If anyone had told me three years ago that I would be spending most of my weekends camping. I would have laughed heartily. Campers, in my eyes, were people who enjoyed insects bites, ill-cooked meals, and uncomfortable sleeping bags. They had nothing in common with me. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

The friends who introduced me to camping thought that it meant to be a pioneer. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We sleep in a tent, cooked over an open fire, and walked a long distance to take the shower and use the bathroom. This brief visit with Mother Nature cost me two days off from work, recovering from a bad case of sunburn and the doctor's bill for my son's food poisoning.

    I was, nevertheless, talked into going on another fun-filled holiday in the wilderness.   {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Instead, we had a pop-up camper with comfortable beds and an air conditioner. My nature-loving friends had remembered to bring all the necessities of life.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} We have done a lot of it since. Recently, we bought a twenty-eight-foot travel trailer complete with a bathroom and a built-in TV set. There is a separate bedroom, a modern kitchen with a refrigerator. The trailer even has matching carpet and curtains.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It must be true that sooner or later, everyone finds his or her way back to nature. I recommend that you find your way in style.

Common public speaking problems

    The use of “I feel”, “I think” and “maybe”

    In the question-and –answer session of the speaking competition, many contestants began their answers with uncertain expressions like “I feel”, “I hear”, “maybe” and “perhaps”. These words show that the person is only speaking from his or her point of view. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Work on keeping your answers brief and to the point. Also work on delivering them with calmness and confidence. Instead of the empty-sounding “I guess”, using facts, together with a clear conclusion based on those facts, is far more likely to be popular with an audience.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Don't stick to the same tone. It can be boring. Try to mix it up. For example, when they spoke about their dreams, some sounded romantic. Others used humor. Very few used several different styles tighter. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} , rather than just sticking with the same one.

    Irresponsible answers

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . you're responsible for your words. Even though you want to answer quickly, you don't want to sound foolish. So you should think twice before you talk. Don't be like the student who, when asked about his opinion on book piracy(盗版), started by saying he supported it.

    Talking around the topic rather than directly answering it

    You should focus on one point and give a clear solution. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} . is it asking you to discuss a certain topic or to present your own point of view?

    Use one or two arguments together and give a strong conclusion. Remember that judges are not judging you on whether they agree, but on your ability to say what you think clearly.

A. Try mixing more than one style.

B. Improving your communication skill.

C. Using only one speaking style

D. It's important to involve your audience.

E. Public speaking is different from personal conversations.

F. The key is to work out what question is being asked

G. To the judges and audience, this lacks the support of facts and seems not to be reliable.

    Nearly everyone has spent at least one night lying in bed wishing for sleep. But for many, it's a nightly struggle. The key, or secret, is to experiment. What works for some might not work as well for others.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Set a regular bedtime. Go to bed at the same time every night. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Try not to break this routine on weekends when it may be tempting to stay up late. If you want to change your bedtime, help your body adjust.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you're getting enough sleep, you should wake up on time naturally without an alarm. As with your bedtime, try to maintain your regular wake-up time even on weekends.

     Be smart about napping. While taking a nap can be a great way to recharge, especially for older adults, it can make insomnia（失眠）worse. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you must nap, do it in the early afternoon, and limit it to thirty minutes.

    Fight after-dinner drowsiness（睡意）. What should you do when getting sleepy before your bedtime? {#blank#}5{#/blank#} For example, washing the dishes, or calling a friend. If you give in to the drowsiness, you may wake up later in the night and have trouble getting back to sleep.

A. Wake up at the same time every day.

B. Spend more time outside in the day time.

C. When it's time to sleep, make sure the room is dark.

D. Get off the couch and do something to avoid falling asleep.

E. If insomnia is a problem for you, consider giving up napping.

F. It's important to find the sleep strategies that work best for you.

G. Choose a time when you normally feel tired so that you can fall asleep easily.

    In a world full of uncertainty, having at least one thing you can count on is important{#blank#}1{#/blank#} For others it could be reading or running. For me, however, it is always art.

