When you start a new school, go to a party or try to know a person, you often need to break the ice in order to start a friendly conversation. Breaking the ice means saying or doing something to stop feeling shy or uncomfortable around someone you don't know well. Almost everyone feels uncomfortable or shy when people meet for the first time. If you feel like this, the following ① tips can help you out.

Smile ② Whenyou smile, people think you're friendly and easy to talk to. They are also very likely to smile back and help you feel more comfortable about starting a conversation.

Be positive  Everybody likes being around happy people. Always look on the bright side of life and see everything positively（积极地）.

Be a good listener.   Don't control the conversation and don't just talk about yourself. ③ 仔细听别人讲，并且问一些关于他们自己的问题。They'll think you're worth talking to.

Be easy-going  ④ Some people may be so shy that they can't break the ice. Don't avoid being around new people just because you feel uncomfortable. If you face a situation again and again, you'll get used to it.

    It's difficult when you have no good friends around - maybe because you have moved toa different school or a different class or you re sick at home.没有朋友你也许会感到寂寞。You want to have new friends. But how to make them? How do you start? How do you get along with people? Here are five ways to help you to do these.

    Greet(闾候)people

    Greet people and hope that they have a good day - whatever time of day it is. It doesn't hurt any people. It also makes people think you're friendly.

    Share

    Take something to eat in your pocket. Ask if people would like to have some, and at the same time hand it to them.

    Help people

    Simple actions, like helping people carry something or opening a door show yourkindness.

    Smile

    Perhaps smiling is the easiest way to introduce yourself. There's a great reason why ittakes fewer muscles(肌肉)to smile than to cry. Nature just wishes us to smile more.

    Respect(尊敬)others

    The world's full of differences. So learn to respect others. It is the only way otherpeople will respect you.

    It was Mother's Day. John was so busy with his work that he couldn't go back home. When he passed by a flower shop in the evening, an idea came to his mind. "I'll send Mum some roses."While John was picking his flowers, a young man went inside. "How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?" he asked. The assistant was trying to tell him roses were as expensive as forty dollars a dozen (一打). Maybe he would be happy with carnations (康乃馨).

    "No, I have to have red roses." He said, "My mum was badly ill last year and I didn't get to spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special, it has to be roses as rose is her favorite."

After hearing it, John said he would pay the rest of the money for the young man. Moved by both of them, the assistant said," Well, lovely young men, thirty dollars a dozen, only for you." Taking the roses, the young man almost jumped into the air and ran out of the shop. It was well worth twenty-five dollars John paid to see the exciting moment. Then John paid for his dozen of roses and told the assistant to send them to his mother.

    As he walked out, he felt nice. Suddenly he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a park. But soon he realized it was not a park but a cemetery (墓地). Crying, the young man carefully laid the roses," Mum, oh, Mum, why didn't I tell you how much I loved you? God, please help me find my mum and tell her I love her."

    Seeing this, John turned and quickly walked to the shop. He would take the flowers home himself.

    Four Simple Ways to Better Your Writing

    Keep It Simple

    My first tip for improving your writing is: keep it simple.

    Now, I know it's better to keep things simple and do it well, rather than over-complicate(使过分复杂) everything and do it badly.

    So, in English writing exams, you want to show off your English, but you want to show off your right English, not all this English that you don't know or haven't learnt yet.

    Have a Collection of Set Phrases(固定搭配)

    In order not to make mistakes, it's a really, really good idea to have a collection of set phrases and key words that you can use in the exam. Make sure that you have different ways to …

    Compare：in the same way, at the same time

    Give your opinion：from my point of view, in my view

    Add information : in addition, besides

……

    So, that's just a very brief list showing you exactly what you need to study to be fully prepared for any English writing exam.

    Reduce Your Word Number

    Use as few words as possible to reduce your word number.

Avoid pointless words like very, a lot. Replace them, instead, with a strong word. By using strong words, you can reduce your word number by a fair bit.

    Another way is avoiding there is and there are. We want everything to be as clear as possible. Thus, you can increase the quality of your writing.

    Check Your Work

    Tip number four. Students will make some stupid mistakes when they're writing. After being asked to correct the mistakes, they will say, "We already know this. So easy!" and it's because they don't check their work.

    I personally think it's much better if you write less and check more. Fewer words, high accuracy(准确率). Then you will make your writing better.

    Four Simple Ways to Better Your Writing

    A city without cars would be very strange, right? But Venice is such a city.

    Venice is in the northeast of Italy. It isn't built on land, like Beijing or Shanghai, but on more than 110 islands. Seawater is everywhere around the city.

    Even so, travel isn't difficult. The waterways have always been the best way to get around. There are 117 waterways and more than 400 bridges that can lead you where you want to go.

    People in Venice move from place to place by boat. They like to enjoy cool summer nights while taking boat trips. They can talk to other people as they go along.

    Venice grew out of small islands in saltwater lakes when some Italians escaped(逃跑)from a war more than 1,500 years ago, and built homes there.

    Water makes the city special, but it is also a big problem.

    Once, people used too much underground water. This made the city get lower, little by little. Now the city has gone down by 23 centimetres.

    Another problem is the rising seawater. The temperature has risen over the years. This has made arctic(北极的)ice melt.

    Scientists are trying different ways to stop the city from getting even lower.