As our family are getting ready for the annual holiday of Thanksgiving, which is probably the most important holiday in the U.S because it's celebrated by people of all faiths. I think back to a cold November day more than twenty years ago. It was a day when my husband and I, married just about three months, got stuck on I -89 in Vermont when our car broke down.

    We had just visited my husband's parents in Vermont, and with a huge turkey they gave us slowly thawing (解冻）in the trunk of our old car, we were heading back to our apartment in Boston to celebrate our first Thanksgiving together. Our car broke down half an hour after we got on the highway. And it was raining. Back to then, not everyone had a cell phone, and in those days if you broke down along a lonely stretch of a highway far from the nearest emergency call box in cold November rain, it wasn't fun.

    Fortutiously for us, a van with a bunch of people coming back from a ski trip stopped andasked if we needed help. They gave us a ride to the nearest gas station, from where we could phone my father-in-law and asked him for help. My father-in-law arranged for :he car to be towed (拖引), and drove us all the way to Boston that day.

    So as we sit down to dinner and think of all the things we can be thankful for tonight, I want to say “thank you” to the strangers on I -89 some twenty years ago for giving a young couple a ride when their car with a frozen turkey in the trunk broke down.

    Never underestimate the difference you can make to the lives of others by one small act of kindness. Step forward, reach out and help. This week, reach to someone that might need a lift.

    We were high in the mountains of Xishuangbanna, as far south as you can get in Yunnan, skirting the borders of Myanmar and Laos. The drive was typical, textbook beauty: mountains thick with rubber tree forests, pu'er tea plantations and banana palms and tiny Dai villages. Hidden among the fields of green, I spotted an odd collection of wooden boxes near a tent on the side of the road{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    We had run into the current home of Wei Dajing, a 17-year-old apprentice (学徒) beekeeper who was manning his hives. Wei was fresh to the beekeeping life, and had been on the job for just two months and was here to learn from a master beekeeper. Their tent and hive set-up is always temporary{#blank#}2{#/blank#}This particular spot was stationed at a sunny patch of yellow flowers. Once these flowers die, the rubber trees will be flowering, so we will move toward them,” he told Sam.

    Like thieves in the night, the beekeepers will stealthily pack up their hives in the dark once the bees go to sleep. “They are most active around midday when they are collecting their nectar (花蜜){#blank#}3{#/blank#}Wei explained.

    The hives were humming, and bees were invasively buzzing around Wei as he spoke to us. Pieces of fruit lay drying among the hives, used to feed the bees and give them an extra boost of energy once Wei bottles up their hard-earned honey. Sam, who also has a couple of his own small hives in his backyard, tells us you must always leave a little bit of honey in the hive{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    We waved goodbye to Wei. Back at Sam's house, he gave us a bowlful of local honey{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Lacking the usual sweetness of honey but instead rich with a more savory, spiced flavor, it tasted just like China.

A. It was smooth, thin and runny.

B. Wei skillfully collected honey from the hives.

C. Otherwise the bees get fed up and abandon you.

D. Maybe it is the flowers that give such unique taste to the honey.

E. By 10 pm they are asleep in their hives, which is when we move.

F. I asked our excellent guide and new best friend, Sam, to pull over.

G. Wei and his master move their camp as the flowers bloom and die.

How to Introduce Yourself Before Giving a Speech

    Greet the audience and state your name. If you're giving a speech, it's important to state your first and last name. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Don't state down or at some aimless point in the corner of the room. If you don't like the thought of looking into that many eyes, look at their eyebrows or noses—they won't be able to tell the difference.

    Share some relevant（相关的）information about yourself. After you provide your name, share why you and the speech are relevant, making sure you provide something believable. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you're giving a speech about the importance of eating organic foods, tell people that you're a scientist, chef, or environmental professional. If you're giving a speech about child development, be sure to include that you are a child psychologist.

    Communicate effectively. From the very start, make sure your voice is loud enough for everyone to hear you. You can even ask the audience if you are speaking loudly enough for all to hear. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Move your body. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Stand up tall, move your shoulders back, and keep your hands free, using them to gesture when necessary. You can walk around to show the crowd how comfortable you are and to make yourself look less stiff.

