Our character, basically, is made up of our habits. "Sow a habit, reap (收获) a character: sow a character reap a destiny (命运)," as the saying goes.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Because they are often unconscious patterns, they constantly daily affect our character and produce our effectiveness or ineffectiveness.

    As Horace Mann, the great educator, once said, "Hahits are like a cable. We weave a rope of it every day and soon it cannot be broken. "Habits can be learned. But we know it isn't a quick fix.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Many of us have watched the lunar voyage of Apollo 11.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}But to get there, those astronauts had to break out of the tremendous gravity pull of the earth. More energy was spent in the first few minutes of lift-off, than was used over the next several days to travel half million miles.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Getting rid of bad habits really requires great willpower and some changes in our lives. Lift-off takes tremendous effort, but once we break out of the pull of gravity, we can enjoy great freedom.

    Like any natural force, gravity pull can work with us or against us. The gravity pull of some of our habits may currently be keeping us from going where we want to go. But it is also gravity pull that keeps our world together and keeps the planets in their orbits.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}We can use the gravity pull of habit to create the order necessary to establish effectiveness in our lives.

A. It involves a process and a great effort.

B. Habits are powerful factors in our lives.

C. Habits, too, have tremendous gravity pull.

D. It is a powerful force if we use it effectively.

E. We should try our best to get rid of our bad habits.

F. To break out of the pull of gravity needs great efforts.

G. We were surprised to see the first men walk on the moon.

Five Things Nobody Told Me about College

    As I type this, I am in my university dorm room. A year ago, when I was awaiting to hear the results of my college applications, I often went to websites for some type of insider look on what college would be like. However, there's only so much that prep books, websites, and older friends can teach. Here are the top 5 things nobody told me about college:

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Nobody entering a university knows exactly what they want to study. If they tell you otherwise, they're lying and will probably change what they want to purse within the first quarter of attendance. During my first quarter at University of California, Riverside (UCR), I thought that I wanted to study Political Science with its focus on International Affairs, so that's what I applied for. However, once I worked with statewide and local government, I realized that a better fit for me would be Public Policy, and now I am in the process of changing my area.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    In college, there are so many good chances for you to meet your expectations. However, there is a very important difference between wanting to do something and applying for something. In order for you to take advantage of the conferences, research, internships, and fellowships that your university offers, apply! Step into your academic advisor's office, introduce yourself, and begin making the valuable connections that are necessary to help during the rest of your college career. Great things happen when you step out of your comfort zone, and you would be surprised on how many chances exist if you just ask.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    College is where you meet your bridesmaids, neighbors, and potential bosses. The relationships you develop now will probably be linked to the ones you value later, so be wise about the people who you invest yourself in. You are only one person, and you do not have time to waste on people who would rather cause drama or mess up with your purpose. Surround yourself with uplifting individuals who challenge you to be better while loving you for who you are, and be patient to the people who are the complete opposite of that description.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    As a first-year, I was afraid to make any noise towards campus issues that I noticed. It was not until I became involved in student government that I gained the confidence to handle projects that I created with the help of ASUCR Office of the President. During my first quarter, I spoke directly to the Chancellor, asking him for support towards my initiatives, met with the Vive Chancellors, and cooperated with my teaching assistances to begin my undergraduate research protect. Nothing good will happen when you are silent.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    At my high school, there were about only four active club and organizations that students could be a part of. Imagine my surprise when I stepped foot onto UCR's campus, where over 400 organizations exist, ranging from political organizations to karate club. You are not paying all or your tuition(学费)to merely go to class, study, pass tests and graduate. Make something worthy out of your experience. Create that you will want to tell your grandchildren one day. It all begins here, by signing up to join an organization.

A. Get involved in student activities

B. Your voice is actually super important

C. There is a significant increase of opportunities

D. Stay in active communication with your friends

E. Get smart about the people who you spend your time with

F. Your major does not matter as much in your first of college

G. College life is meaningful.

    What will you do if you can't eat everything bought in the canteen? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} According to a survey, what students waste every year could feed over 10 million people.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} According to Xinhua News Agency, the food wasted by Chinese people is about 50 million tons of grain every year, which could feed 200 million people.

