Ways to Improve Your Luck

    Some people have all the luck! Or does it just seem that way？Why did your co-worker get that big promotion while you were overlooked？Why do some of us seem to experience these lucky things more than others and how can you improve your luck？ {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

What You Tell Yourself Matters!

Do you know that people who are lucky tell themselves they're lucky？Has your own self-talk been filled with less-than-lucky talk？Do you say things like："I'm just not a lucky person." or "Good things never happen to me?" {#blank#}2{#/blank#}They say things like—"This setback is only temporary．I know things will turn around．"or" Things have a way of working out for me．"

Expect and Acknowledge Your Good Luck．

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Research suggests keeping a "good luck journal" helps people become even luckier．Did someone bring you coffee at work today？Did you find a random quarter on the street？Did your husband or wife do something nice for you today？Did your child get a good grade at school？Write them down!    All of these things count. Begin to notice all the good that comes to you．

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    Make contact with people．Take risks．People who try new things are much more open to luck and good fortune than those who don't．This doesn't mean you have to quit your job or take up skydiving! It could be as simple as starting a conversation with a stranger，taking a class in an unfamiliar subject, learning some words and phrases in a foreign language，or trying a new ethnic restaurant．{#blank#}5{#/blank#} And this greater openness can help promote chance opportunities in their lives．

A．You probably have many more lucky things happening in your life than you think．

B．Lucky people generally expect good fortune．

C．Do Something New and Different.

D．You will never forget your lucky friends．

E．Here are ideas that researchers tell us about luck．

F．A lucky person generally receive good fortune in the future．

G．Lucky people score much higher on openness than unlucky people．

    Have you ever heard of homecoming? It's a tradition celebrated every year in the US. At homecoming, a school or university welcomes back former students or alumni(校友).{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It means, “coming home.”

    This is a time when everyone can get together.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}There are events that encourage school spirit all throughout homecoming week, which leads to the big day on Friday.

    A major activity that most students will take part in is choosing the homecoming king and queen.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} This is a group of boys and girls who represent (代表) school spirit. At the end of the week, students vote for a boy and a girl to be the king and the queen.

    Then it's time for the football game, the main event of homecoming week! {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Almost everyone from school goes to the game: students, parents, teachers, and alumni visitors. If they win, everyone is very happy.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Students dress up, and some might even bring a date to go with them. After the dance, homecoming is officially over, and everyone can't wait for next year!

A. The last event is the homecoming dance.

B. That is where the name comes from.

C. Students get to pick who will be on homecoming court early in the week.

D. The tradition began more than 100 years ago in the United States.

E. The football team faces a lot of pressure to do well for the big crowd.

F. Homecoming usually lasts a week and happens in the fall.

G. Homecoming week was not just about fun, but also a chance to try out new things.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”—Lao Tzu

If you are in a city where everyone rushes, realize that you don't have to be like everyone else. You can be different. You can walk instead of driving in rush hour traffic. You can be on your iPhone or Blackberry less, and disconnected sometimes. Your environment doesn't control your life—you do. I'm not going to tell you how to give you a step-by-step guide to moving slower.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    ⒈Do less.

Cut back on your projects, on your task list, on how much you try to do each day. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Pick 2-3 important things— or even just one important thing— and work on those first. Save smaller, routine tasks for later in the day, but give yourself time to focus.

    ⒉{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Meeting are usually a “big waste of time”. And they eat into your day, forcing you to squeeze the things you really need to do into small windows, and making you rush.

    ⒊Start to put off or cancel the unnecessary.

    When you do the important things with focus, without rush, there will be things that get pushed back, and that don't get done. And you need to ask yourself:{#blank#}4{#/blank#}What would happen if I stopped doing them?

    ⒋Practice mindfulness.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Don't care so much about future or the past. When you eat, fully appreciate your food. When you are with someone, be with them fully. When you are walking, appreciate your surroundings, no matter where you are.

    Try these things out. Life is better when unrushed. Remember the quote: if nature can get everything done without rushing, so can you.

A. Have fewer meetings.

B. How necessary are these things?

C. Simply learn to live in the present.

D. Focus not on quantity but on quality

E. Give yourself more time to get ready and get there.

F. The world likely won't end if you don't pass one of the examinations.

G. But here are some things to consider and perhaps adopt, if they work for your life.

    How similar are language and music

    Language is part of our daily lives, no matter where we live m the world.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Both language and music play a huge role in our culture and here are some of their similarities.

    ·Both language and music have a writing system.

