Searching for airfares often seems like a game that passengers are bound to lose.

Prices change from day to day, even minute to minute. Looking through various websites for the best deal can be a big challenge. Even when you do book, there’s no guarantee that you are going to get the best price.

“You just don’t know when to pull the trigger. It’s not like buying anything else I can think of,” said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog. com.

Harriet Levy paid $ 179 for a recent round-trip flight on American Airlines between New York and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sitting just one row behind her, Shirley Harrison paid $ 215. A few rows back, Ellis and Dianne Traub paid $ 317 each. There were at least 12 fares on the flight, ranging from $ 169 to $ 360.

“There’s no reason for it,” Harrison said.

Fares can vary significantly in just a few hours. One Delta flight from New York to Los Angeles jumped from $ 755 to $ 1,143 from a Friday to Saturday in late April, and then fell to $ 718 on Sunday.

The flight was one of a dozen the Associated Press（美国联合通讯社）followed over three months for a vacation between July 16 and 22. The number one finding: avoid booking tickets on weekends. It’s the most expensive time to buy.

There’s no way to guarantee the best fare. But before booking, travelers should pay attention to this additional advice:

● Book on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That’s when airlines most often offer sales.

● Buy in advance, but not too early. The best time is four to six weeks before traveling. In general, prices for any given flight are the highest when tickets are booked eight to ten weeks and two to three weeks in advance.

● Make use of social media. Airlines are giving more benefits like exclusive（专有的）sales to travelers who interact（交流）with them on Twitter and Facebook. Those specials are often gone within hours.

● The so-called discount airlines — JetBlue, Air-Tran, Southwest and Frontier — adjust their fares less frequently than other airlines, so you can feel more confident that the price will stay the same. But their prices aren’t always the lowest. Researching multiple airlines’ fares is the only way to get a good deal.

   Everyone struggles writing. 【小题1】 Writing is hard. All writers struggle at some point. And even if writing has come easily for you, at some point in your work as a student ,eventually you're going to hit a roadblock（路障）. 【小题2】 When the writing was going well, what was happening? When the writing wasn't going well, what was happening?

 【小题3】 Most people's negative writing experiences happened because of some specific requirements like an exact length. They focus on and worry about what the final product has to look like, like how many pages for a research essay, or if it is in the second or third language, or grammar, like whether it gets communicated in the right language.

Another problem can arise when the need to do well on a paper is extremely important, like a timed essay exam, or a college application essay, or a research paper at the end of the term, and it's tied to the entire grade for the class. So worrying about what will happen if they don't do well- get bad grades, or don’t get into college - creates anxiety.  【小题4】

Try to move to more positive projects. Usually when writing comes easily, the writers feel they have something important to say. 【小题5】 What personal understanding of the subject can you bring to your paper? Why is this subject important? For whom is it meaningful? Who will be reading it? What is it that you really want to say to readers? Those thoughts can cause writing's change for all writers.

   How To Be Green?

What does “green” mean? “Green” is more than just a color. 【小题1】    Why green? Plants are green, and without them the Earth wouldn't be such a lovely home for us human beings. What can we do? Here's a four-step guide to being green.

Reduce It!

【小题2】 For instance, a shorter shower means you use less water and less fuel since your house uses fuel to run the water heater that warms up the water.

Reuse It!

Sometimes people call our society a “throwaway society”. It means that we're a little too willing to throw away old stuff(东西) and buy new stuff. 【小题3】 . For instance, if your baby brother becomes older and loses interest in his plastic basketball hoop(篮圈), why not give it to another family who has a little kid?

Recycle It!

Recycling has never been easier. Many communities(社区) will pick it up right in front of your house and some towns even require it. Recycled goods go to a recycling center, where they can be turned into new cans, bottles, and paper.

Enjoy It!

It's true that rubbish and pollution are problems, but the Earth remains a huge and beautiful place that's ready for you to explore. 【小题4】  Go for a hike, visit local nature centers and gardens, and climb up mountains.

But before you travel around the world, take a look at your own backyard. Find a place where you could plant a tree or put in a little fruit or vegetable garden. 【小题5】

   You can choose to think positively and see the good things around you，or you can choose to think negatively and only see the negative things around you. It's all up to you. 【小题1】 Look at what optimists do.

Believe in themselves.

While others doubt their own abilities，optimists believe they are good enough just the way they are and constantly try to get better. They trust their own intuition（直觉）and abilities when carrying out their day-to-day activities. 【小题2】 They don't need everyone's approval.

Believe in others.

Optimists not only believe in themselves，but also in other people in their lives. 【小题3】 They know that when you treat a person as he or she is，that person will remain so. But if you treat a person as he or she ought to be，that person will become what he or she ought to be. Optimists simply see sparks of good in others and work to turn the sparks into a roaring flame.

【小题4】

Optimists believe in seizing what life throws at them. They are not blind to the risks and dangers involved in taking chances，but rather look at the bigger picture，the resources available and then make every opportunity count for a much brighter future full of possibilities.

Forgive.

Optimists know better than to underestimate（低估）the power of forgiveness. Martin Luther King Jr. recognized the past was the past and forgiveness was the path to a better future for everyone. 【小题5】 Optimists know tomorrow is another day and another opportunity to correct what needs correcting and create a brighter reality.

   It’s great fun to explore new places, and it may be like an adventure, even when you know you’re not the first to have been there. But to make sure not to get lost or waste time going round in circles, the following tips may be helpful.

• Do the map reading if you’re being driven somewhere. It’ll be easier if you keep the map following the direction you’re traveling in. Keep looking ahead so that you can give the driver lots of warning before having to make a turn or you’ll have to move to the back seat.

• Get a group of friends together and go exploring. You’ll need a good map, a compass, a raincoat, a cell phone to call for help in case you get lost, and a bit of cash for emergencies. Tell someone where you’re going before you set out and let him know what time you expect to be back. The purpose of the activity is in not getting lost, not in seeing how fast you can go, so always stick together, waiting for slower friends to catch up.

• See if your school or a club organizes orienteering (越野识途比赛), in which you need a map and a compass to find your way. This can be done as a sport, with teams trying to find the way from A to B (and B to C, etc.) in the fastest time, or simply as a spare-time activity. It enables you to be familiar with the use of maps and compasses and gain some practical skills. In some way, it’s not only good fun, but also a great way to keep fit.

No matter which way you choose, it’s not only good fun, but a great way to keep fit.