Last year my summer holiday was spoiled by my bringing along a modern convenience that was too convenient for my own good: the iPad. Instead of looking at nature, I checked my e-mail. Instead of paddling a small boat, I followed my Twitter feed（推特简讯）. Instead of reading great novels, I stuck to reading four newspapers each morning. I was behaving as if I were still in the office. My body was on vacation, but my head wasn't.

    So this year I made up my mind to try something different: withdrawal from the Internet. I knew it wouldn't be easy, since I'm bad at self-control. But I was determined. I started by giving the iPad to my wife.

    The cellphone signal at our house was worse than in the past, making my at tempts at cheating an experience in frustration （沮丧）. I was trapped, forced to go through with my plan. Largely breaking away from e-mail, Twitter and my favorite newspaper websites, I had few ways to connect to the world except for the radio—and how much radio can one listen to, really? I had to do what Ihad planned to do all along: read books.

    This experience has had a happy ending. With determination and the strong support of my wife, I won in my vacation struggle against the Internet, realizing finally that it was I, not the iPad, that was the problem. I knew I had won when we passed a Star bucks and my wife asked if I wanted to stop to use the Wi-Fi.“I don't need it,” I said．

    However, as we return to post-vacation life, a harder test begins: Can I continue when I'mback at work?

    There are times when the need to know what's being said right now is great. I have no intention of giving up my convenience completely. But I hope to resist the temptation to check my e-mail every five minutes, which leads to checking my Twitter feed and a website or two.

    I think a vacation is supposed to help you rest your brain to become more productive. Here I hope this one worked.

    Every year in America, high-school students who want to go to college take a national examination called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT in a shortened way. Their score is an important factor in determining which colleges will admit them or whether any will be admitted at all. The Scholastic Aptitude Test measures one's mathematical ability and use of the English language. Traditionally, the English part involved grammatical questions and paragraphs that test reading comprehension.

    But the SAT folks have added a single question, to be answered in an essay, hand-written on the spot. That's an interesting way to test writing ability, but content aside, have you ever seen young people's handwriting lately? Or anyone's for that matter, in this age of computer keyboards? Students write numbers and sign their names on bank checks. They scribble class notes in what can generously be described as the written word.

    Yet today's kids are asked to write, thoughtfully and clearly, for several minutes on this SAT Test. Good luck to the text scorers who must work out difficultly the scrawl (潦草的字迹) of young people who've been typing on computers since the age of three! Teachers insist that good handwriting can not only help one's score on the SAT, but also, later on in life, impress potential employers. And don't forget, we all have to turn to handwriting from time to time, as computers go down when power goes out.

    Then how to improve the handwriting? Well, with a few simple steps you can improve your hand writing.

    Position the pen. You should hold the pen between the forefinger and the thumb, then rest it near the first knuckle (指节) of the middle finger. The rest of your fingers should be curled (卷曲) under your hand and your hand should remain relaxed.

    Evaluate your writing. Make changes to your letters till you like how they look.

    Take your time. Speed is bound to make your writing messy-looking.

    Practice. Practice it a lot; it's not enough to do it once and hope for the best. It has to be something you work at to make great improvements.

【1】A safari park is a park in which wild animals are kept. They are mainly located in east or central Africa. They often occupy a very wild area, with mountains and rivers. To visit the park and look at the animals, people have to drive around in a car for a few of hours because the park is huge.

【2】In south Africa there is a safari park, which contains all sorts of wild animals like lions, elephants, rhinoceroses(犀牛), zebras, wild pigs, deer and giraffes.

【3】There is a wild road leading through the park, but nobody is permitted to walk on the road. Anyone traveling in the park has to go in a car because wild animals may fiercely attack people. From the car he may see almost every types of African wildlife. Some of these are getting scarce (稀有的) because people kill them for various reasons. For example, rhinoceroses are killed for their horns (角), which are used in traditional Chinese medicines for colds and headaches. Perhaps they will be seen only in museums and books one day.

【4】Travels may buy food for the animals. They can feed them when they tour the park. Of course, they should not feed them in a close distance because the wild animals may attack people. In addition, they should only give proper food to the animals.

【5】A traveler may carry a gun with him in his journey. The gun is given to him by the government. However, it is not used for hunting. In fact, a seal(封条) is fixed to it. The traveler may fire at a wild beast to defend himself in case he is attacked. However, he has to prove to the government that he has been attacked and that he has not fired at a harmless animal.

