No personal success, achievement, or goal, can be realized without self-discipline. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It is the ability to control one's impulses, emotions, desires and behavior. To possess it is to be able to make the decisions, take the actions, and carry out your plan regardless of the obstacles, discomfort, or difficulties, that may come your way.

    How to develop self-discipline? We'll explore it together.

· Start with baby steps. No process takes place overnight. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}So, begin by making the decision to go forward and learning what it takes to get there.

· Learn what motivates you and what your bad triggers are. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Sometimes it is very difficult to fight off urges, so know the areas where your resistance is low and how to avoid those situations. Remove the temptations and surround yourself with encouraging items such as motivating slogans and pictures of what you want to achieve.

· Make certain behaviors a routine. Once you have decided what's important to you and which goals to strive for , establish a daily routine that will help you achieve them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They can put you in a negative frame of mind and hinder(阻碍)your self-discipline. A poor attitude can also be a bad habit.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Michael Jordan has always maintained that his greatness as a basketball player came as much from his willingness to work hard at his craft, as it did his talent. It was his desire through discipline and focus that made him one of the best basketball players ever. If it worked for him, it could certainly work for the rest of us.

A．What is self-discipline?

B．Engage in sports or activities．

C．Get inspiration from those you admire．

D．You can begin by learning about yourself !

E．If you try to do too much at once , you could injure yourself and have a setback．

F．Meanwhile, get rid of some of your bad, self-defeating habits, whatever they may be．

G．It does mean learning how to focus your mind and energies on your goals until they are accomplished．

Tips for Staying Sharp

    It's not abnormal to feel out of it from time to time or perhaps you're feeling a bit sluggish(迟钝的)when it comes to remembering things. If you're worried about your forgetfulness, try out these five tips to stay sharp.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    You've probably heard the term “you are what you eat.” If you decide to eat sugary foods that are heavy with fats then expect to feel lazy and have no energy. But if you decide to eat fruits, vegetables and make other healthy eating decisions you'll find that you're full of energy.

    Never stop learning

    Challenge yourself constantly---whether it is puzzles, reading, cooking or other tasks that will keep your mind working. If your mind is always learning new things and active, you'll realize that it's much easier for you to learn new things and to function. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Stay fit

    Being in good health and staying in shape is a big part of staying sharp. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you choose to be lazy then your body is not going to give you the energy that requires remembering things and completing tasks. However, if you put forth the effort into being health then your body will expel(释放)the energy you need to achieve your goals.

    Ensure enough sleep

    Be sure to get the necessary amount of sleep that your body needs to function on a daily basis. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It also helps your body build up an energy reserve so you can improve your ability to focus and avoid distractions.

    Socialize more

     {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Social interaction will help you develop multitasking, problem solving and other skills that are necessary in life to keep your mind sharp.

A. Feed your brain

B. Avoid eating too much

C. Your body will only give you what you put into it

D. Lack of sleep contributes to tiredness and slow reaction

E. Conversations require individuals to stay aware and active

F. According to studies, sleep helps strengthen and recover your memories

G. Remember you brain is a muscle and if you want to get the most out of it, you must use it

    There is an old saying about volunteer work that goes like this: “ No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”

    Today, many people volunteer their time and energy to help others. There are a lot of ways to meet other people's needs. For example, some volunteers provide help after a disaster. Others are happy to get dirty while repairing homes or planting trees or flowers in poor neighborhoods. Young people see suffering and loneliness around them and find ways to help. And history lovers help archeologists(考古学家) search for ancient objects to help deepen our knowledge of the past.

    Volunteers work in many areas around the world, including Haiti. More than four years have passed since a 7.0 earthquake shook the nation. The exact number of people who died may never be known. Thousands of survivors of the Haitian earthquakes still live in temporary shelters. Last year, former American President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn joined five hundred volunteers in the town of Leogane to build houses.

    Organizations do not have to be large to get volunteers. An activist group in Dharamsala, India is a good example, Jodie Underhill from England arrived in northern India several years ago. She planned to volunteer for an environmental project. She could almost not believe how much rubbish was ruining some of the area's most beautiful sights. Jodie Underhill learned about how to deal with the rubbish while taking part in other volunteer projects. But soon enough she formed her own group, Mountain Cleaners. Jodie Underhill says the work is very hard. But she praises the group's efforts as a wonderful experience. The young Englishwoman says the Indian media started calling her “Garbage Girl”. And she says she was pleased with the name.

    American teenagers also volunteer in many ways .

    You may have heard of the American Dream, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations.

    It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. The dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last for a long time.

    Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Tune magazine pointed out, quite different from the older generation, many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility, flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine.

    Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority for this generation. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of them choose travel as part of their dream. And running their own business is a rising favorite, as nearly 26% of Millennials consider self-employment as part of their dream.

    So what has led to this huge change?

    Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Modern young Americans seem bound to face a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity,” noted The Daily Beast.

    “The rate of 16-to-24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15%. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don't require a degree,” Time reported.

    The magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporation's ladder”.

    Dan Kadlec, a reporter of Time, sees Millennials as resetting their expectations. “This situation is different for young adults today,” he wrote. “A true American dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennials are feeling they can only attain a day-to-day lifestyle that suits them.”

    Traveling abroad for leisure is becoming more and more popular for Chinese. The UK is high up in the list of places that the Chinese want to visit. There is a sense of mystery about the UK: it's often the images of England's green parks, countryside and Victorian houses that people point to as an alternative to polluted, overcrowded cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou.

    The capital is viewed as modern and dynamic, while being filled deep with history. When asked what other images are thought of by the UK, the reply is often "the Queen, tea and Oxbridge". So what's stopping them actually coming? Sebastian Wood, the British ambassador in Beijing, has described the UK as a "fortress", and while this is perhaps an exaggeration (夸张), Britain does have a reputation as a country that is harder to access.

    The main problem for Chinese tourists is obvious. Although visa applications are now completed online, visitors are still required to visit one of 12 UK centers across the country for a face-to-face interview and fingerprinting. If you don't live near one of these centers already, you'd have to travel some distance to get there.

    Another problem is also to be mentioned. If travelers from China visit the UK, they also want to cover as much ground as possible. But the UK is not included in the Schengen visa, which allows access to a host of 26 European countries such as France and Germany. So it makes the former seem less worth it.

    There is also the issue of cost:￡47 for a Schengen visa, ￡82 for the UK. On top of this, the UK is viewed as stricter in its handling of visas compared with the rest of Europe, fed by urban legends of rejected applications. In the end, the decision comes down to one question: Is Britain worth a visit?