If you can find a tree which has been cut down，you will see many rings，or circles，on the base of the trunk.By learning to read these rings，you can find out about the tree's life.

    The number of rings tells you how old the tree is.Each year，new wood is formed on the outside of the tree.This new wood is light in color when the tree is growing in spring and summer，and dark in winter when the tree is not growing much.So，if you count the rings of dark­or­light colored wood，you can often find out how old the tree is.

    You can also tell which years have been good years and which years have been bad years.When the light­colored rings are very wide，it means that the tree has been growing quickly that year.If the rings are narrow，it has been growing slowly.If the rings on a tree trunk were greatly magnified，you would be able to see why the rings are light­colored when the tree is growing quickly and dark­colored when the tree is growing slowly.The tree trunk is made up of microscopic tubes，like some pipes，carrying water from the soil，through the trunk，and up to the leaves.They are wide and thin­walled when the tree is growing quickly and they are carrying a lot of water.They are narrow and stuck together when the tree is not growing so quickly.

    When a tree is old，the tubes in the centre of the tree don't carry water.The walls of the tubes have become thick with materials which have stuck along them over the years，forming a kind of wood called“heartwood”．This kind of wood is darker in color than the young，growing wood on the outside of the tree.

    You don't very often see whole tree trunks which have been cut across.But once you learn to read a cross section of the wood，you can see much more in wood which has been used to make boxes，houses and other things.

    In most wood，instead of seeing the trunk cut across，you are seeing it cut along its length.Because you don't see the whole tree，you can't tell how old it is.

Title：{#blank#}1{#/blank#} of a Tree

    Do you want to improve your networking skills? If so,check out five ways to promote your networking skills.

    Research the event before you go.

    Do your research before you attend an event.Figuring out the dress standard and the theme of the event will help you perfect your clothes, attitude, and approach{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Mental preparation will help you feel confident and comfortable.

    Describe yourself differently.

    Most people choose to describe themselves to strangers by saying their name and job. However, unless you have a unique name and an eye-catching job, this probably won't help. Give them a little more to work with{#blank#}2{#/blank#}In that case, people may have a chance to ask you a few questions.

    Network with everyone.

    At networking events, there are probably specific people that you want to talk to.While this could be beneficial to you, don't cut off your other choices{#blank#}3{#/blank#}It can also help you to get noticed by the people you want to speak to.

    Smile to make a great first impression.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} According to a research,people decide whether you are trustworthy or not after looking at your face for 34 milliseconds（毫秒）.Make those milliseconds count by relaxing the muscles in your face and smiling.

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    Don't let the end of your conversation affect your networking for the worse.Have a reason for leaving,smile as you say goodbye,and shake hands if appropriate.Even though you are leaving,this guarantees the person will remember you as polite,pleasant,and sincere.

A.First impressions mean a lot.

B.Finish the conversation gracefully.

C.Work on finding a conversational balance.

D.It is important to keep the conversation flowing.

E.Provide a more general and mysterious（神秘的）description.

F.It will also help you prepare some great conversation starters.

G.Being polite and friendly to everyone enables you to make a great impression.

    Your life is composed of all the little things we experience everyday, and knowing how to find joy in some of those little things is one of the easiest ways to let happiness slowly fill your cup. In order for that to happen, you need to do two very simple things, put yourself in such situations that you can experience happiness there, and then find a way to savour the experience and let it sink into you.

    To put yourself in the position of experiencing happiness every day, Lahan Catalino, Ph.D, at the University of California, San Francisco, recommends an approach called “prioritizing positivity”—organizing your day-to-day life on purpose so that it contains situations which naturally give rise to positive emotions. It involves both carving out time in your daily routine to do things that you really love and heavily weighing the positive emotional consequences of major life decisions, like taking a new job, and you will regularly find yourself.

    Then how can we find away to savour the happy experience and let it sink into you? Here is what psychologist Rick Hanson, the author of Buddha's Brain explains.

    Let a good fact become a good experience.

    Often we go through life and some good thing happens—a little thing like we checked off an item on our To Dc list, we survived another day at work, the flowers are blooming, and so forth. Hey, this is an opportunity to feel good. Don't leave the money lying on the table: recognize that this is an opportunity to let yourself truly feel good.

    Really enjoy this positive experience.

    Practice what any school teacher knows: if you want to help people learn something, make it as intense as possible—in this case, as felt in the body as possible—for as long as possible.

    When sinking into this experience, sense your intention that this experience is sinking into you.

    Sometimes people do this through visualization, like by sensing a golden light coming into themselves or a soothing balm inside themselves. You might imagine a jewel going into the treasure chest in your heart—or just know that this experience is sinking into you, becoming a resource you can take with you no matter where you go.

    It might seem a little cliche to say“stop and smell the roses”, but it's moments like those that can be stored in your happiness bank and withdrawn later. Living a happy life can be as simple as accepting the happiness that's already around you. If you want more, it's OK to go out and achieve it, but don't forget where happiness really comes from.

