Learning to set goals plays an important role as your child starts to gain independence. However, setting goals doesn't come naturally to your child, so helping him to learn the process should probably be one of your goals.

    Explain the word “goal”. Your child may know what a goal is when it comes to soccer, but he may not understand what it means in everyday life. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Listen to your child. Ideally, you want your child to be able to decide for himself what his goals are. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Let him talk about what he thinks he does well and what he thinks needs to improve. If he's stuck, you can provide some examples of your own personal goals.

    Help keep goals achievable. Don't throw cold water on your child. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, if your child wants to be a champion swimmer, but can't swim an entire lap of the pool yet, you can suggest he start by making that his first goal.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Help your child write down his goals in an easy-to-follow form. Being able to see and check off the steps on the way to his goal is the key in keeping him motivated. A really simple way is to have your child draw a ladder on a piece of paper, writing his goal at the top and each step to that goal on the rungs (横木). {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Change goals every so often.

B. Make a visual goal reminder.

C. Don't always tell him what you think.

D. He's climbing to the top as he gets closer to his goal.

E. You can take sports as example to help explain it to him.

F. Once he has set up a goal, he may find it very difficult to achieve it.

G. When a goal is beyond his reach, help him break it down into smaller pieces.

    Everyone knows that fish is good for health. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}  But it seems that many people don't cook fish at home. Americans eat only about fifteen pounds of fish per person per year, but we eat twice as much fish in restaurants as at home. Buying, storing, and cooking fish isn't difficult. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}  This text is about how to buy and cook fish in an easy way.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Fresh fish should smell sweet: you should feel that you're standing at the ocean's edge. Any fishy or strong smell means the fish isn't fresh.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}  When you have bought a fish and arrive home, you'd better store the fish in the refrigerator if you don't cook it immediately, but fresh fish should be stored in your fridge for only a day or two. Frozen fish isn't as tasty as the fresh one.

     There are many common methods used to cook fish. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} First, clean it and season it with your choice of spices(调料). Put the whole fish on a plate and steam it in a steam pot for 8 to 10 minutes if it weighs about one pound. (A larger one will take more time.) Then, it's ready to serve.

A. Do not buy it.

B. The easiest is to steam it.

C. This is how you can do it.

D. It just requires a little knowledge.

E. The fish will go bad within hours.

F. When buying fish, you should first smell it.

G. The fats in fish are thought to help prevent heart disease.

Ways to Save Money While Traveling

    Who doesn't like to save money when possible? Traveling can be expensive, but with the right strategy you can bring down the cost. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Look for free activities. If you do a little research, you'll see there are often lots of free activities in the area. Look at community calendars to see what is going on in town while you are there. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Museums often have a "pay what you can" day once a week and sometimes have discounted admission after a certain time of the day.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Although some people might not like to cook while on vacation. I don't mind making breakfast in my room. I love having a cup of coffee, but room service can be very expensive. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}A microwave and fridge will also be helpful for reheating leftovers.

    Shop at farmers' markets and local stores. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Also, shopping at local stores allows you to taste the local cuisine without having to pay the price of a restaurant.

    Buy some local fish and cook it up at your condo(公寓).

    What are your tips for saving money while traveling？

A. Rent an apartment instead of having to get two rooms.

B. Book a room with a refrigerator, microwave or kitchen area.

C. Try these tips on your next vacation and your wallet will thank you.

D. I try to never eat at attractions because they tend to raise the price.

E. Do a self-guided walking tour to make yourself familiar with your destination.

F. I'd rather eat in the room for breakfast and lunch and then splurge (挥霍) on a delicious dinner.

G. Farmers' markets often lower the price of their food towards the end of the day.

Social Media

    Social media can be defined(解释)as web-based and mobile media that are used for people to interact ,connect and communicate with each other. It often involves the creation and sharing of content (writing, pictures, and video) that people make themselves, mostly through the Internet.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}The first type involves people getting together to work on a project, for example, Wikipedia. Blogs and micro-blogs (such as Twitter) are another type of social media. There are other websites like You Tube that allow people to share content such as pictures, articles or videos.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}These sites allow people to stay in touch with friends, make new ones and join communities. Facebook is an example of this type. Many people like to play games on the Internet and, yes, there are social media games as well. These games allow gamers to interact with each other and play with or against other gamers. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The final type of social media is websites like Second Life, where people can create avatars(化身)and use and create objects, as if they were in the real world.

