How to Win a Debate Competition

    Debating doesn't mean that you can end up arguing with your opponents(对手). {#blank#}1{#/blank#}．The following tips on how to win a debate will further help you out.

    1 ){#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    This is very important. If you already know the debate topic that you are going to debate on, learn as much about it as you can. Research on it and then form opinions about it. Only if you know something in and out, will you be able to talk convincingly on it.

    2 ) Be confident.

    When you are putting your point in front of your opponents as well as the audience, be sure of yourself. Along with the words, your body language, voice modulation (语调) and eye contact, will play a major part in your success in debating. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    3 ) Give real life examples.

    While debating, make use of very simple language, which your audience can understand very easily. Give as many real examples as you can when making a point. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}．Thus, the judges and audience will find you much more convincing.

    4 ) Be descriptive.

    To win any debate, there is something about the human mind that you should be aware of. The thing with us humans is that if we see something, we believe and remember it much more than something we merely hear! {#blank#}5{#/blank#}．Tell you point of view in such a way that they can actually "see" what you are saying. If you are somehow able to pull this off, there is no doubt that you will be the winner of the debate competition!

    Follow the tips mentioned above, and with time, you will see yourself winning over your judges and audience.

    Lindsay Renwick, the mayor of Deniliquin, a country town in New South Wales, misses the constant whir（嗡嗡声）of the rice mill whose giant fans dried the rice. The Deniliquin mill, the largest rice mill in the Southern Hemisphere (南半球), once processed enough grain to meet the needs of 20 million people globally. But six years of drought have had a destructive effect, reducing Australia's rice crop by 98 percent and leading to the mothballing of the mill last December.

    Drought affects every agriculture industry based in Australia, not just rice – from sheep farming, the country's other backbone, to the cultivation of grapes for wine, the fastest-growing crop there, with that expansion often coming at the expense of rice. The drought's effect on rice has produced the greatest impact on the rest of the world, so far. It is one factor contributing to skyrocketing prices, and many scientists believe it is among the earliest signs that a warming planet is starting to affect food production.

    Researchers are looking for solutions to global rice shortages – for example, rice that blooms earlier in the day, when it is cooler, to fight against global warming. Rice plants that happen to bloom on hot days are less likely to produce grains of rice, a difficulty that is already starting to emerge in inland areas of China and other Asian countries as temperatures begin to climb. 'there will be problems very soon unless we have new varieties of rice in place,” said Reiner Wassmann, climate change director at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The recent reports on climate change carried a warning that could make the news even worse: that existing models for the effects of climate change on agriculture did not yet include newer findings that global warming could reduce rainfall and make it more variable.

    Yet the effects of climate change are not uniformly bad for rice. Rising concentrations (浓度) of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, can actually help rice – although the effect reduces or disappears if the plants face unnecessary heat, inadequate water, severe pollution or other stresses. Still, the flexibility of farmers here has persuaded some climate experts that, particularly in developed countries, the effects of climate change may be relieved, if not completely avoided. “I'm not as negative as most people,” said Will Steffen, director of the Fenner School of Environment and Society at Australian National University. “Farmers are learning how to do things differently.”

    Meanwhile, changes like the use of water to grow wine grapes instead of rice carry their own costs, as the developing world is discovering. “Rice is an essential food,” said Graeme Haley, the general manager of the town of Deniliquin. “Wine is not.”

    The worst time to look for a job is when you must have a new one immediately. Job Searching under pressure often results in nervous interviewing and decision-making from rela-tively few options. If you are not in need of an immediate career change, here are ways you can improve your long-term career prospects （前景） today:

    Identify at least two different roles. You do not have to be qualified for these positions today, nor do they have to exist in your company. However, these roles should be related to your current skill set. They are career options that look interesting. Once you have a couple of targets, think about why and what interests you. Pay close attention to what appeals to you, and write it down. This will give insight into your motivations and targets.

    Subscribe to a career specific magazine. Knowledge is power in the workplace. All busi-nesses must stay relevant to their customers in order to win the competitions and increase revenue（收益）.Reading about industry trends, advancements and success stories keeps you in touch with market conditions. This information allows you to see which companies and professionals are leading the peck. You can follow their examples in your own workplace. If you associate with those that stand out from the rest, you are likely to find yourself with better opportunities.

    Do exceptional work. In any role, there is a way to perform at your best. Look for ways to deliver a top performance. Show up early, be flexible to new assignments, have a positive attitude, cooperate with other departments, pay attention to the little details.

