How to Love Your Parents

    Even if you think that your parents are mean-spirited at times, loving your parents is a normal and fulfilling part of life. You love them for the fact that they created you, raised you, and are in part, a source of who you are.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Tell them you love them every morning. A gentle "good morning" and "I love you" will warm a coldest heart. Remember that they brought you into this world. Without your parents, we might still wander at an unknown corner in an unknown world.

    Respect them more and cherish these moments. You can use these moments to learn from them, preparing yourself for when you're off on your own. It's OK to get angry but angry actions don't help you or your parents. Act calmly, cool off, write down your feelings, or talk to a friend.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Obey their requests. It will make your attitude better and earn you more respect from them. It may seem like you are going through hell when you don't get what you want or you have to clean. However, you had better remember they keep a roof over your head when it's cold, raining, snowing, or too hot. Understand that parents are human beings and make mistakes.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Since you can forgive your friends, why not forgive your parents?

    Keep company with them. Do things with your parents like watching TV, or go somewhere with them.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Listen to their old stories and learn from them. You will find they are your teachers in this way or another.

    Some people simply may not be able to love their parents. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Seek help if you are being abused（虐待）in anyway．Parents do not have a right to harm you.

A. Parents will in turn express their love to you.

B. Forgiveness is the key.

C. Here are some ways to love your parents.

D. There can be realistic reasons for this, family violence for example.

E. Anyway, spend as much time with them as you can.

F. After that, share your feelings with your parents.

G. Please remember parents are as important as friends.

    Most people buy a lot of gifts just before Christmas. But some people think we buy too much. They have started a special day called Buy Nothing Day.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Buy Nothing Day is November 29. It's 25 days before Christmas. It's after Thanksgiving and often the first day of Christmas shopping.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    The idea for Buy Nothing Day started in Vancouver, British Columbia.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}In California, parents and children get together to read stories, sing songs, and paint pictures. The children talk about why they don't need a lot of toys. This year, in Manchester, England, people dressed up in costumes to tell people that we buy too much.

    In Albuquerque, New Mexico, high school students wanted to tell other students about Buy Nothing Day. They organized a spaghetti dinner to give people information about Buy Nothing Day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They made posters and talked to other students about it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The students at high schools liked the idea of this new tradition. Next year, they want to have another dinner to tell more people about Buy Nothing Day.

A. They asked restaurants in the neighborhood to donate the food.

B. At this time, we see ads in Newspapers and, on TV telling us to “buy, buy, buy!”

C. Buy Nothing Day has successfully persuaded people not buy anything.

D. Many people think highly of the idea of Buy Nothing Day.

E. They don't want anyone to go shopping on that day.

F. Now people all over the world celebrate Buy Nothing Day.

G. The dinner was a big success, and many students agreed not to buy anything on November 29.

Questions you should ask yourself when you fail

    The more new things we try the more failure we are likely to have.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Experiencing failure can be a learning experience and an opportunity for a fresh start. A good way to begin this process is by asking yourself some tough questions.

1）What can I learn from this?

Take responsibility for what went wrong. OK, so it was not all your fault—but some of it was. Successful people don't make excuses or blame others.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} So you should look at the experience objectively(客观地).

2）Do I need to acquire or improve some skills?

Did the problem reveal some lack of skill on your part? How could you learn or improve those skills? Perhaps there are books or courses or people you could turn to.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

3）Who can I learn from?

Is there someone to whom you can turn for advice? Did a boss, colleague or friend see what happened?{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Most people do not ask for help because they believe it to be a sign of weakness rather than strength. It's not. It shows that you are ready to learn and change.

4）What will I do next?

Now draw up an action plan. Will you try something similar or something different? Revisit your goals. Failure doesn't mean you have to give up; maybe you just need to change it in another way.  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. You can now reset your sights on your destination and plan a new course.

B. Make them step stones to future success.

C. They take responsibility for the failure.

D. In fact the only way to avoid failure is to do nothing new.

E. The important thing is how we deal with failure.

F. Make a self-development plan to acquire the skills and experience you need.

G. If they are constructive and supportive then ask them for some feedback (反馈) and guidance.

Hobbies

    Hobbies play an important role in our life. Most people have a lot of free time available but seldom use it gainfully.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}There are many hobbies from which you can pick and you can choose one that suits your talents.

