Volunteering at a nursing home is an often overlooked volunteer area and yet one of the most needed. Statistics show that only 50 percent of nursing home residents have no close relatives and 46 percent have no living children. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}However, the self gratification and relationships you will receive is too unusual to be replaced.

    Make a list of nursing homes you are able to volunteer at on a regular basis. When doing this, use any resources from family members, friends, or even use an online search engine to find nursing homes. When choosing your home, also keep in mind your schedule; make sure that you can be fully committed to any obligations that the nursing home may give you. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Before calling, choose your times wisely, anytime between 9am-11am and 2pm-5pm would be a good option. By avoiding meal times or later at night, you'll have a better chance for getting information and finding people who are free to talk with you.

    Ask for an application form. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}This step is also where your applicant process begins. They will hand you all necessary applicant information. Most nursing homes will conduct interviews, do background checks, and may even have you receive vaccines and take drug tests.

    Become a "volunteer in training" at the nursing home. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Because of the wide variety of possible areas, you may experience variations in your training length and the content may vary.

A. Expect to attend training if your application is approved.

B. Call or visit the top three of your chosen nursing home options.

C. Volunteering at a nursing home can be a really wonderful experience.

D. From your list, choose the top three that cater to what you are looking for.

E. You will be taken into training depending on the area you are assigned to train in.

F. The process of becoming a volunteer at a nursing home can often be a little too long.

G. The activity director or volunteer coordinator will handle all of your information from here.

    “Three Apples” changed the world. The first one seduced(诱惑)Eve. The second one awakened Newton. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are some famous words from Steve Jobs to share.

    On the character

    I'm the only person I know that's lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

On good design

    That's been one of my mottos－focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex；You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there，you can move mountains.

    On his outlook

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Saying we've done something wonderful when going to bed at night. That's what matters to me.

On your working life

    Your work is going to fill a large part of your life，and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you haven't found it yet，keep looking. Don't settle.

On the importance of death

    No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be，because Death is even likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you，but some day not too long from now，you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.

A. It's very character-building.

B. The third one was in the hands of Steve Jobs.

C. This is not a one-man show.

D. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.

E. And yet death is the destination we all share.

F. It's really hard to design products by focusing on groups.

G. Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me.

How Can I Fight Laziness?

    Lazy people will never amount to anything in life. However, laziness can be defeated once a few changes have been made in your mind.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Many people lack sleep constantly, since they stay up too late and get up too early to prepare for work. These people have little motivation once they arrive home. Laziness works hand in hand with a lack of motivation and a tendency to put off things. By adjusting your sleep schedule to provide a few more hours of meaningful rest, you can fight laziness throughout the day.

    Another way to fight laziness is to change your mind from passive to active. Some people treat their lives as if they were pushed from task to task. Others take a more proactive（主动的） approach, viewing each task as a challenge they must overcome alone. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Some people fight laziness by removing the temptations(诱惑) that surround them. A television in the living room may provide entertainment, but watching too much TV often contributes to laziness. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Complete a few tasks and reward yourself with what you enjoy, such as a good dinner or a film.

    Laziness can also be a lasting problem at home. Couples and children may all have different energy levels, but laziness can be spread if not dealt with immediately. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Be the first to collect and wash dishes after a meal. Others in the home may eventually follow your example and perform their own task. It is difficult to practice laziness when you are surrounded by motivated people.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Enough exercise and a balanced diet can help you to develop a healthy lifestyle, thus enabling you to have more energy and help lift your spirits.

A．To fight family laziness, set an example.

B．One way to fight laziness is to get enough sleep.

C．Knowing how to fight laziness is important.

D．Finally, taking exercise regularly can help you fight laziness.

E. With strong determination, you will be able to achieve your goal.

F. Create a reward system for yourself, just as parents do for a child.

G. Laziness sets in when you no longer feel in charge of your own life.

Problem-solving skills

    We face problems in our everyday life. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Don't worry. The following tips may help you to solve problems.

