Some people make you feel comfortable when they are around. You spend an hour with them and feel as if you have known them half your life. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} .

    Here are several skills that good talkers have. If you follow the skills, they'll help you put people at their ease, and make friends with them quickly.

    First of all, good talkers ask questions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} . One well-known businesswoman says, “At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning. It's a common question，but it will get things going.” From there you can move on to other matters—sometimes to really personal questions. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . Second, once good talkers have asked questions, they listen to the answers .This point seems clear, but it isn't. Your questions should have a point and help to tell what sort of person you are talking to. And to find out, you really have to listen carefully and attentively.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . If someone sticks to one topic, you can take it as a fact that he's really interested in it. Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones of voice. If the voice sounds dull, then, it's time for you to change the subject.

    Finally, good talkers know well how to deal with the occasion of parting. If you're saying goodbye, you may give him a firm handshake and say, “I've really enjoyed meeting you.” {#blank#}5{#/blank#} . Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away feeling as if they've known you half their life.

A. Real listening at least means some things.

B. You can become a popular person.

C. Almost anyone, no matter how shy he is, will answer a question.

D. And how he answers will let you know how far you can go.

E. If you want to see that person again, don't keep it a secret.

F. It's polite to listen to others with a smile.

G. These people have something in common.

    Training for a marathon requires careful preparation and steady, gradual increases in the length of the runs.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, buy the best-fitting, best-built running shoes you can find. No one can say which brand will work best for you or feel best on your feet, so you have to rely on your experience and on the feel of each pair as you shop. When you have found shoes that seem right, walk in them for a few days to double-check the fit.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.As always, you should stretch(仲展) at least ten minutes before each run to prevent injuries.

    During the first week, do not think about distance, but run five minutes longer each day.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} it is wise to take a day off to rest. But during the next week, set a goal of at least a mile and a half per run.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.After two weeks, start timing yourself. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.Depending on the kind of race you plan to enter, you can set up a timetable for the remaining weeks before the race.

A. After six days

B. For a good marathon runner

C. Before you begin your training

D. With each day, increase the distance by a half mile

E. If they still feel good, you can begin running in them

F. Time spent for preparation raises the quality of training

G. Now you are ready to figure out a goal of improving distance and time

Testing the five-second rule

    You may have seen a friend drop food on the floor, pick it up, and eat it, while declaring, “Five-second rule! ” It's said that food dropped on the floor for five seconds or less is still likely to be clean. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Students at Britain's Aston University, led by microbiology professor Anthony Hilton, tested the rule and found it to have some scientific basis. The study's results show that food dropped for five seconds is less likely to contain bacteria than if it sits there for longer, according to Hilton.

    The students also found that the type of flooring where the dropped food lands has an effect. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Bacteria are most likely to transfer from tiled (铺瓷砖的) surfaces to moist food when the food has stood there for more than five seconds.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Therefore, consumers should still be cautious. “However, the findings of this study will bring some light relief to those who have been employing the five-second rule for years, despite a general consensus that it is purely a myth,” professor Hilton said in a statement.

    The research team at Aston also surveyed 500 people to find out who employs the five-second rule. Of the people surveyed, 87% said they would eat food dropped on the floor, or have done so in the past. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} “Our study showed people are also more likely to follow the five-second rule, which our research has shown to be much more than an old wives' tale,” Hilton says.

    Still, scientists say you should be careful about eating food dropped on the floor, especially if you have doubts about the cleanliness of the surface. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. But is that true?

B. Carpeted surfaces posed the lowest risk.

C. Of those people, the majority were women.

D. We've just lost our last excuse to eat food off the floor.

E. Usually people recover from the infection in five to ten days.

F. There is still a risk of infection if certain bacteria are present on the dropped surface.

G. A biologist points out that one in six Americans get sick from food poisoning every year.

Ways to Increase Your Confidence

There are some ways you can use to increase your self-confidence. Some of them you'll need to practice a lot before they start to work. It's like playing the guitar or soccer. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But as you do them, you build a deeper confidence in yourself.
{#blank#}2{#/blank#}
Exercise will improve your confidence and your way of looking at life. Plus, being healthy and looking better can also help you feel more confident.
Create something
Everyone is a creative(有创造力的) person, Rediscovering your creativity is a good way to improve your confidence in yourself. Creating something is a wonderful but not always easy experience. But when you're done, you not only feel good about yourself. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}
Use your body.
If you start to walk fast you'll soon start to feel nervous. If you start to walk slower you'll soon start to feel more relaxed. To feel more confident, use your body in more confident way. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Learn how confident people around you or on the TV use their bodies.
Compare yourself to yourself.
This will take away a lot of unnecessary pain in your life. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Compare yourself to yourself. Improve yourself and see how you grow and become a more successful, more confident and happier person.

A. Take exercise
B. Take it into the future
C. This makes you more active
D. Walk, sit, stand and move in a more confident way
E. Sometimes you will also discover new parts of yourself
F. Pay attention to yourself, not the other people around you.
G. They might not work too well the first or second time you try them

    What do you do in a situation like this? You're eating dinner with friends at a nice restaurant. You're having a great time when a phone rings at the table next to you. A man takes out his phone and starts talking loudly about problems he's having with his girlfriend. He talks for almost ten minutes! {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Many people find cell phones useful in their daily lives. But we've all sat next to someone talking too loudly on a cell phone. You may want to tell the loudmouth to end the conversation, but let the management take care of those noisy customers. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Here are a few rules:

    ▪Off means off! {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If a sign says "turn off cell phones", don't use your phone.

    ▪{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Speak softly and for a short time. Try to move away from other people.

    ▪Lights off, phone off! Never make calls in a theater or at the movies.

    ▪{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Talking on a cell phone while driving is dangerous. And watch where you're going when you're walking down the streets and talking on the phone.

    As more people use cell phones, things are only going to get worse. So, the next time you're getting ready to make a call, stop and consider the people around you.

    Our world is more connected than ever before thanks to technology. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Indeed, it is becoming increasingly important that we all learn how to deal with this painful feeling.

    You should be determined to actively end your loneliness. We often end up passively waiting for someone else to make us feel less lonely. You may feel that your loneliness indicates that nobody is willing to connect with you. And there is nothing you can do about it. But that is far from the truth. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    You should find reasons why you are lonely. We all feel lonely for different reasons. Some of us have no one to interact with on a consistent basis and that's why we feel lonely. You may feel that the people in your life don't share your thoughts and ideas. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} you need to identify it. And you know exactly how to handle your loneliness.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} People who are lonely tend to fall into destructive mental habits. They try to avoid the pain of not being understood and being disconnected by not giving people an opportunity to understand and connect with them. So the solution is to share your thoughts and feelings with others and to do so openly and fearlessly.

    You should find people who share your interests. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} everybody is interested in something. And just as there are many interests, there are many people who share those interests. Find what interests you and connect with others on that basis.

A. Whatever the reason is,

B. When you feel really lonely,

C. If you want to make friends with them,

D. Whether it's coin collecting or video games,

E. You should be open about your thoughts, ideas and desires.

F. Ending loneliness is something that you can and should pursue actively.

G. However, more and more of us find ourselves having to stand loneliness.