Get ahead by taking advantage of summer

Summer provides the best opportunity for future college applicants to separate themselves from the crowd. As the number of students who apply to colleges continues to rise, so too does the need for students to make an effort to distinguish themselves. Here are some great options to get you off to a head start:

A taste of college at home

Some universities and colleges offer a variety of advanced classes during the summer. Students can find a class that is not offered at their high school, which can help them find the pace of the real class more comfortable when they eventually start to take it.

Recently, online classes for credit（学分）are gaining popularity. One resource students can access is the Virtual High School – my.vhslearning.org. It is a nonprofit organization for online education that offers 24 AP courses, as well as dozens of other classes.

A taste of college far away

Experiencing a real college campus during a one-week or multi-week summer program is a great way to get a better understanding of whether the college is a good fit. Many of these programs offer hands-on experiences or guest lectures from experts.

Some are under the mistaken impression that attending a summer program at a good school gives them an advantage in the admissions process. “I don’t know that they are impressive just because a student did an academic program,” Greg Zaiser, head of admissions at Elon University, told The Charlotte Observer. “What impresses us the most is that students have identified something they want to study after the program.”

Community service

Volunteering is a great way to show interest in something you care about. It also lets you give back to your community, explore a career path and grow personally. Find ways to volunteer what matches your interests. Check out opportunities at hospitals or libraries; teach your favorite sport to disadvantaged youths; or work with animals.

The memorandum is __________ on a so-called Section 301 investigation into alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices, __________ (launch) by the Trump administration in August 2017.

Trump has directed U.S. Trade __________ (represent) Robert Lighthizer to publish a list of proposed Chinese goods that could be subject to tariffs in 15 days, while the U.S. Treasury Department will have 60 days to propose restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States, according to the __________ (president) memorandum.

These changes became possible because of __________ (invent) such as the steam engine. This was invented in 1769 by James Watt and was the main energy __________ during the __________ __________. At first the steam engine was used in __________, but it was soon used in factories and __________ the railways.

England is the largest of the four countries, and for c  (1)  it is divided roughly into three zones. The zone nearest France is called the South of England, the middle zone is called the Midlands and the one nearest to Scotland is known as the North. You find most of the p  (2)   settled in the south, but most of the industrial cities in the Midlands and the North of England. Although, n  (3)  , these cities are not as large as those in China, they have world-famous football teams and some of them even have two! It is a pity that the industrial cities built in the nineteenth century do not a  (4)   visitors. For historical a  (5)   you have to go to older but smaller towns built by the Romans. There you will find out more about British history and culture.

The Nobel Prize is a series of awards given to people excelling (胜出) in scientific,  literary and social fields. The Nobel Prizes have been awarded annually since 1901 to those who stand out in their field of expert knowledge or skill，and specifically those who make great progress in the advancement of these fields. The best known prize is the Nobel Peace Prize，but there are also awards for physics，chemistry，medicine and literature. Nobel Prize nominees arenˈt told about their nomination(提名)，only the winners are announced publicly. Winners are announced every October and the ceremony is in December. Each prize is made up of a medal，a personal diploma and a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor(1.4 million US dollars)．

If you want to win one of these awards，you must stand out in your field and earn the

nomination. Therefore，first focus your studies in one of the Nobel Prize fields. The categories are peace，physics，chemistry，physiology，economics and literature. Get a background education in one of these fields.

Then find a world problem and try to solve it. Curing diseases，discovering new things or

even just attempting to fix a problem may attract the attention of a Nobel nominator. Find one issue you think you can solve and work on that. It may take years before your work gets anywhere，but you should stay focused and work toward a solution.

Network(沟通)with others in your field. Since you canˈt nominate yourself for a Nobel Prize，you must make other people know your work. Attend conferences and write articles to newspapers and magazines about your work. The more you make your work known，the better your chances of earning a nomination. If your work gets the attention of a Nobel Prize nominator，he or she may nominate you.

Ignore frustration. It can take years or even decades for your work to gain recognition，so

donˈt give up if you havenˈt won a prize. In some scientific categories the Nobel Prize selection

committee actually delays giving a prize for several years，just in case a theory is discredited(不足信的). Keep at your work and realize that even if you donˈt win a Nobel Prize youˈll still be doing the world some good.

You might believe that happiness comes with having everything you want and that your life requires event-filled days, good nights and wonderful experiences. But thinking this way can really mislead us and result in our looking for happiness in all the wrong places. When we imagine our lives should have these images, our existence can seem boring when in reality our lives are actually quite normal.

If you find that each of your days fades (逐渐消失) into the next, remember: Nothing is wrong with your life! It’s just that in reality —sometimes life is just not that exciting. However, you can do some simple things to shake things up and put some “WOW” into our normal, ordinary days. In other words, to really get the most out of life, we need to learn to make the most out of life.

Doing this is easier and more fun than you might expect. Firstly, you just need to accept a fun challenge. Overcoming (战胜) a challenge helps us feel good. So pick something that you’d like to achieve and set a goal for yourself. Or, take a risk to start something you’ve always wanted to do but have been afraid to try. And when you reach your goal, celebrate it!

Next, notice what a wonderful world you live in. One of the fastest ways to create meaning in your life is to look for things you are thankful for. So call out what you already appreciate at home, at work or with friends. Take a moment during breakfast or dinner to turn to a loved one or friend and tell them one thing you’re thankful for or excited about. You can also tell one person every week how thankful you are to them or for something that they’ve done. When you do this, those around you feel appreciated and noticed.

Lastly, get curious when things don’t go as expected. We all have hopes that our lives will turn out in a particular way. When you’re busy in comparing what you have with what you think you should have, you’re not able to appreciate what you have for what it is. It’s that simple. So let’s get real here. To pay attention to what actually is working in your day-to-day life, get clear on what’s important to you and learn how to find it in your present situation.

As you go forward, develop these three skills to start adding more actual enjoyment to your daily life. However, don’t worry if you have some days when you feel blue. It’s normal. Remember that you can always wake up tomorrow and ask yourself, “What would I like today to be?”