People who are confident really seem to be naturally outstanding and just seem to do everything with more styles than others. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It is a habit that everyone can develop in life. Try these simple tips to drill and build up your confidence:

1). Admit your shortcomings calmly.

    Do not try to flee from them or cover them. Face them bravely. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Fight against them every day until the day when you could break away and conquer them.

2). Dress for self-confidence.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And therefore pay attention to your dress, display your unique physical advantages and exhibit your best image. In addition, on formal occasions such as a business conference or a wedding ceremony, elegant dressing contributes to building your confidence.

3). {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    You should break your routine that deals with the work passively. Concentrate your efforts immediately on overcoming it, because it will make your restless mind at ease and build your self-confidence.

4). Be positive.

    Feel pity neither on yourself nor on others. If you are used to hating and accusing yourself, others would tend to do that and believe it. Instead, you should speak positively about yourself, your progress, and your bright future. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Having bad feeling about world? “Cheer up.” says science writer Matt Ridley. “The world has never been a better place to live in, and it will keep on getting better both for humans and for nature.”{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

1 ) {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    It is reported that there are more than ten billion different products for sale in London alone. Even allowing for the many people who still live in poverty, our own generation has access to more nutritious food, more convenient transport, bigger houses, and better cars. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This will continue as long as we use these things to make other things. The more we specialize and exchange, the better off we'll be.

2)Brilliant advances

    One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs—food, clothing, fuel and shelter—have grown a lot cheaper. Take one example. In 1800 a candle providing one hour's light cost six hours' work. In the 1880s the same light from an oil lamp took 15 minutes' work to pay for. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Today it's half second.

3 )Let's not kill ourselves for climate change

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village, where the use of fossil-fuel (化石燃料) electricity is forbidden by well-meaning members of green political movements trying to save the world, is just as great a tragedy as a child that dies in a flood caused by climate change. If climate change proves to be mild, but cutting carbon causes real pain, we may well find that we have stopped a nose-bleed by putting a tourniquet (止血带) around our necks.

A. Ridley calls himself a rational optimist—rational, because he's carefully weighed the evidence.

B. Overreaction to climate change could prove just as damaging to human welfare as climate change itself.

C. Shopping fuels invention.

D. And, of course, we earn more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us.

E. In 1950 it was eight seconds.

F. It's high time that we took immediate action to fight climate change.

G. Here's how he explains his views.

    The Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese festival with great significance, which is on the 15^th of the first lunar month, marking the end of New Year celebrations. Here are several things you should know about the Lantern Festival.

    The Origins of Chinese lanterns

    The origins of Chinese lanterns date back to the Stone Age. The coming of the Bronze Age saw the development of various kinds of lanterns, of which palace lanterns were the most fascinating{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Various lantern festivals became a hit during the Sui Dynasty, and during the Southern Song Dynasty, the custom of writing riddles on lantern arose. During the Qing Dynasty, magnificent exhibitions of lanterns were held in the capital city.

    Eating small dumpling balls

    Just as the name implies, an important part of the Lantern Festival, or Yuan Xiao Festival, is to eat small dumpling balls made of sticky rice flour. We call these balls Yuan Xiao, or Tang Yuan.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}The dumpling symbolizes family unity, completeness and happiness.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    When it comes to the Lantern Festival, “Guessing lantern riddles” is an essential component. Lantern owners will write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns in advance. If visitore can answer the riddles, they will get a little gift.

    Watching fireworks

    At night, in addition to lighted lanterns, fireworks form a grand scene. Most families save some fireworks from the Spring Festival and set them off during the Lantern Festival.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Dragon dance

    The dragon dance is often performed during the Chinese New Year period.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}They are believed to bring good luck to people, therefore the longer the dragon in the dance, the more luck it will bring to the community.

A. Guessing lantern riddles

B. Chinese dragons are a symbol of China.

C. The ways of celebrating the Lantern Festival

D. Obviously, they get the name from the festival.

E. All the Chinese people like watching dragon dance.

F. Later, decorative lanterns came to be used in festivals.

G. Some local governments will even organize a fireworks display.

    Recently, I've been following a simple rule that is helping me crush procrastination(拖延症) and making it easier for me to stick to good habits at the same time. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} There are two parts to the 2-Minute Rule.

    Part 1—If it takes less than two minutes, then do it now.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For example, washing your dishes immediately after your meal, tossing the laundry in the washing machine, taking out the garbage, sending that email, and so on.

    If a task takes less than two minutes to complete, then follow the rule and do it right now.

    Part 2—When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.

    Can all of your goals be accomplished in less than two minutes? Obviously not. But, every goal can be started in 2 minutes or less. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    It might sound like this strategy is too basic for grand life goals, but I beg to differ. The 2-Minute Rule works for big goals as well as small goals because of the inertia(惯性)of life. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I love the 2-Minute Rule because it embraces the idea that all sorts of good things happen once you get started.

    The most important part of any new habit is getting started—not just the first time, but each time. It's not about performance, it's about consistently taking action.

    I can't guarantee whether or not the 2-Minute Rule will work for you. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Anyone can spare the next 120 seconds. Use this time to get one thing done. Go.

A. I call this little strategy the “2-Minute Rule”.

B. And that's the purpose behind this little rule.

C. Here's what you need to know to stop procrastinating.

D. Once you start doing something, it's easier to continue doing it.

E. But, I can guarantee that it will never work if you never try it.

F. The goal is to make it easier for you to get started on the things you should be doing.

G. It's surprising how many things we put off that we could get done in two minutes or less.

The Advantages of Hobbies

    Hobbies provide entertainment and a chance to continuously learn something new and develop a skill set.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Hobbies are praised as a key to stress reduction. Becoming lost in the mental concentration or physical action which you are deeply interested in helps you shift focus from the parts of life that are stressful.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}And in turn you are more peaceful when working on other work.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Many people set goals with their hobbies that provide them satisfaction when these goals have been achieved. These goals can be simple, like improving a golf score, writing a certain number of pages for a novel each day or seeing an entire collection of classic films.

    Hobbies provide a sense of community when you meet other people who enjoy similar activities.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}More populated cities typically have numerous clubs or groups for people to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about a particular hobby. Becoming a member of one of these organizations allows greater growth within your hobby, as well as a chance to make new friends.

    Having a hobby can develop a talent that makes a person feel proud and satisfied. For example, a tennis hobby developed at a young age can lead to a career as a professional athlete one day.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}For example, writer Vladimir Nabokov also collected butterflies, which allowed him to do better in his chosen fields because he used learned skills from one to improve the other.

A.Focusing on something enjoyable can calm the mind.

B.Hobbies also provide a sense of achievement.

C.Some hobbies affect other aspects of your life.

D.There are a variety of hobbies.

E.They also provide many other social and health benefits.

F.Having a hobby increases the chances to interact with like-minded people.

G.Some hobbies containing physical activities offer an enjoyable way to stay healthy.