Some people make you feel comfortable when they are around. You spend an hour with them and feel you are already close friends. They are always good talkers. Here are several skills that good talkers have in common. If you follow the skills, they'll help you put people at their ease, and make friends with them quickly. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    First of all, good talkers ask questions. Almost anyone, no matter how shy he is, will answer a question. One well-known businesswoman says，“At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}” From there you can move on to other matters—sometimes to really personal questions. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Second, once good talkers have asked questions, they listen to the answers. Your questions should have a point and help to tell what sort of person you are talking to. And to find out, you really have to listen carefully. Real listening at least means some things. If someone sticks to one topic, you can take it as a fact that he's really interested in it. Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones of voice. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Finally, good talkers know well how to “say goodbye”. If you're saying goodbye, you may give him a firm handshake and say, “I've really enjoyed meeting you.” {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away, happy and satisfied.

A. It's polite to listen to others with a smile.

B. You'd better change the subject if the voice sounds dull.

C. Don't be afraid to say so if you want to see that person again.

D. Common as the question is, it will get things going.

E. You can become a popular person.

F. And how he answers will let you know how far you can go.

G. These people have something in common.

Building Trust in a Relationship Again

    Trust is a learned behavior that we gain from past experiences. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Trust is a risk. But you can't be successful when there's a lack of trust in a relationship that results from an action where the wrongdoer takes no responsibility to fix the mistake.

    Unfortunately, we've all been victims of betrayal. Whether we've been stolen from, lied to, misled, or cheated on, there are different levels of losing trust.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}They've been too badly hurt and they can't bear to let it happen again. It's understandable, but if you're willing to build trust in a relationship again, we have some steps you can take to get you there.

    Learn to really trust yourself. Having confidence in yourself will help you make better choices because you can see what the best outcome would be for your well-being.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you've been betrayed, you are the victim of your circumstance. But there's a difference between being a victim and living with a “victim mentality”. At some point in all of our lives, we'll have our trust tested or violated.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Once trust is lost, what is left? Instead of looking at the situation from this hopeless angle, look at everything you still have and be thankful for all of the good in your life.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Instead, it's a healthy way to work through the experience to allow room for positive growth and forgiveness.

A. You didn't lose “everything”

B. It is putting confidence in someone.

C. Stop regarding yourself as the victim.

D. Sometimes people simply can't trust anymore.

E. Remember that you can expect the best in return.

F. This knowledge carries over in their attitude toward their future relationships.

G. Seeing the positive side of things doesn't mean you're ignoring what happened.

    It's well-known by all the people to greet friends with a smile and a wave.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, what happens if your face and body send mixed messages? Would someone tend to believe the look on your face or the way you behave?

    Recently, scientists have dealt with these questions. They found that when a person is staring at your face, he might not believe what he sees if your body doesn't match the feeling that your face shows.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Previous study had showed that the tone of a person's voice can be more important than the words spoken. For example, most people are more likely not to believe a person who says in a flat voice, “I'm so excited.”

    When talking about emotions conveyed by facial expressions and body language, most scientists suspected that the face was more important. To test if this was true, psychologists from the Netherlands and Boston showed people a number of pictures of isolated faces and isolated bodies that showed anger or fear.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    An angry face had low eyebrows and tight lips. A frightened face had high eyebrow and a slightly open mouth.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}A scared body had arms forward and shoulders square, as if ready to fight back.

These results told the researchers that mixed messages can confuse people. Even when people pay attention to the face, body language surely influences the emotion they read.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}And if you want to be understood it helps to avoid sending mixed messages.

