If you cut down on the time you spend sitting，you might live longer. New research shows that sitting less than three hours a day might extend your life by two years.

【小题1】 But modern lifestyles and office jobs rarely give us the chance to move around. Sitting is something we do all the time and everywhere. We sit while we're eating，we sit in the car and we sit while we are watching TV. And many of us sit for many hours at work. So on average，Americans report that they sit between four and a half to five hours a day.

Exercise is important. But so is not sitting.

You may exercise often. But it does not mean you can sit for the rest of your waking hours. 【小题2】 Even if you exercise for 30 minutes a day，what goes on in the other 23-and-a-half hours a day is also very important，according to a study on how sitting all day affects the length of life. It shows that cutting television time to less than two hours a day could add one point four years to life.

【小题3】

Change is already coming to some offices，especially in the design of desks. A "standing desk" lets people stand while they work. Another new design is called the "treadmill（跑步机）desk". A treadmill is an exercise machine that lets you walk in one place. Even some U.S. schools are beginning to experiment with desks that are part bicycles to keep children moving.

Exercising while working.

【小题4】They may have got five "standing desks" for their employees or a "treadmill desk". Some other companies may not buy one for everybody but they'll have a bank of these desks where people can go for an hour a day and answer their emails or talk on the phone. People are really trying to limit the amount of time spent sitting at the desk.

Suggestions for sitting less.

If you work in an office or have a sedentary（久坐不动的）job，scientists suggest a few simple changes. Get up from your desk as often as you can. 【小题5】 Instead of emailing colleagues，walk to their offices and talk directly. If you are sitting down reading this，stand up. Move your legs. Touch your toes，if you can. Do anything but sit.

All these activities may help you live longer.

   We often focus on building relationships with others but we forget the important first step: being friends of ourselves. 【小题1】. How can we have good relationships with others if we don’t even have good relationships with ourselves?

The problem might be worse than we expect. Maybe we don’t like ourselves without realizing it. Here is a simple checklist: Is there anything you don’t like about yourself from these lists?

Your past: Maybe you have made mistakes in the past which you feel bad about. 【小题2】 . Even if that happened in the distant past, your mind still has a reason not to like yourself.

Your background: You might wish that you were born in a different family, or that you had different background. 【小题3】. They seem to get whatever they want effortlessly because of their background.

Your personal characters: You might have some personality traits that you don’t like. For example, you may be an introvert（内向的人）and you don’t like it; you wish you were an extrovert. Others might have better achievements than you, and no matter how hard you tried, it might seem impossible for you to match them. 【小题4】. Is there anything that resonates（产生共鸣）with you? All these give reasons to the idea that you don’t like yourself. That in turn makes it difficult for you to be a good friend to yourself.

【小题5】. Here are some tips:

Forgive yourself.

Accept things you can’t change.

Focus on your strengths.

Write your success stories.

Stop comparing yourself with others.

Always be true to yourself.

   Living with a roommate can be a great experience as many roommates become lifelong friends. However ,roommates living together under the same roof for a long time unavoidably have conflicts（冲突） with each other. 【小题1】To prevent this from happening to you,each conflict should be handled in a productive,healthy way.

Once conflicts occur, you need to set up a time to discuss the conflict. 【小题2】 They may think about any problems they want to discuss. It also allows for a better discussion as both roommates will most likely enter the discussion fairly calm.

Before discussing the actual conflicts, set up some rules to guide the discussion. For example, each roommate is allowed to bring up one problem at a time and the other roommate has a chance to respond to it before another one is brought up. Making rules beforehand can prevent a screaming match from breaking out. 【小题3】

You can use your discussion to point out to your roommates their great advantages and specific things you like about them. While this won't solve the conflict, it can help your roommates be more understanding of your point of view and more willing to compromise（妥协）.

Once dissatisfaction has been said by both parties you should develop a roommate agreement that is written down. This agreement should discuss what the rules are as well as what results exist for breaking them. For example,roommates having a conflict about overnight guests may compromise to allow overnight guests only on weekends or guests on weekdays leaving by 11 p. m. 【小题5】 .

   Living in a house makes it a home. So leaving a place we have lived in and going to another place we haven't can be a little stressful.【小题1】 If you have a friend who is moving house，help make that change a little easier；help him or her make his or her new house“homey”by holding a house-warming party.

【小题2】 Is your friend going to be upset if his or her new house isn’t perfect when the guests ring the doorbell？If so，you will certainly want to plan the party ahead of time.【小题3】 If your friend wants to keep it more casual（非正式的），invite guests by phone，telling them it is an informal party.

If this is a new community for the homeowner， help him or her get used to it.【小题4】 This may break the ice and bring your friend more comfort. It is a great opportunity for your friend to develop relationships with the community members.

Help after the gathering ends. Moving is hard work. Your friend may be tired, and the last thing he or she will want to do is wake up to an after-party mess.【小题5】 Your friend will thank you for it.

   While some high school seniors begin to enjoy writing their college essay, others fail to see the importance of it. In some cases, these 600 words determine acceptance or a rejection. 【小题1】 It is also a process of self-discovery. Here are some helpful tips.

1. Have fun! When you get upset, it is reflected in your work. Relax, breathe and realize that this is the time to expose a side of you that the grades cannot.

2. Don’t settle for basics — be creative! 【小题2】 Stay away from volunteer work, your dead dog and vacations. Admission counselors (入学辅导员) see thousands of essays a month; make sure your essay is distinct from your experience and personality. Do not focus on what you think they want you to write, but what is actually significant to you.

3. 【小题3】 Although it is effective to appeal to the emotions of an admission counselor, I do not recommend writing an essay about sad stories. Self-pity can be annoying, and most admission counselors do not want that to be their first impression of you. 【小题4】 Make sure that the story is focused on your growth, not on the struggle.

4. Your essay is not a longer version of your resume (简历). If you send in a resume, there is absolutely no need to restate what is on it. Many students like bragging (吹嘘) about how much they do. It is amazing that you are involved, but admission counselors do not only want to hear about how much you do, especially if they already see this on your resume. 【小题5】

Good luck on your college essay!