A life coach is somebody who helps you reach all kinds of personal and professional goals （目标） ．Each of us has the ability to be our own life coach．Here are some tips for you:

♦ Pay attention to your relationships with others

    Ask yourself the following questions: How do you deal with disagreements? When was the last time you showed your family members that you care for them? Your relationships with friends, family members and teachers show a lot about the kind of person you are.

♦ Face the fears about the future

    Now, imagine that one of your good friends told you that he or she was not strong enough to go back to school． We often give better advice than we are willing to take ourselves．Remember that even the most successful people were probably told that what they wanted to do was impossible, but they followed their dreams and succeed.

♦ Develop your talents

    If you want to reach your goals, you will have to spend more time developing the talents you already have, and uncovering any hidden talents that you haven't discovered yet．So you can take classes in subjects that you are interested in, even if you have no experience.

♦ Be thankful

    Take some time to be thankful for the things you do have．Remember positive memories. Think of the best day（s） you have had in the past month or year．Remember special parties, vacations and holidays．Appreciate the wonderful people you have in your life.

Tips for Cooking on a Tight Schedule(紧密的日程)

    From my experience, there are three main reasons why people don't cook more often: ability, money and time.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Money is a topic I'll save for another day. So today I want to give you some wisdom about how to make the most of the time you spend in the kitchen. Here are three tips for great cooking on a tight schedule:

    Think ahead. The moments when I think cooking is a pain are when I' m already hungry and there is nothing ready to eat. So think ahead of the coming week. When will you have time to cook? Do

you have the right materials ready?{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Make your time worth it. When you do find time to cook a meal, make the most of it and save yourself time later on. Are you making one loaf of bread?{#blank#}3{#/blank#}It takes around the same amount of time to make more of something. So save yourself the effort for a future meal.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This may surprise you, but one of the best tools for making cooking worth your time is experimentation(尝试). It gives you the chance to hit upon new ideas and recipes(食谱) that can work well with your appetite and schedule. The more you learn and the more you try, the more ability you have to take control of your food and your schedule.

    Hopefully that gives you a good start.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} And don' t let a busy schedule discourage you from making some great changes in the way you eat and live!

A.Try new things.

B.Ability is easily improved.

C.Make three or four instead.

D.Understand your food better.

E.Cooking is a burden for many people.

F.Let cooking and living simply be a joy rather than a burden.

G.A little time planning ahead can save a lot of work later on.

                                                                           Ways to Free Your Mind You're Feeling Stuck

    Have you ever like you were racing around in without making much forward progress? If you're stuck and you don't know how to rise, don't look outside yourself. Look below.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Go back to what's important

    When we get stuck, it can be extremely useful to come back to these three things: core values, beliefs and goals. Why?{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Ask for help

    Very often, highly happy and successful people have a supporting group of friends, family and others who help them{#blank#}3{#/blank#}And don't be afraid to reach out and help someone who's even more stuck than you.

    Embrace the natural pathways

    When you get stuck, there's no need to go back to the drawing board. Ask the people around you about the systems that are working for them, read insightful books and blog articles, and use the same methods and pathways that others have used to get unstuck.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Relocate yourself to an inspiring environment

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}You can go for a walk in a nearby park. You can come out of the office for a cup of coffee. Or if you are at home, you can simply go to a different room in the house. Whether it's urban spaces, parks, libraries, museums or even our own backyards, there are plenty of available sources that we can draw inspiration and strength from.

A. Goals are the outcomes in life that we strive for.

B. Here are some useful ways to help yourself get unstuck.

C. When you are stuck, don't be afraid to ask for help.

D. One way to get unstuck is to simply change your environment.

E. Because they form the basics of what is important to us as individuals.

F. Break the circle of worry and work on something else.

G. In fact, the system is nothing more than a natural pathway of thought that someone has created with their mind.

How to make friends at a new school

    Starting with a new school can be difficult. Everything seems to be different, and you don't even know where to go for your own classes. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, if you use these skills, you can quickly turn some of those strangers into friends.