    In English we record language using the alphabet, which is a collection of letters. Similarly, we use notes to keep a record of music. Musicians read notes and create meaning in the form of music{#blank#}2{#/blank#} By writing pieces of text or music, we are able to share experiences through time. We can read the ideas or hear the composition of someone who lived hundreds of years ago.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    You can make a good guess at where someone is from by listening to the language they use. In the same way, we know that styles of music are different around the world, giving us the opportunity to explore many different cultures through their music and providing us with music for every situation.

    Both share emotion.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Of course you may be able to see it in my face, but you will know for sure through my word'. Similarly, music can sound angry, sad or happy. Music can show you exactly how the composer was or is feeling, and allows us to share in that emotion. When you feel happy, you might want to sing and dance to a happy song to celebrate your happiness{#blank#}5{#/blank#}I think we have all used music to express or process our emotions, often combining it with language in the form of song lyrics.

A. Both are expressive.

B. Both vary with culture.

C. How do you know that I am angry?

D. We use language to express our thoughts.

E. So just as you read English, you can read music.

F. Similarly, music is part of many people's lives.

G. In contrast, you probably also listen to sad music when you are feeling down.

    It is important that you teach your baby to read as young as possible. Why? Because there is simply no better time in a child's life for learning than when they are between 3 months old and their 5th birthday.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    As a result, they are sponges(海绵)for knowledge. Moreover, being able to read is the basis for any successful education, so the earlier they start, the better. All too often, parents leave educating their children up to schools, which probably explains why the United States is currently ranked 18th in its rate of reading and writing.

    Teaching your baby to read provides brain exercise during the very time when his or her brain is developing. It has also been shown to increase the baby's IQ. The sooner they begin to read, the sooner they can begin to learn other subjects. This way, by the time your children begin school, they will already know what's being taught, and will be put on the fast track. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    One of the cases that really began to bring the fact that babies can learn to read to the public's attention was 17-month-old Elizabeth Barrett. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    She was given a series of words and even sentences that she could read quite well. Her parents had been reading to her since she was born and had provided her with a very early education.

    Reading is the most important thing to teach babies at a young age. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Learning can be fun at such an early age, and it can be accomplished so easily that they won't have to struggle in order to learn. In fact, when you use the proper materials, they will look forward to learning.

    If you're interested in teaching your baby to read, the best way to start is by spending just a few minutes a day. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Simply show your baby matching pictures on the opposite side. There are also videos that help to teach babies to read.

    There is no better time to teach your baby to read than the present. Begin by looking for learning materials that your baby might enjoy.

A. Flash cards are an effective tool.

B. She appeared on the Today show.

C. Maybe they will even skip a grade down the road.

D. During this time, their brains are developing rapidly.

E. What's more, your child will be able to read so successfully.

F. It doesn't have to be stressful or difficult for your child though.

G. Parents talk about the pride that their children can read at an early age.

Top Poetry Writing Tips

Tip 1: Poetry involves work, rest and play.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}It involves hard work, especially in the early stage when you are deciding on the overall form and tone of the poem, and getting the bones of it onto the page. But writing poetry should be a playful activity, too. Have fun playing around with the language, the ideas and the music inside the poem.

Tip 2: Poetry requires both words and silence.

Poetry has been defined as "the best words in their best order". Choose your words carefully for their sounds and meaning. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Just as the white space on the page is needed to shape the pattern of words, so the thoughts that are left unsaid, the pauses and the quiet hints, will add something extra to your poem. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}If you have created enough solid stepping stones in words and thoughts, then the reader will follow you to the end of the poem.

Tip 3: {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Poets often turn to writing a poem when they experience a strong emotion and have the need to express it. The reading of other people's poetry can also give comfort or a sense that you are not alone in how you are feeling. But be careful not to write your poem with abstract emotions and don't tell your readers how to think or feel.

Tip 4: Writing poetry can be difficult to start and hard to let go.

It is often difficult to know how to start a poem, but the trick is to recognise the beginnings of them, in everyday life. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}They can start from remembering a funny conversation that you've overheard at the bus stop, yesterday's nightmare, a secret you've been told, or an interesting postcard that you have noticed in a shop. If you catch yourself thinking about something for more than a minute or two, that's when you reach for a pen and some paper and start jotting down(匆匆记下) thoughts, words and phrases.

A. But poetry is also about silence.

B. Writing a good poem rarely comes easily.

C. Don't be afraid of the gaps that you leave.

D. Poetry needs an emotion and a control of it.

E. Poetry sets the scene for readers to step into.

F. Poems don't have to come from exciting events.

G. You must write your feelings and views with passion.