    Be professionally curious. Talk to people about their careers. Learn more about how success is measured in other roles, departments and companies. Ask people their thoughts on different industries. Challenge yourself to expand your business knowledge through interactions with people at regular time. People hire people. You never know what connections may be relevant when you start your next job search, so develop a habit of making good connections no matter where you go. Take the time to learn about others, and be helpful when you can.

    As in all things in life, getting in front of a difficult task early is always less stressful than reacting to a career surprise. Changing jobs is to be expected. No matter how secure you feel today, the time will come when either you or your employer decide it is time to change.

How to Be Good at Sports

    If sports are something that interests you, it stands to reason that you would want to be good at them. Here are some tips that can help you become a good player.

    Set ambitious but realistic goals. If you want to be great at sports, you need to set your aims high.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Instead, you should take a look at what you are, and figure out where you think you would like to be. Give yourself a suitable amount of time to achieve that goal.

    Be patient. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Impatient athletes tend to make poor ones. If you're not patient, you'll try to jump into advanced techniques long before you're ready. You'll feel discouraged when you don't see immediate improvement.

    Join a sports team. Most of the sports teams are free to join. If you go to school, you should go for team tryouts when they're happening. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Accept criticism. When you play sports, you will unavoidably receive criticism, whether from a coach or other players. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Are they angry because you missed a pass, or do they sincerely want to help you improve? In a lot of cases, you can use criticism as motivation to get better.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A skill become mastered when you're able to do it without thinking. Given enough time and practice, a skill will eventually fall under this category. When in a game, you won't have time to think everything through, so practice until it's all automatic.

A. Skills are often slow to build.

B. This does not mean being unrealistic.

C. You need to take most of it with a grain of salt.

D. Practice until your skills become second nature.

E. You also need to be clear about what you are good at.

F. If you're not in school, you can find a sports club online.

G. An important reason people join sports teams is to make friends.

    Have you ever imagined the benefits that a good memory can bring to you? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are four ways to improve your memory.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} There is evidence that sleep plays a vital role in the consolidation of memories relating to learning motor skills, such as learning to play a musical instrument or ride a bike. Having a full night's sleep soon after gaining a new skill helps consolidate the processes involved, so they can later be performed well.

    It's rewarding to continue education. Older people are often told to adopt a “use it or lose it” approach to maintaining cognitive (认知的) function. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In a 2016 study, US researchers found participants aged 60-90 who spent 15 hours a week for three months learning a complex skill, such as digital photography, saw significant improvements in memory tests.

    Taking a break counts. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} More than a century ago, German scientists showed that people performed almost twice as well in memory tests if they took breaks.

It's useful to stay social. Having an active social life delays memory loss as we age, US scientists who asked people in their 50s and 60s to do memory tests every other year between 2001 and 2007 found the decline in recall abilities of their most sociable subjects to be half that of the least well connected. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Sleeping well helps strengthen memories.

B. Old people should participate in easy activities

C. Yoga, meditation or other relaxation techniques may help.

D. Memories can be destroyed if the brain doesn't have enough rests to sharpen them.

E. In fact, when it comes to memory, research suggests that only certain types of mental activities help.

F. Being able to remember important pieces of information can give you a powerful advantage in your life.

G. Having good friends, volunteering for charities and other forms of social engagement also protect memory.

    Seven years ago, my wife told our 6-year-old daughter about our wedding weekend. My wife had moved back home to spend the weekend with her family.

    As I was tucking our daughter in (把女儿的被子掖好) later that night, she asked if she could "come home like mommy did" when she got married one day. (Hopefully, one day far off into the future...) I told her our house would always be open to her. She gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. She was extremely happy.

    After a few seconds, I could see her mind churning (思绪翻腾)—the happiness dissipated. She pushed her finger into my belly and told me in low spirits, "Your belly is too big and you are too fat. I don't know if you are going to make it."

    I was shocked. It was true that my health had fallen into a huge decline in the previous five years as I was building Contegix. I had not thought of it as destroying a future with my family. A 6-year-old girl saw what I missed.

    I decided to run a mile the next morning. I couldn't make it 1/4 mile. I didn't give up and went out the next morning.

    Seven years later, I have lost 60 pounds and regularly run ultra marathons. I attempted my first 100 miles last August, but I missed the terminal point at mile 87 after running on a torn hamstring (腿筋撕裂) for the previous 79 miles.

    Yet, the most important distance I will ever go will be walking her down the aisle (结婚) one day. I would not make it if it hadn't been for the honesty and innocence of a 6-year-old.