If you think your vocabulary is weak, a little effort every day over six to nine months can go a long way in improving it. Here are some tips for increasing your vocabulary.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. You may be comfortable reading a particular part of the newspaper but make an effort to read different articles on every page. The editorial (社论的) page is highly recommended not only for vocabulary but also for structuring and presenting thoughts.

    Make it a habit to read a new book every week. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. You can consider becoming a member of the local library. Make a list of new words and look up their meanings in the dictionary.

    Watch English movies and television shows. It's an interesting way to enrich your vocabulary. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Use vocabulary cards. Vocabulary cards are used by students who are trying to learn many words in a short time. You can make your own cards by writing the word on one side and the meaning on the other side of a piece of paper. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Use the Internet. The Internet is an unlimited resource for reading material.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. You will come across plenty of material to read. The Internet will also introduce you to new words. Be sure to look them up in a dictionary.

    You may have heard of the American Dream, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations.

    It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. At times, the dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last.

    Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Time magazine pointed out, quite different from the older generation, many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine(重新定义) the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility, flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine.

    Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority for this generation. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of them choose travel as part of their dream. And entrepreneurship(创业) is a rising favorite, as nearly 26% of Millennials consider self-employment as part of their dream.

    So what has led to this huge change?

    Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Modern young Americans seem bound to face a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity and social stagnation(停滞),”noted The Daily Beast.

    “The rate of 16-to 24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15%. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don't require a degree,” Time reported.

    The magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporation's ladder”.

    Dan Kadlec, a reporter of Time, sees Millennials as resetting their expectations.”This situation is different for young adults today,” he wrote. “A true American dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennias are feeling they can only attain a day-today lifestyle that suits them.”

    My husband and I are saving thousands of dollars every year by growing our own vegetables in our backyard. We learn something new every year and this website has been made to share tips with other people that would like to grow some of their own food.

    It's true that if you are starting from fresh, it will cost a little bit of money to get started. However, once everything is set up, the cost is very small and the rewards are huge. The size of your family and how many vegetables you eat determine exactly how much money you can save every year. We do a lot of juicing, so we are saving thousands of dollars by growing some carefully selected greens.

    There is an amazing sense of accomplishment when you grow your own vegetables. Vegetables out of your vegetable garden don't get any fresher, tastier or more satisfying. The whole family can get involved in this hobby and kids will learn where food comes from and appreciate nature even more.

    Our approach to vegetable gardening is completely different from the normal one. We are doing it in the lazy way with zero digging and fertilizing(施肥). The way we grow our vegetables is to emulate natural ecosystems. No rows of carrots can be found in our garden beds. Rain forests seem to do just fine without human interference(干预) or having plants sown in rows, so we have applied the same principle to our vegetable garden and we care producing more vegetables than ever.

    By copying nature we spend little time working in the vegetable garden but get a much better crop than previous years when we followed the rules. What can I say? We're such rebels.(叛逆者）

    A cab company in one of Japan's major cities is introducing silent taxi drivers. Miyako Taxi, which is based in Kyoto, shows the new idea in March. The business is currently operating five “Silence Taxis” across the city.

    The cars look like any ordinary taxi，but a notice written on the back of the passenger seat  inform passengers that they have entered one of the new silent fleet. Drivers will offer a greeting when their passenger enters the car, and aside from confirming the route they will not engage in small talk. The drivers can indulge in conversation, only if they are spoken to first, and they are also allowed to communicate in emergency situations.

    Announcing the idea, Miyako Taxi said: “This service is currently in a trial stage, with the goal of creating an in-car atmosphere that provides the most comfortable ride for passengers through limiting the driver's speaking.” According to Japan Today, they made the move after hearing reports from passengers that they were fed up being forced to chat with their drivers.

    The company will assess the popularity of the trial before deciding whether to expand it and roll it out across more of their drivers.

    Language and speaking is at the heart of another issue facing Uber drivers, after lost a High Court Battle to block written tests in London. Drivers applying for a minicab license in the capital will now have to pass the written exam following Uber's failed challenge against Transport for London (TfL). The company argued it could see up to 33,000 existing drivers lose their licences under the new rule.

    The company's London head, Tom Elvidge: vowed to challenge the rule and said, “We've always supported spoken English skills, but writing an essay has nothing to do with communicating with passengers or getting them safely from A to B.”

    Joey was born in 1990 in Connecticut and now lives in North Carolina in the United States. When Joey was six, he started racing small cars in competitions. He began to win many races, but they weren't big races. His parents decided to move to Atlanta, Georgia, so Joey could compete in bigger and better competitions. When he was 12, he set a record by winning 14 races in a row at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. He continued to win many races, and finally began racing with regular-sized (正常大小的) race cars.

    When Joey was 15 years old, he met the race car driver Mark Martin. Martin is a famous NASCAR driver. NASCAR is the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and it is the biggest and most popular car-racing organization in the United States. Martin was interested in Joey and thought he was “the real deal.” He said, “I am sure that he can be one of the greatest that ever raced in NASCAR. There's no doubt in my mind.”

    Martin was right. Joey started as a NASCAR driver in 2007. NASCAR has many races, and at first, Joey was only able to compete in smaller races because of his age. In his first NASCAR season, he won a championship (冠军). In 2008, he was able to compete in bigger NASCAR competitions. He competed in one of the top NASCAR racing series called the Nationwide Series, and at 18, he became the youngest winner in Nationwide Series history.

    In 2009, he became the youngest winner in another top NASCAR racing series called the Sprint Cup Series, and he also won the Nationwide Series for the fifth time. To be one of the best drivers in the history of racing, Joey has to win many more races. But at 19, he's off to a good start.

    The morning after an evening flight with my then three-year-old daughter, I couldn't wait to get her to school. I was tired from the anger, and her inability to communicate because of her slowed language development.

    As I accompanied her into the car, I felt desperate. Nothing was right with our world. She had been born around the same time the nation was witnessing the birth of another Great Recession(经济萧条). My job and my house had been victims. Then this happened. My child's language delay was identified, but doctors struggled to properly diagnosis her. I felt like we both needed to be rescued.

    I returned that afternoon as disenchanted with the little girl I loved as when I left.

Walking slowly toward the school's playground gate, I found her preschool teacher racing to greet me.

    “You should have seen her today!” His breathy words were supported by excitement.  I didn't interrupt. “See that climber.” He pointed to a piece of wooden playground equipment that looked like a rock wall. I nodded. “Well, every day since she started school. She's tired and failed to make it to the top.” He took a breath. “And today she made it.

    He expressed his joy just like he'd witnessed her conquering (征服) Mount Everest “She cheered and celebrated! I wish I'd recorded it.” His words comforted me. My daughter had conquered her mountain. As she ran toward me, I recognized something I hadn't before. I saw her perseverance. I saw her strength. I saw a hero.

    Everyday greatness celebrates ordinary people who do unusual things in big and small ways, showing courage, kindness, love and selflessness. We encourage you to click these brief accounts and invite you to share your own story in our community.