Be yourself.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If some people don't accept you, they're not the kind of friends you need. People often stay together because they have similar interests. For example, someone who does a lot of sport may make friends with those who also run or swim a lot.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Remember to be nice to the people you meet at your new school. If you think that you will say something that may make them feel sad, do not say anything and just nod your head if they talk to you. Also, remember to be as helpful as possible!

Believe in yourself.

    A smile goes a long way. When you walk in the halls, don't keep your eyes on the floor. Raise your head and make eye contact with other people. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Introduce yourself. Tell them your name and where you're from.

Remember people's names.

    You like it when people use your name, and so do other people. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Besides, ask them in a kind way if they have a nickname. You'd be surprised how often this might come in handy.

A. People may become angry if you just begin by saying “Hey” each time.

B. Be friendly to others.

C. Join after­school activities you like.

D. Making new friends can be hard, too.

E. Don't sit at the back of the classroom where other people don't notice you!

F. If you see someone you know, smile or say “Hi”.

G. Never change who you are to try and fit in.

Decoding the young brain

    There was a funny experiment to see how a young child would answer a specific question compared to an adult. After the adult had spent some time speaking with the child, he asked the child, “What do you think about me？” The child answered, “You talk too much.” When the adult performed the same experiment with another adult, the reply to the same question was, “I think you're a very interesting person.” Even if the adult felt the same way as the child, his brain allowed him to take a moment，consider the question, and come up with an answer. He could have been annoyed, but his answer didn't reflect it because he was being polite.

    The secret lies in the science of the developing brain. The child's honest answer was reflected in the fact that his brain wasn't equipped to filter(过滤) information before answering the question. As a result, he was honest, but he said something that may have been hurtful. However, the child did not intentionally hurt the adult; it's just the way his brain works. As a child grows into adolescence and then into adulthood, that changes.

    The human brain is made up of billions of neurons(神经元). In order for our body to execute a command, like getting up from a chair and walking to the other room, the neurons in the brain have to communicate with each other. They also help us employ our senses like taste and touch and help us remember things.

    When the neurons send messages, perhaps one sensation(感觉) the person feels is excitement about eating a cookie because it is so delicious. Later, if that person smells a cookie or hears someone talking about a cookie, it can spark the electrical signals that call up the memory of eating the delicious cookie. In an adult, he or she may remember that eating too many cookies can have consequences, like weight gain. But because the younger brain is more impulsive(冲动的), the desire to feel the pleasure of the sweet treat outweighs the consequences.

    That is because when a child is young, his brain is “wired” in such a way that he seeks pleasure and is more willing to take risks than an adult. This affects his decision-making process and it is why younger people tend to be more impulsive. Sometimes parents have to tell their children over and over again before the child remembers that something is dangerous or risky. How many times have we heard a parent say, “I tell her this all the time, but she never listens！”

    To conclude, what we know about the young brain is that children are more likely than adults to be impulsive. It isn't always necessarily because they are being naughty; it may very well be because of their brains. So the next time you ask a child what he really thinks of you, be prepared for any kind of answer.

Dear Mum,

    Today I went to a conference. In the conference, ⑴两个学生就因特网的优缺点进行了辩论。They made diverse points about the Internet that I had never thought about before. For example, some experts think that⑵花过多的时间上网的后果就是很难建立社会联系。 They were also quite explicit about how heavy Internet users spend more time with their Internet friends than with their real­life friends from school and work. ⑶This is another drawback of the Internet that alarms me. They addressed good points of the Internet, as well. For example, with the Internet, up­to­date information is only a click away. ⑷We can also correspond with people in distant places. This is very important for disabled people who can't always leave their homes.

    ⑸Both sides presented lots of statistics to support their arguments. My own judgement is that the Internet is beneficial. Otherwise, I would unable to write this e­mail to you!

Love from your son,

Xiaokun

⑴{#blank#}1{#/blank#}⑵{#blank#}2{#/blank#}⑶{#blank#}3{#/blank#}⑷{#blank#}4{#/blank#}⑸{#blank#}5{#/blank#}