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Leaving home

Going away to university is always a tricky time, both for the students who are leaving home and their parents who are staying behind. We got advice on how to cope from a student daughter and her dad.

A daughter's advice to parents, by Kerry Price

My parents drove me to uni at the beginning of the first term. That was great, but then they hung around, so it was hard to chat to the people in the rooms near mine. It's best if you leave us to unpack ourselves.

Don't ask us to come home during term time. There's a lot going on at weekends, there just isn't time.

Get another interest or a pet if you feel lonely without us. Don't make us feel guilty about leaving home!

It is quite interesting to hear about your experiences at uni, but remember that it was a LONG time ago so don’t go on about it so much. Things have changed a lot. Now we have a lot more debt and it'll be harder to find a job in the future.

Please don't check up on us or our friends on social media. We have the right to some privacy.

Don't change anything in our bedrooms. We have only half left home - we'll be back in the holidays, so please don't touch anything.

We'd still like to come on family holidays with you. Don't forget to include us just because we're not there all the time.

A father's advice to students, by Stuart Price

Don't complain so much about how much work you have to do. We work a lot too. You're an adult now, get used to it.

Put up with the fact that we refused to get a dog while you were at home, then suddenly bought one as soon as you moved out. We miss you!

Just because you're at university studying very complex subjects, it doesn't mean that you're more intelligent than everybody else. Don't treat your family as if they were stupid; we're really not.

Let us come and visit you now and again. We promise to try not to embarrass you in front of your friends. We just want to see you for a short time and take you out for a meal.

Don't waste so much time on social media. You need time for all that work you have to do, remember?

We might make a few changes to your room, so deal with it. It's great to have a guest room at last, but we won't change things too much, promise.

Don't forget to call home from time to time and don't get annoyed if we phone you. It's not pestering. If we didn't call, you wouldn’t know that we care.

Disponível em: https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/b2-reading/leaving-home/. Acesso em 10 set. 2025. Adaptado.

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Harry had the best morning he’d had in a long time. Harry was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, [as] they were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn‘t fall back on Dudley and Piers‘ favorite hobby of hitting Harry. Harry and the Dursleys ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn‘t have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought Dudley another knickerbocker glory and Harry was allowed to finish the first. Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known the joy was all too good to last. After lunch Harry and the Durlseys went to the reptile house. The reptile house was cool and dark, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon‘s car and crushed the car into a trash can – but at the moment the largest snake in the place didn‘t look in the mood. In fact, the largest snake in the place was fast asleep.

Disponível em: https://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter/docs/handouts/Pronouns.pdf/. Acesso em 9 set. 2025. Adaptado.

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Seven tips for a tidy desk

1. Only keep things you really need on and near your desk.

Use a tray for any papers you have to read. Have a jar for pens and pencils and have a bin near your desk.

2. Don’t keep any drinks on your desk.

Go to the kitchen when you want to have a drink or, if you prefer, keep a drink on a small table near your desk.

3. Reduce the amount of paper that you use.

Try to keep as much information as possible in folders on your computer. Before printing a document, ask yourself, ‘do I really need to read this on paper?’

4. Scan your notes.

If you have a lot of paper (magazine articles, notes, worksheets, etc.), make digital versions of them.

5. Use your smartphone to take photos of things you need to remember.

For example, take photos of notes to yourself, the name and address of a place you need to visit or diagrams you need to study for school.

6. Get a noticeboard.

If you really do need to keep small bits of paper, use a noticeboard on the wall. Check it every day and throw old notes in the bin.

7. Clean your desk at the end of every day.

Choose a time to tidy your desk and do it! If you do it every day, it will only take five minutes and you can start each new day with a clean and tidy space.

Disponível em: https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/a2-reading/7-tips-tidy-desk/. Acesso em 10 set. 2025.

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Bali and Lombok are neighbouring islands; both are part of the Indonesian archipelago. It is easy to appreciate each island as an attractive tourist destination – majestic scenery; rich culture; white sands and warm, azure waters draw visitors like magnets every year. Snorkelling and diving around the nearby Gili Islands is magnificent, with marine fish, starfish, turtles and coral reef present in abundance. Whereas Bali is predominantly a Hindu country, the inhabitants of Lombok are mostly Muslim with a Hindu minority. Bali is known for its elaborate, traditional dancing which is inspired by its Hindi beliefs. Most of the dancing portrays tales of good versus evil; to watch it is a breathtaking experience. Art is another Balinese passion – batik paintings and carved statues make popular souvenirs. Artists can be seen whittling and painting on the streets, particularly in Ubud. The island is home to some spectacular temples, the most significant being the Mother Temple, Besakih. Lombok, too, has some impressive points of interest – the majestic Gunung Rinjani is an active volcano and the second highest peak in Indonesia. Like Bali, Lombok has several temples worthy of a visit, though they are less prolific. Lombok remains the most understated of the two islands.

Disponível em: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/preparing-for-uni/0/steps/1177/. Acesso em: 11 set. 2025.