A．Slow Down Your Life

B．Escape Now and Then

C．Separate Your Actions

D．Allow Yourself to Be Weak

E．Relieve Pressure by Firmly Saying “No”

F．Stop Expecting Everything to Be Perfect

How to Simplify Your Life

    Less is more. This is why we say: reduce things by half instead of doubling them, get rid of junk instead of piling it up, relax instead of stressing, slow down instead of speeding up. Apply these principles in your everyday life in a conscious way. You will then find yourself well along on your journey to simplification.

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    When you concentrate on one task, you find you have energy that you didn't even know you had. Just imagine: you are at a fair and you have to carry two heavy pigs over 100 yards. If you keep grabbing one and then the other, it will take forever, because one of them will keep slipping out from under your arm and running off. But if you tie one pig in a place, pick up the other, gather all your strength and make a dash for the finish line, pause for a moment, run back and get the other one, and with great determination, carry the second pig to the finish line, then you can be sure of success.

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    The pressure at work is on the increase in all occupations. In the modern nuclear family, the expectations that formerly would have been shared among all the relatives are now concentrated on the individual partner.

If you have the feeling that 24 hours per day are not enough for all the things you need to do, then it's not because the day has too few hours, but because you have too many activities. A simple fact that overloaded people often tend to forget. The solution is equally simple: refuse to accept so many work assignments in your private life or your working life.

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     “I can handle stress” is regarded as a positive statement in the world of work. People who can handle stress are given more and more to cope with—until one day they break.

    Pay careful attention to the signs that tell you that you are under more stress than you can cope with. These signals can come from various areas of life. You become ill, or your work efficiency decreases.

If you have any of these symptoms, change your life goals and decrease your tolerance of stress. Say quite openly, “I can't manage that.”

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     “If only I were slimmer, more beautiful, richer, more clever, then I would be happier.” This is a dream that makes a lot of people ill, depressed, and unhappy. Life has its flaws, defects, corners, and edges. Only those who accept this reality can lead a really full life.

Of course there are activities in which errors are dangerous：driving a car, crossing the road. But life doesn't consist entirely of these things. In among them there is a lot of room for small and large mistakes.

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    Successful people all have their own places where they can withdraw in order to work. Find out which places improve your creativity. For me it's the train. When I know that I'm going to be traveling for four hours without phone calls and people knocking on my door, I find my mind is free and I can read or write complex articles. There can be problems working on the train, of course: if the person sitting opposite you keeps talking away, or if train trips make you tired(some people fall asleep after a few miles)．

    New rules for middle school students came out in March. Middle schools are going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}The following are some of the new rules.

    Tell the truth. Have you ever cheated in an exam? {#blank#}2{#/blank#}That's not something honest students should do.

    Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird-loving Month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate it? You should join! {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought people could live on the moon? Maybe you'll find another earth in space in the future. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Protect yourself. Has a thief ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don't let it happen to you. If you have to go back home late, you should let your parents know.

    Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your study.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}But some things on the Internet aren't for children, so try to look at the good web pages.

A. Don't do it again!

B. Everyone's new ideas are important

C. Students must only work and play alone.

D. Students should not disagree with the teachers.

E. The best students won't only have high marks.

F. You can use the web pages for fun or homework.

G. In that way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them.

Keeping Safe in your House During a Fire

    Though you may not think you'll ever fall victim to a house fire, it's better to be prepared to avoid panicking. To increase your chances of survival, just follow these steps.

    ⒈React as soon as you hear your smoke alarm goes off. On hearing your smoke detector or alarm going off and seeing a fire, exit your home as safely as possible. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    ⒉Safely exit through doors. If you don't see smoke at the door, open it slowly and pass through it after making sure the door feels cool. If there is a fire preventing you from exiting the room, close the door.

    ⒊Protect yourself from smoke inhalation（吸入）. Get low to the floor and crouch or crawl on your hands and knees to avoid the smoke. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Cover your nose and mouth if you have to walk by or through a heavily smoke-filled room.

    ⒋{#blank#}3{#/blank#} If your clothes catch fire, immediately stop what you're doing, drop flat to the ground, and roll around until you put the fire out.

    ⒌Prevent the smoke if you can't get out. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Close your door and cover all vents（通风口）and cracks（缝隙）around it with cloth or tape to keep the smoke out.

    ⒍Call for help from a second story window.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} You can take a sheet or something else—white preferably—and hang it out of the window to signify that you need help when the first res-ponders get there.

