America's holiday shopping season started on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Shoppers make the most money this time of year, about 20 percent to 30 percent of all revenue all year. About 136 million people shopped during the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In an era of instant information, shoppers can use their mobile phones to find deals. Nearly 80 percent of this year's holiday shoppers, or about 183.8 million people, shopped on Cyber Monday. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Online spending on Black Friday rose 15 percent to hit $2.7 billion this year. Cyber Monday spending increased 12 percent to $3 billion. NBC News reported that for many, shopping online was a more comfortable alternative than crowded malls.

    The shift to online shopping has had a big impact on solid shopping malls. Since 2010, more than 24 shopping malls have closed and an additional 60 are struggling. Fortune says the weakest of the malls have closed. However, the business in malls is thriving again, it adds.  According to a survey, 94.2percent of malls were full with shops by the end of 2014. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The average American consumer will spend about $805 on gifts. That's about $630.5 billion between November and December – an increase of 3.7 percent from last year.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}That goes to China's Singles' Day, celebrated on November 11, which posted record sales of $14.3 billion in 2015.

A．More and more people shop online nowadays.

B．That is the highest level in 27 years.

C．It is the busiest shopping day of the year.

D．One-in-five Americans used a tablet or smart-phone.

E．The traditional mall industry can hardly survive.

F．Cyber Monday falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

G．Nonetheless, Cyber Monday is not the biggest online shopping day in the world.

    No personal success, achievement, or goal, can be realized without self-discipline.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} It is the ability to control one's impulses, emotions, desires and behavior. To possess it is to make the decisions, take the actions, and carry out your plan regardless of the obstacles, discomfort, or difficulties, that may come your way.

    How to develop self-discipline? We'll explore it together.

    Start with baby steps. No process takes place overnight.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}So, begin by making the decision to go forward and learning what it takes to get there.

     Learn what motivates you and what your bad triggers are.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Sometimes it is very difficult to fight off urges, so know the areas where your resistance is low and how to avoid those situations. Remove the temptations and surround yourself with encouraging items such as motivating slogans and pictures of what you want to achieve.

    Make certain behaviors a routine. Once you have decided what's important to you and which goals to strive for, establish a daily routine that will help you achieve them.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}They can put you in a negative frame of mind and hinder（阻碍）your self-discipline. A poor attitude can also be a bad habit.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Michael Jordan has always maintained that his greatness as a basketball player came as much from his willingness to work hard at this craft, as it did his craft, as it did his talent. It was his desire through discipline and focus that made him one of the best basketball players ever. If it worked for him, it could certainly work for the rest of us.

A. What is self-discipline?

B. Engage in sports activities.

C. Get inspiration from those you admire.

D. You can begin by learning about yourself?

E. If you try to do too much at once, you could injure yourself and have a seatback.

F. Meanwhile, get rid of some of your bad, self-defeating habits, whatever they may be.

G. It does mean learning how to focus your mind and energies on your goals until they are accomplished.

    Once a child reaches their teenage years, many parents may think it is too late to help them change a negative attitude. This is not the case, and while it may take longer, it is possible to help your child develop a positive attitude. Having a positive attitude is important to a teenager's happiness and success.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Judge your own attitude. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Teens watch their parents and how they react to certain experiences and events. Children learn a good part of their belief system from their parents. Therefore, a parent's attitude and a loving home environment are important to help develop positive attitudes in teens

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. This is the little voice in our heads which we use to communicate with ourselves. Positive self-talk will have a direct influence on how positive a person's attitude and actions are. Tell your teen instead of using negative statements, replace them with positive ones. For example, “I can do this right. I just need to concentrate” is much better than “I failed again. I never do anything right.” If you promote positive self-talk you should notice a clear change in the teenager's attitude.

    Teach your teen to aim high, while showing her how to acknowledge her limitations.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If your teen wants to achieve the impossible, this will only make her feel negative when she fails to do it. Unrealistic expectations are one of the biggest causes of negative attitudes in children, says the Kids Health website.

    Try to praise your teenager when he deserves it. Show him you value him and recognize when he makes positive choices. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Be sure to give credit when credit is due. Your teen's attitude will be much more positive if you also show him respect as well as command it from him.

A. Teach them how to self-talk.

B. A child's attitude is a learned behavior.

C. Avoid unkind blames to affect your teen's attitude.

D. A negative attitude can result in them feeling upset.

E. There is no problem having reasonable dreams.

.F. Most teenagers will appreciate their parent's praise.

