How to Know Yourself Better

    Most of us believe that we know ourselves better than anyone in this world. But a lot of people are still strangers to themselves. Why?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}For a person to have a well-lived life, it is important that he know himself good. If you are one of those who are striving to know yourself better, these steps will guide you.

    Take a moment to write down things that you know "very good" about yourself - your interests, likes, dislikes, preferences, hobbies, strengths, weaknesses, hopes, fears, dreams, etc.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}By creating a list of your personal attributes that you are familiar with, you are keeping yourself in touch with yourself.

    Take personality and psychological tests. This is another way to know yourself better. The Internet has a rich source of free online personality and psychological assessments and tests.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Know yourself better by understanding people's perceptions about you.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Sometimes, you think you know yourself enough, but other people who see you from their point of view can offer you some insights how you act and get understood by others. Be careful, however, to balance both perceptions to come up with an objective view of yourself.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}It's a lifetime process. Everyday you will be given new insights about yourself. Writing a journal will help you keep track of these new discoveries. Maintaining that hunger to know yourself better will make you more self-aware, opening up new opportunities to enrich your life.

A. Keep on learning who you are.

B. Remember that you are a worthy person.

C. By answering them, you will understand yourself better.

D. The better you know yourself, the easier it will be to love yourself.

E. Reflect on these qualities and find out how they impact your overall life.

F. Pay attention to what your family, friends, coworkers, etc. observe and say about you.

G. Not everyone is courageous enough to travel the path within to achieve a better self-understanding.

How to Be Good at Sports

    If sports are something that interests you, it stands to reason that you would want to be good at them. Here are some tips that can help you become a good player.

    Set ambitious but realistic goals. If you want to be great at sports, you need to set your aims high.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Instead, you should take a look at what you are, and figure out where you think you would like to be. Give yourself a suitable amount of time to achieve that goal.

    Be patient. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Impatient athletes tend to make poor ones. If you're not patient, you'll try to jump into advanced techniques long before you're ready. You'll feel discouraged when you don't see immediate improvement.

    Join a sports team. Most of the sports teams are free to join. If you go to school, you should go for team tryouts when they're happening. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Accept criticism. When you play sports, you will unavoidably receive criticism, whether from a coach or other players. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Are they angry because you missed a pass, or do they sincerely want to help you improve? In a lot of cases, you can use criticism as motivation to get better.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A skill become mastered when you're able to do it without thinking. Given enough time and practice, a skill will eventually fall under this category. When in a game, you won't have time to think everything through, so practice until it's all automatic.

A. Skills are often slow to build.

B. This does not mean being unrealistic.

C. You need to take most of it with a grain of salt.

D. Practice until your skills become second nature.

E. You also need to be clear about what you are good at.

F. If you're not in school, you can find a sports club online.

G. An important reason people join sports teams is to make friends.

    We are surrounded by messages trying to get our attention. Advertisers, politicians and other groups all try to get us to agree with them.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Propaganda is not always a bad thing, but it often hides the truth about a topic. It's very similar to advertising, whose goal is to get people to buy something, while propaganda is to change what people believe.

    Propaganda Techniques

    To create propaganda, a common technique is name－calling. A politician might call someone a traitor or liar, which makes the other person look bad. Another is the trend technique. People want to be on the side in the favor.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Some propaganda is based on fear. It scares people into choosing a certain side or taking action, which might not be bad. Anti－smoking campaigns are one example. They may scare people into thinking that if they smoke, they will get cancer.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Propaganda is used by many groups, such as businesses, politicians and the government. It is spread through posters, television and radio. The Internet makes it easy to send messages to the whole world.

    Types of Propaganda

    Political propaganda has been around as long as there have been politicians.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. People have used it for many years. War propaganda began during World War I, more than 100 years ago.

    To see if propaganda is saying the truth, people need to do extra work. For example, ads might always sound like they're true. But before you believe them, try to think about who created and paid for them. Find out why they did it.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. Propaganda Targets

B. Propaganda Mediums

C. Another word for this is propaganda

D. So most people will agree with those politicians

E. Then, you can decide if they're being honest or not

F. However, religious propaganda was actually the first official one

G. People might join someone who claims to be popular or winning

    Moving abroad can be a challenging experience. You leave your family, friends and everything you know behind. You enter a new culture where the customs and sometimes the languages are different. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. It's a time to discover new things, make new friends and begin a new adventure.

    So what are the best ways to involve yourself in the new culture while living abroad?

    Live with a native speaker

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. First, you have a friend! Living alone can be a lonely experience, especially if you're far from home. I've also had the opportunity to meet my housemate's friends and socialize (交往) with them. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. In addition, you have someone to tell you about the cultural customs and interesting places in the area.

    Socialize with the local people

    The thought of making friends and mixing with the local people may seem scary at first but it's worth it. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, attending an evening class or participating in a language exchange with people that are interested in learning your native language.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    The food in France is amazing and discovering new food is a fun experience. I've tried things that I've never tried before. My knowledge of different bread and cheese types has grown greatly.

    Some people lie all the time. However, it can be difficult to determine when they are lying to you. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Make false eye contact

    A person who is lying to you won't make eye contact with you or they make too much eye contact. If a person is lying he may feel you are watching him and he will look down at the floor or away from your eyes. Some people try to stare at you in the face in a deliberate way. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Avoid using contractions (缩略语)

    The liars will say "I did NOT notice your money", instead of "I didn't notice your money". This is an attempt by the liars to be absolutely clear what they mean. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Liars often feel uneasy, turn away from the person to whom they are speaking, blink rapidly, smile less and have pitch changes in their tone of voice. They may cross their arms which is a sign of being "closed" or trying not to reveal too much information. They could touch parts of their face, an ear or a nose or play with keys or another item that they have in their hand.

    Provide additional information without being asked for it

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. The result is the more complicated the story is, the less believable it will be. You will have the feeling that nothing could be further from the truth.

A. Usually, it ends up making the story a lot less believable.

B. Luckily there are always some indications that can help you recognize liars.

C. Use unusual body language.

D. Behave abruptly.

E. Liars seem to think that by telling their story in detail, you will find it more believable.

F. Liars try to talk the story with their own words using imagination.

G. In this way, they feel like making eye contact will make what they are saying more believable.

    A good book can be satisfying. If reading is a habit you'd like to get into, there are some ways to develop it.

    Realize that reading is enjoyable if you have a good book. If you have a difficult book and you are forcing yourself through it, it will seem like a task. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Set time. You should have some time during every day when you'll read for at least 5 to 10 minutes. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}For example, make it a habit to read during breakfast and lunch and even dinner if you eat alone.

    Always carry a book. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When I leave the house, I always make sure to have my car keys and one book at hand. The book stays with me in the car, and I take it into the office and to appointments and pretty much everywhere I go.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Find a place in your home where you can sit in a comfortable chair. Don't lie down unless you're going to sleep. There should be television or computer near the chair, and no music or no noisy family members/roommates. If you don't have a place like this, create one.

    Reduce television/the Internet. If you really want to read more, try cutting back on time on TV or the Internet. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Still, every minute you reduce of the Internet/TV, you could use for reading. This could create hours of book reading time.

A. Wherever you go, take a book with you.

B. Go to bookstores.

C. Have some good tea or coffee while you read.

D. Find a quiet place.

E. This may be difficult for some people.

F. If this happens, give up the book and find another one that you'll really love.

G. It means you will read no matter how busy you are