A. If you can't escape your home, don't panic.

B. Stop, drop, and roll if your clothes catch fire.

C. You are probably a lot safer by closing doors.

D. Escape from a second story window if you can.

E. Smoke inhalation causes people to become unconscious.

F. Do not try to get your phone, valuables, or your other important possessions.

G. If you are trapped in your second story room, get to an area where people can find you.

    Do you remember those times when your mother told you to avoid talking to strangers? But now you're not a child any more. In fact, there are advantages of talking to strangers.

    1: You can meet a really great person.

    Talking to a stranger is a good habit because you never know whom you may meet. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You can also meet someone who'll give you a chance to get your dream job.

    2: {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    You have some opinions about different subjects and you know your friends' and relatives' points of view about them too. But there are millions of other people who think differently and can give you unpredictable yet smart ideas that'll broaden your horizons.

    3: You can improve your social skills.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Asking appropriate questions and attentive listening are two skills that many of us don't have. You can better these skills when talking to a stranger.

    4: You will feel a boost of confidence.

    If you belong to that shy type of people, talking to a stranger may seem to be a real challenge for you. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}You can overcome your fear of being judged by others by talking to strangers and become more confident.

    5: You can cheer someone up.

    The thing you will definitely like about talking to strangers is that you can make someone's day better. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Compliment people and they will think something pleasant about you. Having a sweet short dialogue is one of those perfect chances to make people cheerful.

A. Smile and people will smile in return.

B. It can expand your world view.

C. Why not speak to someone until your turn comes?

D. I'm also extremely shy but I realize it's not an issue at all.

E. You can meet a person who'll become your best friend in future.

F. It may show you the solutions you didn't know about.

G. Whatever social skills you have, you can make them better when talking to strangers.

    Every day can be a fresh, new beginning—this is very important if you had a difficult day before. By starting with some preparations, you can face the problems of the day in a good mood(心情). {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Exercise. Exercising is one of the best methods to start your day for your mind as well as the body. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In addition, it also reduces stress and improves your metabolism(新陈代谢). So go for a walk, go for a bike ride, or go to the gym in the morning.

    Organize yourself. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Make a to-do list and try to follow it. It will keep you organized(有条理的) and make your day easier. However, make sure that your to-do list is manageable. There are only so many things you can do in a day.

    Smile. Starting your day by acting the way you want to feel can help you be in a good mood.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}The easiest thing to do is smile. Just smile because you are alive and you can. Watch or listen to something humorous so you can laugh. It makes you feel positive and really good about yourself and the world that surrounds you.

    Keep important items in the same place. To make mornings less busy, start a habit keeping your important items in a place easy to reach.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}This way, you are never looking for that lost item when you are running behind.

A. Write down the tasks for the day.

B. Try other actions to get yourself to feel happier.

C. Try some of the following tips to start your day right.

D. Put your keys, wallet, purse, and other important items there.

E. Instead of rushing through the rooming, go slow and take your time.

F. It increases brain's working speed, which can help you get a jump-start on the day.
G. If you feel angry or tired, do something physical to make yourself feel happy.

    It's the water that makes our daily lives possible. That's why protecting source water is one of the primary missions at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission. We provide safe, clean drinking water to 1.8 million residents in Prince George's and Montgomery counties.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    One way we protect the water is through the watershed. The watershed reduces the pollutants reaching the reservoirs. They hold the source water that provides 30 percent of our customers with drinking water. That's over 600,000 people. For many years, we have issued permits to allow limited recreational use of the watershed. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It's a quiet, beautiful area away from urban stress and traffic. And we use it ourselves and other activities to promote water and environmental awareness.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Last year, the WSSC issued new regulations with new restrictions impacting all users, including, closing the watershed a month earlier in the fall and opening it a month later in the spring. We also limited horseback riding to the access roads. Our goal was and is to protect the watershed.

    A very small but vocal group felt we should have consulted them first. Perhaps afterward we should have. But I do want to make one thing very clear. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} But we cannot allow the interests of a tiny group to override (不理会) the well­being of the WSSC customers who drink the water from those reservoirs. There must be a balance.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} So we hired a consultant to gather data, gather input from watershed users, and assess the condition of the watershed. We also asked them to look at our operations and management practices and provide the WSSC with findings and recommendations on how to make improvements.

    It's time to work together to protect the water and provide appropriate access to the rare jewel we call the watershed.

A. We certainly understand the attraction.

B. At no time did we consider closing the watershed entirely.

C. However, only a few people like saving water.

D. But most importantly it's about protecting the water.

E. The government has taken some strong measures.

F. We take that responsibility very seriously.

G. A review of our watershed policies and regulations was overdue.