    ⒈Know the problem

    First of all, it is important to know and understand the problem clearly.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Following questions like why, what, how, when, where and who will take you to the root cause of the problem.

    ⒉Analyze the problem

    Analyzing the problem will give you time to think of a proper solution. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It can be a diagram, a flow chart or a list, etc.

    ⒊Plan a strategy(策略)

    Planning a strategy will help you waste less energy and time in trying all the solutions. This step includes knowing the advantages and disadvantages of a solution. In this way you can rule out the strategy that you don't find worthy to apply.

    ⒋{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Leave out the information that is not required for the solving of the problem. You need to be accurate with the details. Keeping the irrelevant(不相关的) information usually won't simplify the problem as we tend to overlook the relevant information.

    ⒌Carry out the solution

    Carrying out the solution in a correct way to get the expected result is important while solving a problem. You need to be creative while carrying out a solution just in case some other problem arises while applying the solution.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Solving a problem is easy if you understand the problem in the first place. By analyzing the problem, planning a strategy, using the best solution, and carrying out the solution in the best method, you will solve your problem smoothly.

A. Make a wise decision.

B. Delete irrelevant information

C. You can use various tools to analyze the problem.

D. Knowing the problem means solving half the problem itself.

E. It can be social problems, relationship problems, or problems at work.

F. Sometimes we can take wrong decisions for solving the problems in haste.

G. Being ready with other choices is also important in case a solution works only half way.

    It can be difficult to meet new people and make friends, especially when you move to a new city or find yourself out of your comfort zone. How will you deal with the situation? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}There are several ways that you can meet people that you might not have considered in the past. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}You probably have several acquaintances that you see on a daily basis or a weekly basis. If you get along well with certain people, you can see if this acquaintance would like to go out and do something socially with you. If you have common interests, you might suggest that the two of you do something together that involves your interest.

    Make an effort to accept invitations. Sometimes people that you know may be having a barbecue or other type of social gathering. Try to ensure that you are able to attend and then show up at the appointed time. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you meet people that you click with, you can make a plan to see them again in the future or you can invite your friends to your own event and ask them to extend the invitation to the friends that were at their gathering too.

    Go out, even when you don't feel like it. It turns out that when people invite someone to join them for dinner or a movie or something else, they really want to hang out with you. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} {#blank#}5{#/blank#}But once you have used the same methods a few times you will know exactly what works and what does not. Don't give up, everyone is different and it just takes time to get to know people.

A. Expand on current relationships.

B. Trying to make new friends can be annoying at first.

C. Do you work with people that you get along well with?

D. But don't call them several times a day or even several times per week.

E. Be more social and you'll make your life more exciting and fulfilled.

F. If you tend to say “no” often, people will eventually stop asking you to go with them.

G. These types of gatherings often lead to meeting different people who are friends of friends.

    There is an English saying that goes, "he who laughs last, laughs the hardest." High School Musical star Zac Efron is laughing a lot these days.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Because he was always the smallest in his class and was laughed at because he had a big space between his teeth. In sixth grade, Efron's basketball team made it to be the league championship. In overtime, with three seconds left, he rebounded the ball and passed it to the wrong team! {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Now Efron is one of People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People, graces (增加光彩) the cover of Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood's most influential magazine, and is traveling the world promoting the third High School Musical film. Director Adam Shankman described Efron as "arguably the biggest teen star in America right now." Simply google "Zac Efron", and you get more than 14 million responses. Yes, it seems Efron has a lot to smile about these days.

    Efron was born and raised in California. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} According to Efron, "he would flip out (发疯) if he got a B and not an A in school, and that he was a class clown." It was his father who encouraged him to act. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} He also took singing lessons. He graduated from high school in 2006 and was accepted at the University of Southern California to study film. But he put it off—why study movies when you can star in them? Efron has risen all the way to the top of the movie business. And he can now laugh all the way to the bank.