In today's busy and competitive world, we all lead incredibly stressful lives. When stress becomes overwhelming, it can affect our mood and productivity. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The good news is that it is manageable and can be reduced, or even relieved completely.

    Enter the world of books. Feeling stressed out? Pick up your favorite book and leave the reality and worries behind. It is the most effective way to relax and overcome stress. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Getting lost in a book before bedtime can calm your mind and prepare your body for a good night's sleep.

    Connect with people. Another way to successfully beat stress is meeting with friends. Friends and loved ones are important to any healthy lifestyle. If you're feeling a little overwhelmed and just can't seem to shake it off, call your best friend or a member of your family and talk to them. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Walk it off. You can also effectively relieve yourself of stress by simply taking a walk around your neighborhood. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} There's a whole new world up there that you never seem to notice while rushing to work or talking to someone. Take a moment to admire a new building or a balcony somewhere high up that reminds you of a castle from your favorite movie. Enjoy your time alone and seize every moment of it.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Nothing brings you back on track like a good laughter. It is the most powerful antidote(良方) to stress and it brings joy into your life. Laughing brings people together and drives away all stress-related problems as if they never existed. It is absolutely the best medicine there is, and it will keep you both physically and emotionally healthy.

How to Develop Courage by Overcoming Daily Fears

    Sometimes when thinking of courage, we think it only applies to rare and uncommon situations. Yet our ordinary lives can also be full of courage, even if we are not facing the end of a gun, a wild animal or a dangerous criminal. Courage doesn't just mean doing heroic  acts.  {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In fact, where there is fear on a daily basis, there are opportunities for you to show your courage. Here are some suggestions to develop courage by overcoming daily fears.

● Recognizing your fears.

    By realizing that you're fearful, you are more likely to get to the bottom of what your fear is. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You might come to understand that you're afraid of failing or taking chances. You may be fearful simply because you don't have confidence in yourself. The key is not to dwell on your fear, but rather to understand what it is what you're worried about.

● Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen.

    If you hesitate to take action, ask yourself this: What's the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then go on to improve on the worst. Is failure the worst thing that can happen? No, absolutely not. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Doing nothing is actually the worst thing that can happen. When you take no action, you are assured of getting nowhere.

● Take action.

    Courage comes from taking action. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You need to act to overcome your fear. Your action may put you into discomfort, but you have to just do it. And your action can prevent you from being stuck.

● {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

  To build up your confidence, you need to do the same thing over and over again. Soon you will discover that less courage is needed because you have already gained mastery. You are able to move decisively forward.

A. Share your fears with others.

B. Practice, practice and practice.

C. So you are already in a comfort zone.

D. You cannot think courage comes just in one day.

E. Each undesired result is just one more step towards your goal.

F. Finding out what is truly holding you back.

G. You needn't wait for an emergency to occur to develop courage.

    A new report says plastics are responsible for $13 billion in damage to the oceans and the undersea environment. The findings were announced recently at a United Nations conference．{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Plastic thrown away carelessly makes its way into rivers and other waterways.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. After a while, it collects in the sea. And plastic never goes away. Plastic is not biodegradable—destroyed by bacteria or natural processes. Instead, it just breaks up into smaller pieces over time. The oceans contain a lot of chemicals and other pollutants(污染物).{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.That means harmful material may get into our food supply.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Human beings cause pollution and they can take steps to stop it. They can use fewer single use product containers and throw plastics away correctly. Plastic recycling programs also works—where old bottles and other plastics are collected, broken down and used to make new products. We could reuse bottles in our households many times if we wish to, rather than end it after the first use. We could, when we get rid of that plastic, recycle it and reuse it, which replaces the need for raw materials.

    The report also calls on companies to improve methods for using plastics.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. And it calls for information about the way plastic is thrown out or removed from use. By putting a new value on plastic, industry has a special reason to clean up the environment.

    But all of the companies must join to deal with the problem.

