Saving money while traveling

    There are a lot of matters to think on before going out on a trip.  If you fail to plan the trip properly, then money will simply let itself loose from your pocket. Moreover, if you haven't planned a road map of your tour,  then confusion is quite inevitable (必然的). {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Package tours. Tours and travel agencies have attractive offers for tourists wanting to spend a couple of days on trips. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Once you have accepted the package tour, all your expenses during the travel will be greatly reduced. You can save a lot in lodging(住宿 ) and traveling.

    Inexpensive lodging. Never choose expensive lodging if your tour is a low-budget one. People tend to spend a lot booking luxury hotels (豪华旅馆),  and save little to enjoy other activities during the trip. This idea is absolutely not wise when spending limited money on the trip is your main aim. Moreover, the expenses increase quickly when your kids are with you. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You can use the money saved on good food and amusement.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The peak season is the time when rates are sky high due to the increase of millions of tourists who can afford to spend a lot of money. You, not being amongst this crowd that can spend generously, must book your holidays during the off season.

    A guide map. Make a guide map about the places to visit, expenses of travel and the activities to try. While planning you should also estimate (估计) your total expenses. Calculate the maximum amount and try to spend less than that. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Refer to the guide map while traveling and follow the money-saving travel tips as much as possible.

A. Reduce shopping.

B. Off season travel.

C. You must keep yourself updated with such offers.

D. This will help you to keep actual expenses below the estimated.

E. You can save lots of dollars when you don't have a credit card.

F. Therefore, book a fairly low-price lodge to save a few dollars.

G. So knowing some money-saving travel tips becomes necessary for you. 

    Have you ever wondered what an American high school is really like?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    A typical American high school has several large buildings and enough space for about 1,500 students.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}When students first arrive at school, they go straight to their lockers to put away or get their textbooks and to hang up their outdoor clothes. As American textbooks are expensive, students would rather rent than buy them.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    American students have different types of school transport. They usually take a yellow school bus or walk to school if they live close enough.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}When they turn 16 years of age, most take a free driving class at school for one term. If students earn passing grades in the class and also pass their state driver's exam, they can begin driving themselves to school.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}They must take science, math, English and social studies. They can choose art, homemaking, fashion design and other classes. In some schools students are required to take one or more of the following special classes: health education, physical education or foreign language studies. Students move to different classrooms for each subject. This is because each teacher has their own classroom. There is a five-minute break between classes, to give the students the time to hurry to their next class.

    The regular school day usually ends early in the afternoon. After school more than half of the students are involved in after-school activities. These activities include sports-especially football, basketball, baseball and soccer or clubs, such as yearbook, speech, school newspaper, photograph or student government.

A. Every student is given a locker.

B. Each day, students take six or seven classes.

C. Sometimes their parents drive them to school.

D. Students must pay back if they lost any of them.

E. This is because each teacher has their own classroom.

F. The regular school day usually ends early in the afternoon.

G. This article will describe a typical American high school and its students.

    Everything you do to protect the planet helps all living things, including humpbacks（座头鲸）and other species of whales that live in oceans worldwide. And yes－just one kid, like you, can make a difference.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Don't litter. Rubbish thrown away carelessly outside often washes into storm drains（排水沟）, which empty into rivers and eventually flow to the oceans.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}including whales.

    Say, “No bag, thank you.” Whether you're buying toys, snacks, or clothes, tell the checkout person you don't need a bag.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}you'll help reduce the 100 million plastic bags that each year block sewers（下水道）, and get swallowed by whales, sea turtles, and other wild life.

    Plant a tree.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}They produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）, a gas that animals, including humans, produce naturally as they breathe. But because carbon dioxide also comes from cars and factories, there is too much of it in the atmosphere, which is contributing to global warming. If everyone planted one tree, those trees would remove a large amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Every time you leave a room for more than a minute, turn off the light you're using. In this way, you save energy and keep greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.

    Try the family challenge! Many streams and rivers are polluted and littered with rubbish. You and your family can help preserve the waterways by joining others in your community to pick up rubbish.

A．Trees help clean the air we breathe

B．Turn off the light

C．Avoid driving cars

D．By carrying your own reusable bag

E．Treat them like friends

F．Here are ideas for easy small things you can do

G．Pollution is a growing problem for all the Earth's oceans and its wildlife

    Mondays are kind of annoying.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} A recent survey says that most people get the pre-work “Sunday blues”. Starting your Monday feeling sad, anxious and unorganized is hardly the way to kick off a healthy week.