    Once you have decided to start a hobby, it will be wise to go through a list of popular hobbies and choose one that is close to your heart and can make you feel confident. Some of the most popular hobbies that people generally take to are reading, listening to music, gardening, fishing, sports, music, exercise and computer-related activities. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Once you start, you seldom think of giving it up.

    Learning a new hobby is really a wonderful experience. As you progress, you will be living in a new world and learning new skills. You will begin to discover your hidden talents that you didn't know. You will start reading more about your hobby, meeting other hobbyists with similar interests, exchanging views and building friend circles both near and far. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In these games you will get the opportunity to meet others on a regular basis and develop great relationship.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They can help you keep good health and remain fit. On the other hand, if you are young and take a great interest in sports, you can develop your skills and finally get financially rewarded too. Similarly, gardening provides the hobbyist with enjoyable pastime and opportunity for relaxation. At the same time they get the rewards of their labor.

    People take up hobbies for interest, enjoyment and relaxation. Over a period of time, you might develop outstanding skills and get financially rewarded. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Each of these hobbies can give you great benefits.

B. This will change when you play games like golf, basketball or tennis.

C. Most importantly, having a hobby will help you get personal satisfaction.

D. Physical hobbies like sports and gardening can be very rewarding.

E. This will be more so if you take up games like golf, basketball or tennis.

F. Although these hobbies can benefit you a lot, you may not keep them forever.

G. They would rather chat with their friends than use their talents and start a hobby.

    Celebrate!

    Piñatas(彩罐)

    In Mexico, children often get piñatas on their birthday. Their parents put chocolates and other sweets inside the piñata and hang it on a tree. Then the children hit the piñata with a stick. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Noodles

    In China, people often celebrate birthdays by eating with family or friends, and the last dish of the meal is always noodles. The noodles are long and thin. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can't cut them. In Chinese culture, long noodles mean you will have a long life.

Business birthdays

    A business birthday shows that a company is successful. Many businesses in the USA celebrate important birthdays, like 10, 50 or 150 years. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}sometimes they make TV advertisements. It is a good chance to advertise the business.

Name days

    As well as a birthday, many people in Southern Europe also celebrate their name day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} people have big parties and open their houses to anybody who wants to come. People bring small gifts, often flowers or a box of sweets.

Islamic New Year

    In Muslim countries across the world, people celebrate Eid(开斋节). Eid means festival or celebration. During Eid, people visit family and friends, as well as people who are sick or in hospital. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Children receive toys, too. Children often wear special traditional clothes during the Eid celebrations.

A. You have to eat them in one piece.

B. They go out for a meal to celebrate.

C. Companies hold parties and send cards.

D. They give presents, such as sweets and food.

E. It breaks and the sweets fall out on to the ground.

F. This is one of the two important festivals in this country.

G. In Greece, name days are more important than birthdays.

    We are surrounded by messages trying to get our attention. Advertisers, politicians and other groups all try to get us to agree with them. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Propaganda is not always a bad thing, but it often hides the truth about a topic. Its very similar to advertising, whose goal is to get people to buy something, while propaganda is to change what people believe.

    Propaganda Techniques

    To create propaganda, a common technique is name-calling. A politician might call someone a traitor or liar, which makes the other person look bad. Another is the trend technique. People want to be on the side in the favor. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Some propaganda is based on fear. It scares people into choosing a certain side or taking action, which might not be bad. Anti-smoking campaigns are one example. They may scare people into thinking that if they smoke, they will get cancer.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Propaganda is used by many groups, such as businesses, politicians and the government .It is spread through posters, television and radio. The Internet makes it easy to send messages to the whole world.

    Types of Propaganda

    Political propaganda has been around as long as there have been politicians {#blank#}4{#/blank#} People have used it for many years. War propaganda began during World War Ⅰ, more than 100 years ago.

    To see if propaganda is saying the truth, people need to do extra work. For example, ads might always sound like they're true. But before you believe them, try to think about who created and paid for them. Find out why they did it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}