Hillary Rodham Clintons，a Strongwoman

    There are many Hillary Rodham Clintons— the experienced lawyer, the best-selling author, and the first US First Lady to be elected to the United States Senate (参议院).

    Born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 1947, Hillary's childhood was happy and she was well educated. Her parents encouraged her to take up anything that interested her and to be strong.

    When young Hillary returned home from school with straight A's, her father remarked that it must be an easy school. The girl once ran back home crying after someone had hit her at school, but her mother wouldn't let her in. "There is no room in this house for cowards (懦夫)," said her mother.

    A little older, young Hillary put all of her energy into politics. As a student leader, she discussed political issues with friends and researched social problems.

    She entered Wellesley College in 1965. Graduating with high honors, then in 1969, Hillary entered Yale Law School, where she met Bill Clinton, a fellow law student. They got married in 1975. The former president often recalls the day when Hillary went to him and said, "If you're going to keep staring at me, I might as well introduce myself." The two soon became partners in moot court (模拟法庭), political campaigns, and the journey of love.

    When Bill was elected president in 1992, Hillary wasn't content with just being First Lady. From working to reform national healthcare to fighting for the rights of the poor, she refused to stop fighting for what she believed in.

    She was often criticized by her husband's opponents for actively involving herself in politics. But in keeping with her personality, Hillary always kept her head held high.

    "When she takes on a project, she works tirelessly until it is completed," said Betty Lowe, an old friend of the Clintons.

    Women's International Center proudly gave the Living Legacy Award to Hillary Rodham Clinton for her great contributions in so many fields, especially honouring her work for women and children.

    On December 1, 2008, US President-elect Barack Obama nominated(提名)Hillary as Secretary of State.

Making Peace with Your Parents

    As a teen, you're going through big changes physically and mentally. Your interests are increasing.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here is the challenge: Kids need to explore the world in new ways, and parents need to protect them from the dangers that are all out in that world. These conflicts can easily set off fireworks in otherwise calm houses. Sometimes conflicts can't be avoided. But by paying attention to the building blocks of successful relationships, you can work towards making home a happy and healthy place for you and your parents.

    For example, try to find a time to talk when your parents are not angry, tired, distracted or hungry. A good time to talk is when you're all relaxed. Timing is everything if the conversation begins to turn into an argument, you'd better calmly and coolly ask to stop the conversation for now.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Listen to what your parents are saying, and repeat it back to them. This shows them that you're listening. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Respect is the building block of good communication. People who respect each other and care about each others' feelings can disagree without getting things ugly.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} How do you build trust? Trust comes by actually doing what you say you're going to do. Some teens find that doing fun activities with their parents can improve their relationships. Sometimes we forget that parents are more than rule-maker—they're interesting people who like to watch movies and go shopping—just like their teenagers!

    What do you do if you are trying your best, but your relationship with your parents continues to be rocky?{#blank#}5{#/blank#}You can find supportive adults, such as a teacher or a coach, who can lend an ear. Remember you can only change your own behavior. Your parents are the only ones who can change theirs.

A. You may consider seeking outside help.

B. And then you'll be able to accept what your parents say.

C. You can pick it up again when everyone's more relaxed.

D. Faced with the challenge, children don't know what to do.

E. And your desire to take control of your own life is growing.

F. It also gives them a chance to clear things up if you're not on the same page.

G. You are more likely to get along with your parents and have more independence if your parents believe in you.

How to Make Friends

    Friendship is a very important human relationship and everyone needs good friends.  Good friendship has many benefits.  It offers companionship, improves self-worth and promotes good health.  There are times in our lives such as when we have recently moved into a new town, or changed our jobs or schools.  Such changes often leaves us without a friend. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But for many of us the process is difficult and requires courage.  Below are some helpful suggestions on how to make and keep friends.

    ⒈Associate with others.

    The first step to make friends is associating with other people.  You can go to public places to meet new people.  Besides, you will need to make yourself known by becoming an active member of such places.

    ⒉Start a conversation

    Starting a conversation is the second most important step in making new friends. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}You can always start the conversation.  Being able to make small talk is a very useful skill in relating with other people. 

    ⒊{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Choosing friends with common interests is important in building friendship as these interests would always bring you and your friend together. Hanging out will always be a pleasant experience.

   ⒋Let it grow.

    It is a good thing to stay in touch.  However, try not to press your new friend with calls, messages or visits as this would likely wear him or her out and finally you may lose your friend. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.  The best friendships are the ones that grow naturally.

    ⒌Enjoy your friendship

    The best way to enjoy your friendship is to allow your friends to be themselves. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Try not to change them from who they are to what you want them to be.  Become the kind of friend you will want your friend to be to you.

A. Be cheerful.

B. Do things together.

C. Do not wait to be spoken to.

D. Try not to find fault with your friends.

E. Making new friends comes easily to some people.

F. For a friendship to develop you need to stay in touch.

G. So you will need to give your friend time to react to you.

注意：每个空格只填1个单词。

    We all need to feel understood, recognized and affirmed by our friends, family and romantic partners. We all need to find our tribe.