A. Make eye contact with a few people.

B. Focus just on what you are going to talk about.

C. Stand with good posture（姿势）, and move freely while you speak.

D. As you say hello and give your name, remember to speak clearly and confidently.

E. It depends on the context of the conversation, but start off by telling something about yourself.

F. People will not be able to understand you or respect what you are sharing if they cannot hear you.

G. The sort of information you share will depend on the audience and the subject you'll talk about.

    Many of us deal with the rush every morning in preparation for work or school, but it doesn't have to be this way. With a little time management, these steps can help you cut down on your morning stress.

    Create an evening preparation routine.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} These simple tasks will take you less than 30 minutes to complete each evening and will save you a huge headache every morning.

    Get a good night's sleep.

    Make sure you start winding down for bed at a reasonable hour to allow enough time for a healthy night's sleep. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If needed, set a bedtime reminder alarm on your alarm clock. Always keep the temperature in your bedroom comfortably cool 

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    An extra 30 minutes in the morning will make a difference. As long as you go to bed on time, waking up 30 minutes earlier should seem natural after just a few days. Use this time to think, shower and eat breakfast.

    Plan a realistic day.

    Writing things down means you don't have to worry about forgetting to do them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Write down anything that cannot be put off to the following day.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Getting up to face a new day is far more satisfying when you have something to look forward to. Make sure you manage your time better so that you have time to do something you love on a daily basis.

A. Morning stress is very common.

B. Schedule something you love daily.

C. Never fill your mind with unnecessary worries.

D. Make a summary of what you did in the daytime.

E. Wake up 30 minutes earlier.

F. Iron your clothes, locate your keys, plan a nutritious breakfast, etc.

G. Most people require between seven and eight hours' sleep each night.

Tips to fight summer weight gain

    When we think of summer, most of us think of outdoor fun. So it seems like we should naturally lose weight over the summer—not gain it. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Lots of summer activities can work against our efforts to stay at a healthy weight. The good news is that it's easy to avoid problems if we know what to look out for.

    Get going with goals. When we don't have a plan, it's easy to spend summer moving from couch to computer, with regular stops at the fridge. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Just be sure to plan for some downtime so you can relax a little!

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} With school out, we lose our daily routines. If you don't have a specific job or activity to get up for, it's easy to sleep late, watch too much TV, and snack more than usual. Make sure your summer days have some structure — like getting up at the same time each day and eating meals at set times. Plan activities for specific times, like exercising before breakfast, for example. If you have time on your hands, offer to make dinner a couple of nights a week so your family can enjoy a sit-down meal together.

    Think about what and how you eat. Summer means picnics and barbecues — activities that revolve around an unlimited spread of food. Pace yourself. Don't overload your plate. Avoid going back for seconds and thirds. Choose seasonal  healthy foods like fresh fruit instead of high-sugar, high-fat desserts. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Stay busy. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} In addition to helping you avoid the cookie jar, filling your days with stuff to do can give you a sense of accomplishment. That's especially true if a dream summer job or planned activity fell through. Limit your screen time — including TV, computer, and video games — to no more than 2 hours a day.

A. Stick to a schedule.

B. Plan more activities.

C. Appropriate summer eating sets you up on the right track!

D. Most of us, however, don't take summer weight gain seriously.

E. In reality, though, summer isn't all about beach volleyball and water sports.

F. When we're bored, it's easy to fall into a trap of doing nothing and then feeling low on energy.

G. Avoid this by setting a specific aim, like volunteering, mastering a new skill, or working at a job.

    Why is setting goals important? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen.

    Successful people imagine how their life should be and set lots of goals. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It's like having a map to show you where you want to go. Think of it this way. There are two drivers. One has a destination in mind which can be found on a map. She can drive straight there surely without any wasted time of wrong turns. The other driver has no goal, or destination or map. She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver, but she drives aimlessly around, never getting anywhere, just using up gas. Which driver do you want to be?

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} They decide what they want in life and then get there by making plans and setting goals. Unsuccessful people usually just let life happen by accident. Goals aren't difficult to set and they aren't difficult to reach. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You are the one who must decide what to achieve and in what direction to aim your life.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Written goals can be reviewed regularly, and have more power. Like a contract with yourself, they are harder to neglect or forget. Also when you write your goals in a particular way, you are able to make yourself continuously aware of situations that will bring you nearer to your goal.

A. Winners in life set goals and follow them through.  

B. Research tells us that when we write a goal down we are more likely to achieve it.

C. It's up to you to find out what your goals really are.

D. It's difficult for a driver to reach his destination without a map.

E. By setting goals you are taking control of your life.

F. Because goals can help you do, be, and experience everything you want in life.

G. Because everybody should have a goal in his mind.