A. Then, fish may eat the plastics.

B. But people can make a big difference.

C. Plastics should be gathered together and reused.

D. It is convenient to use plastic bags in everyday life.

E. It asks for them to better measure and control plastic use.

F. The plastic eventually reaches coastal areas and ocean waters.

G. The report tells about harm to sea life and what might be done to improve the situation.

How to Make Friends

    Having friends may well keep you healthier and help you deal with difficulties better. It is not very hard to make friends. Continue reading to find out how to make friends.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}There are many ways to do this--talking about the weather (”At least it's not raining like last week!”), asking for help or saying words of praise (“I love your shoes.”)

    Introduce yourself at the end of the conversation. It can be as simple as saying “Oh, by the way, my name is…”{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Remember his or her name!

    Join a sports team. As long as you enjoy the sport, you don't have to be really good at playing a sport in order to make friends with others.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}If you play the guitar or sing, try joining a band.

    Be a good listener.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Ask questions about their interests, and just take the time to learn more about them.

    Encourage your friend. A very good friend encourages their friend.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Never make fun or laugh at your friend in front of others. If someone is making fun of them, a good friend will come to save their friend.

A. Start a conversation

B. Find out common interests

C. But a sports team isn't the only way

D. The key to being a good friend is the ability to keep secrets

E. They will remain with them in both good as well as bad times

F. Once you introduce yourself, the other person will do the same

G. Listen carefully to what people say, and remember important information about them

    Oral English, also known as spoken English, is the form of English that is used when people are speaking to one another . Students who are learning English as a second language often feel uncomfortable using oral English because they fear that they will not be understood. It is important that a person who is learning to speak English practice using the language.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Listening is important to learning spoken English.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Pay attention to conversations that happen around you while you are shopping . Watch the news every evening while you have supper .Part of learning spoken English is in understanding how English words are formed . Watch the mouths and tongues of native English speakers carefully.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Notice how the lips form certain sounds. Imitate （ 模仿）what you see .
       Rent movies over the weekend. Try to follow the story line of comedy shows.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Not having to respond in English lets you concentrate on simply understanding what is being said. Understanding how English is used in conversation will help you to better communicate in the language.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}When you are reading, pay more attention to the correct pronunciation of the words you are reading rather than comprehension of each word. Read easy books that were written for children. Reading simple books takes away the frustration of sounding out hard words.

A. Read out loud for twenty to thirty minutes every day .

B. Listen to English radio while getting ready in the morning .

C. Observe how much the mouth is opened to say certain words .

D. Find a friend or teacher who is willing to help you learn English .

E. Repeat the conversations several times to increase your speaking speed .

F. Watching TV shows and movies allows you to hear English used in conversation .

G. The more a person practices his or her skills , the more easily speaking English will become .

    It's reported that a male waiter recently poured boiling water over a female customer at a hot pot restaurant after the woman was caught complaining about the waiter's bad service online. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    The female victim, surnamed Lin, reportedly got into an argument with the waiter, surnamed Zhu, when Zhu refused her repeated request for additional soup for her pot. Lin was rushed to hospital and was diagnosed with severe bums on up to 40% of her body. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Many netizens criticized the waiter for being too impulsive and ignoring the possible consequences, but some also accused Lin of being too picky. Meanwhile, some came up with a question worthy of discussion: {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Many tragedies are caused by arguments and if the victim can control his or her anger and try to reach a compromise, the tragedies could possibly be avoided. Sometimes so­called "cowardliness" can be a form of self­protection, especially when you are faced with strangers and you know little about their personalities.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} When they calm down afterwards, they would regret their "ridiculous" behavior and have to pay the price for the consequences.

    In May, a male driver in the southwestern city of Chengdu was captured on film intercepting a woman's car and dragging her out of her seat, throwing her on the ground, before cruelly kicking her several times on the head, simply because the woman suddenly changed lanes in front of his car.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Forgive others' mistakes and avoid fueling others' anger. Accordingly, you may be less likely to suffer from unexpected troubles.

A. Will the situation be out of control because of your anger?

B. Intolerance has contributed to lots of violent incidents.

C. How to keep ourselves safe when we argue with others?

D. The waiter has been arrested for further investigation and trial.

E. This incident caused an outcry among netizens and opinion leaders.

F. But it is difficult to control our anger when we have conflict with others.

G. So next time you deal with conflict, it is mere advisable to control your temper and say "sorry" with a smile.