    The solution? Set aside a little time on Sunday to purposefully prepare yourself for the five days ahead, suggests women's health expert Marsha Hudnall.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Do some meal preparations.

    Figuring out what to have for dinner on weeknights can be surprisingly stressful. Stretching out a menu plan on Sunday and swinging by the grocery store for ingredients will help you eat well. Go a step further by chopping and cooking vegetables and a protein (like a roast chicken or scrambled eggs).{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Or finally attempt a different diet you've been meaning to try. For easy dinner planning, just order, and you'll have a week's worth of raw materials for delicious and healthy meals.

    Start a Sunday stress-relief habit.

    “To be healthy, we have to take care of body and mind,” says Hudnall. Stress has a major impact on health and our ability to concentrate.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Four ideas to try: a guided meditation with the help of an app; forest bathing－a practice known as shinrin-yoku in Japan, which basically means taking a long walk or hike in a wooded area; gentle exercise like yoga; or time cuddling and playing with your pet.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Why not prepare your favorite clothes for Monday? Studies show that what you wear can have a significant effect on your mood. So make Monday the day you wear your favorite clothes or show the latest addition to your wardrobe (衣橱). It's also a good idea to get some nice coffee or music ready, which will give you something to look forward to on your Monday commute.

A. Give yourself something to look forward on Monday.

B. Even Sunday afternoons turn sour as we think of the workweek ahead.

C. Then all you have to do is heat and plate when you come home from work.

D. Therefore, starting a Sunday stress-relieving habit can begin a week feeling strong and focused.

E. Try creating a relaxing and winding down Sunday night so that you can recharge and get ready for Monday.

F. Taking on just a few of these simple lips every Sunday will help you launch a productive, less stressful week.

G. Wailing until the last moment to do weekend chores like paying bills or doing laundry can leave you anxious and stressed on Sunday.

The Ways of Getting Happiness

    Spend more time in your values. Living your values is one of the simplest ways to a more happiness to every day. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, the best way to make the most of it is to connect your work to your values. When you spend more time in your values, you enjoy the journey more.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. One of the best things you can do is find simple ways to gradually improve your overall happiness level. One of the worst things you can do is compare your happiness level to others, or beat yourself up for not being a shiny, happy person.

    Drive from happiness* Decide to drive from happiness. Happiness is a decision. This is where you have to look inside, and answer the tough questions. What do you like to do? What makes you happy? It's very easy to keep doing the things that we think others expect from us, or want for us. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Don't fall for the “If-Then” trap. Don't fall for the “if-then” or when-then traps.I'11 be happy if I get that job; {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, I'll be happy; I'll be happy if I get that relationship; etc. It's easy to put your happiness “out there” instead of “right here.

    Point your camera on purpose. Point your camera at the things that you want more of.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. You can point your camera at more pain, or more pleasure. That's a powerful choice. It's easy to test. Simply start pointing your camera at better scenes each day, and watch what unfolds in yourself, and the world around you.

A. If it doesn't happen

B. If I get that house

C. You get what you focus on

D. Set your own happiness level

E. If you spend a lot of time at work

F. Don't get mad by the traffic, and leave earlier

G. Instead, look inside and find the things that really do make you happy

A Few Active Listening Guidelines

    Listening is arguably the most important element of interpersonal communication. Our ability to listen well impacts the quality of all of our relationships, and not just at home with our family and friends—it can also affect our relationships and interactions on the job, as well as the effectiveness and quality of our work.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Instead, it is a skill that must be cultivated and practiced. Active listening means the difference between simply hearing, and listening with the intent to truly understand. It is a subtle but important distinction.

    ①Give focused attention

    Try to minimize external (外部的) distractions. Turn down the noise, and put down or step away from what you're doing if possible. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Don't watch the clock, fidget (坐立不安) or go over your to-do list for later.

    ②{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Direct eye contact shows your attention and intention to listen. This doesn't mean stare, though. Be reasonable, but try not to let your eyes wander to whatever is going on around you.

    ③Reflect back

    Restate, but don't repeat verbatim. Paraphrase what you think the other party is saying with responses such as: "What I'm hearing is…" or "Let me see if I'm following you…"{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    ④Respond appropriately

    Be open and honest in your responses. Share your thoughts, insights and feelings in a clear, but respectful and considerate manner if you disagree.

    Active listening is a model for good communication. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It takes practice to develop active listening skills, and it's a habit that has to be reinforced (加强). Remind yourself that the goal of conversation is not merely to trade words, but to truly understand what the other party is saying and to be understood in turn.