Ways to Find the Happiness in Front of You

    We struggle with war, poverty, global warming. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Famous people have wonderful lives, but you don't, and the "if only's" threaten to win the day: "My life would be sweet if only I were richer, had a better job..."

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}And it doesn't care how much money you have or what the circumstances of your life are. Look through the suggestions on how to look on the bright side and find the happiness in front of you.

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    If I'm feeling low, one of the best ways I know to cheer up is to make a love list. It's simple, just a list of every single person I love. Then I can put it in a pocket to take with me on a tough day, or just keep it in mind as I get on with my life.

Find Lost Friends

    I recently took some time to seek out people that I've lost touch with over the years.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Within 24 hours I had baby pictures and recent histories. But the interesting thing was that all the people I got in touch with had been thinking about contacting me a couple of days before getting my email.

Think Positively

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}I'm not saying your problems are over, but simply looking at the world through rose-colored glasses means that half your problems will look like exciting challenges, and the other half you'll probably realize aren't problems at all, just facts of life.

A. Create a love list

B. But happiness is all around you.

C. Wish upon a star

D. I wonder whether they still remember me.

E. We hear of people getting sick or dying.

F. If you can get optimistic and stay that way, you're sure to succeed.

G. It took only a little time to shoot a few quick emails around the country.

How to be realistic

    In order to be realistic, you must understand yourself and the world around you. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}You still need to challenge yourself, but if you have tried something several times, then you need to accept that maybe you can't do it. Keep yourself firmly on the ground and read on.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Try new things and do your best at them, but if you find that it is something you can't do after many tries, accept the failures and be realistic.

      Explain to others that you are being realistic in your approach. When you hit the wall, back off. You can't continue to bang your head against the wall. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Some people don't accept them, but they are there.

    Challenge yourself. You need to try before you can be realistic and say, “I can't do that.” No one ever got anywhere without trying. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Sometimes you need to find the one that works for you.

    Follow what you believe. People may tell you that you can do something if you try hard enough, and sometimes they are right. But if you know that you can't do it, follow what you believe.

    See what is there. You don't need to analyze everything. Don't look below the surface. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Always expect what you know to be realistic. Don't look for miracles.

A. Everyone has limitations.

B. Approach life realistically.

C. Just take everything at face value.

D. You can be realistic and just go with the flow.

E. Many things can be achieved in different ways.

F. Understand what you can do and what you can't.

G. You must be able to see exactly what you are capable of.

    China has been the birthplace of many of the world's greatest inventions. It was, for example, the first country to produce paper money. Before the invention of paper money and coins, people used many different kinds of things for buying and selling. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} This exchange of goods and services for other goods and services is called bartering（物物交换）.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In 1200 BC, people in China began to use shells as money. Usually the shells used as money were very small. This made it easier for people to carry money over long distances, and allowed for trade to develop between different parts of the country.

    In the years which followed this invention, many other countries around the world began to do the same. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The next development was in 1000 BC, when China started making bronze and copper shells. It wasn't long before the Chinese made round coins out of metal. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} By 500 BC, metal coins had begun to appear in countries like Persia and Greece, and later in the Roman Empire.

    About 1000 years later, leather was used as money in China, and in 806 AD, the first paper banknotes were produced by the Chinese people. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. As time went by, trade between countries increased.

B. People also began collecting foreign coins as souvenirs.

C. They also used tiny shells as money for buying and selling.

D. It was still many years before paper money appeared in Europe.

E. However, as economies developed, such exchanges became impractical.

F. During that time, for example, buying a chicken might cost several potatoes.

G. The very first coins often had holes in them so that people could tie them together.

    Every animal sleeps, but the reason for this has remained foggy. When lab rats are not allowed to sleep, they die within a month.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    One idea is that sleep helps us strengthen new memories. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We know that, while awake, fresh memories are recorded by reinforcing (加强) connections between brain cells, but the memory processes that take place while we sleep have been unclear.

    Support is growing for a theory that sleep evolved so that connections between neurons (神经元) in the brain can be weakened overnight, making room for fresh memories to form the next day.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Now we have the most direct evidence yet that he is right.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} The synapses in the mice taken at the end of a period of sleep were 18 per cent smaller than those taken before sleep, showing that the connections between neurons weaken while sleeping.

    If Tononi's theory is right, it would explain why, when we miss a night's, we find it harder the next day to concentrate and learn new information — our brains may have smaller room for new experiences.

    Their research also suggests how we may build lasting memories over time even though the synapses become thinner. The team discovered that some synapses seem to be protected and stayed the same size. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} “You keep what matters,” Tononi says.

A. We should also try to sleep well the night before.

B. It's as if the brain is preserving its most important memories.

C. That's why students do better in tests if they get a chance to sleep after learning.

D. Similarly, when people go for a few days without sleeping, they get sick.

E. The processes take place to stop our brains becoming loaded with memories.

F. Tononi's team measured the size of these connections, or synapses, in the brains of 12 mice.

G. “Sleep is the price we pay for learning,” says Giulio Tononi, who developed the idea.

    It is sometimes possible to fix a water damaged cell phone. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. The longer you wait, the more likely the phone is unrepairable.

    As soon as you notice your phone has dropped into water, you should take a cloth to wipe it off. Additionally, you should take out the SIM card and battery. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    If you put your water damaged cell phone back together and it won't turn on, it is likely that some water has gotten down inside the phone. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. You can remove the battery and SIM card from the phone once again and place all three components into a bowl filled with rice. This may work because rice is very absorbent.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If the rice method either did not work, you can take the phone apart and lay all its pieces outside in direct sunlight for several hours. The heat from the sun may completely dry out the inside and outside of the phone and its parts. If it is raining or the sun is not out, you can use a blow dryer on low heat to get the same results.

    If all of your attempts at repairing your phone are unsuccessful, you will likely have no choice but to take it to your cell provider or to a place that repairs cell phones to get it fixed. Unless your phone is very valuable, the cost of repairing the phone might be higher than what you paid for it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. It may be beneficial to meanwhile purchase insurance from your cell phone provider.

    If you live in a city where everyone rushes, realise that you don't have to be like everyone else. You can be different. I can't give you a step-by-step guide to moving slower, but here are some ideas to consider and perhaps adopt, if they work for your life

    ⒈Do less

Cut back on your projects, on your task list, on how much you try to do each day. Focus not on quantity but on quality. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    ⒉Have fewer meetings

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Try to reduce the number of meetings and have blocks of time with no interruptions, so you don't have to rush from one meeting to another.

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    If you're constantly rushing to appointments or other places, it's because you don't allot(分配)enough time in your schedule for preparing and for travelling. Pad your schedule to allow time for this stuff. If you think it only takes you 10 minutes to get ready for work or a date, perhaps give yourself 30 to 45 minutes so you don't have to shave in a rush or put on makeup in the car.

    ⒋Practise being comfortable with sitting and doing nothing.

    When people have to wait, they become impatient or uncomfortable. Try standing in a line and just watching and listening to people around you. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    ⒌Realise that if it doesn't get done, that's OK

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And yes, I know that's a frustrating attitude for some of you who don't like laziness or living without firm deadlines, but it's also reality. The world won't end if you don't get that task done today.

    Try these things out. Life is better when unrushed.

    Remember the quote: if nature can get everything done without rushing, so can you.

A. Do nothing but wait.

B. Pick two or three important things-or even just one -and work on those first.

C. Start to put off or cancel the unnecessary.

D. Give yourself time to get ready and get there.

E. Meetings are usually a big waste of time and make you rush.

F. There's always tomorrow.

G. It takes practice, but after a while, you'll do it with a smile.