    Six Things You should Never Do Before the Queen

    ※Don't show up empty handed.

    What do you get the woman who already has everything? Sure, the Queen has several homes full of priceless trinkets（饰品）, but bringing a gift is necessary. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So if she's paying a visit to your hometown or country, something which reflects local culture might go down better than W.H. smith's vouchers（优惠券）.

    ※{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

You may be dead on your painful feet—but you should always stand when the queen enters the room. You may only sit once she has taken the seat, so keep a close eye on when the Queen sits down herself.

    ※Don't ignore the dress code.

    Regardless of how late you're running or how tempting it is to stay in your casual clothes, make sure you dress accordingly when meeting HRH. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    ※Resist the temptation to refer to her by her first name.

    While the Royal family may be extremely familiar to us, and while we may have our own nicknames for them, we common folk still aren't on a first name basis with them. So, when you meet the Queen she should be addressed as “Your Majesty” and “Ma'am” consequently after. When she leaves, however, you must address her as “Your Majesty” once again.

    ※Only speak if the queen speaks to you.

    Remember when you were a small child and all your elders would drop wisdom such as “don't speak unless spoken to first” and “children should be seen and not heard”? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This rule exists so Her Royal Highness can control every aspect of the conversation-- including exiting it swiftly.

    ※Don't eat before she does.

    No matter how tasty and tempting the banquet morsels spread in front of you look, you can only start eating once the Queen does. So perhaps have a quick snack beforehand, in case any speeches go on for a long time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Stand to attention.

B. Watch out for Queen.

C. Oh, and if she has finished eating, you'd better be full too.

D. If the event is black tie, wear black tie.

E. You are supposed to listen to them though you've grown up.

F. This gift must also be appropriate to the occasion.

G. The same applies to meeting the Queen.

    Eco City Farms is an educational nonprofit organization. It seeks to empower the community by teaching economic development, job training and a healthier way of living. The group has set up farms near automobile repair businesses and fast food stores in urban neighborhoods.

    Social activist Margaret Morgan-Hubbard founded Eco City Farms. She says that lack of fresh produce is a major health problem for children and their families living in Maryland. "What's critical is that 70 percent of the people in these towns are either overweight, have some illnesses, for example, diabetes, or have other kinds of diet-related ailments because they don't have access to healthy food.

    Eco City Farms offers several programs for agriculture, food and finding jobs with environment-friendly businesses. People can also learn how to cook healthier foods and teach others how to prepare meals. On a recent day, Philip Sidibe demonstrated his cooking skills. He prepared Aloco, a popular food in Cameroon where he grew up. He and other young people not only cook their food, they also grow it in a large garden.

    Tameka Barbour-Gaskins lives in Autumn Woods. She says her whole family is eating healthier meals because of the local produce. "I like junk food. I like quick meals. Not easy to just go from eating a certain way all your life to switching over to being healthier… With the urban garden here, with my son learning, he can help me switch around my style of eating. I want a healthy family."

    Margaret says the urban garden is an agent for change and the young people are its newest supporters. "Our program is about planting seeds. It's about planting seeds not just in the ground, but in other human beings so that the movement can grow and it's really exciting because these young people will be working with us throughout the year to help plan the actual farm and to finally own it."

    Choosing the right job is probably one of the most important decisions we have to make in life, and it is frequently one of the hardest decisions we have to make. One important question that you might ask yourself is: "How do I get a good job?"{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    There are people who can answer an insignificant advertisement in the local paper and land the best job in the world; others write to all sorts of places all over the country, and never seem to get a reply at all. Still others believe that the in person, door-to-door approach is by far the best way to get a job; and then there are those who, through no active decision of their own, just seem to be in the right place at the right time. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} He used to spend a lot of his free time down by the sea watching the tall ships, but never thinking that he might one day sail one of them. His father was a farmer, and being a sailor could never be anything for the boy but an idle dream. One day, on his usual wandering, he heard the captain of the ship complaining that he could not sail because one member of his crew was sick. Without stopping to think, the lad(少年) offered to take his place. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If the lad had gone home to ponder(考虑)his decision for a week, he may have missed his chance. It is one thing to be offered an opportunity; it is another thing to take it and use it well.

    Sometimes we hear stories about people who break all the rules and still seem to land plum jobs(美差). When you go for a job interview or fill out an application, you are expected to say nice things about the company to which you are applying. But there was one person who landed an excellent job by telling the interviewer all the company's faults. And within a year this person had become general manger of the company.

A. This story also illustrates the importance of seizing an opportunity when it presents itself.

B. People find jobs in an infinite number of ways.

C. it's almost impossible to find a good job by answering advertisement in newspapers

D. Take for example the young man who wanted to be a sailor.

E. It is very important to seize an opportunity when it presents itself.

F. He spent the rest of his life happily sailing the ships he had always loved.