I had an experience once which taught me something about the ways people made a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I officiated (主持) at two funerals for two elderly women.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}At the first home, the son of the deceased (已故) woman said, “If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It's my fault that she died.” At the second home, the son said, “If only I had not insisted her going to Florida, she would be alive today.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is my fault.”

    When things don't turn out as we would like them to, we tend to assume that had we done things differently, the story would have had a happier ending. Any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course, for example, keeping mother at home, would have turned out better.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    There seem to be two elements involved in our readiness to feel guilty. The first lies in our belief that the world makes sense—there is a reason for everything that happens.

    The second is the thought that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and calls the rest of the world to its tasks.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely abandon that childish thought that our wishes cause things to happen.

A. That long airplane ride was more than she could take.

B. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?

C. Life and dead is an unsolved mystery.

D. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.

E. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him.

F. Both died a natural death.

G. They believe that they are responsible for what has happened.

    How to develop courage by overcoming daily fears

    At times, when it comes to courage, we tend to believe 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.

Recognize 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 that 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.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You cannot think courage comes just in one day. 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. Courage comes from taking action.

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.

Steps for a Successful College Application

    When it comes to getting into the college of your choice, your college application is the most important tool you have in your hands. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, while a bad one can land you at the bottom. Keep the following tips in mind when you are going through the college application process and you'll be on the road to admission.

    Be Prepared

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, carefully look over all the questions and requirements. Dedicate a page to each college with a checklist of everything you'll need to submit, such as transcripts, recommendations, the essay, copies of awards/certificates, etc.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Former Records Technician, Carmen Huff, says the best thing students do is to get their applications early—or at least by the deadline. Colleges and universities receive so many applications that they don't have the time to accept late ones. The more time you give the college or university to process your application, the more time you'll have to deal with any problems that might arise, Huff says.

    Watch Your GPA and Test Scores

    This is the first thing that most universities look at. For example, most four- year colleges don't have a GPA requirement, but top Ivy Leagues(常春藤联盟) usually only accept students with a 3.5 or higher GPA. However, if your GPA is weak, don't give up applying. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Write an Amazing Essay

    A great essay can help tip the balance in your favor. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Many colleges require two essays, one short and one long. What you write not only shows how literate you are, but also provides the reader with an impression of your values and beliefs.

A. Be On Time

B. Be Patient and Determined

C. When you have a test or an exam

D. When you first receive the application

E. A great application can zip you to the front of the line

F. So, take the time to think your essay through carefully

G. Instead, be sure to emphasize your other good qualities such as any awards or community involvement

    You may have heard that some plants and animals are endangered. What does that mean exactly?

    Endangered means there are very few of that kind still alive. Someday they might become extinct. You may wonder what people can do to help them.

    Plant trees

    As the date of Earth Day roughly coincides with U.S.Arbor Day, planting trees is a popular Earth Day activity. Trees helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, clean pollution, secure soil in place to prevent erosion, and provide homes for many birds, insects and other animals.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. And plant them in your garden or on nature strips where plants are usually grown. Restoring the local plant life will help attract native bird life, pollinators and local mammals.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    Why not welcome these nonhuman neighbors into your yard？ Here is how to do it. Instead of mowing the entire yard, leave a few sections unmoved.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Provide a source of water, like a bird bath or a small pond. Don't try to get rid of snakes, lizards, frogs, moles, squirrels, and the other creatures, many of which are beneficial.

    Clean up litter in your community

    Many groups use the weekend of Earth Day to clear roadways, highways and neighborhood streets of litter that has accumulated since the last clean­up day.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Welcome animals into your yard

B. Choose flowers that are native to your area.

C. One way is to protect the animals' or plants' habitats

D. Bees, butterflies, and many other insects will find this inviting

E. It's a wonderful community project that you can do as an individual or with a group

F. So planting trees is a long ­lasting act you can do to celebrate Earth Day

G. Encourage people to respect wild spaces by not damaging animal habitats, littering, and dumpling in the water.

If you're always comparing yourself to your peers，you might be low in confidence and unsure of yourself.Here are some tips on how to stop comparing yourself to others.

Write down your positive traits.When you ignore your abilities，it becomes easier to compare yourself to others.You might focus on their strengths and ignore your own completely. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}By being aware of your best qualities，you can learn to love yourself and build up your self﹣confidence.

Keep a gratitude journal.A gratitude journal helps you recognize the things you may take for granted so you can fully appreciate them.To start journaling，reflect on the little things that bring you joy. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Explain how they influence your life in detail.For example，if you jog in the park every day，you might express how you're grateful for your health and how jogging helps you overcome stress at work.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Instead of focusing on your "weaknesses"，reflect on the areas you can improve.Take advantage of all chances to improve your skills and techniques.Don't be afraid to ask other people for help along the way.Only by making efforts to improve your abilities can you make yourself happy.

Compete against yourself. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Instead，use comparison to become an improved version of yourself.Set goals for yourself and try to improve your own personal best.When you set a goal for yourself，track your progress so that you can see how you are moving toward that goal.That way

Overcoming comparison is a continuous process，but it is possible! {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A.Take control over your life.

B.Work on improving your abilities.

C.Don't compare your life to other people's.

D.Write down why you're grateful for them.

E.With time and practice，you can become the best version of yourself.

F.Appreciate others and use their success to motivate you to work hard.

G.To avoid this negative behavior，make a list of your strengths and talents.

The Feynman Technique(费曼学习法)is a powerful method that you can use to learn anything faster because it forces you to actively think about the problem instead of passively reading or listening to someone else talk about it. You can take the following five simple steps to study better.

·Find out the topic you want to learn. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Otherwise, you'll end up jumping between topics without developing a deeper understanding of any of them.

·Explain the topic as if teaching a sixth-grader. This step is the heart of the FeynmanTechnique—{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.This requires you to meet the child at their level of understanding by using the simplest way.

.Identify areas of improvement in your explanation. You'll need to critically(批判性地)review the explanation you cane up with in Step Two {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Try to find any knowledge gaps, together with any areas where you felt that you couldn't explain the topic simply.

·Improve and optimiez(优化) your explanation. Think about all the knowledge gaps and otherareas of improvement you found before. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

· Repeat the steps until you've achieved mastery of the topic. Keep going through each step you're fully satisfied with your explanation.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}, and that is why going through all the prior snnjust once is usually not enough to achieve topic mastery.

A. Use those to improve your explanation

B. To do so, take a critical look at your explanation

C. Make sure that your explanation is interest-based

D. Your explanations need to be short and to the point

E. The Feynman Technique works best with a repeat

F. It's important that you clearly know the topics you're trying to learn

G. Explaining the topic simply enough to be understood by a sixth-grade student