    Food waste, which has become a global issue, serves as a mirror that reflects various cultural and social issues in different countries. In the West, for instance, consumerism, the belief that it's a good thing to use a lot of goods and services, is often to blame for food waste. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Chinese people are well known for being hospitable and generous. Many even feel that they lose face if their guests have eaten all the food. On campus, a generation of single children is less aware of the food waste issue. Students nowadays are well protected by their families and hardly have any concept of how much toil others go through in order to provide them with the food they eat.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} There are over 925 million hungry people in the world, most of whom live in underdeveloped countries and areas. They don't have enough food to eat. Many children die for lack of nutrition each year in some African countries. And farmers work very hard to grow the crops. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It's also important that everyone should think about how they can do their bit to reduce food waste.

A. Students' waste is extremely serious.

B. China, in turn, features its own eating culture.

C. But canteen waste is extremely the tip of the iceberg.

D. Students can never realize the serious food crisis.

E. Compared with them, some live in a different world.

F. So there's no excuse that we should waste our food.

G. Most of us would simply throw away any leftover food.

    Food feeds the soul. To the extent that we all eat food, and we all have souls, food is the single great united across cultures. With food, there are more opportunities to connect to memory and family and place.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Food as identity. French, Mexican, Chinese, and Italian cuisines each involve dozens of distinct regional foods. Every single culture and religion uses food as part of their celebrations.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Every season, every harvest, and every holiday has its own food, and this is true in America as well.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Sometimes food means living on. While the Chinese cooks who exported “Chinese” food around the world ate authentic cooking at home, the dishes they served, thus creating new cuisines entirely, were based on economic necessity.

    Food as pleasure. Things have changed dramatically in the past 20 years when it comes to food in France. Some of the ideas of French food life may be a performance. France is this pastoral nation where people are spending five hours a day going to 12 different markets to get their food.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Food as status. The introduction of global foods and brands has compounded food as a status symbol for some Chinese.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}In China, people eat food not necessarily for taste, but for texture. You can find food from all of the provinces of China in Shanghai, as well as every kind of global food style imaginable.

A. Food as survival.

B. Food as community.

C. It's the hardest to give up.

D. The celebratory nature of food is universal.

E. It is an accumulation, a function of your experiences

F. How and why you eat your food, is, of course, also very cultural.

G. But food in Italy is love, then nutrition, then history, then pleasure.

    Happiness doesn't mean being joyful or laughing all day long. Although happiness should be defined by each of us for ourselves, a general understanding of it could be having more good moments and memories than bad ones and having an overall feelings of satisfaction and fulfillment. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Read on and you will know the answer.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Many of us have the impression that we're not allowed to be happy and that we don't deserve it. Well, we all deserve to be happy, no matter what others say or even what we believe. So allow yourself to be happy.

    Smile even if you don't feel like it. Yes, smile as often as you can. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}If you're alone, smile for at least 3 minutes and our brain will take it as a real smile and will start producing feel-good hormones(荷尔蒙) and other chemicals.

    Enjoy the now. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Worrying about the future will not make you any more ready for whatever it is that finally happens. Choose the now and make an effort to live it.

    Count your blessings. Take a piece of paper and something you like to drink and sit comfortably maybe with some nice music in the background. Then write a list of every blessing in your life. Start with the smallest ones: I'm alive... to the biggest ones you can feel. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Once you're done, leave the list on the table. Read it every morning during breakfast for a week.

A. Don't leave anything out.

B. Give yourself permission.

C. If you are with people, they'll feel warmer.

D. Be brave and imaginative with your words.

E. So, how can we have more happy moments?

F. Feeling bad about the past will not change it a bit.

G. Why not say something loving to one person today?

    Vacations are important. We need to take time out from work to relax, and just be ourselves. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} We should all be allowed to leave our jobs behind us—at least for a few weeks each year—and just have fun. This might be something as simple as reading a good book in front of a warm fireplace and travelling to the most interesting places on our planet. Whatever we fancy doing is worth taking time out for.

    Workplace stress is on the rise. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} These include disease, depression and even death. We all seem to be running from one place to the next, never finding out where we want to go in the first place. I intend to break that trend in the coming days.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I will sleep late, write, watch movies, drink the occasional glass of wine, and eat to my heart's content ignoring calorie counting. My plan is to just enjoy the fleeting moments of being alive.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Spend your next vacation the way you want. Do what will restore your mental health. You're very valuable to the people who are close to you, and to those who depend on you. Like it or not, we are all interdependent in this great life of ours.

    You are valuable. Just remember that the next time you look at the mirror and take a deep breath. Remind yourself that there will never be anyone like you ever on this earth again.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} All you have to do is just ask yourself what you want to do.