Do you like to listen to music when you feel sad? Do you like to sing songs in the shower? Music is everywhere. But in many countries, music classes in schools are losing their place.

    These days, because of the bad economy (经济) in the US, some schools fired (解雇) arts teachers including (包括) music teachers. Some students don't have the chance to learn music. In China, there are no exams for music. So many students choose to make use of their time and study subjects like science, math and history.

    But do you know that learning music helps children grow?

    “Playing music is like doing different things all together”, said Gottfried Schlaug at Harvard Medical School. For example, when playing the piano, people see the music notes. And they decode (解码) them. At the same time, they use their fingers to make sounds. You do all these things at the same time.

    Scientists say that music helps with science too. Einstein played the violin. And German physicist (物理学家) Max Planck was talented in playing the piano.

    Music is also a very valuable thing. It makes you interested in things, and it makes you happy, according to US National Science Foundation.

    Taiwan island, the biggest island of China, is between the South and East China Seas. Almost two-thirds of the island is covered by mountains.

    Traveling in Taiwan, you can do lots of things. In Taipei, you can taste all kinds of delicious food . Standing at the top of Taipei 101, the world's tallest building until now, you can get a view of the whole city.

    Taiwan has nice natural landscape as well. Sun and Moon Lake is a beautiful lake. On one side of the island it looks like the sun, on the other side it looks like the moon. That is why people call the lake the Sun and Moon Lake. Ali Mountain is the nearest mountain around Sun and Moon Lake. You can enjoy a nice experience with Gaoshan people. It's a wonderful place to see a very beautiful sunrise. If you enjoy swimming, fishing, boating and eating delicious fruit and fresh fish, Peng Lake must be a good place to visit. Everywehere in Taiwan, you can see mountains, valleys(山谷), and hot springs, together with fields of rice, oranges and tea.

Confidence is very important in daily life. It can help you form a healthy attitude. But how can we be more confident? Here are some suggestions:

Speak louder. When you are not confident, it's hard to do what you want to do well. You speak in a voice so low that other people can hardly hear you.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Your voice can help you become more confident.

Play sports. Physical exercise makes you tired but completely relaxed.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. 

Encourage yourself. Write down a list of things that you did during the day to see how many things you did well. Did you finish your homework? Did you tell a joke that made everybody laugh? {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. 

Get rid of(消除) fear. Fear goes along with failure.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Try to start again and believe you can do better.

Pick up a hobby.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. In some ways, a hobby can make you outstanding. And it will make you happy and confident.

A．Give yourself praise (夸奖) for the good things you have done

B．If you like singing, sing as much as you can

C．Try to speak loud enough so people can hear you clearly

D．But it is easy to overcome if you understand that failure is part of life

E．A strong body helps you be full of confidence.

The way we spend our time can be divided into three groups or jars (罐子). These would be the necessary tasks jar, the voluntary tasks jar and the happiness jar.

Every day, we spend time filling the necessary tasks jar. We fill this jar with useful things, like making money, doing housework, buying food and paying bills. We then fill another jar with voluntary tasks. These are things that we do for others, but we may not enjoy them. This jar is filled with tasks like taking children to activities and cooking family meals. Those jars are very important. If we don't fill them each day, our family won't run properly.

However, we often forget to fill the third jar− the happiness jar. This is the jar that we fill with activities that make us happy. Is your happiness jar sometimes empty at the end of the day? We all have days like that. Between doing all the necessary and voluntary tasks, time flies by on some days, and before we know it, it is time for bed. 

How to make a balance(平衡) between different jars? You should plan your time wisely. At the end of the day, hopefully we've done all we can to make sure that our happiness jar is filled.