    Research has shown that among the benefits that come with being in a relationship or group, feeling accepted is regarded as the most important driver of meaning. When other people think you matter and treat you as if you matter, you believe you matter, too.

    Though we all share a need to belong, in the first decades of the 20th century, many influential psychologists and physicians did not acknowledge this fundamental aspect of human nature. The idea that children needed parental love and care to live a full and meaningful life was not only considered medically dangerous, but also dismissed as immoral and disgusting.

    As behavioral psychology came into fashion and academic psychologists turned their attention to child- raising, this view shifted and they began to examine and affirm the vital importance of attachment in early life. They discovered that people, whatever their age, needed more than food and shelter to live full and healthy lives.

    But, sadly, many of us lack close ties. At a time when we are more connected digitally than ever before, rates of social isolation are rising. The results of an Age UK poll published recently suggest that half a million people over the age of 60 usually spend each day alone, and it's not unusual for another half a million people to go without someone to speak to for five or six days. All these figures reveal more than a rise in loneliness — they reveal a lack of meaning in people's lives. In surveys, we list our close relationships as our most important sources of meaning. Research shows that people who are lonely and isolated feel their lives are less meaningful.

    While close relationships are critical for living a meaningful life, they are not the only important social bonds we need to cultivate. Psychologists have also discovered the value of small moments of intimacy. “High-quality connections”, as one researcher calls them, are positive, short-term interactions between two people when a couple holds hands on a walk or when two strangers have an empathetic(移情作用的) conversation on a plane. High-quality connections have the potential to unlock meaning in our interactions with acquaintances, colleagues and strangers. We can't control whether someone will make a high-quality connection with us, but we can all choose to start one. We can say hello to a stranger on the street rather than look away. We can choose to value people rather than devalue them. We can invite people to belong.

Reading the world in 195 books

    In 2012, I set myself the challenge of trying to read a book from every country of all 195 UN-recognized states in a year. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. I created a blog called A Year of Reading the World and put out an appeal for suggestions of titles that I could read in English.

    The response was amazing. Before I knew it, people all over the planet were getting in touch with ideas and offers of help. Some posted me books. Others did hours of research on my behalf. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Even with such an extraordinary team behind me, however, sourcing books was no easy task.

    But the effort was worth it. As I made my way through the planet's literary landscapes, extraordinary things started to happen. Far from simply armchair travelling, I found I was inhabiting the mental space of the storytellers. I discovered, bookpacking offered something that a physical traveller could hope to experience only rarely: it took me inside the thoughts of individuals living far away and showed me the world through their eyes. More powerful than a thousand news reports, these stories not only opened my mind to basic information of life in other places, but opened my heart to the way people there might feel. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Through reading the stories shared with me by bookish strangers around the globe, I realized I was not an isolated person, but part of a network that stretched all over the planet.

    One by one, the country names on the list that had begun as an intellectual exercise transformed into places filled with laughter, love, anger, hope and fear. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. At its best, I learned, fiction makes the world real.

    According to the recently published cultural mindset study from Culture Trip, 60% of people in the US and UK say that their outlook on life is shaped by influences from different cultures. At the same time, the economic landscape of the last decade has resulted in younger generations being more interested in collecting experiences than possessions.

    Welcome to the "new culture economy"

    The collision of the two trends—globalization and the experience economy—has caused a new travel concept with cultural curiosity at its heart. This is the "new culture economy". The phenomenon is having a profound impact on people's interactions and definitions of cultural exploration and presents an incredible commercial opportunity.

    Education, travel, exposure to other customs and the cultural mashup that energes are the more influential social effects of globalization. More than half of respondents from the cultural mindset study have friends living overseas, while 78% have friends or family of different nationalities. Besides, the confines of student debt and unaffordable housing have created a shift in spending patterns, and so a new set of values has emerged in which experiences matter more than ownership.

    Why we travel

    People's social networks expose them to digital influencers and keep them connected to friends or family living in other parts of the world. The combination of these cultural, social and personal drivers has helped us to identify four cultural mindsets.

    ⒈Culturally aware—The motivation to travel among this group is anchored in pleasure. They seek out familiarity and select destinations close to home or reflective of their own culture.

    ⒉Culturally curious—Those with this mindset travel to discover new things and disrupt their everyday routines. They seek some familiarity, but also want to explore boundaries. They want to be seen as someone who is interested in culture, but this is often expressed in terms of visual interest and well－known sites.

    ⒊Culturally immersive—For this group, travel is all about adventure and personal growth. They want to be seen as highly cultured and as "explorers"; they are happy to celebrate when things go wrong, which they see as the key ingredient to making memories.

    ⒋Culturally fluid—The group's identity is shaped by their familiarity with travel. They feel at home everywhere and have adopted a hybrid cultural identity. Memories are often tied to experiences with people that represent the culture they are travelling to rather than sites.

    The environmental trade－off

    The cultural mindset research also sheds light on how people perceive the effect of tourism on the environment and the measures they take to reduce their impact. Two in five millennials—more than any other generation—worry that tourism has a negative impact on the environment and over a third limit how much they travel to reduce their impact.

    While most people won't control their desire to travel entirely, good news is that those who see the world are also the ones taking measures in their everyday lives to reduce their impact on the environment.