Most Valuable Possessions on Earth

Marie was a single mother of two children in a rural Missouri community. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} She also dedicated much spare time to numerous charities and community projects.

    Then one day Marie received some shocking news from her doctor. She had cancer, and it was spreading rapidly. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Soon, Marie witnessed what she had always known: although she was not financially wealthy, she already had the most valuable possessions on earth. Hundreds in her community and surrounding areas teamed up to help her and her family.

    Many people she had touched in caring ways demonstrated appreciation for Marie's life. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} However, she lived long enough to feel the love of those she had cheerfully served.

    The spirits of love and gratitude multiply(增加) when they are shared. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Giving selflessly was a value that Marie displayed all her life, and her spirit of giving lived after her in those who knew and loved her.

    All her life, Marie had demonstrated（演示） the truth of this simple principle : {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Rather, it is an attitude that comes from appreciating what we already have. We can find the happiness we seek if we will first share it with others. Then —— and only then——we will have the most valuable possessions on earth: love, happiness, and increasing gratitude.

A. Happiness is the result of sharing love and gratitude.

B. She worked full-time during the day and sold handcrafted leather gifts on weekends.

C. She lived a rather poor and hard life with the two children.

D. Marie didn't live to see the day when her bills were fully paid.

E. Love is second to none.

F. She had barely enough resources to put a cent in the medical treatments she would need.

G. Happiness will not come from worldly possessions of fortune.

Ways to say “Happy birthday to me”

    Tomorrow is my birthday, and I'm at an age when not everyone looks forward to cakes and presents.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It always makes me feel excited to be alive and grateful for my life and my family. So I think even if your birthday is a regular old day at work or home, there are some easy ways to raise it to the special occasion.

    Give a gift to someone else.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} While everyone loves to open a birthday present, there is a lot of joy and goodness to be gained from being generous with others. Making a birthday donation (捐赠) to a charity that means something to you.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Try something new. Today is new to us. Why not enjoy the newness of the moment? Dip your tones into some new waters, sign up for an adult education class, go for a new-to-you park or plan a new trip. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Whether or not you have the opportunity to share a meal, outing or party with friends and family, please take time on your birthday to connect with people who are important to your life, if you use social media like phones, you are likely filled with well—wishes from loved ones. Use these as a. jumping off point to start new conversations and reconnect with people who lift your spirits and support in your journey towards being your best self.

A.I love my birthday, though.

B. It's better to give than to receive.

C. Connect with people who matter to you.

D. This year my birthday is on a Saturday.

E. Freshen up yourself with countless opportunities.

F. One choice is to donate a dollar amount to match your age.

G. Download an app to learn a new language is also a good choice.

    Imagine that you are in a remote village somewhere with no medical clinic.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Once the doctors get to you, they examine you and take blood samples, but they won't be able to help you until they take the samples back to the hospital to find out what is wrong.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Thanks to engineer Andy Ozcan, many people may never be in this situation. He has invented an app that turns your mobile phone into a diagnostic (诊断的) tool.

    Ozcan's invention is important because it is very accurate and easy to use. In many remote places, even if doctors have microscopes and other instruments to help them make diagnoses, there may still be other problems. Many doctors, for example, don't have enough training to correctly interpret what they see.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}With Ozcan's mobile phone app, health workers can take a special photo of a blood sample and send it to a central computer at a hospital. The computer will then automatically interpret the photo and send a diagnosis back in a few minutes.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}His technology only requires a mobile phone and an Internet connection. As more than four billion people already have cell phones, the cost of establishing the diagnostic system is fairly low.

By inventing a medical tool that uses existing technology—mobile phones—Ozcan has developed a medical tool that is both practical and economical. Therefore, it can be effectively almost anywhere.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. As a result, they may diagnose illnesses incorrectly.

