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.

Ways To Manage Stress Creatively

    Stress is a huge problem for us all. Here's what I've learned and applied to manage stress using my creativity.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Putting my creativity and my work first, I often neglected to eat, exercise, even stand up from my desk. I now realize that how I feel physically (and mentally) is more important than the work I create. Taking care of myself includes all natural remedies(疗法). I'm learning how to say no to social pressures, in favor of my own well being.

    Don't worry about what other people think of you.

    This is easier said than done, but I promise it does come with age{#blank#}2{#/blank#}A lot of people do offer unsolicited(自发的) advice. It is human nature to want to help other people. But if that advice is coming from a place of control or judgment, RUN in the opposite direction.

    Don't compare.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Most people are not as happy as they describe themselves to be. The best advice I ever heard was this：Don't compare your inside to other people's outside. Be open to new experiences, be kind to yourself and accepting of the journey which is life. Being present means not thinking into the future, or harping(唠叨) on the past. The coolest thing about being present is that CREATIVITY LIVES IN THE MOMENT.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Your intentions matter.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}What was your intention? I remind myself to enjoy the process of my creative fun stuff, it's for me. If others like it, great, but it's the enjoyment of my creative intention, in the moment, that I treasure.

A. Stop judging

B. Each moment is UNIQUE

C. We have to work in order to live

D. Take care of yourself--Mind AND Body

E. Stress is often caused by comparison to others

F. It's important to remember why you started doing something

G. No one cares about what you're doing unless what you're doing affects them

    What Is Emotional Eating?

    Emotional eating is when people use food as a way to deal with feelings instead of satisfying hunger{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Have you ever finished a whole bag of chips out of boredom or downed cookie after cookie while preparing for a big test? But when done a lot — especially without realizing it — emotional eating can affect weight, health, and overall well-being.

    Not many of us make the connection between eating and our feelings.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}One of the biggest myths about emotional eating is that it's caused by negative feelings. Yes, people often turn to food when they're stressed out, lonely, sad, anxious, or bored. But emotional eating can be linked to positive feelings too, like the romance of sharing dessert on Valentine's Day or the celebration of a holiday feast. Sometimes emotional eating is tied to major life events, like a death or a divorce{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Emotional eating patterns can be learned: A child who is given candy after a big achievement may grow up using candy as a reward for a job well done.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}It's not easy to “unlearn” patterns of emotional eating. But it is possible. And it starts with an awareness of what's going on.

    We're all emotional eaters to a degree. But for some people emotional eating can be a real problem, causing serious weight gain or other problems. The trouble with emotional eating is that once the pleasure of eating is gone, the feelings that cause it remain{#blank#}5{#/blank#}That's why it helps to know the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger.

Next time you reach for a snack, wait and think about which type of hunger is driving it.

A. Believe it or not, we've all been there.

B. If a crying boy gets some cookies, he may link cookies with comfort.

C. One study found that people who eat food like pizza become happy afterwards.

D. And you often may feel worse about eating the amount or type of food you like.

E. Understanding what drives emotional eating can help people take steps to change it.

F. Boys seem to prefer hot, homemade comfort meals, while girls go for chocolate and ice cream.

G. More often, though, it's the countless little daily stresses that cause someone to seek comfort in food.

    I was ten when I first sat with my grandmother behind the cashier (收银台) in her general store. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} I quickly learned the importance of treating customers politely and saying "thank you. "

    At first I was paid in candy. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I worked every day after school, and during the summer and on weekends and holidays from 8 a. m. to 7 p. m. My father helped me set up a bank account. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    By the time I was 12, my grandmother thought I had done such a good job that she promoted me to selling cosmetics (化妆品). I developed the ability to look customers directly in the eye. Even though I was just a kid, women would ask me such things as "What color do you think I should wear?" I took a real interest in their questions and was able to translate what they wanted into makeup (化妆) ideas. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The job taught me a valuable lesson: to be a successful salesperson, you didn't need to be a Rocket scientist—you needed to be a great listener. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Expect they are no longer women purchasing cosmetics from me; instead, they are kids who tell me which toys they would like to see designed and developed.

A. Later I received 50 cents an hour.

B. Before long, she let me sit there by myself.

C. I ended my selling a record amount of cosmetics.

D. Today I still carry that lesson with me: I listen to customers.

E. My grandma's trust taught me how to handle responsibility.

F. Soon I found myself looking more beautiful than ever before.

G. Watching my money grow was more rewarding than anything I could have bought.

    Every animal sleeps, but the reason for this has remained foggy. When lab rats are not allowed to sleep, they die within a month.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    One idea is that sleep helps us strengthen new memories. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We know that, while awake, fresh memories are recorded by reinforcing (加强) connections between brain cells, but the memory processes that take place while we sleep have been unclear.

    Support is growing for a theory that sleep evolved so that connections between neurons (神经元) in the brain can be weakened overnight, making room for fresh memories to form the next day.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Now we have the most direct evidence yet that he is right.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} The synapses in the mice taken at the end of a period of sleep were 18 per cent smaller than those taken before sleep, showing that the connections between neurons weaken while sleeping.

    If Tononi's theory is right, it would explain why, when we miss a night's, we find it harder the next day to concentrate and learn new information — our brains may have smaller room for new experiences.

    Their research also suggests how we may build lasting memories over time even though the synapses become thinner. The team discovered that some synapses seem to be protected and stayed the same size. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} "You keep what matters," Tononi says.

A. We should also try to sleep well the night before.

B. It's as if the brain is preserving its most important memories.

C. That's why students do better in tests if they get a chance to sleep after learning.

D. Similarly, when people go for a few days without sleeping, they get sick.

E. The processes take place to stop our brains becoming loaded with memories.

F. Tononi's team measured the size of these connections, or synapses, in the brains of 12 mice.

G. "Sleep is the price we pay for learning," says Giulio Tononi, who developed the idea.

    As is known to everyone, we all care about what others think of us and want to be liked, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}However, there are also many smaller, simpler things you can do, which can affect how others view you.

    Prove you are paying attention.

    To really show someone your interest in him or her, try bringing up a topic the person mentioned earlier. Did your co-worker talk about working with his son on a science fair project last week? Follow up and ask how it went. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}In fact, sometimes it says more that you can recall and show interest in even the small happening in another person's life.

    Handle criticism in a wise way.

    While you want to be generous with your praise, be careful with your criticism. For example, if someone makes an error, don't call that person out in front of a group. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Anyhow, be always gentle with criticism and only offer it when it's truly needed.

    Ask for advice.

    Asking someone for advice is a great way to get people to like you. It shows that you respect the other individual's opinion.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} When you make someone feel better about himself or herself, that person will most certainly end up liking you for it.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Most people love to talk about themselves. If you are asking questions and getting people to talk about themselves, they'll leave the conversation thinking that you're the coolest.

A. Try to be confident and respectful.

B. Everyone likes to feel needed and important.

C. It doesn't have to be a big, life-changing event.

D. Ask other people about their lives and interests.

E. Always use an individual's name in a conversation.

F. You can discuss your own mistakes before digging into someone else's errors.

G. The basics of getting people to like you are obvious—be nice, considerate and polite.