A. Studying such mixed messages is nothing new for scientists.

B. So, your body language is important for telling people your feelings.

C. Scientists feel new to study the mixed message that puzzles people.

D. An angry body had arms back and shoulders at an angle, as if ready to fight.

E. Body language can sometimes be misunderstood in different culture backgrounds.

F. They also showed pictures where angry or scared faces were paired with angry or scared bodies.

G. When doing this, your face and body work together to show your friends that you are happy to see them.

                                                                                                                   Social Media

    Social media can be defined (解释) as web-based and mobile media that are used for people to interact, connect and communicate with each other. It often involves the creation and sharing of content (writing, pictures, and video) that people make themselves, mostly through the Internet.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The first type involves people getting together to work on a project, for example, Wikipedia. Blogs and micro-blogs (such as Twitter) are another type of social media. There are other websites like YouTube that allow people to share content such as pictures, articles or videos.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} These sites allow people to stay in touch with friends, make new ones and join communities. Facebook is an example of this type. Many people like to play games on the Internet and, yes, there are social media games as well. These games allow gamers to interact with each other and play with or against other gamers.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} The final type of social media is websites like Second Life, where people can create avatars (化身) and use and create objects, as if they were in the real world.

    Social media are different from traditional media. With social media, many individual people in different places create content.

    Another difference is that people who produce content in social media don't need very special skills.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} It takes only a few minutes to write a twitter post, for example.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But whatever you might think, social media is here to stay.

A. World of Warcraft is a good example.

B. And social media content can be produced much faster.

C. In general, there are six different types of social media.

D. Another type of social media are social networking sites.

E. Some people think social media is good and some think it is bad.

F. In traditional media，people need special skills to produce something.

G. Social media is one of the fastest-growing industries in today's world

    Whether you've been in college or you're looking forward to going to university in the future, you and your family likely spend some time worrying about the cost of your college education.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, that will pay off for years to come. Earning scholarships is a great way to help you. The Financial Aid Office at Illinois State helps students identify scholarship opportunities every day. Here is some advice to help you.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Have you asked your high school or community college financial aid office about scholarships at your school? Many schools have a list of several scholarships right there.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Check with community organizations, banks and credit unions, and large employers who may offer scholarship opportunities in your area.

    Find your “hook”

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Your unique characteristics can help your scholarship applications stand out. Pay special attention to awards that mention your best qualities, whether that's academic achievements, leadership, community service, or something less common. Think about why a donor wants to assist you in paying for your education. Most scholarship providers want to encourage a particular behavior. Companies may want to attract future employees.

    Develop a routine

    Every scholarship is different in terms of when you can apply, what you need to turn in, when the winner is announced, and how the money is given to you.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} There isn't a single application or search engine that allows you to find and apply for everything. Visit the website for the Office of Student Financial Aid for lists of scholarship opportunities. Go through the lists to find the ones that match you best and keep track of when you can apply for them.

A. While you're searching, consider what makes you special as a student.

B. Typically, scholarship applications open in the late fall or early spring for the next school year's awards, but that also varies depending on the donors.

C. There is no doubt that college education is a necessary step to get yourselves prepared for the future.

D. Local awards can often be easier to get as the application pools are smaller and less competitive.

E. Begin in your own backyard

F. It's no secret that college is one of the biggest investments.

G. Believe in yourselves

    Zoey admits it was a little sad saying goodbye to her fish. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Zoey's class at Hawthorne Elementary School spent most of the school year raising the fish from time they were nothing more than little eggs with eyes.

    The program the Hawthorne kids took part in is called" Trout in the classroom". {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The kids at Wilson Middle School in Fishersville took part in the project, too.

    "I got to feed them every morning and watch them grow up," said seventh-grader Lauren Clayton. We have to protect them, or some of the fish could go extinct." Lauren was right. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} But later, pollution, overfishing and loss of natural habitat have pushed some species to the danger of extinction.

    Thanks to the kids in the program, trout are being reintroduced into rivers and streams across the country. And by doing that, the kids are helping to restore there local ecosystems—the natural balance that existed before human disturbed it,

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Because the fish are in their classrooms, the kids are responsible for making sure there is cool, clean water, proper food and proper living conditions in the tanks.

    By the middle of May, they were "as big as a finger." That is, they are old enough to be released into Oneida Creek." Remember to swim back here to meet us and eat the food we bring little trout". {#blank#}5{#/blank#}