B. People are trying to reduce the cost of this new medical tool.

C. This tool has become much more popular all around the world.

D. Another reason that Ozcan's invention is important is that it is inexpensive.

E. You become very sick and must wait days until a mobile medical unit arrives to help.

F. Ozcan's simple, cost-effective tool might just save millions of lives around the world.

G. Even though you may only have a simple infection, you might die because of the delay.

    Self­love is the key to a happy life. After we have learned how to love ourselves, we will be able to love others. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You have to learn some steps to develop self­love.

    Accept yourself the way you are. Every person has his or her own advantages and disadvantages. Our advantages make us proud but our disadvantages make us unhappy. This isn't the right attitude towards life.  {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In fact, no one on this earth is perfect. The key is to achieve a better balance (平衡) and try to be as happy as possible.

    Stop worrying. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It won't help you get the solution (解决办法). In fact, it will make you very unhappy. So, don't let your worries influence you. This will help you face the difficulties of life more positively.

    Enjoy life. Take part in activities that you love and develop a hobby.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Take some time to enjoy them at least once a week. This way you are doing something that you are good at, which will make you feel good about yourself，and make you start loving life and everyone and everything in it.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}If your body is weak and suffering from some health problems, you aren't going to like anything about it. So you must take good care of your health. It includes eating fresh healthy food, taking enough rest and doing exercise.

A. Live a healthy lifestyle.

B. Make efforts to improve yourself.

C. It will hold you back from loving yourself.

D. They can be anything that makes you happy.

E. Worrying about a problem won't let you think clearly.

F. However, learning to love yourself isn't going to be easy.

G. The correct thing to do is accept the fact that you aren't perfect.

Public Speaking Training

    Get a coach

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, so get help. Since there are about a billion companies out there all ready to offer you public speaking training and courses, here are some things to look for when deciding the training that's right for you.

    Focus on positives

    Any training you do to become more effective at public speaking should always focus on the positive aspects of what you already do well. Nothing can hurt confidence more than being told that you aren't doing well. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, so good public speaking training should develop those instead of telling you what you shouldn't do.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    If you find a public speaking course that looks as though it's going to give you lots of dos and don'ts, walk away! Your brain is so full of what you're going to be talking about. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. As far as we're concerned, there are basically no hard and fast rules about public speaking. Your audience can be your friends.

    You are a special person not a clone.

    Most importantly, good public speaking training should treat you as a special one, with your own personal habits. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Your training course should help you bring out your personality, not try to turn you into someone you're not.

A. You aren't like anybody else

B. You already do lots of things well

C. Turn your back on too many rules

D. Check the rules about dos and don'ts

E. Whatever the presentation, public speaking is tough.

F. The one thing you don't want is for them to fall asleep

G. So trying to force a whole set of rules into it will just make things worse

    Test-taking tips

    Passing tests is a huge part of succeeding at school. Clearly, if you want to do well on a test, you need to prepare by learning the material(资料) {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Just breathe.

    Even the best prepared student sometimes gets nervous before a test. Nervous feelings can cause people to forget facts that they know. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Breathing deeply is helpful for this. So is moving your body slightly, such as by rolling your shoulders around. Try to arrive for a test a few minutes early, so you can relax before it starts.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    When you are handed a test, look over all the questions before you begin. Read them carefully, noticing details. Also pay attention to how many points each question is worth. Divide your time based on the percentage of your grade each question is worth.

    First answer questions you know and then go back to the difficult ones. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}But try to write an answer for every question on the test, even if you're not sure of the answer. The only exception(例外) is if you will lose points for wrong answers

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. If you're not sure whether you should change an answer, it's best not to. More often than not, your first instinct(本能) will be correct.

    Try your best.

    Above all, study well and try your best. If you do that, you can be proud of whatever score you get.

A. Pay attention to the time.

B. Read the test through first.

C. So one important test-taking tip is to try to relax.

D. But other actions can help make test-taking easier.

E. That way you don't spend too long on one question.

F. Check to make sure you have completed the whole test.

G. Try to finish early so you have time to review your answers and correct mistakes.