much physical (身体的) activity do you do? In the past, your grandparents walked miles to school or to work. They cut wood, carried water or heavy things, washed clothes, worked in the fields and so on. Now we have washing machines, cars and buses. Most of us don’t grow vegetables, and parents usually drive their kids where they want to go. But your body is designed for physical activity, and without enough exercise, it starts to slow down and become unhealthy.

When my family first moved into our neighborhood, most of the neighbors stayed in their houses and seldom came out. We didn’t have a neighborhood park where the kids played together or a corner store where we ran into people. So we learned little about our neighbors. It was not good for our life, especially for my daughter’s growing up. We must do something to change it. First, we must find ways to meet our neighbors more often.

Finding ways to meet our neighbors was difficult, but finally my family discovered how to do it. We started by hanging out in the front yard instead of the backyard. When we met people, we wrote down their names so we’d remember them and get to know them.

Getting to know one’s neighbors is the first step to get along with them. Kids are usually not good at it. To make our kids know more about our neighbors, we can consider doing this family activity to help them: Use a large piece of paper to draw a map of our neighborhood with homes and roads. Fill in the names of neighbors we know, and include names of their family members, pets, cars and hobbies. Talk about the people we see in our neighborhood during our dinnertime.

How to get along with our neighbors is not a one-size-fits-all event, especially for kids. Some kids are extrovert (外向的). They love attending parties and staying with new people. Some kids are introvert (内向的). They may just prefer deep conversations with a few close friends.

To help extrovert children get along with neighbors, consider letting them attend parties or set up game nights. They can host a New Year’s party or start a dog-walking club.

To help introvert children, let them meet one neighbor at a time. Encourage them to give a handmade card to a neighbor, help a neighbor with some yard work or invite a kid to play together. And they may enjoy doing things like that.

A．

B．

C．

D．

Do you like studying at home? Your answer may be “Yes”. Studying at home has its advantage: it has a comfortable environment. However, it can also be difficult. Watching TV, taking a short sleep, spending time on mobile phone, or other activities are big efficiency (效率) killers that take you away from your goal. Fortunately, there are some tricks to help you be more efficient at home.