    Creating can be difficult, but that's what makes art special. You can start your project with what you want and you can change your mind many times{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Art has taught me to be patient with myself.

    If I could name my favourite thing about art, it would be that no two pieces are the same. Many people try to follow one another to be just like them, but that'll never happen{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Art has taught me that before anything, be yourself. You may be a little too colorful for some people but to others you're exactly the rainbow they've been looking for.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}The way certain colors mix together to make a new shade can paint an entire picture in your mind. You can learn about the world if you just pay attention. The small things you observe could be your inspiration.

    Listen, feel and see more, it will fascinate (使入迷) you how much more you appreciate the small things around you.

    Art is seen differently by everyone. However, one thing in common is creativity. You don't need to be good at painting to enjoy something beautiful. Be ready to be patient, be yourself and be good at observing{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. The beauty of art is in the details.

B. I've learned some lessons from creating.

C. If so, there'll be no limits on what you can create.

D. It's something that nothing or no one could take away.

E. There'll always be certain things that make them unique.

F. The only thing that gives me any piece of mind is painting.

G. But no matter what, there will always be a finished product.

    Generation Y is known as the generation that was born in the 1980s and 1990s, although experts do not agree on when this time started. The people who make up Generation Y are often the children of baby boomers（生育高峰中出生的人）.

    The millennium（千禧年）generation, as it is often called, has grown up with new technology and can use it in their jobs much better than the older generation can. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They like to communicate via text messaging, Facebook and other online technology. They have high expectations and seek new challenges. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Generation Y youths have a different attitude towards work, which is different from that of their parents or grandparents. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} They do not live to work but they work to live.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They want jobs that are flexible, not always having work from 9 a.m.to 5 p.m.. They prefer working from their homes and taking a day or two off to spend with their family when the weather is fine.

    While baby boomers worked hard, grew up with a company and stayed there for the rest of their lives, Generation Y workers do not want to do the same thing during their whole life. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} That means if you don't like what you do then do something else.

A. They want to spend most of their time at home.

B. They expect to change jobs at least a few times.

C. The new generation can be described as energetic.

D. Besides, they often dare to raise questions when confused.

E. The Internet, cell phones, iPads are normal for this generation.

F. Young people expect a different type of workplace than their parents had.

G. They don't want to work as hard as their parents but spend their life in a meaningful way.

    Most of us lead unhealthy lives; we spend far too much sitting down. If in addition we are careless about our diets, our bodies soon become loose and fatty and our systems slow moving.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}I am thinking of such features of modern city life as pollution, noise, rushed meals and stress. But keeping fit is a way to reduce the effects of these evils. The usual suggestion to a person who is looking for a way to keep fit is to take up some sport or other. While it is true that every weekend you will find people playing football and hockey in the local park, they are outnumbered a hundred to one by the people who are simply watching them.

    For those who do not particularly enjoy competitive sports—{#blank#}2{#/blank#}—there are such separate activities as cycling, walking, jogging and swimming. What often happens though is that you do them in such a leisurely way, so slowly, that it is doubtful if you are doing yourself much good, except for the fact that you have at least managed to get up out of your armchair.

    Even after you have found a way for keeping in shape, through sport or gymnastics, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, because, according to the experts, you must also master the art of complete mental and physical relaxation. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Yoga, as practiced in the West, is the most widely known and popular of the systems for achieving the necessary state of relaxation. It seems ironical (讽刺性的), though, that as our lives have improved in a material sense we have found it increasingly necessary to go back to forms of activity—{#blank#}5{#/blank#}—which were the natural way of life of our forefathers.

A. be active and practise Yoga

B. There are some aspects of our unhealthy lives that we cannot avoid.

C. and it is especially difficult to do so if you are not good at them

D. physical effort on the one hand and relaxation on the other

E. they spent most of the time out of doors

F. you are still only half way to good health

G. It has to do with deep breathing, emptying your mind of all thoughts, meditation, and so on.