When I was a little girl, my mom would say, “Half the fun of doing anything is sharing it with others.” {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Friends and mates allow us to enjoy our successes and our joys, comfort us in our hard moments, and provide a mirror for us to learn more about ourselves. I've always looked at friends as the family we choose. They enrich our lives. As Robert Louis Steven once said, “{#blank#}2{#/blank#}”.

    To be a good friend or partner, it's important to be a good listener. Hear what your friend or mate has to say first rather than jump to conclusions or get defensive. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When they hear their words repeated back to them, it can help them to realize what they said was not exactly what they meant to say.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You know the old golden rule, “Care for others the way you would like them to care for you.” The support of a friend during a tough time could make the difference between success and failure. Encouragement and confidence are the gifts that can help change a person's life.

    Take care, though, with whom you choose to have close relationship, for they can have a great effect on yourself – respect and life path. As someone once told me “{#blank#}5{#/blank#} They will either take you up or down.”

A. I am afraid so.

B. It is quite true

C. Friendship is the most important factor.

D. Sometimes it is useful to be their mirror.

E. A friend is a present which you give yourself.

F. The attitudes of your friends are like the buttons on a lift.

G. Patience, sympathy and understanding are also important qualities.

    In your life, sometimes you may be asked to speak in front of a large group of people.Although it sounds a little scary, even those with stage fright can speak successfully to the group with adequate preparation.

    Practice your speech before the big day.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} If possible, practice the speech in front of a friend or family member to get used to saying it to real people.If you feel you must have note cards, limit the amount to about three cards.This will force you to keep your speech concise and help you keep your eyes focused on your audience.

    Remember why you've been invited to speak.If you're battling fear over speaking to a large group of people, keep your mind on the fact that you were selected for this important role.The speech organizers must have seen something valuable in you or your expertise.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Remember that fear of public speaking is very common.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Most of the people in the audience would be feeling the same fear and stress that you do in your position.Knowing this may make you feel better.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} What you say should be tailored to why you're there and who you're speaking to in order to avoid sounding general.If speaking to a charity group, mention the good work certain specific individuals have done for the cause.If speaking at a business conference, briefly state why you want to help these people.

    Keep eye contact with the crowd.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Pick one person in each section and look at him while you're speaking.After each important point in your speech, switch your focus to another section.When you focus only on one person at a time, the size of the crowd isn't as frightening.

A．A good memory is really helpful.

B．Show appreciation to your audience.

C．Mention your audience in your speech.

D．The more you have it memorized, the better.

E．In fact, it's normal to feel nervous or stressed out before a big speech.

F．Separate the crowd into three sections mentally as you get up to speak.

G．The knowledge of other people's respect for you should reduce some of the fear.

    Have you ever had the following experience? You have been given the task of organizing a conference, which includes a must-do list about a mile long. There is the conference site, the guest list, the materials, the technology and even the food and drink to think about and plan. If you are beginning to feel the stress, slow down and take a breath.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Write down your goals. You will need to clearly define what you hope to accomplish with this conference because this will shape the rest of your decisions.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Develop your budget. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Then break that budget into different parts such as conference site, materials and speakers' fees. Stick to your budget, and make sure your assistants are keeping their monetary limits as well.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. When searching for locations, keep in mind the number of participants, the convenience of the location, parking and closeness to public transportation, airports and hotels. Your goal in finding a place to hold the conference should be making it as easy as possible for participants to attend.

    Seek help from the staff of the conference site. If you have chosen a site that is known for holding conferences, you can seek help from the staff there as organizing meeting is what they do every day. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. They should be able to answer any questions or concern and provide advice when needed.

    Of course, full preparations also include a walk-through. Go to the site and meet with the staff the day before to be certain that everything is in place and to take care of any small details.

A. Decide on a schedule for the meeting

B. Choose your conference site

C. Read the following skills to figure out how to organize a conference

D. Knowing what you want to achieve eases the stress of moving forward

E. Make full use of this important resource

F. You can do nothing without knowing how much money you have to spend

G. Seek help from your colleagues to support every aspect of the meeting

    Americans spend a lot of money in their daily lives. Working people spend money on transportation to and from work and on various expenses throughout the day, Americans enjoy shopping and buy many things that they need and want, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}They buy sports equipment, go to movies and do many things that cost money.

