Arguments happen in every healthy relationship—we know it sounds contradictory, but it's true—but they can still have a negative impact if they aren't handled properly. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Take a breath. We know that it can be hard to think clearly when you are angry, so we would first like to encourage you to try to take a second to collect your thoughts before engaging in a dialogue with your partner. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If you are not careful you could potentially say what might damage your relationship.

    Take the situation as it is. Even though you are angry and it can be hard to be objective, try to see the situation for what it is. Do not escalate (不断恶化) the argument. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Try to understand the purpose behind the action—if something happened accidentally, you should not treat as if it were done intentionally.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you have done something wrong, the best possible option for you is to admit it. Denying something only makes it more hurtful and often your partner will be able to forgive you much more quickly if you are honest.

    Set ground rules. After a fight you and your partner can have a heart-to-heart talk of what happened. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} At this point you can set some ground rules for future fights, like not cursing each other or calling each other's names, which might help reduce the intensity of your fights.

    Fighting with someone is never easy. And it's especially difficult when you are arguing with someone that you care about. Thinking carefully and controlling yourself during an argument can help you avoid saying something that could permanently hurt your relationship.

A. Take positive action.

B. Avoid making excuses.

C. Anger can be poisonous.

D. Here is how to maintain good relationship.

E. You can discuss what hurts each of you and how you can move forward.

F. The trick to prevent an argument from destroying your relationship is learning how to fight fair.

G. Ask yourself if this situation is worth arguing about.

    Scientists often see the first ten years of a child's life as the “window of opportunity”.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}And studies show that the following activities can benefit their brain greatly.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Free playtime has always been an important part of “being a kid”, but it is also important to a child's development. “Free play” not only helps kids develop different skills, it also helps them develop into happy healthy adults in the future.

Read with kids

    Reading has long been known to improve children's intelligence.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} For parents who don't have much time, just surrounding your kids with books goes a long way too.

Put kids to bed early

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Preschool children should get at least eleven hours of sleep and kids up to age 12 should try to get at least ten hours of sleep.

Learn a second language

    Early studies in this field have shown that bilingual （双语的）kids can perform better under pressure. Young children can learn new languages with nearly perfect fluency （流利）and pronunciation.

Praise good effort not intelligence

    Your kids may be smart but you should mainly praise the effort they put into tasks. Kids, who are praised on intelligence, often feel it is a fixed quality, and mistakes or failures badly hurt their self-confidence. Kids who are praised on effort often focus more on learning.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Play some helpful games

B. Give them enough playtime

C. And they are not afraid to fail and try again

D. Kids still need time away from the TV to do homework

E. Kids who read often develop earlier writing and number skills as well

F. Everything at this time is very important to the development of a person's brain

G. Studies show that kids with regular bedtimes are better at languages, math and reading

    We all have to make decisions all the time, and we have an abundance of choices, ranging from tiny issues to vital ones. Unfortunately, people often find it hard to make decisions. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you would like to improve your skill of decision making, here are four suggestions for you.

    Don't expect to have it all.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can't order every delicious dish on the menu. And there will be paths not taken, careers not chosen, to name a few. You can imagine some "what if" situations if you must, but do not let them take up too much space in your brain.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}    

    It's often good to think through your decisions. But don't overdo it. Research can reach a point where returns begin to reduce, which makes it confusing more than clarifying. Many good decisions can be made based as much on intuition (直觉) as on careful assessment of endless data.

    Don't delay making decisions.

    Yes, there is a time to put off making a decision. Perhaps you need more information. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

    Or it's likely that you wait for a less stressful time. Just don't wait so long that the decision is made by your own indecisiveness.

    Don't be hard on yourself.

    You decide to go on a voyage. You choose an expensive liner. Everything should work out just right. Only you didn't expect a bug that ran around on the ship, making you and your family sick for five days. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But please remember it is unavoidable sometimes.

A. Don't spend too much time thinking.

B. It is an important source of information.

C. You may regret making such a stupid decision.

D. Don't count on emotion to make decisions.

E. Maybe you wish to consult with your advisor.

F. Decisions force us to close the door on other possibilities.

G. That means the skill of good decision-making counts a lot.

    If you are like most international students, you are probably comfortable reading and writing in English. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Below are some tips to help you to improve your conversational skills.

