How to concentrate

Concentration is good in exams, bad in orange juice. Concentration happens when you manage
to focus on one thing to the (1) of all others, and concentrating on that one thing (2) you to stop worrying about a lot of other things. Sometimes, of course, your mind concentrates when you don't want it to. Maybe you can't get something out of your head, such as a problem you have to (3) up to, or an embarrassing situation you've been in. That's why collecting things as a hobby is popular; it (4) your mind off other things. Indeed, some people seem to prefer looking after and cataloguing their collections to actually doing anything with them, because this is when the (5) single-minded concentration happens.
The natural span for concentration is 45 minutes. That's why half an hour for a television programme seems too short (6) an hour seems too long. But many people's lives are (7) of concentration. Modern culture is served up in small, (8) digestible chunks that require only a short (9) span - although young people can concentrate on computer games for days at a (10).
Sticking out the tongue can aid concentration. This is because you can't (11) yourself with talking at the same time and other people won't (12) to interrupt your thoughts, because you look like an idiot!
Copyright Guardian News & Media Ltd 2006 I

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