Parents and the Young

    It is natural that young people are often uncomfortable being with their parents. They say that their parents don't understand them. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} And they tend to feel that their parents are too serious and too strict with their children, seldom giving their children a free hand.

    Parents often find it difficult to win their children's trust. And they always forget how they themselves felt when young. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is one of their ways to show that they have grown up. But older people worry more easily; most of them plan things ahead.

    Young people often make their parents angry with their choice in clothes, in entertainment and in music. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It is just that they feel cut off from the older people's world, into which they have not yet been accepted. That's why young people want to make a new culture of their own, which makes their parents worried and upset.

    Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents say “yes” to what you do. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It is natural enough, after being a child for so many years, when you were completely under your parents' control.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility, they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do.

A. So how should you understand that?

B. But they do not mean to cause any trouble.

C. All you want is to be left alone and do what you like.

D. If you plan to handle your life, try to win your parents over.

E. They think that their parents don't keep pace with modern ways.

F. You will have better success if you ask before you really start doing it.

G. For example, young people like to act on the spot without much thinking.

Your friends have one, maybe even two or three. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Does it seem that everyone has one but you? No, it is not the latest video game, but something much more fun—a family pet.

    Dogs and hamsters(仓鼠) are both fun to hold and pet, but they relate to people in different ways. For example, dogs enjoy human contact. They love to play with their owners. They also like to show affection(喜爱) and love licking(舔) their owners' faces. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} They need fresh food and water every day, and they need exercise. They also need someone to take care of them when their owners go out of town.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Having contact with people is not important to them. They like to sleep when people want to play. Unlike dogs, hamsters do not like being petted. Many will hide when their owners want to pick them up. Hamsters are also very independent. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Hamsters may be low on affection, but they need less daily care than dogs do. An owner usually fills up the food and water dishes only once a week. Hamsters need exercise too, but they get their exercise by running on wheels in their “houses”. If their owners go out of town, hamsters can be left alone.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The choice is yours.

A. Dogs like to be petted.

B. Your neighbors have one.

C. Hamsters are very different from dogs.

D. They like to spend their time exploring.

E. They need food and water just as dogs do.

F. However, dogs need a lot of daily care, too.

G. Dogs and hamsters both make good family pets.

    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

    You can't choose friends for your child, but you can help him learn to choose friends wisely. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are a few ways to help your child make friends.

    Build your child's self-confidence.

    When he succeeds or has made a great choice, tell him you are proud of him.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Your middle school student is going through many changes and may feel like he isn't “good enough”. Building his self-confidence will help him feel more confident and will make it easier for him to form healthy friendships.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Give him your full attention when he talks, and really listen to what he has to say.

    Discuss the qualities in a friend with your child.

    Discuss with your child the qualities that matter most, such as being reliable and kind, and making good choices when it comes to avoiding alcohol and cigarettes.

    Get to know your child's friends.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It's more important to talk with them and find out what they like to do. Allow your child to invite his friends over and get to know them better.

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    After-school clubs and sports programs are good places for meeting new people. Be open to exploring different activities with your child to find something that he enjoys.

A. When he does not succeed, help him feel better and keep trying.

B. You can teach him ways to find friends who will have a positive influence on him.

C. There are many types of friends and we should be careful when making our choices.

D. Introduce your child to new groups of people.

E. Friends are very important for us.

F. Talk with your child every day and listen to his concerns.

G. Try not to judge your child's friends according to how they dress.

Ways to Worry Less

    Do you want to worry less? Of course you do. That's like asking if I can send you free bacon. Worry is like black mold—it appears in damp conditions and spreads uncontrollably. And very often we don't realize it's there until it's killing us. We must get rid of worry before it destroys us. But how should we do it? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Do what you need to do.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You ought not to avoid tough projects or hard conversations. If you don't do what you should be doing, you will end up spending the rest of the time worrying about the must-do things. Believe it or not, the anxiety that comes from the worry is much worse than the task we're worried about.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    I think many of us act like we're puppets (木偶) in a play and we're waiting for something or someone to put us in the right place. We just react to whatever is going on. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} We need to live purposefully. Nothing can cause more worry than purposelessness.

    Make plans.

    You can't succeed without making plans. Making plans will enable you to achieve your aims more smoothly. However, your plans aren't set in stone. You can adjust your plans flexibly. Accept changes. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    There are other ways to lessen worry. As long as you are determined to take action, you will live a worry-free life.

    If you're planning to organize a summer camp, you need to have a good plan of action. First of all, you should have a theme. For example, if you're planning a lot of games, you could call it "the adventure land" or something like that. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    If the summer camp is going to be an overnight program, then you have to keep the kids busy with different activities. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Games act as one of the best ways for kids to relax. They also help kids get along well with each other and develop the ability to work in a team.

    Kids at the summer camp need to be on their own for some time. Make sure your plan has some free time for them. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You could even encourage them to write down their thoughts about the summer camp. Be careful not to force them to do some things; let them be on their own.

    Your summer camp program can have a special day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} During this day, children can show their culture as well as learn about others. Also you can have a gift day, which means every child has to show their gifts, like dancing, singing or painting.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Let children do certain experiments or go around the campsite and ask them to find the scientific names of trees. Make sure you make this activity fun and interesting, so that the kids don't complain about it being a study activity.

A. You'll have a wonderful summer camp.

B. For example, you can have a culture day.

C. This time may be used to make new friends.

D. And an art camp can have a theme like "paint the world".

E. This may develop confidence in them to enjoy these sports.

F. You can devote a day or two to science and nature activities.

G. So plan interesting games like English corners, races and so on.