What are some tips on becoming a writer?

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    Most writers read whatever books they can find because they love to lose themselves in them. They like the sounds of language and the way that reading a good description can feel as satisfying as winning a baseball game or eating a banana split.

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    It's easy to forget a good idea if you do not write it down immediately. If you get in the habit of carrying a notebook with you everywhere you go, you can write down anything you want to remember. When you are talking to friends in the cafe or waiting for the bus, something might spark an idea for a character or a scene in a story.

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    Nearly all writers agree that writers must write. It doesn't matter if you feel like you have nothing to say; the important thing is that you write every single day. Sometimes, you need to give yourself permission to write things which won't be your best work.

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    Do you have any friends who enjoy writing? Think about starting a writing group with other people who have similar interests. It helps to have the support of other writers. You will also receive valuable feedback, or suggestions, about how to make your work better.

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    If you decide that you would like to send your work for publication, make sure to do your research. If you are sending your writing to a magazine, look through old ones. Does it seem like your writing fits in with the other stories or articles? That is the homework for you after writing.

A. Join or start a writing group.

B. Read everything you can.

C. Write every day.

D. Keep a notebook.

E. Stay active.

F. Do your homework.

阅读理解

When you're not at home, many worries may start to crowd your mind. Did I turn the coffee maker off?

Did I lock the door? With a smart home, you can keep all of these worries off.

A smart home is a home with a communication network. This network connects devices (装置), such as lights and TV sets, and allows them to be controlled from far away through electrical wiring, mobile phone communication or WiFi over the Internet.

More and more people may start to consider owning a smart home, because it makes life much more convenient. It can help keep your room at a certain temperature. It can record what happens inside the home and send the video to your phone. When you are on vacation abroad, you can use a smart home controller to switch on or off the electricity when necessary. Some smart homes can receive a visitor, allowing him to come in and offering him a drink. They can even feed the cat and water the plants.

Besides, smart homes are easy to fix. Most smart home technology and devices are wireless and can be set up with a minimum of tools, using only the guiding information. When a problem appears, you can deal with it yourself without paying a professional.

However, for home-users, the smart home technology is far from perfect. It can be rather expensive to own the technology and the devices. Also, because the smart home system (系统) allows its owner to get home information from anywhere, it leaves the home easy to be attacked by hackers (黑客)，who may secretly use or change the information in the system.

Now, many scientists are excited at the future of smart home technology. Imagine being able to get fashion advice from your mirror, or receive food shopping suggestions from your refrigerator, while there are others who worry that those smart devices will make people lazier and lonelier. Whatever it is, one thing is for sure — smart home technology will change the way we live and work.