G. Encourage him to take up new hobbies or interests.

Public Speaking

    Public speaking can be defined as the act of making a speech in front of a group of listeners.

    The types of public speaking are deliberately structured with three general purposes: to inform, to persuade and to entertain. An informative speech has a purpose to inform, or give knowledge to its audience.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}For persuasive speech, the speaker would try to change the mindset, perception, or behavior of the audience for their own good. Thus, the speaker needs to look for common ground with the audience and try to relate to what they might agree on. The last type is a ceremonial speech. It tends to be less formal and more personal than the other types of speeches. No matter how well you know the person you are giving speech about, try not to say bad things about them, even if it is meant to be a joke.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Sparing some time to practice will help build confidence and help determine how long the presentation will last. Aside from it, knowing who the audience will be is quite necessary. Try to get as much information as possible regarding this particular area related to the audience. Knowing the “battlefield” in advance will give the speakers a huge advantage.

    Language is the main aspect a speaker needs to pay attention to while giving a speech.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}A speaker needs to choose their words carefully and make it clear to the audience what they mean. Often, when given a speech, the audience look up to the speaker to give them something new and useful.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Language and delivery alone will not be sufficient if the speaker does not have the body language. The movement and gesture of a speaker also affect the audience. While closing the speech or presentation, speakers can restate their main points, just to remind the audience of the important things that have been said.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It needs to be used clearly.

B. These speeches mark special occasions.

C. The important thing to watch about is not to put in too much information.

D. The key of perfecting anything is through practice, including public speaking.

E. They can also end it with a special message and encourage the audience to ask questions.

F. Knowing how public speaking is done is a key part in understanding the importance of it.

G. Thus, the speaker needs to know how to deliver their speech to fulfill the audience's expectation.

    Self­love is the key to a happy life. After we have learned how to love ourselves, we will be able to love others. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You have to learn some steps to develop self­love.

    Accept yourself the way you are. Every person has his or her own advantages and disadvantages. Our advantages make us proud but our disadvantages make us unhappy. This isn't the right attitude towards life.  {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In fact, no one on this earth is perfect. The key is to achieve a better balance (平衡) and try to be as happy as possible.

    Stop worrying. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It won't help you get the solution (解决办法). In fact, it will make you very unhappy. So, don't let your worries influence you. This will help you face the difficulties of life more positively.

    Enjoy life. Take part in activities that you love and develop a hobby.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Take some time to enjoy them at least once a week. This way you are doing something that you are good at, which will make you feel good about yourself，and make you start loving life and everyone and everything in it.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}If your body is weak and suffering from some health problems, you aren't going to like anything about it. So you must take good care of your health. It includes eating fresh healthy food, taking enough rest and doing exercise.

A. Live a healthy lifestyle.

B. Make efforts to improve yourself.

C. It will hold you back from loving yourself.

D. They can be anything that makes you happy.

E. Worrying about a problem won't let you think clearly.

F. However, learning to love yourself isn't going to be easy.

G. The correct thing to do is accept the fact that you aren't perfect.

Hope is the most powerful motivational force that helps people to overcome adversities. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, you need a guiding force to keep you moving toward your goals. Hope keeps you on your feet and makes you much stronger. 

Hope is your strength and inner faith in the battle of your life. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, you lose everything. You do hard work and make a great effort to succeed in life but fail. That makes you upset and depressed. You do not know what to do. At that time hope comes to your rescue and gives you encouragement. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

Hope increases the productivity, efficiency and creativity in people. A hopeful person who stays positive and enthusiastic can succeed in any field of his choice. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The best service we can do to people is giving hope to the hopeless. 

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}? Yes, hope gives meaning to life as without hope there is no reason to live. Give hope to people and they will become more creative and more productive. Hope is vital to the life of every person. Besides, hope is necessary not only for life but also for living a healthy life. Hope is the best medicine that keeps away miserable tension, depression, high blood pressure and other health problems. I had two big heart attacks and while at the edge of death, I had hope that I would survive. And the hope of getting well kept me alive.

A. A hopeless person is a failed person who can never succeed in life

B. Have you ever lost hope and felt sorry for yourself

C. Since you're full of hope for the future

D. You try one more time and succeed

E. In the ups and downs of life

F. Is hope necessary for life

G. If you lose hope