    Make friends with American students. Many international students end up making friends with a lot of—or only—other international students. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Hanging out with natives not only naturally pushes you to improve your spoken English, but also helps you pick up cultural and social information.

    Learn from American friends. Tell your American friends that you are trying to improve your listening and speaking skills, and would like them to help you. If you pronounce a word incorrectly, or misuse an idiom, you ask them to guide you. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Increase your knowledge. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you are familiar with the topics that are likely to be discussed in conversation, you have a much better chance of understanding people when they talk, and of being able to express yourself well.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you have to explain something to someone, you have a strong motivation to pronounce everything as well as you can, and find other ways to explain yourself. Finally, this becomes a good habit. Many people have asked me how I learned to speak English fluently, and I owe most of it to my years of being a math teacher in college for years.

A. It is bad for them to do that.

B. You will make progress this way.

C. Become a teacher at your school, if possible.

D. It's a win－win opportunity for international students.

E. Keep up with news and watch popular shows and movies.

F. Explaining everything in a different way matters.

G. However, you may have trouble in listening and speaking in the language.

    For each working person, the rarest resource is your daily time. You may feel like that you do not have enough hours in the day, only endless things to do. Of course, some of these things are not part of your job, such as other colleagues asking for your help or bosses making new demands.

    How can we reasonably refuse them?

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Just by doing the following three steps, you can usually make yourself and the other person comfortable while refusing them.

    Listen patiently to others' requests

    It's not simply hearing what the other person is saying. You have to stop what you're doing and carefully listen to what they say. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The point is to let the other person see that you are willing to help, and let them understand that you've already known their needs. In this way, even if you eventually refuse them, they'll understand that you are not available, instead of not willing to help.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    When we listen, we all hope that other people will come to a conclusion quickly. But when we speak, we instinctively（本能地）start from the beginning of the story. In fact, this way of speaking is not good for communication. So if you want to refuse somebody, just tell them No, and then explain the reasons why.

    Provide an alternative solution

    Maybe you really don't have the time to listen to the other person's request. In situations like this, don't just tell the other person that you don't have the time. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} For example, you may say, “Sorry, I really don't have the time right now. Is it OK if we talk tomorrow morning?” In this way, although you refuse him, he still can feel your support.

    In conclusion, refusal is unavoidable, but you can choose the way to refuse. An inappropriate refusal may cause great harm to your working life.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Begin with conclusion when refusing.

B. Start from the beginning when refusing.

C. Even if your time is limited, it is best for you to do so.

D. Instead, you should give them a time when you would be available.

E. In addition, this willing-to-help attitude also shows leadership skills.

F. In fact, there has been a mature methodology (科学方法) for this matter since long ago.

G. An artistic refusal, on the other hand, may lead you to some unexpected benefits.

    Although most parents don't like doing it after a long and exhausting workday, reading bedtime stories does make a positive influence on your child's emotional and mental health. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    It helps to develop children's imagination.

Reading bedtime stories can develop your children's ability to form pictures or ideas in their mind. A healthy imagination makes their minds work well and teaches them to think quickly yet effectively. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    It improves children's language.

    Reading also improves your children's language. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}They'll most likely use those words in the stories you read right after they hear them. Listening to many stories helps kids to express their opinions better.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Reading books makes people more learned. When children hear the stories you tell, they learn grammar and vocabulary, for example. It helps them be successful in school as they already know a lot from your stories. What's more, every story has its moral aspect and tells them what's good and what's bad.

    These reasons leave no chances of doubting whether to read bedtime stories to your children or not. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}They will thank you in future, I promise.

A. It fosters children's affection for reading.

B. It makes children knowledgeable.

C. Take a look at the best benefits of it and you'll never be lazy to do that.

D. So however tired you are, find time to read bedtime stories to your children.

E. Bedtime stories create just unforgettable moments.

F. They remember most words you say and enlarge their vocabulary.

G. They'll be successful in many aspects thanks to a wonderful imagination.