    However, many Americans don't pay cash or write checks for these things. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Credit cards are small, rectangular plastic cards. It is very convenient to carry them about. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}When the customer buys something at a store, he shows his card at the store. This permits the store to charge the bank for the customer's purchase. The bank collects all the charges for each customer, Then once a month the bank requires the customer to pay the charges for that month. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It allows the customer to pay for the charges in several payments over a period of time.

    However, the bank requires the customer to pay interest(利息)on the unpaid part of the charges. In this way the bank allows customers to buy things they cannot afford at one time. People can use the card to buy what they want and pay for it over a period of time, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It brings great benefits to the rich.

B. Banks give these cards to their customers.

C. They spend a lot of money on entertainment.

D. They also do not need to carry a lot of money.

E. People may spend less money in this way.

F. More and more Americans pay for things with credit cards.

G. The bank does not force the customer to pay the full amount.

    Studying longer does not necessarily mean studying better. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Below are some great ways of learning as much as you can without getting too stressed.

    Find the right place to study.

    The first thing you need to do is avoid distractions (分散注意力的事物) while studying. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You should keep away from television sets and phone calls. Get all of your study materials together, so you will not be interrupted in the middle of your session.

    Break down the tasks into smaller parts.

    When you have gotten everything ready, list the items you need to study, and arrange them across several hours or days, depending on how big your load is. As a general rule, assign (分配) at least one hour to each subject. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} By doing this, you will be able to know more easily how long you need for each topic.

    Schedule study breaks.

    When you have listed all of your tasks and made a schedule, you should arrange study breaks. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This will give your eyes some time to rest, and yourself a chance to go to the bathroom or have some coffee. Scheduled breaks will reduce the need for you to interrupt yourself to the lowest level during the study session.

    Put your tasks in order of importance.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Just in case you run out of time to study, or if you think you do not have enough time to cover all topics, you should study in an order.

A．Each break may take about 15 minutes every two hours.

B．Learn to arrange the subjects in order of importance.

C．This means going to one place that will give you peace and quiet.

D．The key to efficient studying is following the schedule strictly.

E．You can find a way to test your knowledge by having a study partner.

F．If you have a broad subject, you will need to break it down into smaller parts.

G．To make the best use of your time, you need to learn how to study efficiently(高效地).

Is your glass of milk half-full or half-empty? This saying is often used to test people's outlook in a situation; do they focus on the positives (a half-full glass) or the negatives (a half-empty one)? Thinking positively, with a belief that most things will turn out fine, is called optimism and it's known to boost your well-being. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Why is thinking positively good for you?

Research shows that people who are optimistic and think positively tend to experience less stress and cope well when faced with life's challenges. People who are more pessimistic (expect that the worst will happen) may find it hard to believe that these challenges will pass. Scientists have even found that thinking positively can make you live longer. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} This is because you believe your goals are achievable and within reach, which encourages you to work towards them.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Everybody can worry from time to time. Worrying can help to keep you safe. If you were never worried and were greatly positive about how things would turnout, you wouldn't recognize risks. "Worrying is our brain warning us that there might be something threatening, which functions as a fire alarm." says child psychotherapist (心理治疗师) Rachel. "The trouble is that sometimes it goes off when there isn't a huge danger to face." {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

You should learn to think positively.

Optimism is shaped by your genes, which carry characteristics obtained from your parents, and by what happens to you. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Research has shown that it can help to draw or write an outcome that's positive, like an image of you playing guitar and having passed your next grade. Imagining this can motivate you to work to achieve it, such as practising everyday afterschool.

A. Worrying is like a fire alarm.

B. Avoid worrying is beneficial to our health.

C. Asking others for help positively makes sense.

D. The good news is that everybody can learn to think more positively.

E. When this happens, you can feel anxious and hopeless about what lies ahead.

F. However, whatever your starting point is, you can learn to be more optimistic.

G. Being positive about the future goals can make you happier and more successful.