    Social media are different from traditional media. With social media, many individual people in different places create content.

    Another difference is that people who produce content in social media don't need very special skills.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} It takes only a few minutes to write a twitter post, for example.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But whatever you might think, social media is here to stay.

A. World of Warcraft is a good example.

B. And social media content can be produced much faster.

C. In general, there are six different types of social media.

D. Another type of social media are social networking sites.

E. Some people think social media is good and some think it is bad.

F. In traditional media, people need special skills to produce something.

G. Social media is one of the fastest-growing industries in today's world.

How to Build a Better Breakfast

    We've all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that may actually be true. A study found that breakfast eaters were more likely to lose weight than those who didn't eat a morning meal. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But it's not just when you eat; it's what you eat. These tips will help you really rise and shine:

    ⒈Eat even if you're not hungry.

    Although you might not feel like eating first thing in the morning, it's a good idea to get something into your system. Eating within 90 minutes of waking up will jump­start your metabolism（新陈代谢）and keep you from getting hungry later. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    ⒉Be boring.

    Changing what you eat is a good idea in theory, but if you are watching your weight, you might want to stick with the same old menu. People who allowed their breakfast calories to change have larger waists（腰围）and a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome（代谢综合征）than folks who keep their morning calorie intake constant, no matter how much they eat the rest of the day. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    ⒊Add peanuts or peanut butter.

    By eating peanuts or peanut butter, the carbohydrates(碳水化合物）are taken in more slowly and blood sugar does not rise as high. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} So they are less likely to snack later.

    ⒋{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    There's an old saying that advises "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper." It's worth following. Those who eat a balanced 700­calorie breakfast over a 12­week period lower their blood sugar and blood pressure twice more than people who eat a 200­calorie meal. They also lose an average of 19.2 pounds and have lower levels of ghrelin, the "hunger hormone（激素）.

A. Go big.

B. Pile on the produce.

C. Other studies link skipping breakfast with a higher risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes（糖尿病）.

D. So it's worth making the effort to hold it steady.

E. It could set you up for overeating throughout the day.

F. Just a banana will do the trick.

G. Plus women feel fuller for up to 12 hours after eating the peanut butter or peanuts.

Improving your family life can help make your family members closer and prevent conflicts from getting in the way of everyone's happiness. But at times it seems difficult. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are some concrete steps to make your life more enjoyable.

Do household chores (杂务) together. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} However, sharing household responsibilities can help everyone in your family feel happy. Try to make it as fun as possible, such as by playing music or having contests. Besides, divide chores up into age-appropriate categories. After dinner, the youngest could wipe the table, the oldest could fill the dishwasher, and you could put away leftovers.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}When someone expresses an opinion, don't interrupt them before they can finish speaking. Maintaining respectful communication channels will strengthen your bond.

Express love and appreciation frequently. Little verbal (口头的) and nonverbal gestures of affection go a long way. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If your sibling is doing their homework and there's an empty glass on their desk, ask them, "Hey, can I get you more water?"

Respect your parents' need to protect you. While children need increasing degrees of freedom as they get older, remember that your parents are in charge. Their job is to keep you safe and give you the tools you'll need to take care of yourself when you're an adult. If your parent doesn't allow you to go out without an adult or makes you go to bed early, remember that they have your best interests in mind. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Why do you feel so?

B. Where do you start?

C. Few people actually enjoy that.

D. Chores mean more responsibilities.

E. Respect what your family members say.

F. Don't yell to get your way if they say no!

G. Find small ways to show you care for each other.