    Flu easily spreads from one person to another. This is especially true to people who are weak. If you are weak, you are more likely to catch flu easily. Do you know how you can avoid flu?

    Keep in good health

    The best antidote (解药) to illness is good health. You can eat everything you want but make sure that your diet is healthy. The healthier you are, the better for you to avoid any type of illness around. Most doctors suggest plenty of fresh fruit juice and water in order that one can avoid flu.

    Stay away from people with flu

    If a member of the family or a friend has flu, stay away from them until they are well. Flu is very communicable and you can catch it by going with the person with flu. Wear a mask (面罩) and avoid using things that the person with flu is using.

    Exercise

    Exercising will make you stronger which means a stronger immune (免疫的) system too. Exercise often so that your body will keep healthy. It doesn't matter what kind of exercise.

    What is important is you are making your body stronger to prevent illness from attacking you.

    Be happy

    Happy people are healthy people. Their life is stress-free, so they are more likely to be safe from illness. If you are unhappy, which affects your immune system, you will easily get sick.

    Avoiding the flu is easy. Just boost (增强) your immune system and it will take care of the rest.

    If you've been in public in the past year or so, chances are you've noticed someone breaking dining etiquette (礼仪) that would seem second-nature to any adult. Why does our dining etiquette seem to be at an all-time low right now.

    "Overall, there is much less feeling about the common good, which means caring about your neighbor—whether at home or in a restaurant," said Steven, who writes articles for USA Today.

    Take the use of cellphone at the table for example. While a 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 38 percent of those surveyed thought it was acceptable to use their phones while dining out, the increasing number of cellphone bans in restaurant shows that restaurants aren't putting up with it.

    However, some look on the growing use of cellphones as a sign that manners change alongside our society.

    "Manners change," said the writer behind a food site The Takeout. "What we consider improper isn't set in stone." She points out the other "rules" that have since become outdated nowadays, like saying "Sir" and "Ma'am," as proof of this change.

    Yes, traditional manners are yet another thing being redefined by youth. "Younger people are growing up in a world with more flexible rules, and this spreads to the dining table," said Daniel Levine, director of global trends consultancy The Avant-Guide Institute.

    Whether you prefer high-end restaurants or a fast-casual meal, the biggest reason behind the decline of manners may just be a numbers game.

    "I believe it is more likely for people to break dining 'rules' because they go out and eat more often," said Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas. "Years ago, people stayed home and sat around the family table. Today, there are more people in the workforce, which makes it more affordable for socializing and eating out. With new chance comes the possibility for more dining problems."

We all know someone who holds court wherever they find themselves with amusing stories. For the rest of us, conversation can be trickier. Our editor asked Catherine Blyth, the author of The Art of Conversation for her tips on how to shine — and not get cancelled — at your next small-talk.

Consider what you want from a conversation

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. In fact, a conversation is usually a way to get something we want, whether that's to making a friend, or to asking someone on a date. Knowing what you want will keep things flowing. "At least, what you can get from a conversation is an interesting adventure with another mind. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}." says Blyth.

Guide the other person to help you

"There's nothing more flattering (受宠若惊) than feeling like that you've helped someone," Blyth says. She suggests finding a way to make the other person useful to you. "{#blank#}3{#/blank#}, that allows you to reveal a bit of yourself while inviting them to help, which is a great way to get conversation started."

Listen attentively and purposefully

Are you listening to understand, or listening to respond? That's a perfect question a would-be conversationalist should ask themselves. "A good listener indicates what interests them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If I'm conversing with someone who makes it all about themselves, I'll gently point that I'm not interested and shift us towards other topics." says Blyth.

Keep your phone out of sight and out of mind

"If you're chatting with someone with your phone next to you, what you're saying is ‘you're only as important as my next notification'," says Blyth. "Whatever you do on a screen isn't a conversation. Problems arises from comparing real conversation to text messaging. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. We need to give each other some grace."

A. Seeing the world through the eyes of others is a reward itself

B. People feel bad about conversation because they think it's a performance

C. Your responses should show which topics are interesting and which aren't

D. The best mindset you bring to small-talk is the idea that it's a treasure hunt

E. A direct praise is good, but if it's something like ‘I love that coat, where did you buy it?'

F. In a real conversation, you can't look things up, think about how to phrase your thoughts

G. You have to constantly be listening with your ears, your mind, and be conscious of doing so